Good Afternoon,

I am working on a script for Linux to auto install the IP connector server and dashboard. I previously wrote a brief step by step on how to build and run the srf-ip-conn-srv package. The below link will take you there if you need a good place to start. This tutorial is written as part two, picking up directly where part one left off.

(No seriously, please at least review the first tutorial so you know what directories are what and why the commands I list below are being used)

https://forum.sharkrf.com/viewtopic.php?p=6084#p5963

If you don't need a primer on anything and just want the guts of the process scroll ALLLL the way down to SUMMARY.

The below instructions will walk you through setting up the srf-ip-conn-srv which is required before you can run the dashboard, it also gives us some time to learn about IP addresses and how to move and rename files in the linux terminal. There is no desktop required for any of my tutorials, just a terminal.

This tutorial is written on the idea that you have internet coming into a modem/routeing device and your pc is connected to that routing device (some people may have both the modem and a separate router while others will have the router/modem combo (typical Internet provider install)
This tutorial requires you have access to your router/modem. Access is required to open and forward communication ports to the srf-ip-conn-srv computer. Otherwise communication to the srf-ip-conn-srv will be limited to within your internal network (read as "in your house only") **********************************************************************************************************************
Do you have a Dynamic or Static IP address ?
* Ok, so here is the scenario. You have basic internet services i.e you just pay for a package or internet. If this sounds like your setup, than its likely that your IP is dynamic (read as "it changes weekly/monthly).

* If you pay extra to your internet provider for a static IP (Read as "IP never changes") then well you guessed it..you have a static IP.
** if you have a dynamic address, the dashboard and srf-ip-conn-srv will be accessible only at the IP assigned at the time and may change weekly or monthly. Please keep an eye on your IP.
** If your static, the dashboard and srf-ip-conn-srv will be set up and always be accessible via the static IP you have assigned.
*******************************************************************************************************************

Copy the srf-ip-conn-srv config files to your server directory cp ~/sharkGIT/srf-ip-conn-srv/config-example.json ~/Sharkserver/ Rename the config-example.json file (making a backup at the same time) cp ~/Sharkserver/config-example.json ~/Sharkserver/config.json Open the config file in nano (make sure nano is installed)
-- Nano install sudo apt-get install -y nano -- edit config nano ~/Sharkserver/config.json The following is an example of the content you will see in your newly created config.json : { "port": 65100, "ipv4-only": 1, "bind-ip": "", "max-clients": 1000, "max-api-clients": 100, "client-login-timeout-sec": 10, "client-timeout-sec": 30, "server-password": "", "auth-fail-ip-ignore-sec": 5, "pidfile": "srf-ip-conn-srv.pid", "api-socket-file": "/tmp/srf-ip-conn-srv.socket", "server-name": "SharkRF IP Connector Protocol Server", "server-desc": "", "server-contact": "", "allow-simultaneous-calls": 0, "banlist-file": "" } The first thing you will see is that the port is set to 65100 , you will want to write this down so we can open that port in your firewall and in your router/modem at the end. As for the ipv4-only statement..the default value of 1 should be fine for the majority of networks and ip v6 is beyond the scope of this tutorial.Actually most of these settings are great default values to make sure the srf-ip-conn-srv is functioning. You can however put whatever values you would like in the "server-name", "server-desc" , and "server-contact" fields as they will be displayed on the dashboard that we install in the next tutorial.

you may also set the password in this file in the field "server-password" (Who knew..?) This is the password that will be required in the settings of your client connector within the sharkRF openspot box itself. If you choose to leave this blank than anyone with your srf-ip-conn-srv address will be able to connect with their sharkRF openspot device. ((if you fill in this value..write the password down in two spots))

When you are finished editing the config file, save it by holding down ctrl and pressing x Save modified buffer (ANSWERING "No" WILL DESTROY CHANGES) ? type y File Name to Write: config.json press enter

Ok, so now we have the config file edited and setup, we know our port and by leaving the bind-ip field blank the srf-ip-conn-srv should listen to whatever address is available on your machine. If you only plan on running one srf-ip-conn-srv then this setup will be just fine for you. I may touch on advanced uses in another post.

Now for the slightly more difficult part, as to write an all encompassing tutorial on this part would be near impossible.

(You can skip the router/modem address section if you already know what your router/modem address is Ex: 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1)

********************************************************************************************************************
************************************** How to find your router/modem Address********************************
********************************************************************************************************************

The goal is to log into the device your computer connects to for access to the internet, whether this is a router or a modem or a little of both. The best way to do this is to look at your current ip settings. To do so lets have the computer tell us what it calls our network card. sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces this will show up as # This file describes the network interfaces available on your system # and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5). source /etc/network/interfaces.d/* # The loopback network interface auto lo iface lo inet loopback # The primary network interface auto enp2s0 iface enp2s0 inet static address 257.302.344.999 netmask 255.255.255.0 network 257.302.344.000 broadcast 24.52.85.215 gateway 257.302.344.001 dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 the part we will pay attention to is : # The primary network interface
auto enp2s0
iface enp2s0 inet static If your computer is set to dynamic IP the above information will be much shorter, but what we are looking for remains the same. if you see more information like what I have above, then the address to your router/modem would be labeled gateway .

