Network Troubleshooting Commands
Finding LIMS Server Information on IIS
Understanding Different Server Names
Hostname = Actual computer name
- Example: LIMS-SERVER-01
- Command: hostname
FQDN = Hostname + domain
- Example: LIMS-SERVER-01.company.com
- Command: echo %COMPUTERNAME%.%USERDNSDOMAIN%
DNS Alias = What users actually type
- Example: lims.company.com
- Found in: IIS bindings, DNS records
IIS Site Name = Internal IIS configuration
- Example: "LIMS Production Site"
- Found in: IIS Manager
Get Hostname
# Computer name only
hostname
# Computer name with domain
echo %COMPUTERNAME%.%USERDNSDOMAIN%
# Full system info
systeminfo | findstr "Host Name"
Get User Access URLs (What Users Actually Type)
# Show IIS site bindings (most important for troubleshooting)
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list sites
# Get specific LIMS site bindings
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list site "LIMS Site" /config
# Show all web applications
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list apps
Get DNS Information
# Check what DNS name resolves to this server
nslookup %COMPUTERNAME%
# Check where lims.company.com points
nslookup lims.company.com
# Check all DNS aliases for this server
nslookup %COMPUTERNAME%.%USERDNSDOMAIN%
Find LIMS URL From IIS Server You're On
One command to see all URLs:
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list sites
Output shows:
SITE "Default Web Site" (id:1,bindings:http/*:80:,state:Started)
SITE "LIMS Production" (id:2,bindings:https/*:443:lims.acme.com,state:Started)
The LIMS URL is: https://lims.acme.com
If that shows too much, filter for LIMS:
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list sites | findstr -i lims
Get just the bindings:
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list sites /text:bindings
That's it. Use whatever URL shows up in your commands instead of my examples.
Command Line Methods
# Get computer name
hostname
# Get full computer name with domain
echo %COMPUTERNAME%.%USERDNSDOMAIN%
# Show IIS site bindings
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list sites
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list site "LIMS Site"
# Show all IIS applications
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list apps
# Get detailed site info
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd list site "LIMS Site" /config
PowerShell Methods
# Get computer info
Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, TotalPhysicalMemory
# Get IIS sites and bindings
Get-IISSite
Get-IISSite | Select-Object Name, Bindings
# Get specific LIMS site
Get-IISSite -Name "*LIMS*"
# Get site bindings details
Get-WebBinding -Name "LIMS Site"
# Get all web applications
Get-WebApplication
Registry Locations
# Check computer name in registry
reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ComputerName"
# Check IIS configuration
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\InetStp"
Configuration Files
# Check IIS applicationHost.config
type C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\applicationHost.config | findstr "LIMS"
# Look for LIMS web.config
dir C:\inetpub\wwwroot\*web.config* /s
type "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\LIMS\web.config" | findstr "server"
Network Discovery
# Show network configuration
ipconfig /all
# Show DNS registration
nslookup %COMPUTERNAME%
# Show all network interfaces
wmic computersystem get name,domain
Windows Commands
Basic Connectivity
# Test if LIMS server is reachable
ping lims.company.com
ping -t lims.company.com
# Test specific port
telnet lims.company.com 80
telnet lims.company.com 443
# DNS lookup
nslookup lims.company.com
nslookup lims.company.com 8.8.8.8
# Trace route to server
tracert lims.company.com
HTTP/HTTPS Testing
# Test web server response
curl -I https://lims.company.com
curl -I http://lims.company.com
# Test with verbose output
curl -v https://lims.company.com
# Test specific endpoint
curl -I https://lims.company.com/api/health
curl -I https://lims.company.com/login
# Download response body
curl https://lims.company.com/api/status
PowerShell Commands
# Test connection
Test-NetConnection lims.company.com -Port 443
Test-NetConnection lims.company.com -Port 80
# Web request
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://lims.company.com -Method Head
