CISCO ASA 5515 IPS Error connecting to sensor

[Hansen Zhang]

Hello!

Problem:

I got the following error message when I try to access IPS using CISCO ASDM 7.1(3):

Error connecting to sensor. Error Loading Sensor

I have tried solutions suggested by other discussions with no success.

I am using Java Runtime 6.

When I checked the java console log it seems that it is caused by a java.io.FileNotFoundException: https://x.x.x.x:443/protected/idm/idm.sgz, could some one give me some ideas on how to solve this issue?

Thanks a lot !

[Marvin Rhoads]

Have you confirmed the IPS module is up?

From the ASA cli, run:

show module ips detail

[Hansen Zhang]

Yes I have, when I run the above command, here is the output:

Card Type:          ASA 5515-X IPS Security Services Processor

Model:              ASA5515-IPS

Hardware version:   N/A

Serial Number:      FCH18177HZB

Firmware version:   N/A

Software version:   7.1(8p1)E4

MAC Address Range:  88f0.31b3.5a31 to 88f0.31b3.5a31

App. name:          IPS

App. Status:        Up

App. Status Desc:   Normal Operation

App. version:       7.1(8p1)E4

Data Plane Status:  Up

Status:             Up

License:            IPS Module  Enabled  perpetual

I am able to use the session command to log into the ips module and run setup command.

However I do notice that running "sh tech" command causes the session to hang at the point where it was trying to get statistics for virtual sensor.

[Marvin Rhoads]

Has this ever worked? Is it in a non-production setting such that you could re-image the sensor and try it then?

[Hansen Zhang]

The IPS is in a non-production setting. And I have re-imaged it using the following command:

sw-module module ips recover configure image disk0:IPS-SSP_5515-K9-sys-1.1-a-7.1-8p1-E4.aip

sw-module module ips recover boot

But after boot up the error still persists.

[Marvin Rhoads]

Are you able to ssh to the sensor directly?

As an aside - why are you trying to get a new IPS configured? This product is long past end or sales (almost to end of support) and is not recommended for new deployments. It is not eve included in the CCNP security curriculum anymore.

[Hansen Zhang]

I figured out what the problem is. The default IP of the IPS was configured to be the same as another node on the network. I have corrected that issue and am now able to connect to the IPS. Thanks a lot for the help !

As for you question. We are using the IPS on this product mainly for academic research purposes, not for new deployment.

[Marvin Rhoads · Accepted solution]

Ah - duplicate IP address. That can indeed cause intermittent issues.

Thanks for the update.