There are a few key challenges with respect to troubleshooting your remote site networks. The primary one being the profile of your on-site personnel. Lack of expertise at remote sites often results in travel by senior IT staff to gain the visibility needed to identify the root causes of problems. But, of course, travel is not an option in many cases. Your evaluation of the on-site support situation will guide you in creating a plan and strategy. Ask yourself these key questions: Is there any IT staff on-site? What is their expertise level? What is the criticality of that site?
During the first part of this tech tip, we highlighted how automated testing can help simplify remote troubleshooting by improving workflows and removing the need for local expertise. The second step introduces the need for more in-depth visibility.
Step 2: Simplified Troubleshooting
While automated testing can uncover a wide variety of problems on its own, not all problems can be found using this method so the tools should also be flexible enough to provide additional diagnostic capabilities.
- Automated Testing — Even if the initial automated test does not identify the problem, all the measurement results are readily available to help local — and remote — personnel understand what is happening. Furthermore, automated testing can be modified in seconds and repeated to test a different server, application or wireless connection.
- Wired Tests — Sometimes the physical layer is the culprit so it’s important to be able to verify the cable, PoE, the nearest switch, VLAN, network services, and even the ability to inspect the fiber-optic connectors for contamination.
- Wireless Tests — It’s important to be able to see all the networks, AP’s and clients in range to quickly identify problems such as improper security, interference, bandwidth hogs, overloaded channels, unauthorized devices and more
If you would like a more in-depth look into Remote Network Troubleshooting, register for our webinar: Remote Network Troubleshooting Simplified.
