Tell us about a time when you had to troubleshoot and resolve a network issue with limited information.

In my previous role as a Network Engineer, I encountered a situation where there was a sudden network outage without any clear indication of the cause. With limited information at hand, I quickly started investigating by checking the network monitoring tool and found that one of the switches was showing high CPU utilization. I further logged into the switch and analyzed the logs to identify any abnormal activities. I discovered that there was an unusual amount of traffic coming from a specific VLAN. To pinpoint the source of the issue, I conducted a packet capture on the affected VLAN. Through analysis of the captured packets, I identified a misconfigured device flooding the network with unnecessary multicast traffic, causing the CPU to spike. I resolved the issue by isolating the misconfigured device and reconfiguring it correctly. Through effective troubleshooting and analysis, I was able to restore the network connectivity and ensure minimal downtime for the users.

During my tenure as a Network Engineer, I encountered a challenging network issue where connectivity between two remote sites was intermittently dropping, and there were no clear indications of the root cause. I immediately initiated the troubleshooting process by checking the network monitoring tool, which showed intermittent packet loss on the affected links. To further investigate, I logged into the switches at both sites and performed detailed analyses of the interface statistics and logs. I noticed a high number of input errors on one of the interfaces, suggesting potential physical issues. To verify this, I performed loopback tests and cable checks, which confirmed that the cable connecting the two sites was faulty. I quickly replaced the faulty cable, and the connectivity issues were resolved. This experience showcased my ability to troubleshoot complex network issues with limited information and my expertise in utilizing network diagnostics and analysis tools effectively, such as SolarWinds and Wireshark.

In my previous role as a Network Engineer, I encountered a critical network issue where an entire subnet was unable to communicate with external networks. The network monitoring tool did not provide any alerts, so I had to rely on my expertise and intuition to troubleshoot the problem. I started by collecting more information about the affected subnet, including its architecture and associated devices. I then performed a thorough analysis of the network configurations, firewall rules, and routing tables. After carefully examining the configurations, I discovered that a recent firewall rule change was blocking all outbound traffic from the subnet. To resolve the issue promptly, I collaborated with the Network Security team to revert the firewall rule change and performed extensive testing to ensure the connectivity was restored. This experience demonstrated my ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex network issues with limited information, my in-depth knowledge of network security best practices, and my effective communication and collaboration skills.