Chapter 7: Initial Troubleshooting; Gather Information - Avaya 3500 Series Troubleshooting Manual

Chapter 7: Initial troubleshooting

The types of problems that typically occur with networks involve connectivity and performance. Using the
Open System Interconnection (OSI) network architecture layers, and checking each in sequential order,
is usually best when troubleshooting. For example, confirm that the physical environment, such as the
cables and module connections, is operating without any failures before moving up to the network and
application layers.
As part of your initial troubleshooting, Avaya recommends that you check the Knowledge and Solution
Engine on the Avaya Web site for known issues and solutions related to the problem you are
experiencing.

Gather information

Before contacting Avaya Technical Support, you must gather information that can help the
Technical Support personnel. This includes the following information:
• Default and current configuration of the switch. To obtain this information, use the
show running-config command.
• System status. Obtain this information using the show sys-info command. Output from
the command displays technical information about system status and information about
the hardware, software, and switch operation. For more detail, use the show tech
command.
• Information about past events. To obtain this information, review the log files using the
show logging command.
• The software version that is running on the device. To obtain this information, use the
show sys-info or show system verbose command to display the software
version.
• A network topology diagram. Get an accurate and detailed topology diagram of your
network that shows the nodes and connections. Your planning and engineering function
should have this diagram.
• Recent changes. Find out about recent changes or upgrades to your system, your
network, or custom applications (for example, has configuration or code been changed).
Get the date and time of the changes, and the names of the persons who made them.
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