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://lims.company.com
# DNS resolution
Resolve-DnsName lims.company.com
Network Information
# Show network configuration
ipconfig /all
# Show DNS cache
ipconfig /displaydns
# Flush DNS cache
ipconfig /flushdns
# Show network connections
netstat -an
netstat -an | findstr :80
netstat -an | findstr :443
# Show routing table
route print
# Show active connections
netstat -b
Certificate Testing
# Check SSL certificate
curl -vI https://lims.company.com 2>&1 | findstr "certificate"
# PowerShell certificate check
$cert = Invoke-WebRequest https://lims.company.com
$cert.BaseResponse.ServerCertificate
Linux Commands
Basic Connectivity
# Test if LIMS server is reachable
ping lims.company.com
ping -c 4 lims.company.com
# Test specific port
telnet lims.company.com 80
telnet lims.company.com 443
# Alternative port testing
nc -zv lims.company.com 80
nc -zv lims.company.com 443
# DNS lookup
nslookup lims.company.com
dig lims.company.com
dig @8.8.8.8 lims.company.com
# Trace route to server
traceroute lims.company.com
HTTP/HTTPS Testing
# Test web server response
curl -I https://lims.company.com
curl -I http://lims.company.com
# Test with verbose output
curl -v https://lims.company.com
# Test specific endpoint
curl -I https://lims.company.com/api/health
curl -I https://lims.company.com/login
# Download response body
curl https://lims.company.com/api/status
# Follow redirects
curl -L https://lims.company.com
# Save response to file
curl -o response.html https://lims.company.com
Advanced HTTP Testing
# Test with different User-Agent
curl -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0" https://lims.company.com
# Test POST request
curl -X POST -d "test=data" https://lims.company.com/api/test
# Test with authentication
curl -u username:password https://lims.company.com/api/secure
# Test with custom headers
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" https://lims.company.com/api/data
# Test with timeout
curl --connect-timeout 10 https://lims.company.com
Network Information
# Show network configuration
ifconfig
ip addr show
# Show DNS configuration
cat /etc/resolv.conf
# Show network connections
netstat -an
netstat -tulpn
ss -tulpn
# Show connections to specific port
netstat -an | grep :80
netstat -an | grep :443
# Show routing table
route -n
ip route show
# Show active processes using network
lsof -i
lsof -i :80
lsof -i :443
Certificate and SSL Testing
# Check SSL certificate details
openssl s_client -connect lims.company.com:443 -servername lims.company.com
# Check certificate expiry
echo | openssl s_client -connect lims.company.com:443 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -dates -noout
# Test SSL/TLS versions
openssl s_client -connect lims.company.com:443 -tls1_2
openssl s_client -connect lims.company.com:443 -tls1_3
# Check certificate chain
curl -vI https://lims.company.com 2>&1 | grep -E "(certificate|SSL)"
Performance Testing
# Test response time
time curl -o /dev/null -s https://lims.company.com
# Continuous monitoring
while true; do
curl -w "%{time_total}\n" -o /dev/null -s https://lims.company.com
sleep 5
done
# Test multiple connections
ab -n 100 -c 10 https://lims.company.com/
# Monitor bandwidth
iftop
nethogs
Common Troubleshooting Scenarios
User can't reach LIMS
# Windows
ping lims.company.com
nslookup lims.company.com
telnet lims.company.com 443
# Linux
ping -c 4 lims.company.com
dig lims.company.com
nc -zv lims.company.com 443
LIMS loads slowly
# Windows
curl -w "%{time_total}" -o nul -s https://lims.company.com
tracert lims.company.com
# Linux
curl -w "%{time_total}\n" -o /dev/null -s https://lims.company.com
traceroute lims.company.com
SSL/Certificate errors
# Windows
curl -vI https://lims.company.com 2>&1 | findstr "certificate"
# Linux
openssl s_client -connect lims.company.com:443 -servername lims.company.com
curl -vI https://lims.company.com 2>&1 | grep "certificate"
API endpoints not responding
# Windows
curl -I https://lims.company.com/api/health
curl -v https://lims.company.com/api/status
# Linux
curl -I https://lims.company.com/api/health
curl -v https://lims.company.com/api/status
DNS resolution issues
# Windows
nslookup lims.company.com
nslookup lims.company.com 8.8.8.8
ipconfig /flushdns
# Linux
dig lims.company.com
dig @8.8.8.8 lims.company.com
systemctl restart systemd-resolved
Last updated: 2025-08-26 20:00 UTC