Troubleshooting Network Connectivity with Tufin: A Guide for Technical Specialists

Introduction: When Network Connectivity Becomes a Nightmare

Loss of network connectivity is a headache for any technical specialist. From downtime of critical applications to inability to access resources, network connectivity issues can paralyze a business. For example, a sudden drop in database performance, inability to access a cloud service from a specific network segment, etc. Traditional methods of network connectivity troubleshooting are often time-consuming, complex, and prone to human error. Imagine how much time is spent manually searching log files, analyzing configurations of multiple network devices, such as firewalls, routers, and switches. The solution to this problem is Tufin, which offers powerful tools to automate and simplify the process of diagnosing and restoring network connectivity.

Why Tufin is Your Best Friend in Network Troubleshooting

Tufin is not just a tool for security management. It is a comprehensive solution that provides visibility, control, and automation of security policies in heterogeneous network environments. With Tufin, you can quickly identify and resolve network connectivity issues, ensuring business continuity. Tufin supports a wide range of equipment from various vendors, including Cisco, Juniper, Check Point, and others. Key benefits of Tufin:

• Traffic Path Visualization: Allows you to track the path of traffic through the network, identifying potential bottlenecks and points of failure.
• Automatic Diagnostics: Automatically analyzes the configurations of network devices and identifies inconsistencies and errors that may be causing connectivity issues.
• Security Policy Analysis: Evaluates the impact of changes in security policies on network connectivity, preventing unforeseen consequences.
• Change Modeling: Allows you to model changes to the network configuration before implementing them, minimizing the risk of problems.

Traffic Path Visualization: Seeing What Was Previously Hidden

One of the most powerful tools of Tufin is traffic path visualization. Instead of manually tracing packets and analyzing ACLs (Access Control Lists), using ping/traceroute, Tufin displays a graphical path of traffic between two points in the network. Tufin obtains information about the network topology and device configurations using SNMP and APIs. Tufin then determines allowed and denied routes based on analysis of security rules and routing tables. For traffic tracing, Tufin supports ICMP and TCP protocols. This allows you to quickly determine exactly where the traffic is being blocked, whether it’s a misconfigured firewall, a routing error, or incorrect security rules. Tufin Path Analysis provides detailed information about each segment of the path, including:

• Network devices (e.g., firewalls, routers, switches) through which traffic passes
• Security rules that apply to this traffic
• Ports and protocols used by the traffic
• Possible reasons for blocking traffic
• Latency on each segment of the path.
• Packet loss.

Thanks to traffic path visualization in Tufin, you can significantly reduce the time required for network connectivity troubleshooting.

Automatic Diagnostics: Identifying Problems Before They Occur

Automatic diagnostics in Tufin allows you to identify potential problems before they affect network connectivity. Tufin scans the configurations of network devices, usually on a scheduled basis, and identifies the following problems:

• Inconsistencies in security policies (e.g., duplicate rules, redundant rules, rules with broad permissions).
• Errors in firewall configuration
• Incorrectly configured security rules
• Blocking ports and protocols
• Suboptimal routes (Tufin determines the optimality of a route based on metrics such as cost, delay, and bandwidth).

After identifying a problem, Tufin provides recommendations for resolving it, allowing you to quickly restore network connectivity. Automatic detection of network configuration errors using Tufin significantly saves time and reduces the risk of human error.

Security Policy Analysis: Protection and Connectivity in Harmony

Security policy analysis in Tufin allows you to assess the impact of changes in security policies on network connectivity. Before making changes to security rules, Tufin allows you to model these changes and determine how they will affect traffic. This prevents unexpected connectivity issues and ensures compliance with security policies. Tufin SecureTrack, one of the components of the Tufin Orchestration Suite, provides visibility and control over security policies, allowing you to optimize security policies, for example, removing unused rules, consolidating rules, restricting access based on the principle of least privilege. Tufin also helps comply with regulatory requirements such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Change Modeling: Safe Network Changes

Making changes to the network configuration always involves the risk of problems. Tufin allows you to minimize this risk thanks to the change modeling feature. Before making changes to network devices, you can model these changes in Tufin and see how they will affect network connectivity. This allows you to identify potential problems and fix them before they affect the real network. Tufin SecureChange automates the change process, ensuring safe and controlled network changes. The SecureChange change workflow includes: change request, approval, automatic generation of configuration scripts, change verification, implementation, and rollback in case of failure. You can model various types of changes, including adding new rules, changing existing rules, and changing routing.

Integrating Tufin with Other Systems

Tufin easily integrates with other systems, such as SIEM (e.g., Splunk, QRadar) and ITSM (e.g., ServiceNow), allowing you to create a unified security management system. Integration of Tufin with SIEM and ITSM systems allows you to automatically receive notifications about network connectivity issues and create requests for their resolution. For example, when anomalous traffic is detected, Tufin sends a notification to the SIEM system. Or, when traffic is blocked, Tufin automatically creates a request in the ITSM system. In addition, Tufin integrates with various firewalls, such as Check Point, Cisco, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks, providing centralized security policy management.

Let’s look at some specific scenarios where Tufin shows its full potential, helping with fast troubleshooting:

Scenario 1: Blocking Ports by a Firewall

Suppose users complain about being unable to access a particular application. With Tufin, you can quickly determine which firewall is blocking traffic to that application. Tufin will show you the specific security rule that is blocking the ports used by the application. You can easily modify this security rule or create a new one to allow access to the application.

Scenario 2: Incorrect Security Rules

Incorrect security rules are detected in the network, for example, unnecessary “any-to-any” rules that allow overly broad access. Tufin can automatically identify these security rules and provide recommendations for correcting them. You can use Tufin to remove or modify these security rules to improve network security.

Scenario 3: Routing Issues

Users cannot access resources in a remote branch. With Tufin, you can analyze the traffic path and determine exactly where the routing problem is occurring. Tufin will show you which router is misconfigured and provide recommendations for correcting the network configuration.

Tufin Orchestration Suite: A Comprehensive Security Management Solution

The Tufin Orchestration Suite is a comprehensive solution that includes:

• Tufin SecureTrack: provides visibility and control over security policies
• Tufin SecureChange: automates the process of making changes to the network configuration
• Tufin SecureApp: automates application deployment and management

Licensing for the Tufin Orchestration Suite is typically based on the number of managed network devices. The Tufin Orchestration Suite provides centralized security policy management, automates processes, and reduces the risk of human error.

Conclusion: Tufin – Your Reliable Partner in Ensuring Network Connectivity and Security

Tufin provides powerful tools for network connectivity troubleshooting, ensuring quick diagnosis and restoration of network connectivity. Thanks to traffic path visualization, automatic diagnostics, change modeling, and security policy analysis, Tufin allows you to quickly identify and resolve problems, ensuring business continuity and security visibility management. Tufin also helps to automate network security audits and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, reducing business risks. By choosing Tufin, you choose reliability, security, and efficiency in managing your network.