Slow network.. Which problems?

[MrAdaam]

Hi,

Recently got employed by a company as their IT guy. Not the System Admin yet but he's leaving soon say may want to move into that position asap. The network hwoever is very slow, and I feel that by improving this it'll not only get me recognised but others in the office will be quite happy about it. That brings with it other benefits I guess...

Any ideas how to go about diagnosing this problem, where to find troubleshooting tips or whatever. I'm going to have a look at the network soon with Wireshark and take a few measurements and see if there are things being bounced around the network that shouldnt be. I think if the network can be optimised then the kit can be funded to make it even better.

Its more about the internal network at the minute rather than connecting to the external. The broadband in the area isnt brilliant.

Thanks for any ideas put forward.

[paddyhasneeds]

Well the first question is what are they using right now? If it's a 10mbps hub in a wiring closet it won't take much for you to become their hero...

[forty-two]

Wireshark is great for seeing what is on local segment but before you get that involved, make a map. You can not diagnose any network issues without a map and knowing what hardware is being used.

Good luck with it!

[MrAdaam]

Cheers guys. It's only early days so far but I want to make a good impression. I'll check back if I can find more detailed plans on the network. I'm yet to find out if there is any previous documentation on it which will also have to be looked at.

By the look of the wiring in the cabinet and the fact the main server is placed on the floor behind a door I think that I'm going to be heading into their good books very soon.

[XDA]

What's slow with the network? Is it the speed to access files or speed of sending jobs to the network printer etc?

I would be having a look at your hardware i.e. What spec of hubs/switches/routers are you running? What size of network do you have, how many users/pc's?