Troubleshooting Computer Network Connectivity Problems
Computer network connectivity can create many problems for those who work on computers or laptops connected to a network. Mostly, network connectivity problems arise from the server and create problems and errors in clients. However, at times the problem might lie in the individual client itself. Network connectivity troubleshooting is something that network administrators, system administrators, network technicians and IT consultants must know since this all comes under their responsibility.
A computer network is a set of computers that are connected with each other over a network (that can be many types, wired and wireless). The main computer to which all other computers in the network are connected is known as the server while other computers are known as clients. The server computer is under the control of a network administrator. A network is connected via network devices. Network devices forward the data to the correct destination based on the address that is sent along with the data. These devices are known as routers and switches.
Computer network connectivity can create problems that can stem out of network devices or the network medium. The most common problem that a network can be stuck with is when it is infected by a virus or spyware, attacked by hackers, accessed by unauthorized users or when faced with faulty configurations. In other case, the network devices will need to be sorted out.
A very common problem that networks are faced with is when they lose connection with a wireless router. In this case power cycling the modem and router will fix the problem. Since these network devices run all the time, they need occasional power cycling to keep them running effectively. These devices are electronic devices and run into frequent problems from time to time and thus can be handled with a simple restart.
It is important to know as to how to go about power cycling. In order to do so, you should unplug both your devices first. If your modem uses a battery, then just reset it after you have unplugged the router. You should plug back the devices after waiting for two minutes or until each of the devices have cooled down a bit. Each of the devices takes their own time and you should wait for them to cool down accordingly.
When we consider the network medium, we need to troubleshoot the problems that occur in the network when it is affected by a virus or accessed by unauthorized users. In this case, network administrators should use troubleshooting commands that are built-in the windows based operating systems and UNIX etc.
Amongst these network troubleshooting commands, the most common command is PING. This command checks the connectivity with the server. The other command that you can make use of is the IPCONFIG command. This command shows the IP address of the computer and also shows the DNS, gateway addresses of the network.
If these troubleshooting commands are used in the right way, you can easily resolve the problems of network connectivity.
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