Networking / Beginners

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Step 8: Identify the Results and Effects of the Solution

Sometimes, you apply a fix that corrects one problem but creates another. Many such circumstances are difficult to predict, but not always. For example, you might add a new network application, but the application requires more bandwidth than your current network infrastructure can support. The result would be that overall network performance is compromised.

Everything done to one part of the network can negatively affect another area of the network. Actions such as adding clients, replacing hubs or switches, and adding applications can all have unforeseen results. It is difficult to always know how the changes you make to a network are going to affect the network's functioning. The safest thing to do is assume that the changes you make are going to affect the network in some way and realize that you just have to figure out how. This is where you might need to think outside the box and try to predict possible outcomes.

Understanding Potential Impacts of Solutions You Choose

Remember that the effects of a potential solution can be far reaching. For example, a few years ago, a mid-sized network hired an IT consultant to address a problem of lost data stored on local client hard disks. His solution was to install a new client/server application that would store data and graphics on a centralized file server. With all data stored centrally, data, including backups, could be easily managed and controlled. The solution was implemented and tested on some client systems, and the application worked.

At first only a few users used the application, but within months most users were transferring large files back and forth from the file server. Network monitoring tools revealed that the network could not handle the load of the new application, and network performance was far below an acceptable level, leaving network users frustrated with wait times.

It turned out that the IT consultant failed to identify an infrastructure problem. Although the network used switches and 10/100Mbps NICs, Cat3 cable was used throughout most of the network. Cat3 UTP cable provides 10Mbps network speeds, not enough bandwidth for the number of users accessing the application. This situation provides an example of how the troubleshooting process can easily go wrong. The first problem may have been addressed-decentralized storage on client systems-but the effects of that solution created a much bigger problem. Using a clear troubleshooting process, the troubleshooting procedure is systematic and takes into account the current error and does not stop until all considerations are met.