Lesson Reactive Network

1 Troubleshooting

Welcome to your first lesson in troubleshooting network breakdowns!

What I Need to Know

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Below are the skills and competencies you need to learn for today’s lesson.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES/OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

 explain what is meant by reactive network troubleshooting;

 describe a systematic approach to problem solving network situations; and
 give examples of reactive network troubleshooting.

What I Know

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Before you start the lesson on reactive network troubleshooting, you

need to answer the following activity below. You will be challenged
to dig deeper into your prior knowledge and previous experiences.
This phase will guide you in assessing yourself on how much you
have known reactive network troubleshooting.

ACTIVITY 1. Multiple Choice

Direction: Read and answer each item below. Choose the letter your answer. Write
your answer in your activity notebook.
1. Any changes to the network software or hardware can create problems. This is
when reactive network troubleshooting comes in. Is this statement correct?
A. Yes
B. No
2. What network troubleshooting approach is also known network breakdown
troubleshooting?
A. Proactive network troubleshooting
B. Reactive network troubleshooting
C. Preventive network troubleshooting
D. Corrective network troubleshooting

3. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to identify what is

the problem all about?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

4. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to dig deeper into

the problem?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

5. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to solve the

network problem?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

6. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to test the formed

hypothesis?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

7. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to formulate a

hypothesis?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
 E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

8. Which of the following is an example of reactive network troubleshooting

approach?
A. Maintaining a troubleshooting preventive schedule
B. Maintaining a documentation logbook
C. Doing repair as problem occurs
D. Having a network design in the wall.

9. Which of the following is an example of reactive network troubleshooting

approach?
A. Diagnose the problem
B. Do the replacement of defective parts
C. Do the scheduled troubleshooting
D. Test the solution to the problem

10. The following are the situation when network breakdown usually occurs, except
for one. Which of the following is the least possible reason for network
breakdown?
A. A new software was installed.
B. A new hardware was installed.
C. A new upgrade was performed.
D. A new network device was installed.
E. A new network technician was installed.

What’s In

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You have reached Module 1 in Network Systems Breakdowns. Last

module, we tackle about how to diagnose network problems. So as a
sort of review, kindly carry out the activity below.

ACTIVITY 2

Direction: Read and answer the questions below. Write your answer in your activity
notebook.

1. What is the way of isolating problem presented in previous lesson?

2. What is the next reasonable thing to do after isolating the problem?

3. Why is it important to document network issues?

 What’s New

__________________________________________________________________________________

Before you start the lesson on network fault diagnosis, do the activity
below.

ACTIVITY 3: BIG Word – One Word

Direction: Answer the question below and write your answer in your activity
notebook.
1. What word that pops into mind you see
this word? Reactive

What is it

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What is network reactive troubleshooting?

Reactive network troubleshooting, also known as network breakdown

troubleshooting, is one of the commonly adopted approaches. It is a method of keeping
the network operational by correcting problems as they occur. It also refers to
troubleshooting that are performed to restore a failed network equipment, network
connection or network configuration to bring back to a workable condition. It is typically
performed when the cable or equipment needs to be replaced, or software or
configuration needs an upgrade. A systematic approach you can use is Scientific
Method. The steps are:
1. State the problem
2. Research the problem
3. Form a hypothesis
4. Test the hypothesis
5. Draw conclusions and solve problem

State the Problem

When a user complains about the network, investigate first if there is really a
problem. Sometimes it may be just a user problem especially when the user has a
deadline to meet.

Research the Problem

Once problem was confirmed, do following:
1. Check the connections if they are loose.
2. Try to log on with a correct password.
3. Check the configurations on the workstation, if IP address is correct and if a
correct NIC card configured.
4. Check all the physical media attached to the malfunctioning device.
5. Interview the user. Ask what he or she was doing just before the problem
occurred. Look for clues that will help you determine the root of the problem.

The very first question you should be asking yourself when a problem occurs is
“what is new or different?” Any changes to network software or hardware can create
problems. Some of the places where change might have occurred are with systems
files, new devise, new device drivers, new accounts, changed privileges, upgraded
software, etc.

Isolate the Problem

Where to look first when there are many workstations in a network? Start with
your network diagram. Are the complaints coming from a single department? Are they
connected to a single hub?

Problems in any network can either be:

 Local
 Systemic

Look for systemic issues first before examining into local ones. Systemic
problems are the one that every user in the network experiences. This means that the
problem might involve a shared resource, device, or program. Isolate systemic issues
first before local problems.

