NI Network Browser scan remotely through vpn

[nikosfs]

I want to be able to run my VIs locally in my computer but the cRIO and the Ethernet expansion chassis are connected to the local network on site.

I have created a VPN and I have remote access to the web interfaces of the routers. But I cannot see the NI hardware in the NI Network Browser even though in MAX they are visible.

According to this white paper: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/12402/en/ I should forward the TCP port 52725 for the NI Network Browser. I include it in the Port Forwarding list, but NI Network Browser still has zero results.

What else should I set ?

[edjones93]

Hello

I am Ed at National Instruments Technical Support. I am happy to assist you with your query, a good first step is to use the real-time target discovery wizard utility. This should test your firewall ports for you and provide some information as to why it is currently not functioning as expected. I have included the installation page and an article walking through the discovery wizard below:

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-39608

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/ABE4BC247E8AC9BC8625734E005CAB42?OpenDocument

The VPN, gateways and your laptop all need to forward the ports, additionally your laptop will need to have specific processes accepted by the windows firewall, for which I have included a few articles below which describe the process of configuring the windows firewall:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/0D7B86F4B4D19A5E86256F9A006EECB1?OpenDocument

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/12402/en/

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/BB3A4E062CE21A098625775F00710497?OpenDocument

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/5484/en/

I hope that this is helpful and your application is successful, if you have any questions regarding the above please don't hesitate to ask.

Best Regards,

Ed

[nikosfs]

Hello Ed !

Thank you for your answer.

The troubleshooting wizard that tis offered in NI MAX 15 is helpful, but it cannot find the problem.

When the computer is connected to the local network of the cRIO through VPN, it can see the cRIO in the NI MAX. It can also deploy the project. It is only the NI Network Browser that cannot find the cRIO.

The firewalls of the computer an the routers are Disabled.

The ports that are forwared from the router-modem to the router which hosts the VLAN where the cRIO is connected, are the following:

VPN connection type	Server Port
PPTP	TCP 1723
SSTP	TCP 443
L2TP / IKEv2	UDP 500
	UDP 4500
	UDP 1701 (If the router is directly connected to the Internet)

NI product or feature	Server Port
NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)	UDP 44525
Web Monitoring and Configuration	UDP 5353, TCP 52725, TCP 3580
LabVIEW Remote Front Panels	TCP 8000 (no SSL), TCP 433 (SSL)
Network Shared Variables	UDP 2343, UDP 6000-6010, TCP 59110 and above (one port for each application instance)

The troublehooting of the NI MAX passes all the tests (including the firewall) but finally it says that it cannot find the IP address of the cRIO, even though I can ping it and I can see it in MAX.

[edjones93]

Hello,

Okay, well a good next step would be to attach a NI MAX Technical Report of your PC you are attempting to access the cRIO from and a NI MAX Technical Report of the cRIO. If you are not aware of how to create such a report, I have linked this below:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/271F252B4EF0A2E0862570E70056A1E4?OpenDocument

Note: Select to create a technical support report.

With this I can check the software and some network configuration of both devices, at current the VPN should work with very little configuration required.

Can you connect to NI Network Browser when internal to the network that the cRIO is on?

In the meantime I will continue to research into possible causes of your issue.

Best Regards,

Ed

[JoshuaP]

The NI Network Browser uses a protocol known as mDNS to discover targets, but it is limited to only targets on the same subnet.  Most likely your VPN is on a different subnet than the rest of your systems.

An easy way to check is to check the IP address at both ends (target and host).  They will need to be in the same subnet mask in order for mDNS to discover the targets.

You may be able to make it work if you also enable/forward UDP port 5353.

[nikosfs]

I attach the Technical report (ni_support.zip) of the cRIO.

The UDP 5353 port is included in the ports forwarding list.

I tried also to use the same gateway like the cRIO's when connecting through VPN, by checking the "Use default gateway when connecting to remote network" in the Network Settings of the VPN connection.

They cRIO 9035 and the NI 9149 Ethernet Expansion chassis are still undiscoverable.

[edjones93]

Hello Nikos,

So I've had quite a few cases regarding Network Variables this week and have come up with some new troubleshooting steps.

I would like you to first download and install nmap, this is a network mapping utility and will tell for us what ports are open on the cRIO through the VPN. So, these are the steps:

1. Download and Install nmap: https://nmap.org/

2. Connect to the VPN.

3. Open up nmap and input the target to be the cRIO IP Address.

4. Select the profile to be an Intense Scan of all TCP ports.

5. Scan the system, then select in the context menu Scan -> Save Scan.

Attach the scanned information and also review it for yourself, you will see what ports are open in the sense of completely open between the cRIO and the device performing the nmap scan. If these ports do not appear then this is a forwarding issue. Could you also please verify your network settings and the network settings of the router being used in the VPN network as well as your router that you are accessing internet from to connect to the VPN, the details being of the following:

IP Address, Gateway Address, DNS Server, Subnet Mask.

For the following devices:

1. The device you are connecting from (PC/Laptop).

2. The router/gateway in the network that the cRIO is on (and VPN).

3. The router/gateway that your device is connecting to the VPN from.

Best Regards,

Ed