Deco S4 with F5 BIG-IP Edge Client for VPN connection losing connectivity
Hi,
I'm currently using S4 mesh replacing the main router with TalkTalk as the ISP.
When I work from home I need to have this VPN connection using F5's BIG-IP Edge Client software.
But when I get connected, very frequently I lose connection, and it comes back after a while. This keeps repeating every few minutes making me unable to work.
I've been searching everywhere for clues, but no luck. I don't have this problem outside home (so on other WIFI connection). So my suspicion is either the ISP or the mesh. But the TalkTalk is saying it should work (I've posted on their forum as well and been communicating there too).
Could there have been anything specific to S4 that would cause this problem? I've read that S4 "does not support VPN" but I don't know what exactly it means. Does it mean that VPN connection will just not work at all, no matter what configuration? Even if I use S4 as the satellite? Is it possible to get one more Deco device that supports VPN, add it to the mesh network, and use this single one with my work laptop to enable VPN connectivity?
Thanks
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A few more findings from my experiment today:
This way of VPN use is something called "passthrough" (client software running on my work laptop only) so I shouldn't have any VPN compatibility issue with S4.
And right now I'm testing with my ISP's own router and not seeing the connection drop. So the only remaining suspicion is S4 itself.
I wonder if there's any router configuration for S4 to be done to resove this issue?
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Hi, welcome to the community.
Can I have the current firmware version of your Deco S4?
How about the internet connection type on the Deco S4 when it connects directly to the TalkTalk, PPPoE, with or without VLAN ID?
If you connect the ISP-provided router back and set Deco S4 into "Access Point" mode, would the F5's BIG-IP Edge VPN connection remain stable?
Wait for your reply.
Best regards.
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@David-TP Thanks. The firmware says 1.1.2 Build 20231227 Rel. 84005 and it's not showing me any update due so that should be the newest.
Since yesterday I've been using S4 with the original TalkTalk router for test. I connected S4 to the TalkTalk router, and left the operation mode as default (router, not access point mode). I deliberately left the 2 wifi networks so I could test both. I don't see the dropout problem with either network (directly to TalkTalk router, or to S4).
I don't know about the connection type but at least I don't think it's PPPoE because I wasn't given any username or password from TalkTalk. When I replaced the original router with S4, it just worked (except for this VPN issue).
So am I right in suspecting that the router feature of S4 is causing this problem? Please let me know if there's anything else I could try. I can just live with the original router in the chain, but it would be better to do without it to save electricity...
Thanks again.
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Hi, thanks for the update.
Here is some advice for your reference:
- Please refer to this link to clone the MAC address of the old ISP router on the Deco:How to Configure MAC Clone on Deco
- Change the IPv4 WAN DNS to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4: How to change DNS server settings on my Deco
- The default MTU size on Deco S4 is 1500, and in case the VPN connection needs a smaller one, you can refer to this link to check the MTU size on the laptop when the VPN connection is stable:How to find the proper MTU size for my network. Then you can edit the Deco MTU size on the Deco APP, which is on the same page as IPV4 DNS.
If these suggestions didn't help, I'm afraid the case needs to be forwarded to the senior engineers for further assistance.
Thank you very much.
Best regards.
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Thank you. I tried all the three but when I switched to S4 it is happening again.
I tried to get some log messages from the F5 client software when the dropout happened.
Error 2025-06-19 22:35:02:113 \UDTLSChannelImpl.cpp, UDTLSChannelImpl::Read, SSL_read() error (ssl error, wsa error) , SSL_ERROR_SYSCALL, 10060
Error 2025-06-19 22:35:02:113 \UDTLSChannelImpl.cpp, UDTLSChannelImpl::Read, buf size to read, 8192
Error 2025-06-19 22:35:02:113 \UDTLSChannelImpl.cpp, DTLSChannelImpl::Read, Transport connectection closed
Error 2025-06-19 22:36:04:993 \UTunnel.cpp, UTunnel::RunObjectProc, Heartbeat from server was not received. (timeout in msec, time passed in msec), 65000, 65875
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:118 Tunnel Channel Disconnected
Warning 2025-06-19 22:36:05:118 \USocketChannel.cpp, USocketChannel::Open(), already opened
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:118 [Tunnel RECONNECT (Server:*************, Attempt #0)] - BEGINS
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:124 Standalone Server is: ****************** (Europe) User status is: Reconnecting...
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:126 Standalone Tunnel broken for Resource: /Common/corp_split_network
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:128 Standalone Reconnecting Resource: /Common/corp_split_network
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:193 [Tunnel RECONNECT (Server: ***************, Attempt #0)] - ENDS (SUCCESS)
Warning 2025-06-19 22:36:05:194 \UTunnel.cpp, UTunnel::RunObjectProc(), failed to disable Nagle, 10022
User 2025-06-19 22:36:05:223 Standalone Successfully Reconnected Resource: /Common/corp_split_network
User 2025-06-19 22:36:06:119 Standalone Server is: **************** (Europe) User status is: Connected
Error 2025-06-19 22:36:06:148 APPCTRL CAppTunnelEx::OnResetingSessionTimeoutComplete, Session timeout reset request failed (0xffffffff800c0008)
I have no idea what these mean. But maybe you or your colleagues might be able to interpret this...?
Thanks again.
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Thank you very much for the update.
I'll escalate your case to the senior engineer for further assistance. Maybe he can help us interpret the error logs.
Please check whether you have received my email.
Best regards.
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Hi, I have this issue too. I have an M9 network which has been in place for some time and works well, it is updated to the latest firmware. 1.8.1 Build 20250219 Rel - 56714
My employer uses F5 VPN and for the past few weeks I have been getting constant interruptions to the connection. F5 drops for a couple of seconds then reconnects.
I use the internet providers router and then have a Deco network off that with a seperate password etc. If I connect directly to the providers router I have no issue,
I have read about possibly using the system differently as an extender, might this help?
Please help. Thanks.
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