A systems administrator is troubleshooting a high-latency issue between a web application server and its backend database server. The administrator hypothesizes the issue is caused by a network path misconfiguration. To effectively trace the data path and identify all interconnected network devices between the two servers, which of the following documents would be the MOST useful?
The correct answer is a network infrastructure diagram. This type of diagram provides a visual representation of the network's architecture, including servers, switches, routers, firewalls, and the connections between them. It is the most effective tool for tracing the logical path data takes from the web server to the database server, allowing the administrator to identify each hop and potential point of failure or misconfiguration.
A server rack elevation diagram shows the physical placement of equipment within a server rack but does not detail the logical network connections needed for troubleshooting a data path issue. A server performance baseline report documents normal operating metrics, which is useful for confirming that a latency problem exists, but it does not provide the topological information needed to trace the cause. The change management log records what changes have been made to the environment, which is useful for correlating the issue with a recent event, but it does not provide a comprehensive view of the current network topology like an infrastructure diagram does.