lution. However, armed with a few troubleshooting skills and intimate
knowledge of the network, you can solve most problems rather quickly, thus
saving money.
quickly enough, right? Although that may have been the case in the past, get-
ting up to speed becomes overwhelming with today's complex networks.
These networks consist of routing, dial-up, switching, video, WAN (ISDN,
Frame Relay, ATM, and others), LAN, and VLAN technologies. Refer to
Figure 1.1 to get an idea of how these technologies intertwine. Notice that
ATM, Frame Relay, Token Ring, Ethernet, and FDDI all are present. Each
technology has different properties and different commands to allow for
troubleshooting. Different protocols are used for each of these technologies.
In addition, different applications require specific network resources. (At
least the seven-layer OSI model, which you will review in Chapter 2, is used
to maintain a common template when designing new technologies and pro-
tocols.) It would take you a long time to master all of the technologies imple-
mented in the network and to be able to solve network problems, based on
your knowledge of the network alone. All of these factors contribute to
today's complex network environments.
work environment. Well, you'll be happy to know that there is an easier
option--following a troubleshooting model--and it is discussed in detail in
this chapter. By following a troubleshooting model, the need for intimate
knowledge of the network is minimized.
model in detail.