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Table Of Contents
Using Router Diagnostic Commands
Using Cisco Network Management Tools
Internetwork Performance Monitor
The TrafficDirector RMON Application
The VlanDirector Switch Management Application
Third-Party Troubleshooting Tools
Volt-Ohm Meters, Digital Multimeters, and Cable Testers
Breakout Boxes, Fox Boxes, and BERTs/BLERTs
Troubleshooting Tools
This chapter presents information about the wide variety of tools available to assist you in troubleshooting your internetwork. This includes information on using router diagnostic commands, Cisco network management tools, and third-party troubleshooting tools.
Using Router Diagnostic Commands
Cisco routers provide numerous integrated commands to assist you in monitoring and troubleshooting your internetwork. The following sections describe the basic use of these commands:
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The show commands help monitor installation behavior and normal network behavior, as well as isolate problem areas.
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Using show Commands
The show commands are powerful monitoring and troubleshooting tools. You can use the show commands to perform a variety of functions:
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The following are some of the most commonly used show commands:
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You can always use the ? at command line for a list of subcommands.
Like the debug commands, some of the show commands listed previously are accessible only at the router's privileged exec mode (enable mode). This will be explained further in the "Using debug commands" section.
Hundreds of other show commands are available. For details on using and interpreting the output of specific show commands, refer to the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) command references.
Using debug Commands
The debug privileged exec commands can provide a wealth of information about the traffic being seen (or not seen) on an interface, error messages generated by nodes on the network, protocol-specific diagnostic packets, and other useful troubleshooting data. To access and list the privileged exec commands, enter this code:
Router> enable
Password: XXXXXX
Router# ?
Note the change in the router prompts here. The # prompt (instead of the normal > prompt) indicates that you are in the privileged exec mode (enable mode).
Caution
Use debug commands to isolate problems, not to monitor normal network operation. Because the high processor overhead of debug commands can disrupt router operation, you should use them only when you are looking for specific types of traffic or problems, and have narrowed your problems to a likely subset of causes.
Output formats vary with each debug command. Some generate a single line of output per packet, and others generate multiple lines of output per packet. Some generate large amounts of output, and others generate only occasional output. Some generate lines of text, and others generate information in field format.
To minimize the negative impact of using debug commands, follow this procedure:
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Step 2
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By redirecting output to your current terminal display, you can view debug command output remotely, without being connected through the console port.
If you use debug commands at the console port, character-by-character processor interrupts are generated, maximizing the processor load already caused by using debug.
If you intend to keep the output of the debug command, spool the output to a file. The procedure for setting up such a debug output file is described in the Debug Command Reference.
This book refers to specific debug commands that are useful when troubleshooting specific problems. Complete details regarding the function and output of debug commands are provided in the Debug Command Reference.
In many situations, using third-party diagnostic tools can be more useful and less intrusive than using debug commands. For more information, see the section "Third-Party Troubleshooting Tools," later in this chapter.
Using the ping Commands
To check host reachability and network connectivity, use the ping command, which can be invoked from both user exec mode and privileged exec mode. After you log in to the router or access server, you are automatically in user exec command mode. The exec commands available at the user level are a subset of those available at the privileged level. In general, the user exec commands enable you to connect to remote devices, change terminal settings on a temporary basis, perform basic tests, and list system information. The ping command can be used to confirm basic network connectivity on AppleTalk, ISO Connectionless Network Service (CLNS), IP, Novell, Apollo, VINES, DECnet, or XNS networks.
For IP, the ping command sends Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo messages. ICMP is the Internet protocol that reports errors and provides information relevant to IP packet addressing. If a station receives an ICMP Echo message, it sends an ICMP Echo Reply message back to the source.
The extended command mode of the ping command permits you to specify the supported IP header options. This allows the router to perform a more extensive range of test options. To enter ping extended command mode, enter yes at the extended commands prompt of the ping command.
It is a good idea to use the ping command when the network is functioning properly to see how the command works under normal conditions and so that you have something to compare against when troubleshooting.
For detailed information on using the ping and extended ping commands, refer to the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference.
Using the trace Commands
The trace user exec command discovers the routes that a router's packets follow when travelling to their destinations. The trace privileged exec command permits the supported IP header options to be specified, allowing the router to perform a more extensive range of test options.
The trace command works by using the error message generated by routers when a datagram exceeds its time-to-live (TTL) value. First, probe datagrams are sent with a TTL value of 1. This causes the first router to discard the probe datagrams and send back "time exceeded" error messages. The trace command then sends several probes and displays the round-trip time for each. After every third probe, the TTL is increased by 1.
Each outgoing packet can result in one of two error messages. A "time exceeded" error message indicates that an intermediate router has seen and discarded the probe. A "port unreachable" error message indicates that the destination node has received the probe and discarded it because it could not deliver the packet to an application. If the timer goes off before a response comes in, trace prints an asterisk (*).
The trace command terminates when the destination responds, when the maximum TTL is exceeded, or when the user interrupts the trace with the escape sequence.
As with ping, it is a good idea to use the trace command when the network is functioning properly to see how the command works under normal conditions and so that you have something to compare against when troubleshooting.
For detailed information on using the trace and extended trace commands, refer to the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference.
Using Cisco Network Management Tools
Cisco offers the CiscoWorks 2000 family of management products that provide design, monitoring, and troubleshooting tools to help you manage your internetwork.
