Internet Access

 Now that you've been successful with your Ethernet connections and the local LAN, you'll want to move onto access via the Internet.

Method1:

All routers are different in their setup procedures, but the main idea is the same. Refer to your router manual for detailed and specific instructions. We cannot answer router-specific setup questions. 

By now, you should know your RTE or Watcher IP address on your local LAN. When accessing via the internet, your router must know how to handle such legitimate requests and to deny unauthorized requests. You must open a TCP port in your router and direct it to the default port (3001) of your Glentek unit. Usually, this is done by forwarding a PORT request to access port 3001 to the local IP address and port of your Glentek device. This is done under the PORT FORWARDING section (often called NAT/QOS). The RTE and Watcher devices use TCP protocols (as opposed to UDP).

Here's a link to a simple WIKI tutorial on PORT FORWARDING: HERE

So when a request comes for the internet to access PORT 3001, it will be forwarded to the RTE or Watcher for further processing. 

 Next, in your COM PORT REDIRECTOR  (or CPR manager) setup for your virtual COM port, you must change the COM PORT settings to direct all of the selected COM PORT access requests to your PUBLIC IP address. Set it to PORT 3001 also.

You can find out what your PUBLIC IP address is by going to the IPChicken.com website at http:\\www.IPCHICKEN.com   ... your IP address will be prominantly displayed at the top of their website. 

That really is all there is to it. 

To look at this another way, if you're on the outside and you want to access something on your LAN, you need to point to your PUBLIC IP address. But you must also say what PORT you want to talk to. In the case of the RTE and  Watcher redirector programs, you want to point your remote software to xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx :3001  where the x's are your Public IP address and the 3001 is the default port of the RTE and Watchers.

So now inside your router, when it sees a request from the outside world to access PORT 3001 on your LAN, it needs to know what to do with this request. So, using the PORT FORWARDING feature of your router

     Direct the incoming port 3001 requests (often called the FROM Port) to the LOCAL LAN IP address of your Glentek unit and to its Port 3001.   Specify the TCP protocol

Remember, you may change the port number of your unit by accessing the internal web server. All "3001" ports above would then have to be changed to the new port number.

Method2:

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Many of the newer routers can function as a VPN. We won't go into the details since this involves setting up a router designed to do this (most are not).  Essentially, when you log onto your VPN from the outside, it is the same as if you were on your home LAN. You would then not need to change your redirector settings when accessing from the outside. 

If you have a Linksys router (such as WRT54G(L)), you may convert your router to act as a VPN for external access to your LAN.

A link to how to flash your router may be found HERE. This is not a simple process nor is this intended to be a tutorial, but if you have some expertise in this area, it works very well and the firmware is FREE. It is well worth the effort since operating from outside your LAN (via Internet) is the same as operating internally (after you log in of course). 

 We do not recommend software VPNs (such as Hamachi) since this defeats the purpose of PC free remote operating.

 STATIC PUBLIC IP ADDRESSES

Your ISP may change your public IP address periodically. You may subscribe to a service called DDNS Update Client that will assign you a URL address of your choice (for example you could choose fred.at_home for example).  Requests to that URL will be forwarded to your public IP address. (That's a number like 68.345.222.1). Should your ISP change it, a device inside your LAN will detect the change and contact the DNS service provider who will then link it to the new IP. 

Some information regarding Update Clients may be found  HERE

So what's the device? Many routers will provide this function. Check your router manual to see if it has a dynamic DNS service feature. Otherwise, you may load software onto any LAN computer that is running all the time. 

A partial list of routers that will support the DynDNS service (below) may be found HERE

There are many DDNS services to choose from ... see for example:

DynDNS.org

ZoneEdit.com

No-IP.com

easyDNS.com

TZO.com

Most of these companies offer free services.