Determining why an appliance is not responding to ping


This article applies to:

  • WF - All Versions
  • WFR - All Versions
  • SR - All Versions

Question:

  • Why is my appliance not responding to ping requests?
  • Troubleshooting networking before declaring a hardware failure

Procedure:

A device not responding to a ping request is often a symptom of a network configuration issue. It could also be caused by a hardware fault. Before starting to process an RMA for hardware fault, it is important to determine whether the security appliance hardware is truly the culprit.

  1. Log into the appliance with the default setup user credentials. (Contact support for this information.)
    • Press 1 to enter the "display status" and confirm that your network settings are correct. Make a note of the gateway setting because this will be needed for additional testing.
  2. Plug a laptop into the same physical switch as the Appliance and try pinging the IP of the appliance. If you are still not getting a response, try pinging the Gateway.
    • If you get a response when pinging the IP on the same switch, then this is a routing issue.
    • If you can still not ping the gateway, then this is a network configuration issue. This will need to be addressed before support can provide additional assistance. If you can ping the gateway, then proceed with Step 3.
  3. Plug a laptop into the same User Interface management port on the switch. This is the interface that is also used when logging into the web browser. On the WF, this is defined in System > Network > LAN Settings. If you are looking at the back of the appliance, the ports are numbered from left to right: LAN1 on the left side, and LAN2 on the right.
    • Try pinging the gateway you noted from Step 1. If you are not getting a response then this points to an issue with the port. Try using a different port and repeat steps 2 and 3. If you do get a response then contact support for additional assistance.

Networking tips

Here are some other basic networking tips to help you along the way.

  • Verify that the appliance is in the expected VLAN. 
  • Try different network cables. 
  • Check the LED indicators on the NICs to determine what type of traffic is being seen over the network. LED colors may have different meaning depending on the NIC manufacturer but here is a general rule of thumb for most modern day NICs.
    • No light - No connection
    • Solid Green - Link established
    • Flashing Green - Indication that data is being sent/received
    • Orange or Red - Errors with NIC or Network

Notes:

Even if you believe nothing has changed on the network, Trustwave cannot process an RMA until these steps have been completed. This is because all devices on a network can be a point of failure. Hardware ages and various components will go bad over time. Basic tests as described will help you to avoid the unnecessary costs and delays from returning a working appliance when the issue was elsewhere in the network.


Last Modified 2/11/2016.
https://support.trustwave.com/kb/KnowledgebaseArticle20507.aspx