For example:

Juan knows from the baseline performance data that when the system is running
optimally for that time frame takes an average of 3 ms (milliseconds) to ping POP mail
server. When he ping the workstation and find that it takes 5ms. The problem is that
the network throughput is low. Juan then look at the performance monitoring software
and found that one workstation cannot even load for lack of resources, but another
workstation is running smoothly. This might indicate that the problem is the server’s
memory cache is almost full. What might be causing that?

In addition, the server is locked in the secure server room. The logbook also tells
that the computer room door has not been opened since late last night when the backup
media were removed offsite. No new software has been installed on the network in the
last 2 weeks. The performance manager shows correct amount of memory; the problem
is not that it is not connected but that it is unavailable.

In the company where Juan work, a marketing director was fired last week. Could
these two seemingly unrelated incidences, connected?

Form a Hypothesis
 The fact that server’s very little memory available can explain why people are
having trouble with network connection. In addition, processes are competing with a
very little memory.

In our example, it appears that memory is the issue. A reasonable hypothesis is

that something has made memory unavailable. The possible reason for this might be:

 Someone may have removed memory boards from the file.

- This cannot be since the server room is locked and been untouched.
 Memory may have become unavailable due to a wiring
- This is impossible since the performance manager shows the right amount of
memory.
 Some process is gobbling up the memory
- This is a reasonable hypothesis. Memory should be available, and

Thus, one hypothesis is obvious that a runaway process is using excess memory.

Test the Hypothesis

How will Juan know what he is dealing with? So far, his hypothesis is that a
runaway process is using excess memory.

To test the hypothesis, run utilities to identify the various process that are running
and where they are running. If there are 53 ping processes running, and another ping
appears after 5 minutes, a program might be responsible for this.

The right thing to do for Juan is to isolate the ping program and determine that it
originated from a workstation in the marketing department. This workstation was
assigned to the marketing director who was fired last week.

Draw Conclusions

The conclusion is that the disgruntled employee set the continuous ping before
he or she left the company. He made a program that runs ping continuously, then, after
5 minutes regenerates itself to run a second version of ping, and so on, until the
system crashes.

The solution is to kill the 55 pings running. This will speed up again the systems
and regain the memory that ping was using. Never forget to document everything. Print
the ping program causing the trouble for future legal use.

Network Problem Solving

When troubleshooting, be sure to check one parameter at a time. If you make

multiple changes before checking out the device, it becomes difficult to detect the
problem.

There is no easy solution, but there are different approaches you can take.
Whichever solution you choose, be sure to document it, so that the next person who
must troubleshoot the same problem you encountered can see where the potential
problem lies.
 What’s More

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This comprises activities for independent practice to solidify your

understanding and skills of the topic.

ACTIVITY 4: Scientific Problem-Solving Approach

Direction: Read the scenario below. Identify the problem and formulate hypothesis
using the scientific problem-solving approach. Write your answer in your
activity notebook.

One day a computer café owner approached a computer network technician friend with
a problem. The five computers of his computer café cannot communicate to the server. The
access point where it is connected indicates it is okay. “What could be the problem?” asked the
computer café owner to the technician. The technician considered some of the options. One
possibility was that an IP Stack failure. Another possibility was that the configuration settings
was faulty. “A third possibility was that the access point was the problem especially you have
multiple access points,” said the technician. “Let’s check the network connection first,” said the
technician. The two walked over to where the five computers located. The technician turned on
the computers and begin typing ping in the command prompt. It said, “destination host
unreachable.” The friend then checked the physical connection. “Let’s try unplugging the access
point,” said the technician. The two walked over to the server room of the internet cafe, then the
technician unplugging and plugging the access point back again. “Turn on the access point,”
said the technician to the owner. As the access point labored to turn on and connect. The
technician went back to the computers, use ping again. He shouted, “That’s the problem!”
 Step1 State the problem
(W hat was the problem about? Rewrite the problem here.)
Step 2 Research about
the Problem (Try using the w eb to research about the problem .)
Step 3 Form ulate a
hypothesis (Hypothesis are given in the scenario above. Rewrite them here.)

Step 4 Test hypothesis

(W rite one possible way to test hypothesis)
Step 5 Draw conclusion /
Solve problem (W rite one possible solution to the problem )

What I Have Learned

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What you just did to the previous activity was neat. The next activity is
designed to process what you have learned from the lesson.

