When you're troubleshooting sometimes issues are not clearly a server, client or network issue - I get asked to assist on these regularly. I’m always trying to get the right balance of data without becoming overwhelmed with too much to analyze.
Take a quick second and i'll walk you through it!
The first thing to do is determine how to get visibility into the network equipment whether I use the client’s system or my own tools. Since problems typically involve a client and minimally a server, I try to ensure that I have a plan in place to gather this information.
As you can expect, the biggest issue I encounter as an external consultant is access to devices or network management systems. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not expecting anyone to give me administrator passwords to servers or clients, unless they are test systems in a lab. The key here is to make sure I know how I will get access to this data in a timely fashion. In some cases, it may involve a different contact for the server, client and network equipment which is fine with me.
If possible, I try to get SNMP/WMI enabled on client to give me more visibility. There are many tools out there that can use SNMP/WMI to perform system queries or monitor running services or applications to assist with troubleshooting. By using SNMP, I don’t need the client’s login credentials. I find customers already have server monitoring solutions that we can leverage.
In this video, I show you how to enable SNMP on a Windows 8.1 system:
Tony Fortunato, CCNA, CFNI, CWI
Sr Network Performance Specialist
The Technology Firm
www.thetechfirm.com
Getting things to work better - bit by bit-
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Certified Wireshark and Fluke Instructor
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