topic Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P. in Teamwork & BIMcloud

BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

rob2218 — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:23:48 GMT

well, I come to find out that we need a "static I.P." address to use the BIM server in a remote capacity.

I've been told that you can "fool" or mimic a static I.P. address by using a Dynamic DNS service.

What is this for all you tech guru's?

Once I have a static IP address in our office, then what's the process for making the BIM server work?

What works better, a V.P.N. into the server or using the BIM Server software to load up on a laptop?

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:56:55 GMT

We have a static IP address for our server, but are using DNS to access the server, both inside and outside the office. Everyone access server.domain.com and there is no issues. Works for those on Windows and Mac. This is what the Dynamic DNS will get you.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

rob2218 — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:00:02 GMT

thanks sir.
I was told the Dynamic DNS setup could potentially have "glitches" since it's not a 'static i.p.' connection and you are going thru a 3rd party to 'pretend' there is a static i.p. to which the BIM server connects to.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:41:38 GMT

We have a static IP address, but do not access the server by IP address. It is accessed via a DNS address. We tried to access by IP originally, but or network setup wont let internal traffic reach our BIM Server by the external IP address. It is all sent to the internal address (a 192.168.xxx.xxx number). So we set up a subdomain for our BIM Server which is pointed at the static IP of the actual computer (there is some tricky firewall stuff going on as well) But in essence the same thing that Dynamic DNS is doing. I have used them to access computers before that were on Dynamic IPs. There is a small application that runs on your computer that tells DYNDNS what your current IP address is and DYNDNS updates the records to point server.domain.com to your current IP address. NOTE: I have not tried this with the bimserver, but have used is with network rendering software effectively.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:59:02 GMT

Strangely, Graphisoft has been cautioning against using a dynamic DNS service recently, even though throughout 13 they recommended it.

My guess is that they found that some people were not properly updating their DNS assignment, causing things to break and wasting tech support time.

This is the key: you MUST make sure that if you have a dynamic IP and using a dynamic DNS service such as the free dyndns.org - that you do at least one of these things (1) install and run their helper application which will report to their servers any time your external IP address changes, and/or (2) if your cable modem or router supports it, have it report any updated IP address back to the dynamic DNS server.

The installation of the helper app is described on the provider web site.

Dynamic update via your modem or router depends on which of the 100's of models you have. Attached is a screenshot for my Netgear router's page which "knows" about dyndns.org and will update things automatically even if no computers are on. The hostname is the free hostname that you request from dyndns.org. The username/password are your credentials for logging onto you dyndns.org account.

Cheers,
Karl

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Dennis Lee — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:07:09 GMT

We are using DYNDNS.com's service, I upgraded to a paid service. It's about $15/year and I have no problem accessing the BIM server from anywhere. There is an application that you install on the server that can update the IP address whenever it changes.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

vfrontiers — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:24:39 GMT

Sidebar:

Is it possible to assign a LOCAL STATIC IP for a windows laptop using a WIRELESS connection... I can't seem to get it to work...

Ran thru the same drill as WIRED CONNECTION (which worked fine)...

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:47:27 GMT

It depennds on the hardware, but you should be able to map the MAC address of the notebook to always get the same IP assinged to it. I had to do this at home for my printer that was on the wifi network. My son likes to push buttons, so it would be powered off frequently, and turned back on get a new IP address. I would have to reinstall the printer so my MacBook could print to it again.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

vfrontiers — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:53:20 GMT

Yes, I did read that that was the way to go... Only I also went to NAME.COM and found that Duane actually means "Not an IT guy"!...

I have a current Netgear Wireless Router... I can get into the SETUP system... but I could not find the menu that allows me to map IP to MAC address...

About 30min of web surfing yielded nothing and that's all the time I had... I see others with the same SETUP screens as I have (for other issues) and wonder if anyone would be so kind as to point me in the right direction....

TIA...

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

rob2218 — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:03:01 GMT

So...just's so's I'm clear as mud here......

A STATIC I.P. address is what GS is recommending...is it not?

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:19:05 GMT

Duane, What model Netgear Wireless router do you have?

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:08:04 GMT

rob2218 wrote:
So...just's so's I'm clear as mud here......

A STATIC I.P. address is what GS is recommending...is it not?

Duane is talking about something different than the server. But related!

GS recommends a static EXTERNAL IP address - the address by which others can reach your network. You can see what your current external IP address is by going to whatismyip.com in your browser.

This recommendation is not essential - that is that I was talking about in my post - how to successfully use the (cheaper) dynamic IP address that most people have.

