Employees connect to your business’s network every day. Accessing files, using browser-based apps, logging in and logging out.
It’s like people coming in and out of your house for a whole day, 9-to-5.
How do you keep that “house” secure?
Every house has a front door, and when it comes to your network, that door is the firewall. But a front door is often more than a door, and a firewall is more than just an external access point. When you invite a guest through your door, you set rules for how you want people to behave in your house, what they can and can’t do.
Firewalls do that too. Your configuration determines how employees connect to systems through VPN access, what sites employees can and can’t access, and more.
And just like a door, firewalls need replacement from time to time. It’s the kind of technology update that happens on a predictable schedule. Swapping firewalls means moving a configuration from the old device to the new one, downloading it, then uploading it in.
Along the way small settings might get left behind in the move, and they may not get caught until someone tries to log in and can’t.
Here’s what happened when we saw this recently:
Last month, we helped one of our manufacturing clients with a cutover to a new firewall. With a hybrid workforce, VPN connectivity is core to how their employees connect to the tools and systems they need to do their work.
In the minutes right after the cutover, we received a ticket from one employee indicating a VPN failure when trying to connect to their network. Then a second ticket came in. Same concern. Ten minutes later, a third ticket gets submitted. Same issue from another employee.
Nobody likes to see broader issues like this.
What made the biggest difference? Triaging these requests quickly to identify a common root cause. And the root cause, this time, was pretty easy to spot. The firewall swap didn't fully carry over VPN licensing—one of those settings that can slip through during the configuration transfer. This blocked some remote users, several of whom realized the issue quickly and contacted us.
The key to a quick resolution here came in recognizing a pattern rather than just treating each ticket as a discrete issue.
(Everyone in this work has been there. Playing whack-a-mole with tickets isn't the way to go.)
To make a short story shorter, all affected users were back online promptly. It took 90 minutes from the arrival of the first ticket to the resolution of the issue, and no lingering issues or recurrent tickets came in over the next couple of days.
Because the goal is always resolution and a return to normal work, business as usual.
A few takeaways we took as a team from this one:
Even routine infrastructure changes can have unexpected ripple effects, given the interconnection of different parts of the system.
Catching a pattern early keeps minor hiccups from turning into major issues.
Keeping a direct line of communication between a client’s technical contact and the resolution team working the issue helps to catch those patterns sooner.
Come Learn Something New Today
Catch anything in that story you didn’t quite understand? A tool you’ve never heard of before, or an acronym you don’t know?
We built something to help you learn IT. It’s not quite Duolingo for IT, but it’s a dictionary you can start building fluency from.
Technology plays an impactful role in how your business operates. Understanding IT concepts and engaging in deeper conversations will help you tap into technology as a strategic driver of business growth.
Go check out our new IT dictionary—and say hi to the wizard while you’re there.
What We’re Hiring For This Week
Our Technology Talent Managers are always tuned in to the market, creating opportunities for technology professionals and innovative businesses to connect!
Here’s a few roles we’re recruiting for this week:
IT Managed Services Specialist: Come join Team Lighthouse on our managed IT services squad! We’re looking for an L3 technician who is comfortable handling cybersecurity infrastructure support for our IT clients. Hybrid role with three days onsite, $80,000-100,000 per year.
Network Automation Engineer: This engineer will design and maintain automated network infrastructure workflows, driving scalable networking solutions across Azure and AWS environments. 12-18 month remote contract role, $45-50/hr.
Change Management Specialist, ServiceNow: Own the end-to-end change management process in ServiceNow, validating high-risk changes, facilitating CAB meetings, and driving down MTTR through tighter ITSM alignment. 6-12+ month contract role, up to five days onsite, $60-68/hr.