7 Common Network Issues: Comprehensive Guide on How to Deal with Them

Things don’t always go the way we want. Despite all the best efforts to keep your networks running smoothly, things still happen, and you find yourself staring at the issues and wondering how you got there in the first place. You don’t need to panic when networks go awry. There are always things you can do to get everything back to shape. In this blog article, we will share with you some common network problems you are likely to come across and how you can quickly resolve them. We will also explain how you can prevent their recurrence.

1. IP Address Duplicate

In situations where two devices try to share the same IP, you come across the caveat ‘Address already in use’ error. In this case, there is practically no way of accessing the network.

How to Fix: In most cases, the reason for this is the default DHCP setting of your router. It’s possible that your DHCP wants to assign a device to the address located at the beginning of the subnet while there is another device occupying the lower-numbered addresses with fixed IPs. If you just set up a new server or a device on your network, it is possible that it has its own DHCP server, which makes it unable to connect. If you experience this issue, just disable the device’s DHCP server in order to restore the smooth running of your network.

How to Prevent: To prevent this, modify the configuration of your router to start assigning DHCP addresses close to the top end of the subnet and leave the lower addresses for servers or devices that need static IPs.

2. Exhaustion of IP Address

The first thing to do is use the ‘ipconfig’ command to troubleshoot this issue.

How to Fix: It’s possible that some users that are on cable Internet don’t have a local router, which means that the IP addresses have been assigned from your ISP directly and on a limited basis. This could be the cause of the IP address exhaustion because you are likely to have run out of IP addresses that are allowed from your ISP. To fix this problem, you will need to buy a Wi-Fi access point that has an integrated router, or buy a standalone router straight.

How to Prevent: Any network connected to the Internet should ordinarily have a functional local router with DHCP and NAT. These have double functions: prevention of IP address exhaustion and for security reasons. You should connect only your router to the modem, and other devices should connect to the router.

3. DNS Configuration Problems

Some errors that you can have with DNS configuration problems include ‘IP Address could not be found’, ‘DNS Name does not exist’ or ‘The Network Path cannot be found’.

How to Fix: You can configure workstations and other network devices to utilize different DNS servers without focusing on the server assigned by DHCP. You should check the TCP/IP settings to know if the adapter specifies an incorrect DNS server. If this is the case, simply select the option that automatically obtains the DNS server address.

How to Prevent: In case your local router is configured to function as a DNS server, it will create a DNS pass to the servers of ISPs. There is a high chance of overloading the router capacities while on busy networks. The best thing to do is to change the DHCP setting of the network to access the DNS servers directly.

4. Single Workstation Can’t Connect to Network

When a single workstation is showing the ‘No Internet’ message at the opening of a web browser, there is a high chance that other parts of the network are running smoothly. Therefore, the focus should be on the software and hardware associated with the system.

How to Fix: First remove the common communication barriers, such as incorrect drivers, failing network card, bad cable, or poor Wi-Fi signal. Make sure that the network adapter of the workstation is configured with the appropriate subnet, DNS, and IP. If the problem is still unresolved, check the device’s firewall software to make sure that the appropriate ports are open to an external network.

How to Prevent: Let the TCP/IP settings of your workstation remains ‘Automatically assigned’. You can utilize the DHCP server to serve the standard configuration of each device on your network.

5. Inability to Connect to Printer Shares or Local Files

These are some of the most difficult problems to solve in a network. The common network sharing problems are the result of conflict associated with mixed security environments.

How to Fix: The best way is to drill down to the possible causes. First of all, make sure that you have the required service running. Secondly, check the firewalls. Thirdly, ensure that the workstations are present on the same subnet. Fourthly, check to see that the Windows network adapters are enabled. Finally, when all of the above are resolved, check for the possible culprit – permissions.

6. Inability of Local Network to Connect to the Internet

This situation can be constant or intermittent. The difficult part in dealing with this issue is discovering an organization that is responsible for it and asking this company to resolve the problem. Intermittent issues are those that are most difficult to trace, and it can be so serious that an organization might have to switch its Internet provider to solve the problem.

How to Fix: First of all, reboot a modem and a router. After this, you can use the utility to trace communication breaks (disconnects). When you discover the router with the problem, contact your provider to resolve the issue.

How to Prevent: Conduct some research when procuring connectivity and ensure you only get it from the local Tier One providers.

7. Slow Internet Performance

This can occur as a result of congestion or corroded/deteriorated bad quality connections. If this is a problem of congestion, it’s most likely due to bandwidth exhaustion.

How to Fix: Utilize speed test sites and examine the situation from geographically remote servers. This may reveal the areas of congestion on the ISP network. If you’re using the cable Internet, there is a high chance that your local network is being shared among your neighbors, which can mean an expensive upgrade to your bandwidth. Whatever findings you make, report to your provider to enable them to resolve these issues.

How to Prevent: If your business needs high Internet performance, you may need to get adequate connectivity.

 

These were common network issues that you may encounter. Use this small but useful guide if you need to prevent any mentioned problems.