Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours, Third Edition

Network Performance Problems

Network performance problems are problems that cause your network to respond slowly. Because TCP/IP protocols commonly use TTL (Time to Live) settings limiting the age of a packet on the network, slow performance can cause lost packets and therefore loss of connectivity. Even if you don't lose connectivity, slow network performance can be an irritation and a source of lost productivity. A common cause for poor network performance is excessive traffic. Your network might be experiencing heavy traffic because there are too many computers on the network, or the cause might be a malfunctioning device such as a network adapter creating unnecessary traffic on the network in what is known as a broadcast storm. Sometimes ...