XOps Network Playbook - SaaS Apps Connector Down

This playbook describes steps to resolve issues when a Saas Apps Connector Down Indication is detected.

Overview

This playbook guides you through resolving the SaaS Apps Connector Down alert, which can occur due to an issue with the connector responsible for integrating a SaaS application with Cato has lost connectivity or failed a health check.

Step 1 - Identifying the Relevant Connector

First, you need to identify the connector causing the alert. 

Check the Connector Status: 
On the Resources > Integrations > Integrated Apps page in the Cato Management Application (CMA) to view the status of the connector.

• Statuses can be: Connected, Warning, or Failure.
• “Warning” typically means a connectivity or permissions issue,  or possibly rate limiting from the SaaS vendor (e.g., Microsoft).

Step 2 - Immediate Steps to Take

Once you have identified the connector, take steps to find the cause of the issue. 

• Review Error Details: 
  Use the action menus in the connectors dashboard to access error logs for the connector. This will help you identify the root cause (e.g., expired credentials, permission changes, vendor-side issues).
• Check for Vendor-Specific Issues:
  • For Microsoft connectors, rate limiting or permission changes are common causes.
  • For Box, Slack, and others, check for known limitations (e.g., only one connector per tenant, delays in event generation).

Step 3 - Troubleshooting Steps

• Validate Credentials and Permissions: 
  Ensure that the connector’s credentials are valid and have not expired. Confirm that the required permissions are still granted in the SaaS application.
• Check for Configuration Changes: 
  If there were recent changes to the SaaS app (e.g., user permissions, API access), these might have broken the connector.
• Attempt to Reconnect: 
  If the connector is in a failed state, try to re-establish the connection. This may involve re-authenticating or re-creating the connector.

Raising a Ticket with Support

If following this playbook has not resolved an issue, submit a Support ticket. To get the most helpful response to a request, an administrator should provide the results of the troubleshooting steps taken.