How to verify network connectivity
Instructions
The instructions help to find a solution when the System cannot establish a network connection online or connected via remote.
On-Site connectivity:
Verify physical connection:
Confirm the 3VR is on, the power light is on, and the green HDD light is flashing.
Inspect the network cable and ensure that one end is plugged into the 3VR and the other into the customer’s switch/router/hub.
Visually confirm power and link lights on the switch
If the link light on the switch/router is orange: this means that the physical port on the router is not open to receive traffic. Have the tech contact the IT or network administrator for the site. (T-Mobile: Call Video Services Group. Wells Fargo: Call SES.)
If the link light on the switch/router is green: The 3VR is able to connect, but may still not be able to ping the router. Proceed with the troubleshooting steps below.
Check that the end plugged into the 3VR is connected to the LEFT network port (for a P-Series). Confirm that the left network port is closest to the VGA output, not the DVI/BNC output. The reason for this is sometimes a tech will have the unit upside down and what appears to be the "left network port" is actually the right/secondary network port.
Are the 2 link lights above the network port, on the 3VR, lit? Both lights should be active.
The LED on the left should be green (solid or blinking) if a network connection is established. If not active, the 3VR isn’t able to recognize the network connection. Verify network connection (below).
The LED on the right should blink green/yellow to indicate that data is being transferred. (Yellow=1000/Mbits/sec data rate selected; Green=100/Mbits/sec data rate selected; Off = 10Mbits/sec data rate selected.) Note: Our system defaults to auto-negotiate, so data transfer rate settings are not standard issues. However, we have seen a couple cases of this, so we need to troubleshoot accordingly.
Verify Configured Network Settings on 3VR in System Manager:
In the Network Settings dialog:
Verify that the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway are set correctly.
Confirm that the Link State is "Up (Connected)". If it says "Down (Disconnected)" the following might be the cause:
The physical ethernet cable is disconnected or faulty.
The ethernet cable is plugged into the wrong port.
The cable is connected but it is not plugged into an active Ethernet port in the customer's network or the switch/router is off.
The correct cable is connected and the switch is fine, but the network card is broken/missing its drivers.
Confirm that a network adapter is selected in the white box at the top of the dialog:
If there are two network cards listed, select the other one. Make sure you then have the tech move the network cable to the other network port on the back of the 3VR.
If the list is empty, you’ll need to sign in at level 4 to see if the NIC drivers are present
Restart the server.
Perform test(s) to rule out 3VR as the source of the problem:
Ping the gateway
In SystemManager Manage Servers tab, select the system name, then click the Test Server Connectivity link.
Click the From SmartRecorder tab.
Attempt to ping the gateway of the network. The tech should have been provided this information (For Wells Fargo installations, this information comes from SES. For T-Mobile installations, they will get the info from Video Services Group.)
If the ping is successful then that means that the connection between the switch and the 3VR is fine. At this point, you should ask the tech to verify with the customer's IT department that the switch is configured correctly, since this is almost certainly a network configuration issue at this point.
If the ping is unsuccessful, then there is a problem between the 3VR and the switch. This issue could be caused by having a crossover cable instead of a straight cable connected, the physical port not being open on the switch, or the network card is bad. At this point, use one of the following strategies to rule out the 3VR's network card:
Perform the laptop network connectivity test, below.
If this is a dual-NIC system, you can have them switch to the secondary network port, repeat the steps above to configure the secondary NIC and attempt to ping the gateway again. If it fails with the secondary card as well, it is very likely an issue with the physical port on the gateway not being open.
If pinging the gateway fails and the technician has access to a laptop, perform the laptop network connectivity test:
Have the customer disconnect the network cable that is running from the 3VR to the switch and connect it so it is running from the 3VR to their laptop. If this system has two network adapters, make sure the cable is plugged in to the adapter that was configured in System Manager (on a P-Series, this is typically the left-hand "primary" port).
Have them open the network settings on their laptop (Start button -> Network Connections).
Right-click Local Area Connection and select Properties.
Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
Select ( ) Use the following IP address:
Enter an IP Address that is 1 digit off from what the SmartRecorder network card is set to. For example, if the system IP address is 192.168.1.4 set the IP address of the laptop to 192.168.1.5. Set the Subnet Mask to be the same as whatever the SmartRecorder is set to (for example, 255.255.255.0) and leave the Default Gateway blank.
Click OK.
Again click OK to exit out of the Local Area Connection properties.
Open a command prompt on the PC (Start -> Run -> type cmd and press enter)
At the prompt, have the customer type ping [IP address of SmartRecorder]
If the ping is successful (which it should be most of the time) you can confidently tell the customer that the 3VR's network card is fine and responsive. The networking problem is on the customer end and they need to work with their IT department to resolve. See Step 5 below.
If the ping fails, and you've already checked all of the connections and settings in step 1-2 above, try a different network cable. Use device manager to check the status of the network card.
Assist the customer with testing connectivity to local machines and to the Enterprise (optional).
Attempt to ping the Enterprise, if the customer has an Enterprise. The Wells Fargo and T-Mobile Enterprise IP addresses are listed in Info/Tools under their respective customer descriptions.
If there is no Enterprise, attempt to ping another machine on the same local network. This means finding another computer or 3VR unit physically attached to the same switch and attempting to ping it.
This requires going to that unit and finding out its ip address, either through the network connections options in the Windows control panel or by typing ipconfig /all and having the integrator read out the output. If possible make sure the machine is properly on the local network, or on the internet.
If the ping is unsuccessful then there is either an improper connection between the other machine and the switch or there is a problem with the switch itself or the port the 3VR is connected to. Try a different port.
If the ping is successful then that means the 3VR is correctly set up on that local network.
For 6.0.6 and newer models use the “Test Server Connectivity” tool to perform the below steps. For 6.0.5 and earlier use the level 4 password, then open a command prompt and ping the ip addresses through the command #~ ping <ip address>
Remote connectivity:
What application is the remote user trying to sign in with?
If SystemManager, can they connect in Maintenance Mode? If they can, it is not a networking issue.What is the exact error message? Is this the first time they are seeing the message?
Network connection problems display a ‘No peer exception’ or 'Transport exception' message when trying to log in remotely. The message may indicate another problem, such as a software mismatch or problems with a specific user. Troubleshoot accordingly.Is this a location that was previously accessible remotely and is no longer reachable?
If No: See question #4 (Is this a new installation or a location where remote connectivity has never been established?)
If Yes:
Are they attempting to connect remotely with a PC that has connected to the server before?
Are they able to connect from a different PC?
Are they trying to reach a server directly, or through an enterprise server?
Since the last time they were able to connect:
Has the SmartRecorder been serviced or moved to another location? Do they know when or why?
To their knowledge, have there been any changes to the network?
On the PC, are they aware of anti-virus/firewall software having been installed, updated, or settings changed?
Have there been any significant changes applied to the remote PC?
Is this a new installation or a location where remote connectivity has never been established?
If No: See question #3 (Is this a location that was previously accessible remotely and is no longer reachable?)
If yes: How have they been connecting to configure the server?
Locally (Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse) OR Laptop (D-Link adapter, crossover/straight cable) – Confirm this is not a case where they are unable to connect with the D-Link adapter or a crossover/straight cable, but a network issue
Clarify if there have been any remote connections? For example: a single or brief connection? If they have been able to establish a connection at all, it may be a syncing delay.