How to rule out SphereShield as the root cause of an issue?

At many occasions we encounter issues that might look at first glance like an issue originating from SphereShield's components/filters.

When we encounter an issue which makes us unsure over where the root cause lays we have a few methods which are able to find the root cause of the issue:

1. Registration issues:

When trying to find the root cause of an issue which is related to registration & login we can look into disabling a few components in SphereShield:

a. LAC Filter - the LAC filter is a component that performs blocks and changes to the traffic (in accordance to what was set in the Admin Portal) therefore disabling it can make the Bastion act as a "Clean" reverse proxy (No traffic filtering, just pass-through). In order to disable the LAC filter for testing purposes you can comment out the <Filter> tag in the Bastion XML file (named Bastion.xml). Note that there is a <Filters> tag and a <Filter> tag. The one that needs to be commented out is the <Filter>. After the change it should look something like - 

b. Direct the traffic to bypass the Bastion - we can try to direct the traffic directly to the FE servers in order to bypass the Bastion and rule out the option that the Bastion is causing an issue

c. Stop SIP filter service - in the case where PC registration is enabled, turn off the SIP filter ( it should be either "SkypeShield (SIP Module)" or "AGAT SIP Filter") in order to verify that issue is not caused by the service.

2. Ethical wall/Skype for Business modalities:

If we encounter and issue with the basic modalities/functions of Skype for Business After being able to login (for example, unable to start an audio call, send an IM, see presence, present desktop etc.) it could have a variety of causes. To rule out the possibility that SphereShield is the root cause follow the steps below. After each step try to replicate the issue and see if it was resolved:

a. Disable the Ethical wall - if the Ethical Wall mechanism is causing this issue we can simply disable (even temporarily) the Ethical Wall configuration in the Admin Portal, under "Ethical Wall" in the settings menu of the Admin Portal.
b. Disable the DLP - if the DLP mechanism is causing this issue we can simply disable (even temporarily) the DLP configurations in the Admin Portal. Under "DLP" in the settings menu of the Admin Portal.
c. Stopping the the SIP Filter service - If none of the above resolves the issue try to stop the SIP Filter's service (Service name is "SkypeShield (SIP Module)" or "AGAT SIP Filter") and then try to replicate the issue (initiate a call, send an IM etc.). If the issue persists it is likely caused by some misconfiguration in Skype for Business or a server error.