Chapter 14. Troubleshooting network issues
This chapter covers
- Using TCP/IP networking to manage network problems
- Troubleshooting networks and network interfaces
- Managing DHCP connectivity
- Configuring DNS for address translation
- Troubleshooting inbound network connectivity
When I was a lad, getting new software for a PC meant either writing it yourself or driving to a store and purchasing a box containing a program stored on one or more 5.25” floppy drives. As often as not, remote collaboration required a dot matrix printer and the post office. Streaming videos? Don’t make me laugh. I can’t remember if my first PC even had a modem. If it did, I certainly never used it.
These days, network connectivity is as integral to computing as keyboards and strong coffee. And the way things are going with voice interfaces, like Amazon’s Alexa, it might not be wise to invest too heavily in keyboard manufacturing. (Coffee prospects still look good, though.) The bottom line is that you and the users you support would be pretty helpless without fast and reliable network access.
To deliver fast and reliable access, you’ll need to know how to use network tools and protocols to establish connectivity between your network interfaces and the outside world. And you’ll also need to know how to identify and connect network adapters to your computers so the tools and protocols will have something to work with. We’ll get to that.