Network Troubleshooting Tools

Network Troubleshooting Tools does the work for you--by describing the best of the freely available tools for debugging and troubleshooting. You can start with a lesser-known version of ping that diagnoses connectivity problems, or take on a much more comprehensive program like MRTG for graphing traffic through network interfaces. There's tkined for mapping and automatically monitoring networks, and Ethereal for capturing packets and debugging low-level problems. This book isn't just about the tools available for troubleshooting common network problems. It also outlines a systematic approach to network troubleshooting: how to document your network so you know how it behaves under normal conditions, and how to think about problems when they arise, so you can solve them more effectively. The topics covered in this book include: - Understanding your network - Connectivity testing - Evaluating the path between two network nodes - Tools for capturing packets - Tools for network discovery and mapping - Tools for working with SNMP - Performance monitoring - Testing application layer protocols - Software sources If you're involved with network operations, this book will save you time, money, and needless experimentation.