A network administrator begins receiving reports that several users in the company cannot access the corporate website hosted internally. The users affected are from different departments but seated in the same area of the building. Before escalating the issue, what should the administrator's first step be in identifying the problem?
Immediately begin replacing network cables in the affected area
Ask the users if they have installed new software
Gather information
Run a virus scan on each user's computer in the affected area
The correct answer is Gather information. Initially, gathering more information about the issue is critical. This includes determining who is affected, over what medium the problems are occurring, and any commonalities among the users experiencing the issue. Each other option, while plausible at a later stage, is not the appropriate initial step in the troubleshooting methodology. Asking users for specific symptoms or changes might be redundant without first understanding the broader context, and questioning the users without specifics might not yield useful information at this stage.
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Why is gathering information the first step in troubleshooting network issues?
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What types of information should an administrator gather during the troubleshooting process?
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How can commonalities among affected users help identify networking issues?