In this lesson,
we're going to discuss packet loss.
Packet loss occurs when data packets
traveling across a network
fail to reach their intended destination.
When packet loss occurs,
the quality of your data transmission
is going to be affected, and this can lead to issues
like slow internet speeds,
lags in your video or audio streaming,
and even complete disruptions
to your network's communication.
Now when packet loss is occurring,
you may notice that some common symptoms
like unexplained network slowdowns,
jitter during VoIP calls and abrupt disconnections
in your streaming media playback can occur.
All these symptoms can disrupt your end user's experience
and can lead to a significant loss of productivity
within your organization.
Now, there are many different causes
associated with packet loss, including network congestion,
faulty router configurations, bad cables,
and hardware failures.
Let's take a look at each of these.
First, we have network congestion.
Network congestion occurs when too much data
is being sent through a network
that exceeds the network's handling capacity.
I want you to think about this like a traffic jam
on your local highway when there are simply
too many cars trying to drive down the highway
in the same direction, and this causes slowdowns
or even a complete stop to the traffic flow
on that given highway.
For example, if you're trying to stream a live sports event
while sitting in your office,
but everybody else is trying to do the same thing
with other streaming media programs at the same time,
this will cause your network to slow down,
and in turn cause delays in all of our streaming services.
Second, we have a faulty router configuration.
Now, a faulty router configuration
will occur whenever your routers are set up incorrectly,
and this can lead to your data being misdirected
or not get prioritized properly by your systems.
For example, if I was going to give you directions
on how to drive from Florida to New York,
but I gave you bad directions,
you may end up taking a longer route,
or you may end up completely
in a different location than you intended.
This is why routers must be configured
with the correct routes so that our network traffic
can be routed and passed to the correct devices
in order to complete any requested data transfers
that you may be attempting on your network.
Third, we have bad cables.
Bad cables are physically damaged or deteriorating wires
that will disrupt network data transmissions.
I like to think about this like a leaking pipe
under my bathroom sink.
Sure, the water will still flow through the pipe mostly,
but there is an integrity issue here,
and some of the water may also drip out of the pipes
and end up on my bathroom floor.
So while the data may still flow within a bad cable,
it can also lead to packet losses
because some of that data will get dropped
due to the bad cabling
before it can actually reach its final destination.
Fourth, we have hardware failures.
Now, hardware failures occur when network devices
like switches, routers, or modems malfunction.
This is pretty obvious, but if our network devices
that control the transmission of our data are failing,
this is going to lead to packet loss
and failed data transmissions.
Now, to effectively troubleshoot packet loss,
we first have to identify the source of that packet loss.
To do this, we'll rely on command line tools
like ping and traceroute.
Now, the ping command will help us determine
if the reachability of a specific device on the network
does exist, and Traceroute is going to be used
to map the path that your data is going to take
to reach its intended destination.
By conducting an analysis of your ping
and traceroute results, you're going to quickly be able
to determine where packets might be dropping
as they're passing across your network.
Another great, aid to determining
where your packets are being lost
is the use of network monitoring tools.
This is because our network monitoring tools
can provide more comprehensive insights
into our traffic pattern in order to help us
pinpoint the exact location and the potential cause
of the packet loss being experienced on your network.
After you complete your diagnosis
of the root cause of the packet loss,
you're going to want to begin implementing some of the strategies
to mitigate and resolve this issue.
If you're trying to solve a network congestion issue,
then you should consider increasing bandwidth,
optimizing the network layout,
or employing better quality of service
or QoS configuration settings
to prioritize your most critical traffic.
If you're trying to solve a hardware issue,
then you really should be routinely inspecting
and replacing faulty cables
to ensure that your network devices
like your routers and switches
are going to be functioning correctly
as they're passing the data between them.
Also, if your hardware isn't operating as you expect it to,
you may want to check to see
if your device needs a firmware update
that needs to be implemented in order to resolve
any known issues that could be causing
packet losses to occur.
Now, if you're dealing with configuration errors,
then you need to verify your configuration settings
across all of your network devices.
If you have any incorrect settings,
this can often lead to packet loss as well.
To fix it, you simply need to ensure that your devices
are correctly configured for the network
they're operating within, and this will help prevent
packet loss from occurring due to a configuration error.
Finally, it's important to implement some proactive measures
to help prevent packet loss from occurring
inside of your network.
You should always implement
regular network performance monitoring
to help you identify issues before they escalate
into larger scale and more significant problems
across your network.
By keeping your network infrastructure updated
and well maintained, you'll also be able to reduce the risk
of hardware induced packet losses inside of those networks.
Also, you should always maintain a well-documented
network configuration policy to prevent misconfigurations
because these misconfigurations can often result
in packet losses as well.
So remember, packet loss occurs
when data packets traveling across a network
fail to reach their intended destination.
These packet losses can significantly degrade
our network's performance,
and it will affect everything from simple web browsing
to your most critical business functions.
For this reason, it's critically important
that you understand the symptoms, potential causes,
and troubleshooting methodologies
that you can use to identify and resolve
any packet loss issues on your networks.