ACTIVITY 5: Own Words is Important

Direction: Identify the keywords below and explain it your own words. Write your answer
in your activity notebook.

reactive network
troubleshooting
 What I Can Do

What you just did to the previous activity was great enough. Keep up the
good work. The following task will showcase your skills and knowledge
gained and applied in real-life concerns and situations.

ACTIVITY 6: Tell-me-what, Tell-me-how

Direction: Read the scenario given. Examine the Job Order Form carefully and
identify what was the complain of the customer, and how to troubleshoot
the problem. Explain your answer. Write it in your activity notebook.

Mario is a network maintenance technician in a TPM (third party

maintenance) company. One day, he received a job order from his boss. Refer to
Figure 4 – Network Maintenance Job Order Form received by Mario.

Network Maintenance Job Order Form

Client Name: Viloria Enterprise Phone No.: 0936-1234567
Client Address: Sayre Highway, Poblacion,
Quezon, Bukidnon Client Email:
Job Order Details
Date issued: June 11, 2020 Job Order No.: 1234569
Issued by: Juan dela Cruz Job Performed by: Mario Jose Maria
Client’s Complaints/Problems:
• Cannot connect to the internet
Description of Job Required:
1. Check physical connection and hardware
2. Do the diagnostic tool – ping
3. Contact ISP
Materials Required:
Remarks: The client suspected about broken cables because of
rats.
Completion Information
Date Completed: Time Required
Materials Used:
Remarks
Employee Signature: Supervisor Signature:

Figure 1 Network Maintenance Job Order Form

1. What was client’s complaint about?

Client’s complains about _________________________________________.

2. What you should do to determine the real problem?

 To determine the real I would ______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

3. How would you troubleshoot the problem presented?

______________________________________________________________________
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Your performance will be assessed according to this Rubric:

5 4 3 2 1
Reasoning Excellent Correct logical Has the point in Get the answer Reasoning is out
reasoning. reasoning. his/her right but not of the context.
Beyond Evidently, reasoning yet convincing
expectation. Did studies the not grounded reasoning
extra-research given hand-outs enough.
about the topic
Correctness Answer is Answer is Answer is Answer is Answer is
correct. Easy to correct. Stated correct. No correct. correct yet no
understand what was given ample Explanation is explanation.
reasoning using in the hand-outs explanation. out of the
his/her own context.
words.

Assessment

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Awesome! You made it to “Assessment” part. A task will be given to you to

evaluate your level of mastery in achieving the learning competency. Just
be patient in answering it. Believe in yourself.

ACTIVITY 7. Multiple Choice

Direction: Read and answer each item below. Choose the letter your answer. Write
your answer in your activity notebook.

1. Any changes to the network software or hardware can create problems. This is
when reactive network troubleshooting comes in. Is this statement correct?
A. Yes
B. No

2. What network troubleshooting approach is also known network breakdown

troubleshooting?
A. Proactive network troubleshooting
B. Reactive network troubleshooting
C. Preventive network troubleshooting
D. Corrective network troubleshooting

3. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to identify what is

the problem all about?
 A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

4. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to dig deeper into

the problem?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

5. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to solve the

network problem?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem
6. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to test the formed
hypothesis?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

7. Which steps in a scientific problem-solving approach requires to formulate a

hypothesis?
A. State the problem
B. Research the problem
C. Form a hypothesis
D. Test the hypothesis
E. Draw conclusions and solve problem

8. Which of the following is an example of reactive network troubleshooting

approach?
A. Maintaining a troubleshooting preventive schedule
B. Maintaining a documentation logbook
C. Doing repair as problem occurs
D. Having a network design in the wall.

9. Which of the following is an example of reactive network troubleshooting

approach?
A. Diagnose the problem
B. Do the replacement of defective parts
C. Do the scheduled troubleshooting
D. Test the solution to the problem

10. The following are the situation when network breakdown usually occurs, except
for one. Which of the following is the least possible reason for network
breakdown?
A. A new software was installed.
B. A new hardware was installed.
C. A new upgrade was performed.
D. A new network device was installed.
E. A new network technician was installed.
 Additional Activities

Amidst the challenges of the previous activities, you did well. That was
divine. The following activity will enrich your knowledge and skill of the
lesson learned. Enjoy doing this activity.

ACTIVITY 8: Research Activity

Direction: Do a small research.

Is reactive network troubleshooting the same as corrective maintenance? Why or

why not?