How To Identify Network Issues Hop-By-Hop
First, let’s define the problem. As networks get bigger they get more complicated. A pretty straightforward statement, but why is that? Well, let’s use the road analogy. Let’s say you have a road through town, and like many small towns, right in the middle of it is an intersection. No problem, add a stoplight. But then the town grows, more roads are built, and another intersection is put in, with another stoplight. And then another, and another, and so on. Very rarely are they planned for growth, and even if there is a plan, they usually have to change.
Every time a new intersection is put in with a stoplight, the city’s roads get more complicated, and harder to navigate and manage. And when accidents happen, and the streets slow down, it is really hard to know why and fix it. This is exactly what happens with networks, except instead of a stoplight at each intersection, there is a router or a switch. And every time a new segment of the network is added, a new switch or router is added, and the network gets more complicated. And by definition, every time a router or switch is added to the network, creating a new segment, it takes longer for a packet to travel across that segment, making the network slower.