SmartView Tunnels in R82: Time to Bring It into SmartConsole?

[israelfds95]

Today, while working with a customer and presenting the improvements in R82 (as I’m deploying a new project fully based on this version), I highlighted some very nice enhancements in SmartConsole.

Features like HTTPS Inspection and Mobile Access are now more directly accessible within SmartConsole, something that previously required using SmartDashboard. This is a great step forward toward centralized management.

During this discussion, another thought came up.

We still rely on the SmartView > Tunnels section through a legacy interface.

Of course, SmartView has been part of our daily operations for years and works. However, it also feels a bit hidden, and many customers are not even aware of where to find it. The visibility of Phase 1 UP and UP status (Phase 1 and Phase 2) could be improved, making it clearer and more intuitive. Additionally, the way we bring tunnels down could be enhanced. Sometimes we still end up removing the object from the community, installing the policy, and then adding it back again, especially when the reset option does not behave as expected.

Considering the direction we are moving, with more features being consolidated into SmartConsole, I strongly believe that legacy interfaces have already reached the point where they should be fully integrated into SmartConsole. Moving toward a single, unified management experience would simplify operations, improve visibility, and make day-to-day management much more efficient.

Do you think SmartView Tunnels would be a good candidate for integration into SmartConsole as well?

Not just as a migration, but potentially with an improved and more modern visualization aligned with the current SmartConsole experience.

From an operational perspective, having more visibility consolidated in a single interface could make troubleshooting and monitoring even smoother.

And while we already see improvements in areas like Access Tools, they still do not offer the same level of visibility or operational capabilities that SmartView > Tunnels provides today. It could potentially fit here, although ideally it should be more visible. Still, this already seems like a good place to incorporate SmartView Tunnels into SmartConsole.

Curious to hear your thoughts on this:

Would this integration add value to your day-to-day operations?

[the_rock]

Well, old school smartview tracker/monitor were separate applications back before R80...I assume thats what you are referring to?

[israelfds95]

Yes, exactly. SmartView has been around since before R80, and we are all very familiar with it. My point is more about the evolution we are seeing now with SmartConsole, with more features being consolidated into a single interface. I believe it would be great to have this functionality directly in SmartConsole rather than in SmartView. In general, the fewer legacy interfaces we rely on, the better, as it helps us achieve a more unified and streamlined management experience.

[the_rock]

I agree with you, makes sense to me as well.

[PhoneBoy]

Tagging @Tomer_Noy 

[Danny]

I integrated this into SmartConsole year ago: Show VPN Tunnels

[Henrik_Noerr1]

I haven't checked lately - but I think we still have the limitation of Virtual Systems not being supported.

EDIT: I see you added support 🙂 I will test that! 

[CaseyB]

This has been on my wish list for years. I love having to launch SmartView Monitor multiple times when it freezes, but I mostly use the CLI for VPN stuff now.

[the_rock]

From my experience, cli stats give more accurate results.

[israelfds95]

@the_rock @CaseyB  I also rely mostly on the CLI to validate whether the tunnel is actually up and stable. However, since I am frequently involved in deployments, I often see that customer administrators, especially those who rely heavily on SmartConsole, and even management-level users feel the lack of a clearer and more intuitive graphical view of tunnels directly within SmartConsole. For advanced troubleshooting, CLI will likely always be the preferred option, but having a reliable and more practical graphical view in SmartConsole would be very valuable and well received in day-to-day operations.

[the_rock]

That is 100% true, Israel. But, keep in mind, even in days before R80, lots of people or put it this way, most people you would ask or talk to, would tell you that prefer to rely on clish to get most accurate results when it comes to VPN tunnels. Yes, SV monitor was always great, but not sadly always most reliable when it comes to those things.

[Lesley]

https://sc1.checkpoint.com/documents/R81.20/WebAdminGuides/EN/CP_R81.20_SitetoSiteVPN_AdminGuide/Con...

vpn tu tlist shows way more details and I consider more solid then smartview monitor. But that is my opinion. It is in a legacy app for a reason. It can also be misleading, meaning a tunnel can be considered up by Smartview monitor but traffic via the tunnel is not working for any reason. A state ''up'' does not mean the tunnel is fully functional. 

[the_rock]

Very true, Lesley. Could also be that though tunnel shows as up, traffic may not work.