The following internetwork management tools are useful for troubleshooting internetwork problems:
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CiscoView
CiscoView graphical management features provide dynamic status, statistics, and comprehensive configuration information for Cisco internetworking products (switches, routers, hubs, concentrators, and access servers). CiscoView aids network management by displaying a physical view of Cisco devices and color-coding device ports for at-a-glance port status, allowing users to quickly grasp essential information. Features include the following:
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Internetwork Performance Monitor
IPM is a network management application that enables you to monitor the performance of multiprotocol networks. IPM measures the response time and availability of IP networks on a hop-by-hop (router-to-router) basis. It also measures response time between routers and the mainframe in Systems Network Architecture (SNA) networks.
Use IPM to perform the following tasks:
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The IPM product is composed of three parts: the IPM server, the IPM client application, and the response time reporter (RTR) feature of the Cisco IOS software.
The TrafficDirector RMON Application
The TrafficDirector advanced packet filters let users monitor all seven layers of network traffic. Using Cisco IOS embedded RMON agents and SwitchProbe standalone probes, managers can view enterprise-wide network traffic from the link, network, transport, or application layers. The TrafficDirector multilayer traffic summary provides a quick, high-level assessment of network loading and protocol distributions. Network managers then "zoom in" on a specific segment, ring, switch port, or trunk link and apply real-time analysis and diagnostic tools to view hosts, conversations, and packet captures.
TrafficDirector threshold monitoring enables users to implement a proactive management environment. First, thresholds for critical Management Information Base (MIB) variables are set within the RMON agent. When these thresholds are exceeded, traps are sent to the appropriate management station to notify the network administrator of an impending problem.
The VlanDirector Switch Management Application
The VlanDirector switch management application simplifies VLAN port assignment and offers other management capabilities for VLANs. VlanDirector offers the following features for network administrators:
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Third-Party Troubleshooting Tools
In many situations, third-party diagnostic tools can be more useful than commands that are integrated into the router. For example, enabling a processor-intensive debug command can be disastrous in an environment experiencing excessively high traffic levels. However, attaching a network analyzer to the suspect network is less intrusive and is more likely to yield useful information without interrupting the operation of the router. The following are some typical third-party troubleshooting tools used for troubleshooting internetworks:
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Volt-Ohm Meters, Digital Multimeters, and Cable Testers
Volt-ohm meters and digital multimeters are at the lower end of the spectrum of cable-testing tools. These devices measure parameters such as AC and DC voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, and cable continuity. They are used to check physical connectivity.
Cable testers (scanners) also enable you to check physical connectivity. Cable testers are available for shielded twisted-pair (STP), unshielded twisted-pair (UTP), 10BaseT, and coaxial and twinax cables. A given cable tester might be capable of performing any of the following functions:
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Similar testing equipment is available for fiber-optic cable. Because of the relatively high cost of this cable and its installation, fiber-optic cable should be tested both before installation (on-the-reel testing) and after installation. Continuity testing of the fiber requires either a visible light source or a reflectometer. Light sources capable of providing light at the three predominant wavelengths—850 nanometers (nm), 1300 nm, and 1550 nm—are used with power meters that can measure the same wavelengths and test attenuation and return loss in the fiber.
TDRs and OTDRs
At the top end of the cable testing spectrum are TDRs. These devices can quickly locate open and short circuits, crimps, kinks, sharp bends, impedance mismatches, and other defects in metallic cables.
A TDR works by bouncing a signal off the end of the cable. Opens, shorts, and other problems reflect the signal back at different amplitudes, depending on the problem. A TDR measures how much time it takes for the signal to reflect and calculates the distance to a fault in the cable. TDRs can also be used to measure the length of a cable. Some TDRs can also calculate the propagation rate based on a configured cable length.
Fiber-optic measurement is performed by an OTDR. OTDRs can accurately measure the length of the fiber, locate cable breaks, measure the fiber attenuation, and measure splice or connector losses. An OTDR can be used to take the signature of a particular installation, noting attenuation and splice losses. This baseline measurement can then be compared with future signatures when a problem in the system is suspected.
Breakout Boxes, Fox Boxes, and BERTs/BLERTs
Breakout boxes, fox boxes, and bit/block error rate testers (BERTs/BLERTs) are digital interface testing tools used to measure the digital signals present at PCs, printers, modems, the channel service unit/digital service unit (CSU/DSU), and other peripheral interfaces. These devices can monitor data line conditions, analyze and trap data, and diagnose problems common to data communication systems. Traffic from data terminal equipment (DTE) through data communications equipment (DCE) can be examined to help isolate problems, identify bit patterns, and ensure that the proper cabling has been installed. These devices cannot test media signals such as Ethernet, Token Ring, or FDDI.
Network Monitors
Network monitors continuously track packets crossing a network, providing an accurate picture of network activity at any moment, or a historical record of network activity over a period of time. They do not decode the contents of frames. Monitors are useful for baselining, in which the activity on a network is sampled over a period of time to establish a normal performance profile, or baseline.
Monitors collect information such as packet sizes, the number of packets, error packets, overall usage of a connection, the number of hosts and their MAC addresses, and details about communications between hosts and other devices. This data can be used to create profiles of LAN traffic as well as to assist in locating traffic overloads, planning for network expansion, detecting intruders, establishing baseline performance, and distributing traffic more efficiently.
Network Analyzers
A network analyzer (also called a protocol analyzer) decodes the various protocol layers in a recorded frame and presents them as readable abbreviations or summaries, detailing which layer is involved (physical, data link, and so forth) and what function each byte or byte content serves.
Most network analyzers can perform many of the following functions:
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