Generally, there are three main types of disconnections or dropped connections:
- Timeouts
- Network disconnections
- Crashes
These all result in you being disconnected from Landonline and can seem similar. However, each has a different cause and solution. The following examines each in turn and highlights what you can do.
It is important that customers report their dropped connection experiences to Customer Support on 0800 ONLINE (0800 665 463). This information will help LINZ to isolate and identify dropped connection issues.
1. Timeouts
A timeout occurs when your Landonline session has been idle (i.e. there have been no keystrokes or mouse movements) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, a pop-up box appears that tells you about the impending timeout (see below). If your Landonline session remains idle for a further two minutes, you will be logged off automatically.
Timeouts are a part of Landonline's design. To avoid being logged off, simply remain active within your Landonline session.
2. Network disconnections
A network disconnection occurs when the connection between your PC and Landonline is interrupted. This can have numerous causes. We recommend you ask your IT service provider to run network diagnostics to discover the location of connection problems.
When a network disconnection occurs, your Landonline session closes and you receive an error message similar to one of the following:
- "The network connection to your application was interrupted. Try to access your application later, or contact technical support."
- "Metaframe connection server interrupted – attempting to reconnect."
The cause of the disconnection may be located anywhere along the chain of connections between your PC and Landonline. This includes connections from your PC, to your modem or router, to your internet service provider (ISP), to the internet, to Landonline's ISP, and finally to Landonline. Given this, the first step to solving the problem is to find out where the network interruption is occurring.
One diagnostic you can discuss with your IT service provider is called pathping. Having your IT service provider run a pathping diagnostic to https://daas.landonline.govt.nz/ can tell them about any network problems at each link in the chain between your PC and Landonline's firewall (and how many links there are in that chain). To access the login page they will need a valid Landonline Digital Certificate installed. Your IT service provider may wish to read Microsoft's information about pathping and consider using it or other diagnostics to investigate the source of the problem.
One Landonline customer in Central Otago recently used pathping to help reduce the frequency of their network disconnections from Landonline. The pathping diagnostic revealed that network interruptions were occurring between their router and their ISP. Their ISP responded by carrying out work to reduce the network interruptions, consequently reducing the frequency of disconnections from Landonline.
3. Crashes
A crash is a failure within Landonline itself. There are two types: database crashes and application crashes. If a database crash happens while you are using Landonline, a pop-up message will warn you about the crash and provide you with further instructions. If an application crash occurs, you will receive an unusual Landonline error message while you are working within your session. An example is shown below.
If you receive an application crash error message, please take a screenshot showing the error (push the 'PrtScn' key and paste into an application like Microsoft Word). Note the exact error message, the error code, its subcode, the Landonline module number (found in the title bar), and then call Customer Support. This will help LINZ to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Summary
There are three main types of dropped Landonline connections, each with a different cause and solution:
- Timeouts are by design, and occur when your Landonline session has been idle for 15 minutes. To avoid them, stay active within your session by mouse or keyboard activity within the Landonline application.
- Network disconnections are accompanied by a network disconnection error message. They occur when the connection between your PC and Landonline is interrupted. Your IT service provider may be able to isolate the cause of the network disconnection. One diagnostic tool to assist them with this is pathping.
- Crashes usually result in unusual error messages. They are caused by a failure within Landonline itself. All application crashes should be reported to LINZ with the required information.
Information required for Customer Support
When reporting application crashes and network disconnections, please provide the following information to Customer Support if you can:
- When the problem occurred
- What you were not able to do satisfactorily
- The transaction ID or Landonline number
- Whether this has happened before
- How long you have been experiencing this for
- Any error messages
- A screenshot showing the error message, or, if not,
- The exact error message (including code and subcode)
- The module number (see the title bar)