The concept of breaking apart a problem in any system, whether it be electronic, software, physical, or even behavioral, is a common principle. The phrase, divide and conquer is often seen, and true to reality.
Readers of this book are likely familiar with the common light bulb. You may not realize it, but there is a series of automatic troubleshooting steps performed.
Imagine the following scenario:
You walk into the office, many are already at work. You step into your office and flip on the light, nothing happens. You flip the switch back and forth a couple times before sitting down and turning on the computer in the dark.
You then pick up the handset on your Cisco IP phone, calling building maintenance. You speak with someone at the other end, exclaiming that the bulbs are out in your office.
What just happened?
A large number of things occurred that weren't directly acknowledged. Most of these steps happened automatically without realization:.
Walking into the office. Nothing is out of the ordinary.
In reality, everyone else was working. There wasn't an uncomfortable silence or notable lack of work or exceptional amount of generalized confusion.
You walk in and flip the light switch in your office; more than once.
You've tried to turn on the light. After the first failure to exhibit illumination, you've automatically tested the switch by flipping it a couple times. Sure, it is not overly scientific, but it's a general functional test.
You start working at your own computer, contacting support on your VOIP phone.
Power works in your office. The computer works, and network PoE is functioning.
You've ascertained the only thing not working is the light in your office.
What's neat about this generic situation is many people do so without realizing it. Some have cars and do this when it starts or doesn't start, maybe on a cold morning. Maybe after leaving the light on over night. We need to apply this concept and method to OpenVPN or anything really.