No matter how well planned or thought out the IP address configuration is initially, it is bound to cause issues at some point in the future. It is also essential to constantly update the properties of the preferred DNS servers and IP addresses in today’s day and age. Having reliable and efficient tools to solve network troubleshooting in your tool belt is essential for every person in the IT industry. Whether you are the new guy overwhelmed by his more experienced colleagues or a seasoned IT professional, these tools will help you investigate and troubleshoot network issues from the most common to some that are much rarer. DO you know how to find the default router getaway on your personal networking device? This guide explains in simple steps how you can log in and configure your router’s default gateway on your Windows, Mac, or Linux operating device.
Suppose you ask different professionals which tools to use for Network Troubleshooting. In that case, they will have their preferences and may have other answers for you, leaving you in more confusion than before. The Tools listed below are specially chosen by our research team and have been tried and tested by our Network Specialists. The following network troubleshooting tools have been selected keeping in mind how efficient and reliable they are –
- Ping
- Traceroute / Tracert
- Ipconfig / Ifconfig
- nslookup
- IP Scanner
Note: These tools work on both Windows, Linux / Unix as well as MacOS!!!
Let’s look at these Network Troubleshooting tools in detail:
1. ping
This is probably your go-to basic tool to investigate if you face any networking issues. IP Pros use it to determine two very important things – Latency and packet loss. A ping accurately measures the time it takes for the packets to be sent from the local host to a destination computer plus the time it takes to return. This is the best tool to calculate the round-up trip time of the packet and to check if there have been any packet losses along the way. This tool is the ultimate utility to have when beginning your troubleshooting process.
2. Traceroute / Tracert
This will be the second most important tool you will probably use daily. It can be suggested as an advanced version of the Ping Tool. Traceroute tells you all the devices in a path from one point to another and gives us information about what each of those devices is doing. It provides us with the report on all the nodes passed through on a path and indicates latency, i.e., how much time it takes for each hop. In addition to this, Traceroute can also provide you with information on hostnames (If any configured) and IPs.
3. Ipconfig / Ifconfig
Troubleshooting is like solving a crime, and your best chance at solving a crime is when you can get as much information about it as possible. So, information gathering about the issue is essential while troubleshooting for all the IP Pros out there. Ipconfig ( in Windows ) and Ifconfig ( in macOS and Linux / Unix ) is the ultimate tool that does exactly that. This tool is mandatory when troubleshooting, especially when your network uses a DHCP server to assign IPs to the host. It is also a useful tool when IPs are assigned statically rather than dynamically, when they don’t have proper documentation, or when they are recently changed. Ipconfig can show useful and important information like IPv4/IPv6 Address, Default Gateway, and subnet mask. It is also great for releasing IP Addresses, renewing DHCP configuration, flushing DNS caché, registering DNS, and much more.
4. nslookup
NSlookup stands for “Name Server lookup,” and as the name suggests, it is used to look up if your DNS server is resolving your domain names or not. After you send the query through NSlookup and it fails to translate the title, then it means that there is a DNS issue. It works differently than “Ping” or “Traceroute” as it confronts the DNS server directly. It can retrieve records associated with your domain name from the configured DNS server. This information is now shown from the configured DNS server’s caché.
5. IP Scanner
The last but not the least network troubleshooting tool is IP Scanner. The importance and utility of the IP scanner can never be understated. Having an IP Scanner is like having the best personal secretary (in terms of getting the work done, of course!!) in the world. IP Scanner helps you to inspect your IPs through a centralized console. It is extremely consistent and accurate as it keeps on scanning and updating in the background when it detects a new change like provisioning and decommissioning new IPs. It can also scan multiple subnets and helps you track the performance of each subnet individually. You can also plan your IP address resource requirements for the future with the help of extensive IP-specific reports, which can be used to determine the pattern of exhausting your IP address space.
We hope these Network Troubleshooting Tools help you solve your next IP-related issue because they sure are enough for our expert team.