CompTIA Network+ (N10-009)Network TroubleshootingMedium
A network administrator receives reports that several internal web applications are running very slowly. The web servers are hosted on-premises. The administrator opens the Task Manager on one of the web servers and observes CPU utilization at 10%, memory utilization at 30%, and disk I/O at 5%. However, the network interface card (NIC) utilization is consistently at 95% or higher. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the slow application performance?
- ANetwork bottleneck at the server NIC.
- BInsufficient server CPU resources.
- CSlow disk I/O operations.
- DMemory leak in the web application.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Network bottleneck at the server NIC.
The key indicator is the very high NIC utilization (95%+) while other server resources (CPU, memory, disk) are well within normal limits. This suggests that the server itself is not the bottleneck in terms of processing the data, but rather the network connection to it (the NIC) is saturated or unable to handle the incoming/outgoing traffic, leading to slow application performance.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. CPU utilization is low (10%), ruling out insufficient CPU.
- C. Disk I/O is low (5%), ruling out slow disk operations.
- D. Memory utilization is low (30%), ruling out a memory leak as the primary cause.
Network Bottleneck
A point in the network where the data flow is restricted, typically due to limited bandwidth, high utilization, or slow device processing.
- Identified by high utilization on a specific network component (e.g., NIC, switch port).
- Causes slow performance and increased latency.
- Resolution often involves upgrading hardware, increasing bandwidth, or optimizing traffic.
Memory trick: Slow performance? Look for the 'choke point' in the system.