r/Cisco

▲ 3 r/Cisco+1 crossposts

Cisco Secure Client / Duo Desktop authentication failing on Lenovo ThinkPads

I’m troubleshooting Cisco Secure Client VPN authentication with Duo MFA.

Most of our Dell laptops work fine, but we're experiencing issues with Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 and Gen 3 laptops.

Hardware:
Failing: Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (21MA) and Gen 3 (21SR)
Working: Dell Precision 3590
Same iPhone and Duo account work on the Dell
Windows 11, Duo Desktop 7.22

Issue:
When logging into Cisco Secure Client, the Duo authentication page prompts us to Install Duo Desktop, even though it's already installed and running.
Clicking Open App launches Duo Desktop, briefly attempts to load, then returns to the installation prompt. Previously, we also encountered Duo Push notifications where the iPhone's Approve button was greyed out during Bluetooth proximity verification.

Troubleshooting completed:
-Updated Lenovo BIOS, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi drivers, and firmware
-Verified Bluetooth LE Enumerator and other Bluetooth components are working
-Confirmed all three Duo Desktop services are running
-Verified local Duo Desktop ports 53100/53106 are listening and reachable
-Confirmed HTTPS connectivity to localhost
-Verified Duo Desktop's URL protocol handler launches the application
-Tested disabling Secure Boot with no improvement

Duo Desktop logs contain repeated TrustedPeerConnection RPC timeout errors.

Has anyone encountered this with Lenovo ThinkPads and Duo Desktop/Cisco Secure Client?

I’m pulling my hair out with this, and would appreciate any pointers.

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u/BK4K2 — 5 days ago
▲ 19 r/Cisco

Moving from Packet Tracer to PNETLab is an absolute night and day difference!

After passing my CCNA last Sept 28, I started diving straight into enterprise networking topics. I finally got access to our company's PNETLab server, and honestly, going from Packet Tracer to running actual images is mind-blowing.

​I just finished building a Site-to-Site VPN tunnel with IKEv2. Being able to run real debug commands and watch the actual packet exchanges and DPD checks happen live in the CLI (instead of Packet Tracer's limited sim mode) made everything click so much faster.

​Up next: diving into BGP configuration now that the tunnel transport is rock solid!

​If you're still relying solely on Packet Tracer, definitely make the jump to PNETLab or EVE-NG when you can. It makes practicing real-world troubleshooting way more satisfying.

reddit.com
u/yeeboixD — 6 days ago
▲ 1 r/Cisco

The rabbit hole you fall into when you start asking "what if?" while studying CCNA

Man... Idk if it's just me, but I'm starting to feel like if you don't actively ask yourself questions about a topic, you don't really deepen your understanding of it.

Look at this, for example...

I'm configuring DAI because that's the topic I'm currently covering in Jeremy's IT Lab. Then I realize my clients aren't getting IP addresses.

Okay... I check the switch, and DAI is doing its thing because I haven't configured DHCP Snooping yet.

Fine, let's configure DHCP Snooping. But then I'm like, "WTF? Which interfaces am I actually supposed to configure as trusted in this topology?"

The example in JITLab was pretty straightforward, so I start thinking about the path the DHCP messages will take during the DORA process. Eventually, I figure out which interfaces need to be trusted.

But then I start asking myself more questions:

  1. What happens if STP reconverges and the new forwarding path takes DHCP traffic through an interface I haven't configured as trusted? Could that prevent clients from getting IP addresses?
  2. What happens when you have multiple VLANs? You can't configure a trunk port to be trusted for DHCP Snooping in one VLAN but untrusted in another. So how are you supposed to approach this in a real network?

Something about my understanding clearly wasn't adding up.

I asked NotebookLM 'bout it, and the solution it suggested was something I'd briefly considered but hadn't seen Jeremy explicitly recommend: treat DHCP Snooping similarly to DAI and trust the appropriate interfaces connecting to other network devices, rather than trying to trust only the interfaces used by the current DHCP traffic path.

And I just can't help thinking... combining these technologies must be pretty normal in real-world networks.

If I were working in IT and got a ticket saying that PCs weren't getting IP addresses, only to discover that DHCP Snooping was dropping DHCP messages because of a trust configuration issue, I'd be completely lost.

And that's what got me thinking: you can follow a tutorial, understand everything the instructor explains, and still not understand how to actually troubleshoot or apply that knowledge in a real network.

Sometimes, it's the questions you ask yourself after the lesson that teach you the most.

u/AdjacentDR0ther — 6 days ago
▲ 2 r/Cisco

MISL program

Has anyone gone through the Cisco MISL program? If so, what was it like? what can you expect or get out of it? Specifically looking at their Sales pathway

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u/Slow-Mud-8103 — 6 days ago
▲ 0 r/Cisco

Where to start with deployment using automation

Would like to know what people use and where to get started with this. We have over complicated application deployments which require a lot of manual effort.

reddit.com
u/Any_Tumbleweed9660 — 7 days ago
▲ 25 r/Cisco

October 2026: Cisco NX-OS Software Security Hardening Release

October 2026: Cisco NX-OS Software Security Hardening Release

Cisco Advance Notification for Publication of October 7, 2026, Security Advisories

October 2026: Cisco License (Smart Software Manager) On-Prem Security Hardening Release

Exploitation and Public Announcements

The Cisco PSIRT is not (yet) aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerabilities that are described in this advisory.

reddit.com
u/sanmigueelbeer — 8 days ago
▲ 5 r/Cisco+1 crossposts

[HELP] Locked out of NCS 540 (Password Recovery Disabled)

I'm in a massive bind and hoping a kind soul here can help a fellow engineer out. I'm completely locked out of a Cisco NCS 540 (specifically N540X-6Z18G-SYS-D) , and password recovery is disable

reddit.com
u/SpludLennon — 12 days ago
▲ 35 r/Cisco

Any interest in a AMA type post from honest TAC?

The three of us were having a chat about our posts and had a thought of taking questions or topic suggestions from the community.

If it's of interest, please give us your questions or topics you want answers to. It can be about anything related to TAC, technology, Cisco, or roles. Please do give us time to respond since it takes a bit for the three of us to chat and write back.

Edit: The answer was yes. We will respond tomorrow evening after we are all off shift, UTC time.

reddit.com
u/StoriesFromTAC — 14 days ago
▲ 0 r/Cisco

cisco interview - manager round completed on sep 11, still showing under review

hi everyone,

i completed my manager round with cisco on sep 11. it has been a few weeks now, but my application is still showing “under review” and i have not received any update from the recruiter yet.

did anyone face the same issue after completing the manager round?

how long did it take to get an update?

did your status stay under review until the final decision?

did anyone get an offer or rejection after waiting for a few weeks?

please share your experience.

reddit.com
u/Useful-Piano990 — 13 days ago