T 3.91 Failure of the VPN connections due to operating errors

In addition to technical failures due to defective components or power failures, for example, there is also a series of additional circumstances that can lead to the failure of a VPN connection. If alarm signals or abnormal operating responses are not detected in time, then it is often impossible to react promptly to them. This can also lead to failures just like improper or careless action when performing simple, routine tasks or repairs. The main cause of failures due to incorrect operation is inadequate training of the parties involved. Administrators are not the only cause of problems. In many cases, incorrect operation by users will result in overloads or to a failure of the VPN services.

Example:

• One company with several branch offices at different locations used a VPN to connect the branch offices with each other. An update of the software used on all VPN components to a more recent version that was incompatible with the previous versions required the reconfiguration of every VPN system. Since the downtime required for configuration needed to be kept to an absolute minimum and there was only one VPN administrator in the company, the system administrators and "normal" network administrators were required to configure the VPN components. After an employee with no training in VPN configuration specified the wrong option for one parameter, one of the branch offices was inaccessible for a long time.