Operating System
Network Diagnostics Tools Feature Overview
By Sherwood Lawrence
Microsoft Corporation
Published: November 2001
Abstract
This technical article describes the network diagnostics tools now available in the Windows® XP operating system. The tools discussed are the Network Diagnostics Web page based on the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) framework, the Support Tab now included on network connections, the Task Manager enhancements (Networking Tab), and the Repair link now included on network connections. This document is intended primarily for network engineers and support professionals to help in troubleshooting and diagnosing network-related errors.
Microsoft® Windows® XP Technical Article
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Contents
Acknowledgements v
Introduction 1
The Network Dilemma 1
Network Diagnostics Features 3
A New Wealth of Tools 3
Network Diagnostics Web Page and Netsh Helper 3
Network Connections Support Tab 3
Network Connection Repair Link 3
Task Manager Network Tab 3
Network Diagnostics Web Page and Netsh Helper 4
Design Objective 4
Applications 4
Providers 4
Registry 4
The Network Diagnostics Web Page 5
How Do I Access This Tool? 5
User Interaction 5
The Network Diagnostics NETSH Helper 8
How do I access this tool from the command line? 8
What Specific Information Do These Tools Display? 10
Computer Information 10
Modems and Network Adapters 11
What Specific Information Do These Tools Test? 15
The Network Diagnostics WMI provider 16
How to access the WMI provider 16
The Network Diagnostics Log Provider 17
How to Access the Log provider 17
Windows XP WMI Providers 17
Network Connections Support Tab 18
Design Objective 18
How do I access the Support Tab? 18
What Specific Information Does This Tab Display? 18
Network Connections Repair Link 21
Design Objectives 21
How Do I Access the Repair Link? 21
What Specific Repair Steps Are Taken? 21
Task Manager Network Tab 23
Design Objectives 23
How do I access the Networking Tab in Task Manager? 23
What New Features Are Supported? 23
Network Diagnostics Troubleshooting 25
Providing a Solution 25
Common Issues 25
Dial-up and VPN Scenarios 25
Primary and Secondary WINS servers 26
IP Filters Enabled 26
TV Adapters 26
1394 and PC Card (PCMCIA) Adapters 26
Empty DNS Server Scope Options 27
Proxy Server Settings Appear When Proxy Server is Not Enabled 27
Summary 28
Related Links 29
Network Diagnostics Team, Microsoft Corporation.
v
Diagnosing network related problems can consume a considerable amount of time and lead to frustration for consumers not trained as network experts. Network problems can be the result of a wide range of issues, from minimal disruptions in service to simple configuration problems of the operating system. In order to tackle network problems, the computer industry leans heavily toward a layered network approach, known as the ISO/OSI (International Organization for Standardization Open System Interconnection) model. Another model used is the standard TCP/IP model, also a layered network approach. The layers of both models are shown below in Figure 1. The stratification of the network allows a programmer to focus on a layer within a model, without having to understand the layers above or below.
Figure 1. The network architecture model
While this is an excellent approach for building networks, the layered approach falls short in cooperative error reporting. Applications generally must work independently of the network environment, and lower layers of the network do not generally report meaningful errors to upper layer applications. The result is that lower layer network problems can cause upper layer application problems without giving any information about why the errors are occurring.
Applications do not have sophisticated methods for identifying and correcting network related errors. Because specific problems are not identified for the application by the network, no corrective action can be taken. This results in confusion and frustration for consumers, who must then call support professionals to help solve their application problems.
Support professionals must then embark on one of two strategies, depending on accessibility of the machine. One, spend time teaching the consumer command line utilities such as PING, Telnet, and others (frequently used by phone support) or Two, ask the user to allow the support professional to work at the machine while the consumer/user does something else during the troubleshooting process (frequently used by onsite support).
