Table of Contents

About This Manual

Audience and Scope
Document Organization and Use
Document Conventions

About This Manual

This section discusses the audience, scope, organization, use, and conventions of the Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems publication.

Audience and Scope

This publication addresses the network administrator or system administrator who will maintain a router or bridge running Software Release 9.21 and later software. Administrators should know how to configure a router and should be familiar with the protocols and media that their routers have been configured to support. Awareness of the basic network topology is also essential.

Document Organization and Use

Troubleshooting Internetworking Systems provides information about troubleshooting router-based internetworks. This publication consists of the following major parts:

• Part 1, "Introduction, Startup Problems, and Serial Problems," is divided in to three chapters: a general introduction to troubleshooting in routed internetworks, troubleshooting suggestions for hardware and system initialization problems, and troubleshooting suggestions for serial lines. Material in the first chapter introduces a generic model of problem solving and provides basic information regarding troubleshooting router-based internetworks. Read this chapter before proceeding to other chapters of the manual. The second chapter outlines router hardware troubleshooting suggestions and presents troubleshooting information associated with startup problems. The third chapter describes standard procedures for evaluating serial line problems and improving throughput over serial lines. In addition, there are a series of symptom modules that cover modem-to-access server connectivity.
  

• Part 2, "Troubleshooting Connectivity," consists of ten chapters. Protocols and technologies covered in Chapters 4 through 13 include AppleTalk, Banyan VINES, bridging, DECnet, IBM (including SRB, SDLC, and SDLLC), ISO CLNS, Novell IPX, TCP/IP, WAN interconnections (point-to-point serial and packet-switching), and XNS. In general, each chapter consists of a series of problem-solving scenarios that focus on common internetworking problems associated with each technology and a series of symptom modules that include step-by-step procedures for analyzing each symptom.
  

• Part 3, "Troubleshooting Performance," is composed of only two chapters, but is divided into the same two primary components as Part 2: a series of problem-solving scenarios and a series of symptom modules. Chapter 14, "Performance Problem Scenarios," presents problem-solving scenarios that focus on identifying, isolating, and solving internetworking performance problems. Each scenario describes the symptoms identified, an associated internetworking environment, problem cause alternatives, the process of problem isolation, and a summary of the process. Chapter 15, "Troubleshooting Internetwork Performance," focuses on common symptoms associated with poor performance in internetworks, possible causes of those symptoms, and general suggestions for identifying, isolating, and resolving causes.
  

• Appendixes in this publication provide supplemental troubleshooting information, including a list of information that your technical support representative needs to facilitate problem resolution; troubleshooting worksheets; a description of core dumps; a memory map for routers; and a list of references and recommended reading.
  

Document Conventions

Our software and hardware documentation uses the following convention:

• The symbol ^ represents the key labeled Control.
  

For example, ^D means hold down the Control key while you press the D key.

• A string is defined as a nonquoted set of characters. For example, when setting up a community string for SNMP to "public," do not use quotes around the string, or the string will include the quotation marks.
  

Command descriptions use these conventions:

• Examples that contain system prompts denote interactive sessions, indicating that the user enters commands at the prompt. The system prompt indicates the current command mode. For example, the prompt router(config)# indicates global configuration mode.
  

• Commands and keywords are in boldface font.
  

• Arguments for which you supply values are in italic font.
  

• Elements in square brackets ([ ]) are optional.
  

• Alternative but required keywords are grouped in braces ({ }) and separated by vertical bars (|).
  

Examples use these conventions:

• Terminal sessions and information the system displays are in screen font.
  

• Information you enter is in boldface screen font.
  

• Nonprinting characters, such as passwords, are in angle brackets (< >).
  

• Default responses to system prompts are in square brackets ([ ]).
  

• Exclamation points (!) at the beginning of a line indicate a comment line.