UTM to UTM RED Connection drops every 3-4 hours

Hi again all,

This problem still persists even after turning of compression.

My WAN connection has not gone down in over 2 months, but the RED connection has died about 6 times a day and it's starting to annoy my parents :P hehe

Does anyone have any ideas of what i can do to fix the issue, or should i just not bother with a UTM->UTM Connection?

Here is the log from the UTM that is acting as the RED Server:

2017:01:03-22:54:32 utm red_server[7025]: a08e8fc3024d471: PING remote_tx=2725 local_rx=2726 diff=-1
2017:01:03-22:54:32 utm red_server[7025]: a08e8fc3024d471: PONG local_tx=1867
2017:01:03-22:54:39 utm red_server[7025]: id="4202" severity="info" sys="System" sub="RED" name="RED Tunnel Down" red_id="a08e8fc3024d471" forced="0"
2017:01:03-22:54:39 utm red_server[7025]: a08e8fc3024d471 is disconnected.
2017:01:03-22:54:39 utm red_server[10183]: SELF: shutdown requested, killing clients
2017:01:03-22:54:39 utm red_server[10183]: SELF: killing client a08e8fc3024d471
2017:01:03-22:54:39 utm red_server[10183]: SELF: exiting
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED10rev1 version set to 14
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED10rev2 version set to 2005R2
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED10rev2 local version set to 5035R2
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED15 fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED15w fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED50 fw version set to 2005
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: RED50 local fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: IO::Socket::SSL Version: 1.953
2017:01:03-22:54:44 utm red_server[13529]: SELF: Startup - waiting 15 seconds ...
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED10rev1 version set to 14
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED10rev2 version set to 2005R2
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED10rev2 local version set to 5035R2
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED15 fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED15w fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED50 fw version set to 2005
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: RED50 local fw version set to 5035
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: IO::Socket::SSL Version: 1.953
2017:01:03-22:54:45 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: Startup - waiting 15 seconds ...
2017:01:03-22:55:00 utm red_server[15508]: UPLOAD: Uploader process starting
2017:01:03-22:55:00 utm red_server[13551]: SELF: (Re-)loading device configurations
2017:01:03-22:55:00 utm red_server[13551]: a08e8fc3024d471: New device
2017:01:03-22:55:04 utm red_server[15660]: SELF: New connection from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with ID a08e8fc3024d471 (cipher RC4-SHA), rev1
2017:01:03-22:55:04 utm redctl[15662]: key length: 32
2017:01:03-22:55:04 utm redctl[15663]: key length: 32
2017:01:03-22:55:04 utm red_server[15660]: a08e8fc3024d471: connected OK, pushing config
2017:01:03-22:55:05 utm red_server[15660]: a08e8fc3024d471: command 'PING 0'

Here is the log from the clients side:
2017:01:03-21:54:47 home red_client[3944]: CHILD Tunnel 1: Socket was closed
2017:01:03-21:54:47 home red_client[3944]: CHILD Tunnel 1: Unable to read PING response
2017:01:03-21:54:47 home red_client[3944]: Tunnel 1: disconnected
2017:01:03-21:54:49 home red_client[4300]: Tunnel 1: Forking client handler
2017:01:03-21:55:04 home red_client[7180]: CHILD Tunnel 1: performing initial keying.
2017:01:03-21:55:04 home redctl[7433]: key length: 32
2017:01:03-21:55:04 home redctl[7434]: key length: 32
2017:01:03-21:55:04 home redctl[7436]: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx = 
2017:01:03-21:55:04 home redctl[7436]:   xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

I see these restarts at some clients for RED tunnels between two UTMs.  I don't know why these occur, but I suspect it's the ISP that's causing the issue.

You might consider replacing the RED tunnel with an IPsec or SSL VPN site-to-site.

Cheers - Bob

I see these restarts at some clients for RED tunnels between two UTMs.  I don't know why these occur, but I suspect it's the ISP that's causing the issue.

You might consider replacing the RED tunnel with an IPsec or SSL VPN site-to-site.

Cheers - Bob

Thanks for your reply, I was hoping it was not the ISP terminating the connection, but I also feel that it could be that.

As for IPSEC / SSL based tunnel between the two, am i still able to use the other side as a gateway while using IPSEC?

"..., am i still able to use the other side as a gateway while using IPSEC?"

Well, yes and no - what traffic flow are you trying to accomplish?

Cheers - Bob

Hey Bob,

Firstly thanks for your replies, very helpful so far.

I want to be able to... "unblock" certain websites which my ISP is blocking, i am using a RED Tunnel with Multipath Routing currently to achieve this.

If the UTM at the Data Center has a Web Filtering subscription, I would use that as a Parent Proxy for those websites in your home configuration instead of worrying about getting specific IPs for the sites in question.  If not, then there are ways to route traffic through an IPsec tunnel to solve your problem.

Cheers - Bob

I didnt think of doing that, yeah awesome i'll give that a go - would be easier indeed!

Thanks