Ever had one of those technical problems that just keeps coming back like a persistent itch? That’s exactly what we faced with our video KYC application. Users were going through a long never-ending buffering repeatedly, and our team was determined to get to the bottom of it. Let me walk you through our journey from chaos to resolution.

The Mystery Begins

Our vKYC application was acting like a finicky door that wouldn’t stay shut. Users would connect, only to be left buffering, over and over again. It was like watching a digital game of whack-a-mole, and we needed to stop it.

Detective Work: The Network Trail

Our first move? We went full CSI on this one. We captured and analyzed network packets under different scenarios, and that’s when things got interesting. When we bypassed our normal network path, everything worked smoothly - UDP and STUN packets were flowing like a well-orchestrated symphony. But throw our F5 load balancer into the mix? Complete silence. No UDP packets, no STUN packets, nothing.

The Plot Thickens

Armed with these findings, we began our systematic investigation. Think of it as following breadcrumbs through a digital forest. Our trail led us through:

1. The F5 load balancer (our first suspect)
2. The Palo Alto firewall (which was looking more suspicious by the minute)
3. Various network paths that could be causing this digital traffic jam

The Breakthrough Moment

After diving deep into the Palo Alto firewall logs (yes, as exciting as it sounds), we struck gold. The packets weren’t even making it to our F5 load balancer - they were getting lost somewhere in the firewall maze.

Crafting the Solution

Here’s where things get interesting. We took a multi-step approach:

First, we basically created a clone of our existing bypass network policy in the Palo Alto firewall. Think of it as creating a new path through our digital maze, but this time with careful consideration of where it needed to go.

Then came the clever part - we integrated our F5 WAF security zone into the policy framework. It’s like adding a new security checkpoint, but one that actually keeps traffic flowing smoothly.

The Final Twist

The real breakthrough? It came down to the SIP protocol. Initially, we enabled the SIP protocol with the Application Layer Gateway (ALG) disabled, which acted like removing a roadblock. Later, we found we could disable the SIP protocol entirely - and surprisingly, everything worked even better!

Happy Ending

The result? Our vKYC application now runs as smooth as butter. No more constant reconnections, no more frustrated users, just a seamless experience like it should have been from the start.

Key Takeaways

What did we learn from this adventure? Sometimes, the solution to a complex problem lies in systematic investigation and being willing to question every component in your stack. In our case, what seemed like a simple connectivity issue led us through load balancers, firewalls, and protocol configurations before we found our answer.

Remember: in the world of technical troubleshooting, every clue counts, and sometimes the solution might be hiding in the most unexpected place.