When a connection stops working

Connections are checked on a schedule rather than only when an agent uses one, so a problem usually surfaces before it interrupts anybody.

What the states mean

• •Connected — the last check succeeded.
• •Degraded — reachable, but something is wrong: slow responses, partial

failures, a capability that has stopped answering.

• •Failed — the last check could not connect or was refused.

The usual causes

• •A credential expired or was rotated at the other end.
• •The host moved, or a firewall rule changed.
• •The account's permissions were reduced.
• •The API version you were using was retired.

What an agent does meanwhile

Tools from a failed connection return an error rather than pretending. The model is told the call failed, so it can say so instead of inventing an answer — which is why a broken connection produces "I could not reach the order system" rather than a confident and wrong reply.