The Internet is Down

Why this is important

"The internet is down" - one of the common reports an IT person can hear. This phrase has many closely related relatives.

While this phrase may be technically accurate, it describes only the symptoms of the problem and nothing about the problem itself.

If you call a car mechanic and say "my car is broken", she is likely to ask for more information because she won't be able to tell what the problem is. It's much the same way with networking - if you are trying to discover the network issue or trying to get help discovering the issue it can be worthwhile to better describe the symptoms such that a troubleshooter can more easily help you.

If you are using Untangle and you find yourself saying "the network is down", try to also answer the following questions:

On the Untangle server

Under Config > Network > Troubleshooting:

• Use the connectivity test, Does it succeed?
• Using the ping test, can it ping Untangle's gateway?
• Using the ping test, can it ping 8.8.8.8?
• Using the ping test, can it ping google.com?
• Using the connection test, can it connect to google.com port 80?

On a client (PC) behind untangle

• Can the client ping Untangle's internal IP? (doesn't apply for bridge mode)
• Can the client ping Untangle's external IP?
• Can the client ping Untangle's gateway?
• Can the client ping 8.8.8.8?
• Can the client perform DNS lookups? (Open a command window and run 'nslookup google.com' or 'host google.com')
• Can the client ping google.com?
• Can the client open a browser to google.com?
• Can the client open a browser to Untangle's internal administration interface?

On a client (PC) outside the network (if available)

• Can the client ping Untangle's gateway IP?
• Can the client ping Untangle's external IP?
• Can the client open a browser to the https administration on Untangle?

By answering these questions it will greatly narrow down where the problem is likely to exist, which will make it far easier to find the problem or make it easier for someone to help you.

Other common phrases

• the network is down
• the internet died
• email is down
• the web is down
• the internet doesn't work
• lose internet
• lose internet connectivity
• lose internet access
• losing internet connectivity
• loosing [sic] internet
• internet is unreachable
• doesn't pass traffic
• can't get to the internet
• stops passing traffic