A Small Business Guide to Diagnosing and Resolving Common Network Problems
Is poor network performance dragging down your small business? Between agonizingly slow internet, frequent dropouts, laggy apps, and wireless dead zones – network issues can frustrate staff and customers.
According to SolarWinds, 50% of organizations experience at least one network outage per year costing over $100,000 on average. Fixing common network problems quickly is critical for any small business.
While complex network issues may require expert help, there are straightforward troubleshooting steps small businesses can take to identify and resolve many typical network problems on their own. This guide will outline a DIY troubleshooting game plan and when to call in a professional managed IT services provider.
Step 1: Gather Information from Users
Start troubleshooting by gathering information from employees experiencing issues. Ask questions to understand symptoms like slowness or lost connections. Identify when and where issues occur. This helps narrow the scope of problems.
Step 2: Check Connectivity and Speeds
Run speed tests on wired and WiFi connections where problems are reported. Tools like Speakeasy measure bandwidth speed, latency, packet loss. Compare results to your subscribed speeds to identify network bottlenecks.
Step 3: Inspect Infrastructure Hardware
Check physical network components like cables, switches, routers for any damage or loose connections. Reboot devices and upgrade firmware if needed. Faulty hardware causes many connectivity problems.
Step 4: Review Configuration and Settings
Log into routers and switches to review configurations like DHCP, VLANs, QoS policies, and firewall rules. Ensure settings align to documentation and verified working configs.
Step 5: Monitor Traffic and Events
Network monitoring tools like SolarWinds NPM isolate problem sources by analyzing traffic in real-time. Check system and application logs for network events like outages.
Resolve Network Issues Impacting Your Business
Follow these troubleshooting steps when network problems occur:
- Gather details from impacted users
- Test connections and speed
- Inspect hardware condition
- Review configurations
- Analyze traffic and events
For difficult network issues persisting after troubleshooting, engage expert help. We provide complete managed IT services including network troubleshooting and optimization. Our team has the tools and experience to diagnose your network problems and implement solutions to improve performance.
Don’t let network problems impact your business any longer. Contact us for professional network support tailored to your small business needs. Request a free network assessment today to get started.
