---
title: "Troubleshooting"
slug: "aia-mcp-troubleshooting"
description: "Fix Kentik AI Advisor issues: troubleshoot authentication, MCP setup, missing data, slow responses, rate limits, and protocol-version timeouts."
tags: ["Authentication Failures", "Kentik API Issues", "Slow Query Responses"]
status: "update"
updated: 2026-11-10T03:42:57Z
published: 2026-11-10T03:42:57Z
canonical: "kb.kentik.com/aia-mcp-troubleshooting"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.kentik.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Troubleshooting

This article describes common issues with Kentik’s [**AI Advisor MCP Server**](/v1/docs/ai-advisor-mcp-server) and how to resolve them.

## **Authentication & Connection Failures**

- **Symptoms**: "Authentication failed", "Invalid credentials", timeout errors, or the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server shows as unauthenticated.
- **Quick Fixes**:
  - **Verify Your Region:** The most common error is mixing up the US and EU endpoints. Ensure your URL matches your account region (`api.kentik.com` vs. `api.kentik.eu`).
  - **Check Your Token (API Token Authentication):** Double-check that your API token is active in the Kentik portal and hasn't been revoked.
  - **Complete the Login (OAuth):** Your client shows the server as unauthenticated until you log in to the Kentik portal in the browser tab that opens.
    - In Claude Code, run `/mcp` and follow the prompts.
    - In Cursor, click **Authenticate** for the server.
  - **Use a Kentik Portal Account (OAuth):** OAuth requires a Kentik portal account. Confirm that you can log in to the portal.
  - **Firewall Rules:** Ensure your local network allows outbound HTTPS connections to the Kentik API endpoints.
  - **License Check:** Confirm with your admin that your specific account has AI Advisor access enabled.

## **MCP Server Not Appearing**

- **Symptoms**: The Kentik AI Advisor server doesn't show up in Claude Desktop or your chosen client.
- **Quick Fixes**:
  - **Validate Your JSON:** A missing comma or mismatched quote in the `claude_desktop_config.json` is the #1 cause of this issue. Run your config through a JSON validator.
  - **Check Your PATH:** Ensure `npx` is installed and available in your system's PATH (specifically required for Claude Desktop).
  - **Hard Restart:** Completely quit (don't just minimize) and restart your client application to force it to re-read the configuration file.

## AI Is Ignoring Kentik Data

- **Symptoms:** The AI responds to your network questions with generic advice, hallucinates answers, or fails to query Kentik.
- **Quick Fixes:**
  - **The "Kentik" Keyword:** Ensure you are explicitly including the word "Kentik" in your prompt (e.g., *"Show me my Kentik devices"* instead of *"Show me my devices"*).
  - **Verify Connection State:** Open your client's developer settings and verify the Kentik MCP server is showing as "Connected." If you use OAuth, confirm that you completed the login.

## Slow Responses or Timeouts

- **Symptoms:** Queries are taking a long time to return an answer or are timing out entirely.
- **Quick Fixes:**
  - **Patience for Complex Queries:** Deep network queries *can* take 30-60 seconds to process. Watch the real-time progress indicators to ensure that it is still working.
  - **Rate Limiting:** You may have hit the API rate limit. Wait 60 seconds and try again.
  - **Prompt Strategy:** Try breaking down massively complex questions into smaller, targeted follow-up questions using the `ask_followup` tool.

## Timeouts on Connect (Outdated MCP Protocol Version)

- **Symptoms:** Your client times out when connecting to AI Advisor, even though your credentials and endpoint are correct.
- **Quick Fixes:**
  - **Check your MCP protocol version:** AI Advisor's MCP server supports MCP protocol versions 2026-07-28 and 2025-11-25. Clients using any earlier version, such as 2024-11-05, are not supported and will time out.
  - **Update your client or library:** Update your MCP client, software development kit (SDK), or library to a release that supports one of these protocol versions. See the prerequisites in [**Getting Started**](/v1/docs/aia-mcp-getting-started).

## Related

- [Configuration Examples](/aia-mcp-configuration-examples.md)
- [Getting Started](/aia-mcp-getting-started.md)
- [MCP Tools Reference](/aia-mcp-tools.md)