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

[rob2218]

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?

[Anonymous]

Duane, What model Netgear Wireless router do you have?

[Karl Ottenstein]

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.

[Karl Ottenstein]

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

[vfrontiers]

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.)

[vfrontiers]

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

Thanks Karl! (and everyone else!)


Wish I could afford an IT guy...

[rob2218]

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.

[Karl Ottenstein]

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

[Karl Ottenstein]

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

[rob2218]

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.

[Karl Ottenstein]

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