Smart Skills: Using Device Status as a Troubleshooting Tool in OvrC

Video Transcript:

Yikes! You’re connected to OvrC and you’re getting a critical warning on some devices and a limited warning on others ….wowsers! does this mean serious emergency? Extreme danger? Call the life insurance agent?

New Ovrc features can’t diagnose health problems, but it can now help you diagnose different states of network connectivity. And that can be very helpful for you as you troubleshoot customers’ systems. Let’s find out why.

To troubleshoot device states in OvrC follow these steps:

  • Step 1: View Critical Devices and Select Customer

  • Step 2: Troubleshoot Critical Devices

  • Step 3: Troubleshoot Limited Devices

Step 1: View Critical Devices and Select Customer.

Once logged into OvrC, locate the customer.

Even just from looking at the Customer List, you can see the colored device status indicators and an associated number next to some of your customer accounts. This indicator displays the number of Critical devices in a location. These are devices which cannot be communicated from the customer’s network or the OvrC servers.

Select the target Customer.

Step 2: Identify Device States.

In the Dashboard tab, the states of devices in the customer’s location are broken down.

Critical devices should be addressed first. Select the Critical Device Number. Locate the devices with the red status indicator. Select each device to view details.

Notice the number of devices that are in the ‘Limited State.’ Limited State devices have been flagged because there is some kind of a problem with the device. They aren’t necessarily offline or not functioning. Devices are flagged as limited when they can be reached on the network, but for some reason they are not working to their expected behavior.

Let’s use a WiFi access point as an example of a limited device. The access point is being powered via PoE, and requires 30 watts. Because of a switch or cable problem, the access point may only be getting 15 watts of power instead of the 30 it needs. The access point will still be on, connected to the network, but may turn down its antenna strength and not be fully functioning. Problems could be a’comin…

Healthy devices, of course, are communicating with the network and the OvrC servers and there are no network functionality issues.

Step 3: Troubleshoot Critical and Limited Devices

Once the critical or limited device is selected, you can note how long the device has been unreachable from the network or OvrC servers. This time may help you determine what may have caused the problem. With this knowledge you can now perform troubleshooting actions like power cycling the device or restarting the customer’s network.

Let's return to our limited device example of a wifi access point. Some limited devices can solved by a power cycle or network reboot, but others may require deeper investigation. In this case, the PoE budget of the switch is to blame, something you would discover on deeper examination of the network.

In a way you’ve now earned your medical degree in Ovrc….you’re a master of reading warnings for device states. Your customer's project health is in safe hands.