Newton Ad Agency has run into a bit network problem in its offices in Austin and Minnesota. Recently reports say that the intermittent network connectivity issues between Minneapolis and Austin have resulted in series of router restarts with no solutions to the issues. The IT manager has appointed me, a junior network administrator to perform tasks to strengthen the functionality of the network. Moreover, I have the responsibility of troubleshooting and managing some of the network connectivity issues between Austin and Minneapolis. The main aim of this assignment is to identify the possible root causes of this issue and the solutions to avoid such issues in the future.
There can be several root causes for this intermittent network connectivity issues between Austin and Minneapolis. The first cause of such intermittent network connectivity issue is the existence of various errors, faults or the discards in various network devices of the connectivity network (Burleigh, et. al. 2003). There is a high possibility of such issue if the devices are not accessed or monitored frequently. If not noticed, the error in the devices can be the cause of the intermittent network connectivity issue. The other possible root cause of this issue is that there might be some network configuration change (Lindgren, et. al. 2012). In fact, if there is any change in the network configuration, there is the possibility of such problem. Additionally, the other possible cause of this issue is the occurrence of human error. That is mismanagement and misconfiguration of the devices and the network. Furthermore, intermittent issues can also be experienced because of the intermittent power shortage. The power shortage always disrupts the functioning of electronic devices thereby interfering with the functioning of connectivity network. Above all, there might be the possibility of security attack of the electronic devices. Lastly but not least, the issue can also be because of network congestion link failure (Gill & Nagappan, 2011).
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To avoid such issues in future, there are quite a several actions that we can take. First, the solution to this problem of intermittent network connectivity is through continuous monitoring of the network (Burleigh, et. al. 2003). With this action only, several core causes of the issue can be solved. The cause that can be avoided through monitoring includes security attack, human error, faulty devices and errors caused by the devices. I do encourage monitoring as the best way of preventing such issues since these types of issues are rare and can be avoided through frequent monitoring of the network. Just on the same point, the company can use a monitoring tool, rather than human labor, that will closely monitor the devices (Lindgren, et. al. 2012). These tools will also monitor the network configuration. They are also set to warn us through alarms in case of an abnormal condition in the network. These conditions can be power shortage or network congestions. Moreover, the firm can use the network configuration management solution. The solution assists in monitoring the network devices and configurations (Lindgren & Phanse, 2006). Also, it alerts us whenever an unauthorized change occurs. The interesting bit of it is that the solution also provides a recommended suggestion for any issue that arises (Gill & Nagappan, 2011).
In summation, the intermittent connectivity issues can be caused by several issues as discussed above. However, of all of the causes, the root causes of this issue is network congestion and a power outage or shortage. These cause, however, can be prevented to avoid any occurrence of a similar issue in future. As seen in the above discussion, there is only one way of avoiding such issues. The only way is continuous network monitoring. Therefore, if Newton Ad Agency implements the tools of monitoring the network devices and network configuration, they will be able to avoid the occurrence of intermittent network connectivity problem in any of its branches.
Reference
Burleigh, S., Hooke, A., Torgerson, L., Fall, K., Cerf, V., Durst, B., ... & Weiss, H. (2003). Delay-tolerant networking: an approach to interplanetary internet. IEEE Communications Magazine, 41(6), 128-136.
Gill, P., Jain, N., & Nagappan, N. (2011, August). Understanding network failures in data centers: measurement, analysis, and implications. In ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review (Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 350-361). ACM.
Lindgren, A., Davies, E., Grasic, S., & Doria, A. (2012). Probabilistic routing protocol for intermittently connected networks.
Lindgren, A., & Phanse, K. S. (2006, January). Evaluation of queueing policies and forwarding strategies for routing in intermittently connected networks. In Communication System Software and Middleware, 2006. Comsware 2006. First International Conference on (pp. 1-10). IEEE.
