AV Technology - April 2009 - (Page 55)

avassets product spotlight NETWORK TEST EQUIPMENT PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK BOX NETWORK SERVICES WHO MAKES THEM ADC: www.adc.com AGILENT: www.agilent.com AIR MAGNET: www.airmagnet.com BLACK BOX: www.blackbox.com CISCO SYSTEMS: www.cisco.com FLUKE NETWORKS: www.flukenetworks.com GREENLEE: www.mygreenlee.com Ideal Industries: www.idealindustries.com LanTest Pro: www.lanshack.com Netscout: www.netscout.com Network Instruments: www.netinst.com Paladin: www.paladin-tools.com Psiber Data Systems: www.psiber.com Sensaphone: www.sensaphone.com Siemon: www.siemon.com Tempo: www.tempo-textron.com Tessco: www.tessco.com Test-Um (JDSU): www.jdsu.com U sers can’t connect. Devices stop talking to each other. Physical layer changes are causing problems. When everyday problems like these come up, the network technician has the simplest job description around: make it work. In today’s business climate, making it work quickly and economically is the top priority. In any network environment, giving technicians proper training, the right tools, and a solid methodology for using them makes network troubleshooting faster, saving the technician time and getting network users back to productivity faster. Local area networks (LANs) are integral to the operation of most businesses today. The most common LANs use Ethernet, a data link layer protocol, and internet protocol (IP), a network layer protocol. A LAN is comprised of many elements: printers, monitors, PCs, IP phones, servers, storage hardware, networking equipment, security software, network applications, enterprise applications, office productivity applications, and more. Increasingly, AV systems and devices also rely on the LAN for operation, maintenance, and monitoring usage. Devices on the network are linked physically by twisted-pair copper, fiber, or wireless access points. A wide range of test tools is available from various manufacturers for testing physical layer problems. Troubleshooting LANs is typically the job for the frontline network support staff — engineers and technicians. Common problems include user connection issues and slow networks. Root causes of LAN problems are frequently caused by one of these three sources: PHYSICAL LAYER — COPPER, FIBER, www.avtechnologyonline.com OR WIRELESS. Possible causes: Damaged or dirty cabling or terminations; Excessive signal attenuation; Insufficient cable bandwidth; Wireless interference NETWORK LAYER — ETHERNET AND IP. Possible causes: Damaged networking devices; Incorrect or sub-optimal device configurations; Authentication and association issues; Insufficient network bandwidth SWITCHES AND VLANS. Possible causes: Excessive utilization; Too many errors; Incorrectly assigned VLAN membership; Traffic priority (CoS/QoS) issues Best practices for successful LAN troubleshooting include these steps: 1. Identify the exact issue or problem: Have the person who reported the problem explain how normal operation appears, and then demonstrate the perceived problem. 2. Re-create the problem if possible: Ask yourself if you understand the symptoms, and verify the reported problem yourself if possible. 3. Localize and isolate the cause: Attempt to isolate the problem to a single device, connection, or software application. 4. Formulate a plan for solving the problem: Research and/or consider the possible solutions to the problem. Consider the possibility that some solutions to the problem at hand may introduce other problems. 5. Implement the plan: Your actual solution to the problem may be replacing hardware, implementing a software patch, reinstalling the application or component, or cleaning a virusinfected file. If the problem is the user account, the user’s security settings or logon scripts may need to be adjusted. 6. Test to verify that the problem has been resolved: After you have implemented the solution, ensure that the entire problem has been resolved by having the user test for the problem again. 7. Document the problem and solution: Documentation can be used for future reference to help you troubleshoot the same or similar problem. You can also use the documentation to prepare reports on common network problems for management and/or users, or to train new network users or members of the network support team. 8. Provide feedback to the user: This encourages users to report similar situations in the future, which will improve the performance of your network. If the user could have done something to correct or avoid the issue, providing feedback may reduce the number of future network problems. Giving frontline network support staff the proper training, the right tools, and a solid troubleshooting methodology results in faster LAN problem solving — saving staff time, closing trouble tickets quicker, minimizing downtime, and getting network users back to productivity faster. april 2009 | AV TECHNOLOGY | 55 http://www.adc.com http://www.agilent.com http://www.airmagnet.com http://www.blackbox.com http://www.cisco.com http://www.flukenetworks.com http://www.mygreenlee.com http://www.idealindustries.com http://www.idealindustries.com http://www.lanshack.com http://www.netscout.com http://www.netinst.com http://www.paladin-tools.com http://www.psiber.com http://www.sensaphone.com http://www.siemon.com http://www.tempo-textron.com http://www.tessco.com http://www.jdsu.com http://www.avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - April 2009

AV Technology - April 2009 Contents Perspective: Lost in a Cloud Precedent Corporate: Seven Rules of Thumb for the AV Technology Manager Government: Collaboration Will Help Reshape Federal Agencies Education: Moving Day Managing Digital AV Content Audiovisual Untethered Irvine’s Mobile Command & Control Vehicle AV with a View Product Forum: Revolabs Fusion Wireless Mic System Product Spotlight: Network Test Equipment Tech Horizons: Ever Thinner New Products Ad Index AV MO: Power Consumption in AV Devices

AV Technology - April 2009

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