Troubleshooting

2015.08.10 Fundamentals 4 min read

Well-Known Intervals

Listed below are many events which occur on network devices at well-known intervals. The list is provided to serve as an aid while troubleshooting recurring network disruptions.

2011.02.14 Automation & Tools 7 min read

IOS Embedded Packet Capture

Tired of setting up SPAN sessions? Need to do some packet analysis? Since IOS 12.4(20)T Cisco has made Embedded Packet Capture (EPC) available.

2010.05.22 Switching 1 min read

Measuring Cable Lengths on a Catalyst Switch

A while back, I was playing on a 3750 switch in a customers lab and came across something I’ve never seen before. It seems that some Cisco switches have a built in Time-domain reflectometer, or TDR.

2010.04.19 Automation & Tools 3 min read

Netcat – secret weapon

Netcat or nc, is a forgotten tool in too many arsenals these days. It lays dormant waiting at the command line to make connections across the globe for you.

2009.09.15 Automation & Tools 4 min read

Mail Server Relay Testing

As you may know, I am not big in the server world, even less into mail servers. They make me sick.

2009.08.23 Fundamentals 2 min read

Testing TCP Connectivity on Cisco Devices

Ever thought you might be having some Layer 4 connectivity issues? Pings as you should know are ICMP transmissions and ICMP is a Layer 3 protocol (commonly used to send error messages).