Remotely Connect to a Master

remeolb

I am not a networking guru so I don't even know where to start researching this. What do I need to do to remotely connect to a customer's master through the internet? More specifically, what equipment do I need and how do I setup the connection?

CT-Dallas

Most job sites will not have outward facing static IP addresses. Instead they have dynamic addresses assigned to the modem by their ISP and these numbers can change every 30 minutes or so. Many programmers will use dyndns.org to track the masters. Many routers have support for this website built into them. You will need a username and password (free) and you get 5 free addresses to monitor.

Once you know what IP your remote site is at, you will want to direct (port forward) traffic on the netlinx 1319 port to your master. Your router should have a rules section that will allow you to set up the port forwarding. In some cases, you have to create the 1319 rule one page of the router configuration and then go to another to map what you created to the IP address of the master.

remeolb

Locally, the isp most people use provides one free static IP. You just have to request it. So, that shouldn't be an issue.

remeolb

CT-Dallas wrote: »

Most job sites will not have outward facing static IP addresses. Instead they have dynamic addresses assigned to the modem by their ISP and these numbers can change every 30 minutes or so. Many programmers will use dyndns.org to track the masters. Many routers have support for this website built into them. You will need a username and password (free) and you get 5 free addresses to monitor.

Once you know what IP your remote site is at, you will want to direct (port forward) traffic on the netlinx 1319 port to your master. Your router should have a rules section that will allow you to set up the port forwarding. In some cases, you have to create the 1319 rule one page of the router configuration and then go to another to map what you created to the IP address of the master.

So my understanding is that...

-I setup port forwarding for port 1319 in the customer's router and I use the master's IP as the server IP address
-Then, how do I remotely connect to that from my office?

Jimweir192

The chain looks something like this:

Netlinx Studio PC - Remote Public IP Address (Static Public Address of client router or DynDNS Name)

Client System Router - Fixed Static Public IP Address (or dyndns name). Forward all traffic on port 1319 to local LAN address of Master (ie 192.168.1.100)

AMX Master - Fixed Static Private IP Address as set in Router (ie 192.168.1.100)

remeolb

remeolb wrote: »

Locally, the isp most people use provides one free static IP. You just have to request it. So, that shouldn't be an issue.

Actually I just found out that they only allow a static for business accounts. So that dyndns.org should help.

remeolb

Jimweir192 wrote: »

The chain looks something like this:

Netlinx Studio PC - Remote Public IP Address (Static Public Address of client router or DynDNS Name)

Client System Router - Fixed Static Public IP Address (or dyndns name). Forward all traffic on port 1319 to local LAN address of Master (ie 192.168.1.100)

AMX Master - Fixed Static Private IP Address as set in Router (ie 192.168.1.100)

That's a great visual. Once I have everything set up like this and I'm in front of NetLinx Studio what do I use for the connection settings? Do I just set it to TCP/IP and then use the IP address of the customer's router? What would I use if I was tracking it with DynDNS?

CT-Dallas

yes. one of the address options from dyndns is getmyip.com

so an example url for your master would be nameyouregistered.getmyip.com

I would uncheck the PING master box when setting up the address. I can never get it to work when that is checked.

John Gonzales

There are a few threads on the forum about this with good info, but it's not so easy to search.

Another way of connecting which is significantly easier is through VPN. If you spec out routers that support VPN, then you can essentially login or "tunnel" into the network at the installation site and you'll receive a local IP address. From there you can communicate with all the devices on that remote network as though it was local.

-John

John Gonzales

A trick I use when working with dynamic IPs is to set the router to email me some sort of security log daily. If for any reason there's a problem with the dyndns update, then you can check the IP address from the last email and connect directly to the numeric IP from which it was sent. This has saved me on a few occasions.

-John

Jimweir192

VPN is superior but requires a lot more skill and knowledge of addressing to setup initially than port forwarding.

The other point to note with port forwarding is that you only need access to a single master (if you have multiple masters) and this will allow you to download to all masters and TP's via a single address.

Great tip for the emailed security logs, John!

CT-Dallas

i would also suggest forwarding port 23 (telnet) to your master. This will allow apps like putty to drill into the master.

I have a telnet app on my iphone and this has helped on several occations.

You can also port forward to panels for VNC. I suggest adding a VNC password to the panel, but it is super handy.

DHawthorne

I generally forward 1319, 21 (FTP) and 23 (Telnet). If the ports are in use by something else, I'll map another port to them to allow that access. I will also usually set a static IP in a touch panel, and forward 5900 (VNC) to that so I can push buttons while debugging more easily.