Check a VPN status

All MLLP sources (whether owned by you or your connection) use a VPN to secure your data exchange. You can check the VPN status of MLLP sources in the Redox dashboard in these three places:

• Navigate to the Developer > Sources tab and view the VPN status on the MLLP source tile. Learn how to view or set up sources.
• Navigate to the Connections > Connected orgs tab and view the VPN status on the source tile on the left side of the subscription arrow (if you own the source) or the right side of the subscription arrow (if your connection owns the source). Or, click the source name to view a details page with more information.
• Navigate to the Connections > All subscriptions tab to view the VPN status under the source or destination name. Or, click the source or destination name to view a details page with more information. This article has step-by-step instructions to view on the Subscriptions tab.

• Your organization or your connection must have an MLLP source or destination to view VPN statuses.

A VPN status represents the state of the VPN tunnel configured between Redox and your system, or your connection’s system and Redox. You might want to check the VPN status if you see one or more failed requests to or from a VPN-secured configuration.

For details about each VPN test and status type, check out the definitions at the end of this article.

A user in your organization should receive an email notification like this one if there’s a VPN-related error. Learn how to monitor alerts in the dashboard.

Alternatively, you can create a traffic alert rule to proactively receive notifications related to VPN issues.

1. Log in to the Redox dashboard.
2. From the navigation menu, click the Connections page.
3. By default, the Connected orgs tab opens with all of your connections. Either select the connection tile with the VPN source or destination you want to check or click the All subscriptions tab to view all connections at once. Either view has the same information in different formats. Read more about subscriptions.
4. On either tab, locate the MLLP source or destination you want to check and hover over the status icon. The Network Status List modal appears with the details, including the IP and port values. Review the status definition table to find out what each color means.

   Unfamiliar IP address

   See an IP address that doesn’t look familiar? It might be a public IP address that corresponds with your private IP address (i.e., NAT IP). Learn about how Redox uses NAT IPs.

   
5. If you want more details about the VPN test or status, click the source or destination name.
   1. If the source or destination belongs to your connection, the Details page opens with the Base Info, Status Info, and VPN Info sections.

      
      • Base Info: Describes the subscription.
      • Status Info: Displays the results from the VPN test(s). Review the status definition table at the end of this article to find out what each VPN test type means. A status check can include either a Security Association (SA), TCP heartbeat or ping, or both.

        If you see a ping instead of a TCP heartbeat

        If you see a ping but know that you can support TCP heartbeat, submit a request to our Help Center so we can update your configuration.

      • VPN Info: Shows the sending and receiving IP addresses for VPN. It also shows the receiving port value.

        Unfamiliar IP address

        See an IP address that doesn’t look familiar? It might be a public IP address that corresponds with your private IP address (i.e., NAT IP). Learn about how Redox uses NAT IPs.

   2. If the source or destination doesn’t belongs to your organization, the Settings page opens with the communication method, data format, and Status Info section (which is the same as the Status Info described above).

      

A status check can include either a Security Association, TCP heartbeat or ping, or both.

• Security association (SA): Tests that both servers have the necessary information to exchange data securely. This tells you whether the VPN tunnel is active.
• TCP heartbeat: Tests whether the VPN destination is receiving data from Redox. This is our default check and is recommended over a ping since it’s more reliable. Read more about TCP heartbeat. Sometimes an interface setup doesn’t support a TCP heartbeat, in which case, we may fall back to testing with a ping.
• Ping: Tests whether the VPN destination is receiving data. Read more about ping.

Review the table below for a breakdown of the possible statuses.

The overall status displays on the Subscriptions tab.

The detailed status displays when you hover over the status icon. Alternatively, you can click the source or destination name to open its Details page with status and port information.