A static LOCAL IP address is another story altogether. Setting up your BIM Server machine with a static LOCAL IP address (192.something, 169.something, 10.something etc) lets you set up your router's port forwarding for BIM Server requests so that all external requests are sent to your actual BIM Server machine. This port forwarding is not necessary in a local-only network, only when you need external access.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:12:05 GMT

vfrontiers wrote:
I have a current Netgear Wireless Router... I can get into the SETUP system... but I could not find the menu that allows me to map IP to MAC address...

Duane,

Here's the screen from my Netgear router ... click on LAN Setup and then under Address Reservation, click Add. (I've assigned a static address to a wireless access point used in the living room for my Blu-Ray player and DirecTV receiver, allowing me to access its control panel consistently by that address even if it is power cycled... which is often, since I mostly leave it off to save energy.)

Cheers,
Karl

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

vfrontiers — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:14:59 GMT

Michael wrote:
Duane, What model Netgear Wireless router do you have?

WNR2000

I am just trying to get my MAC and PC Laptop communicating again... Using CONNECT TO SERVER (MAC) I [apparently] have to samba in an IP... Wireless connections get dealt a new IP often and it's a pain...

Can I connect to server using the MAC address? or does it have to be IP?

(man, it almost sounds like I know some I.T.)

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

vfrontiers — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:16:42 GMT

Ooops... looks like there's my answer!

Thanks Karl! (and everyone else!)

Wish I could afford an IT guy...

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

rob2218 — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:26:35 GMT

Our I.T. (sub-consultant) comes into today to reset our I.P. from a Dynamic one to a Static address so we can remotely access the BIM server with having to go thru a third party.

Now, I just thought of this concern I have.
Now that our IP addresses will ALL be different, what happens to the data in Archicad being accessed/linked to our users?

When I open up Archicad and try to connect to the BIM server.....will my projects lose their HOTLINKED connections to other files since the IP addresses will be different?

Will I have to relink all my 16 floors of my multiple hotlinked TW files onto each other or will they remember where they need to relink themselves from?

Will I need to search on some sort of "LIST" that allows me to reroute-reconnect/re-path to the new Static IP address information?

I'm a bit concerned that our users will FREAK when the files don't link or update automatically like they were before our switch from the Dynamic IP to the Static IP.

Please, advise.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:04:53 GMT

rob2218 wrote:
Our I.T. (sub-consultant) comes into today to reset our I.P. from a Dynamic one to a Static address so we can remotely access the BIM server with having to go thru a third party.

To clear up a possible misunderstanding: you are NOT going through a third party when you have a dynamic (cheap) IP address and a domain name lookup service such as dyndns.org. No data at all goes through a 3rd party site! All that happens is that your domain name is mapped to your actual dynamic IP address by the standard internet domain name service function ... once a remote computer has obtained that IP address, all communication is direct (well as direct as IP traffic can be) to your server.

There is no security issue, nor any speed issue.

A static IP can be the most trouble free, but it is no more secure or fast.

Just in case there was any confusion...

Cheers,
Karl

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:08:22 GMT

rob2218 wrote:
Now, I just thought of this concern I have.
Now that our IP addresses will ALL be different, what happens to the data in Archicad being accessed/linked to our users?

When I open up Archicad and try to connect to the BIM server.....will my projects lose their HOTLINKED connections to other files since the IP addresses will be different?

Will I have to relink all my 16 floors of my multiple hotlinked TW files onto each other or will they remember where they need to relink themselves from?

Will I need to search on some sort of "LIST" that allows me to reroute-reconnect/re-path to the new Static IP address information?

I'm a bit concerned that our users will FREAK when the files don't link or update automatically like they were before our switch from the Dynamic IP to the Static IP.

Please, advise.

This is why one should "never" access a BS via the IP address, but rather via a domain name. If you call your BS myserver.yadayada.com and access it via that name both internally and externally, you will never have a problem. Perhaps things got improved in 14, but in 13, you could not address a server by both a local IP address and an external IP address - libraries/etc would not be found.

Maybe someone running 14 BIM Server actively remotely has more up to date info.

Cheers,
Karl

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

rob2218 — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:47:46 GMT

thanks Karl.
amazing how our I.T. sub is here and mentioned to us that we had a few options to choose how we connect to the BIM server.....via the Static IP address or a domain name....exactly what you had just posted!

We are in the process right now dialing into our domain name the information so all our PC's/Mac's can access it rather than the IP address.

I'd surely like to pick your brain a bit more since it seems you have had experience on this personally.

Re: BIM server - remote Teamwork access - Static I.P.

Karl Ottenstein — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:12:42 GMT

rob2218 wrote:
I'd surely like to pick your brain a bit more since it seems you have had experience on this personally.

Not really, other than beta testing it all. But, then I'm kind of an IT / geek guy.

Hope your guy gets you running smoothly!

Cheers,
Karl