In both cases, fixing network related problems in a timely fashion requires methodical troubleshooting techniques. The first critical step is gathering information about the consumer’s machine. The second critical step is identifying what works and what doesn’t. Many of the tools and techniques used in this process only frustrate a consumer who is not interested in the command line tools and interfaces that are necessary to solve the problem. On the other hand, support professionals generally prefer command line utilities for their speed and batch capabilities.
Question: How does the support professional gather the required information unobtrusively and solve the actual problem in a timely fashion, assuring a satisfactory customer experience?
The answer is the new suite of Network Diagnostics Tools. For consumers, there are new graphical HTML–based and windows based tools that are simple to click and use, and for administrators, there are still command line tools for batch execution and scripts. This new suite of tools is effective for both the consumer and the administrator.
Regardless of which Network Diagnostics tool is run, the support professional and consumer will find useful information or the immediate resolution to a problem. These tools help eliminate the necessity for consumers to ever have to use a command line utility, while also providing command line tools for the administrator, making the troubleshooting experience easier for everyone.
With the emerging importance of networks within the home, it has become necessary to provide a wide range of troubleshooting and diagnostics tools that are easily run and easily understood. Along these lines, the Network Diagnostics Team now offers several mechanisms for helping diagnose and fix network related problems. The current tool set now includes four primary additions to the Windows XP operating system. These are the Network Diagnostics Web Page, the Network Connections Support Tab, the Network Connections Repair Link, and the Task Manager networking tab. Each of these are summarized below and are further detailed in respective sections that appear later in this document.
The Network Diagnostics Web Page in Windows XP was designed to make it easy for both the consumer and the support professional to quickly gain usable information about the consumer’s home network environment.
This tool provides a wealth of information to the user. It includes computer and operating system information, adapter information, ping and connect tests, and many other features for diagnosing network problems.
This addition to the network connection status page promises to become widely used for resolving network problems. This enhancement provides all of the information and tasks that the Win9x support tool Winipcfg.exe used to provide while improving it in the process.
Quite possibly the coolest network diagnostics tool yet, the repair link performs a series of safe configuration repair steps that support professionals normally ask a customer to perform during the first few minutes of a support call. By automating these initial repair steps into a single task, users now have considerable troubleshooting and problem fixing power within one click of a mouse.
Another useful addition to the network diagnostics family is the network tab within Task Manager. This tab displays each network adapter on the machine, LAN or WAN, and displays the percentage network utilization and other metrics for the adapter. This is useful in those situations where a user is not sure whether the network traffic is high or whether a server is just slow in responding. By using this tool, users have a quick guide to how well their network is performing.
As part of the development of the Network Diagnostics Web page and Netsh Helper, it was necessary to achieve two primary objectives: Provide a friendly and usable web application that would be easy for consumers to use and provide a powerful command line tool for administrators and support professionals. The result is the architecture illustrated in Figure 2.
In order to understand this architecture, it is necessary to break it down into functional component areas. The top layer contains applications that consume information, the middle layer consists of providers of information, and the lower layer is the operating system registry, where many parameters are stored.
The Network Diagnostics Web Page
The Network Diagnostics Netsh Helper (Command Line)
Third-Party Applications/Scripts
The Network Diagnostics WMI Provider
The Network Diagnostics Log Provider
The Windows XP WMI Providers
The Windows XP Registry
Figure 2. The Windows XP Network Diagnostics model
For many consumers, the Web page will be the first tool run when trying to diagnose a networking problem.
There are a number of ways to run the Network Diagnostics Web page. Each way results in the tool running and gathering the current network configuration. The following methods will run the Network Diagnostics Web page. Methods to find the Web page may vary slightly depending on menu and window styles:
Windows Classic Style
· Click Start, and then click Help and Support. On the Help and Support page, under Pick a Task, click Use Tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems. In the left hand column of the tools page, click Network Diagnostics.
Windows XP Style
· In Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections in the bottom left corner, and then click the link named Network Diagnostics.
· From a command prompt, type netsh diag gui.
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