Black Pear products use APIs hosted on N3-connected servers. In order for these products to work, it is necessary to be able to connect to these services from the workstations running
This note explains how to troubleshoot connectivity problems with Black Pear products.
1. Can you browse to the api?
A browser can be used to quickly check whether the workstation can connect to a Black Pear api.
Open a modern browser and enter the service url, with '?test=true' appended (e.g. https://tatooine.blackpear.thirdparty.nhs.uk/pyruscloud/v1/esp/fhir/?test=true)
The browser should show the response 'OK - Connection confirmed'. This response shows that the browser has successfully connected to the api.
If the browser test does not give the expected response, perform check 2.
2. Can the domain name be resolved?
The workstation must be able to lookup up the IP address for the api server from the N3 Domain Name System servers.
To test domain name lookup, open a command prompt and run: 'nslookup <domain name>' (e.g. nslookup tatooine.blackpear.thirdparty.nhs.uk)
The command should respond with a 'Non-authoritative answer' including the IP address for the api (e.g. 10.162.245.243)
If the domain name cannot be resolved then there is a problem with the domain name lookup. This should be escalated to the local IT support team with the nslookup response as evidence.
If the domain name can be resolved but the browser test fails, perform check 3.
3. Can a network route be found to the api?
The workstation must be able to communicate with the api server over the N3 network. If the domain name can be resolved but the browser test has failed, it is most likely that there is a firewall or routing problem.
To test communication, open a command prompt and run: 'tracert <xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx>' (e.g. tracert 10.162.245.243)
In the first instance, this should be escalated to the local IT support team, with the nslookup and tracert responses as evidence.
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