LAN stands for the Local Area Network and keeping it up, secure and optimized to get the maximum performance is the very crucial responsibility of the network administrators. The common issues that can arise in the LAN are related to the connectivity, security and the performance. You first troubleshooting methodology is to diagnose the problem by using the right tools and techniques.
Being responsible for managing the computer network, your toolkit should be equipped with monitoring, packets analyzer, data recovery, inventory, antivirus and firewall related tools. The basic LAN troubleshooting techniques and the methodologies help to diagnose the isolate the problem from the rest of the network.
In this article you will learn that how to troubleshoot the common problems in the Ethernet based network.
Connectivity Issues
If you experience the connectivity issues between two networked computers in your LAN, you can use the following tips to resolve the problem.
- Check the UTP/STP cable and make sure that it is properly inserted at both ends.
- Make sure that the TCP/IP settings are correct. For this, double click the blinking monitors > Properties > TCP/IP > Properties and check the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS settings.
- Right click on the Local Area Network connection icons on the desktop and click repair. It will resolve most of the connectivity issues in your network.
- Use the Ping command at the command prompt like ping ip address i.e ping 192.168.2.2 and press enter. If you get the reply from the other computer then the connectivity between the two computers is okay and if you don’t get the error message like this “Request Time Out”, it shows that there is some problem in the connectivity.
- Use the network monitoring software to diagnose the issues, it will save your time and efforts in finding the problem.
- Replace the cable with new one.
- If your problem still not resolved then replace your LAN card with a new one.
- Temporarily disable your firewall and check if the problem is resolved or not.
Security Issues
The security issues arises in a network due to the virus attack, hackers attack, spyware, adware, malware, eavesdropping, unauthorized access and physical security issues. The following tips will help you to resolve the security related issues in your network.
- Install an up-to-dated antivirus program and regularly scan all of your computers with it.
- Install an up-to-dated anti spyware program and scan your computers with it.
- Install and configure software or hardware firewall on your gateway computer.
- Limit the access of your users in the network.
- Monitor the online activities of your uses and block and suspicious websites and online applications.
- Regularly take backup of your critical data.
- Train the employees of your organization about the internal and external security threats.
- Update your operating system and install the latest patches and hot fixes.
Performance Issues
To get the optimize performance from your Ethernet network the following tips might be helpful for you.
- Balance the load of your network by using different servers for different purposes like print server, file serve, database server and proxy server.
- Use the registry cleaning software to remove the trace of the unused software and hardware in your network.
- Make sure that the network cables are not damaged.
- Remove the unused icons in the My Network Places.
- Use network monitoring, network management and packets analyzer software to manage and distribute the network resources.