# FWD Sub-Processes Not Starting After System Restart

**Product**: IPSec VPN, Identity Awareness, Security Gateways  
**Version**: R81.10 (EOS), R81.20, R82  
**Last Modified**: 2025-12-21

## Symptoms

- After a system restarts (for example, reboot or cprestart), the following issues may be observed:  
  - FWD-related sub-processes such as vpnd and pdpd are not running.  
  - Services dependent on these sub-processes such as Identity Awareness and VPN are not working.

## Cause

The issue occurs when the `tp_conf_service` process is terminated or not running. You can verify its status using the following command:

- `cpwd_admin list | grep -E "APP|TP_CONF_SERVICE"`

If `tp_conf_service` is inactive, the FWD refresh handler fails, which prevents the initialization of its sub-processes.

**Note**: The root cause of `tp_conf_service` being down should be investigated, as it may point to a deeper configuration or stability issue.

## Solution

This problem was fixed. The fix is included in:

- [Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator for R82](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/documents/Jumbo_HFA/R82/Default.htm) starting from Take 41  
- [Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator for R81.10](https://sc1.checkpoint.com/documents/Jumbo_HFA/R81.10/Default.htm) starting from Take 183

If you choose not to upgrade, Check Point can supply a **Hotfix**. [Contact Check Point Support](https://www.checkpoint.com/support-services/contact-support/) to get a Hotfix for this issue.

A Support Engineer will make sure the Hotfix is compatible with your environment before providing the Hotfix.

For faster resolution and verification, please collect [CPinfo files](http://supportcontent.checkpoint.com/solutions?id=sk92739) from the Security Management Server and Security Gateways involved in the case.

**Hotfix installation instructions**:

Refer to [sk168597 - How to install a Hotfix](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk168597).

Also, this workaround is available: manually restart the FWD process using the following commands:

1. `cpwd_admin stop -name FWD -path "$FWDIR/bin/fw" -command "fw kill fwd"`
2. `cpwd_admin start -name FWD -path "$FWDIR/bin/fw" -command "fwd"`

This will reinitialize the FWD process and its associated sub-processes.

#### NOTE

This solution has been verified for the specific scenario, described by the combination of Product, Version, and Symptoms. It may not work in other scenarios.