Which step is essential when a laptop connected to VPN cannot reach internal resources?

Which step is essential when a laptop connected to VPN cannot reach internal resources?

• A. Disable VPN and use mobile data
• B. Verify VPN is connected
• C. Update the local firewall rules only
• D. Change language settings

Answer: (B)

The essential step is confirming the VPN session is actually connected. The VPN creates a dedicated secure tunnel and routes traffic destined for internal resources through the corporate network. If that tunnel isn’t up, traffic meant for internal hosts never reaches them, even if you can access the public Internet. Start by checking the VPN client status, ensuring authentication completed, and verifying you’ve been assigned a VPN IP address and the internal routes are in place. A quick test, like pinging a known internal server or attempting to reach an internal resource through the VPN, helps verify the tunnel is functioning. If the VPN shows as connected but resources are still unreachable, then you’d investigate DNS resolution, routing, or firewall policies. The other options don’t address the immediate need: turning off the VPN or relying on mobile data bypasses the required secure path, and changing language settings is unrelated to network connectivity.

The essential step is confirming the VPN session is actually connected. The VPN creates a dedicated secure tunnel and routes traffic destined for internal resources through the corporate network. If that tunnel isn’t up, traffic meant for internal hosts never reaches them, even if you can access the public Internet. Start by checking the VPN client status, ensuring authentication completed, and verifying you’ve been assigned a VPN IP address and the internal routes are in place. A quick test, like pinging a known internal server or attempting to reach an internal resource through the VPN, helps verify the tunnel is functioning. If the VPN shows as connected but resources are still unreachable, then you’d investigate DNS resolution, routing, or firewall policies. The other options don’t address the immediate need: turning off the VPN or relying on mobile data bypasses the required secure path, and changing language settings is unrelated to network connectivity.