This 2 day course is geared to teach students solid, network management skills using a network analyzer. The class provides a logical troubleshooting approach to capturing and analyzing data frames. Armed with this knowledge, students can effectively troubleshoot, maintain, optimize and monitor network traffic and keep your network operating at its peak performance.

Objective:

Learn to use a network analyzer to discover where problems exist and to take the appropriate action to find solutions. Be familiar with and understand the 802.3 Ethernet specifications, 802.11 Wireless principles, and physical layer components. Recognize differences between problems in the network and problems in upper-layer application processes. Quickly determine the approach for troubleshooting Ethernet by understanding the concepts that define the Ethernet environment. Understand how to use a network analyzer in switched, Fast Ethernet, Wireless and Gigabit Ethernet environments

Course Agenda - Day 1

- Protocol analyzers (Types, Differences, How they work, OSI Model)

- Getting Started (Menus, Screens, HELP, Configuration Options)

- Capturing network traffic (Selecting NIC, Configuring Capture buffer)

- Baselining (What is Essential?, Procedures)

- Capturing Frames in both wireless and wired environments

- Statistical data (Conversations, Protocol, Top Talkers)

- Viewing frames (Using windows, Searching for frames, Name tables)

- Applications (Determining Response time, Determining Efficiency)

- Filters (Display and Capture filters, Offset filters, Frame slicing)

- Saving (Trace files, Printing Reports)

- Triggers (Setup and options for setting triggers to start / stop capture)

- Techniques (Troubleshooting, Baselining, Typical problems)

- Advanced functions (Configuring Switch ports, Traffic Monitoring)

Course Agenda - Day 2

- 802.3 and Version 2 Ethernet

- Manchester signal encoding

- Ethernet frame formats

- Frame type interoperability

- Analyzer configurations for Ethernet

- Function of MAC and physical layers in frame transmission and reception

- Wired Physical and Data Link layers (CSMA/CD, Collision detection, Repeaters and Hubs)

- Wireless Physical and Data Link layers (CSMA/CA, Access Points, workstation functions)

- Concentrators and Category 5 Cabling

- 10BASE-T, 10BASE-2, 10BASE-5, 100BASE-T, 1000BASE-T

- Fast Ethernet Back Pressure and Gigabit Ethernet Pause Frames

- Auto Negotiation

- Timing specifications (Collision domains, Propagation speed, 5-4-3 rule)

- Troubleshooting methods (Propagation delay, Retransmissions)

- Legitimate vs. late collisions, Signal reflection, Electrical noise, Hardware problems

- Hub jam, Frame corruption, Fast Ethernet Collisions

- Protocol Functions, Addressing Functions

- Logical Link Layer Control (LLC)

- Bridging / Switching Functions - Impact on Network Design

- 802.1 Spanning Tree Algorithm

- Routers