Troubleshooting Basic Network Problems
Table below discusses some of the possible causes of generic network problems and suggest some means of overcoming them.
| Some Cause and Solutions to Generic Network Problems | |
| Symptom | Probable Cause |
| Reduced bandwidth | This is called a bottleneck and occurs when the network does not transmit as much data as it should because of some constraint that limits the rate at which a task can be completed. If a task uses the processor, network, and disk resources, and spends more of its time transferring data to and from the disk, you could have a memory bottleneck. A memory bottleneck might require additional RAM. |
| Loss of data | If data transfers are incomplete or inaccurate, check to ensure that all network cabling and connectors are intact. |
| Slow loading of programs and files |
Fragmentation occurs when the operating system saves, deletes, and moves data this lows down the reading files and loading of programs. You must defragment the drive to overcome this problem. If slow loading persists after defragmentation, check for memory bottlenecks. |
| Traffic overloads | A hardware or software failure can bring a LAN to a halt, or the failure can result in more data traffic than the network is designed to handle. You might receive an error message or you might not see any signs other than poor network performance. You must have a system in place that can monitor and manage network traffic. To resolve this problem, you will need to reduce the traffic on the LAN or expand its capabilities. |
| Common mode failures | Some LAN component failures affect other components. This is known as mode a common failure. For example, the on-board logic of an NIC might jumble the data format. The NIC will hand the result to the NOS, which might not detect the error. If the NOS puts that data into a file, |