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Zscaler GRE Tunnel Down: CLI on the Edge Router Before You Blame ZIA

  • 3 days ago
  • 2 min read
Zscaler network security troubleshooting lab
Zscaler · Techclick CLI troubleshooting lab
Branch internet via ZIA is dead. Zscaler dashboard shows the GRE tunnel down. The WAN circuit is up.

This is a live-ticket style lesson from Techclick Infosec. You will isolate the fault with CLI first, then prove the fix with one clean packet or log.

What you will be able to do

  • Name the first CLI command to run on Zscaler for this ticket

  • Separate the layer that is actually broken from the layer people blame

  • Apply one scoped fix instead of a global disable

  • Prove the ticket closed with a session, log, or counter

Quick answer

Prove GRE from the router: source public IP, destination ZIA VIP, proto 47 allowed, and keepalive. Most 'Zscaler down' tickets are a NAT or ACL on the router.

Why this ticket shows up

ZIA GRE needs the registered public IP to source proto 47 to a primary and backup VIP. Hide-NAT or an ISP ACL breaks GRE while HTTPS still works.

Symptoms operators actually see

  • Tunnel red in ZIA Locations

  • Users fail PAC or GRE path

  • ICMP to the VIP works, GRE does not

  • After a WAN IP change, tunnel never returned

CLI first — copy this block

Run these on the Zscaler device or console named in the ticket. Do not skip the first show command — it tells you which later command matters.

show interfaces tunnel 10
show ip interface brief | include Tunnel
ping 147.161.x.x source <public-wan-ip> repeat 20
show access-lists | include 47
show ip nat translations | include <public-wan-ip>
debug tunnel

How to read that output

The tunnel interface must be up/up and sourced from the IP registered in ZIA. If proto 47 is filtered, ping still succeeds. A new WAN IP that was not updated in the location object stays down forever.

Triage order

  1. Read the configured GRE VIP and source IP from the router.

  2. Compare them to the ZIA location object.

  3. Confirm proto 47 is permitted both ways and not NAT-hidden to a different IP.

  4. Test primary and secondary VIPs.

  5. Update the location public IP if the circuit changed.

Classic traps

What you see

Real cause

Fix

Zscaler outage

WAN IP changed last night

Update the location

Ping to VIP works

GRE is proto 47, not ICMP

Allow GRE

Rebuild the tunnel

Backup VIP was never configured

Add the second VIP

Proof the ticket is closed

  • Tunnel interface up/up

  • ZIA location shows GRE up

  • User HTTP log appears in ZIA

Say this in an interview

I verify the registered public IP and proto 47 on the router before I open a Zscaler ticket.

Need the full vendor lab, mock interview, and production runbooks? Techclick trains Palo Alto, Zscaler, F5, FortiGate, Check Point, Cisco ISE, Azure and routing with live CLI — start at https://www.techclick.in/

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