Network

5-1. Even if the equipment is new, it many not be the right equipment for the job. The equipment might also be installed incorrectly. Some things that could be causing poor performance are: all the hubs may be chained together instead of being directly connected to the Backbone. When there is a bunch of users, this could be a potential problem on the segment. Also since the hubs are new they are more then likely intelligent hubs or switching hubs. Since no one has been keeping an eye on the network, someone probably installed the hubs and didn't optimize the features. If the hubs are switching hubs, they can be configured to separate the segment into several segments and will give a lot better speed for the user. If they are intelligent hubs, you just have to collect the data and analyze traffic patterns. I would also check the basic setup to make sure they are set to use the same transmission speed that the network cabling and model are designed to use. Lastly there could be a bad NIC or cable causing too many collisions and making the rest of the network slow. Look for blinking collision lights.

5-2. When the ports collision lights are blinking it means something's wrong with the hub's internal port or NIC, or configuration of the device attached to the port. I would follow the cable and find out what node it connects. Finally when we find the node, I would start NIC troubleshooting, try a different cable, or if those don't work, try it in a different port.