Internet connection exceptionally slow

[treysha]

Hi,
If you were a network administrator, and one day all your users complain that their internet connection is EXCEPTIONALLY slow, what are the common things that you would check for?
And how would you rectify the problem?

[pave_spectre]

There could be a lot of factors.

Do you know if it was sudden, or did it slow down progressively?
What type of connection is being used? Are the users going through a proxy server or router to the internet?
How many users are trying to access the connection at one time?

How many other network services are running that might influence the connection?

Is the service provider having problems?

[treysha]

Sometimes its slows down progressively, sometimes all of a sudden. But what is my course of action should either happen?

I need to check my own location first before I can even think about the service providers, right?

I do not have any proxies to my internet.

How do I check how many users are trying to log on to the internet at any one time?

I have a 512kbps ADSL connection but it doesn't matter here, does it? Its the abnormal slowing down that is the worry.

Anyway, as a newbie, what network administration tools (by tools I mean softwares too) do you suppose I should have?

Thanks for replying...

[PrntRhd]

Do a bandwidth test when it gets really slow and do a screen print of the test.
This will at least be enough to show your ADSL provider if there is enough to investigete further.

[treysha]

ermmm... that's the thing, how do I do a bandwidth test?

[PrntRhd]

There is one here (http://www.pcpitstop.com/internet/bandwidth.asp).
:D

[Budfred]

I would go for a full set of security scans too... Your network could be malware infested and your bandwidth could be used by some scumware to send out SPAM or DDoS attacks....