That enp2s0 is what the computer is calling my network card. The rest of the information in that file will look completely different than my own, as the machine I have setup has a static IP and I have changed the ip numbers to protect the innocent.

we will be looking for the name of your network card in the next batch of info to get an idea of what address your router/modem is at.

Check your network info netstat -r -n This should output something like : Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface
0.0.0.0 257.302.344.001 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 enp2s0
54.52.95.208 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.248 U 0 0 0 enp2s0
92.68.122.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 virbr0 The first row of information (not the headers ) should be your network card, you can look on the far right to confirm it is your network card. We want the Gateway numbers, so for above it is 257.302.344.001 (Not a valid IP address) . Write that down if you want to record your router/modem address. which is required to login to it.

************************************** End of finding your router/modem***************************************
********************************************************************************************************************

The following part is going to be required for anyone with a dynamic IP address that is behind a router/modem. if you are directly connected with a static IP you may skip this section.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************** DMZ or Port Forwarding***************************************************

Note your IP address[/]
hostname -I ** thats a capital I as in Idaho**

At this point in the tutorial, you need to login to your gateway device with a separate device connected to the network (open a browser and type your gateway address in the address bar) and find port forwarding OR dmz within your modem/router once you login.

With Port Forwarding you will want to open that port 65100 choose the traffic type which is considered UDP and enter your srf-ip-conn-srv ip address. you discovered with the hostname command above. then save your changes and exit your modem/router. You just opened a gate for your sharkRF communications.

With DMZ, you just find the DMZ setting in your modem/router and input your IP address from the hostname command above. and save your settings and exit your modem/router. You just opened a gate for your sharkRF communications. if you use the DMZ option, you will want to make sure you enable the firewall on the srf-ip-conn-srv to protect you from internet junk.

There are so many routers/modems that I cannot get into these all here, feel free to ask me any questions you may have if you get stuck.
***********************************************End DMZ or Port Forwarding**************************************

Now you have your srf-ip-conn-srv configured to receive and send data out your network and into the wild.

All that is left is to get the IP address that you will use in the settings of the sharkRF openspot client connector.
curl ifconfig.me after a few moments this will display your IP address that the world see's. This is the IP for the client connector.

by this point you should have the srf-ip-connector-srv running and have the address for your openspot.

you can test all this from a clean run by doing the following.
sudo killall srf-ip-conn-srv cd ~/Sharkserver ./srf-ip-conn-srv -f the -f flag will let us watch the server while we try to get connections. you now have the server running. So grab an openspot or get a hold of a pal with an openspot and have them set up the client connector with your public IP address, the port number and any password you set up. If the openspot connects to the server you will see it happen on you srf-ip-conn-srv.

Congratulations !! You now have a working srf-ip-conn-srv server !!

**************************************End of DMZ or Port Forwarding*******************************************
**************************************** END OF TUTORIAL #2**************************************************

**********************************************BEGIN SUMMARY**************************************************
Copy the srf-ip-conn-srv config files to your server directory cp ~/sharkGIT/srf-ip-conn-srv/config-example.json ~/Sharkserver/ Rename the config-example.json file (making a backup at the same time) cp ~/Sharkserver/config-example.json ~/Sharkserver/config.json Open the config file in nano (make sure nano is installed)
-- Nano install sudo apt-get install -y nano -- edit config nano ~/Sharkserver/config.json When you are finished editing the config file, save it by holding down ctrl and pressing x Save modified buffer (ANSWERING "No" WILL DESTROY CHANGES) ? Type y File Name to Write: config.json Press enter
log in to your router (sorry no summary for this step...please check up above)
set up port forwarding or DMZ with the internal IP of your srf-ip-conn-srv
Note your IP address hostname -I ** thats a capital I as in Idaho**
With Port Forwarding you will want to open that port 65100 choose the traffic type which is considered UDP and enter your srf-ip-conn-srv ip address.
With DMZ, you just find the DMZ setting in your modem/router and input your IP address from the hostname command above.
save your settings and exit your modem/router.
Now you have your srf-ip-conn-srv configured to receive and send data out your network and into the wild.
All that is left is to get the IP address that you will use in the settings of the sharkRF openspot client connector. curl ifconfig.me after a few moments this will display your IP address that the world see's. This is the IP for the client connector. by this point you should have the srf-ip-connector-srv running and have the address for your openspot.

you can test all this from a clean run by doing the following.
sudo killall srf-ip-conn-srv cd ~/Sharkserver ./srf-ip-conn-srv -f the -f flag will let us watch the server while we try to get connections. you now have the server running. So grab an openspot or get a hold of a pal with an openspot and have them set up the client connector with your public IP address, the port number and any password you set up. If the openspot connects to the server you will see it happen on you srf-ip-conn-srv.

Congratulations !! You now have a working srf-ip-conn-srv server !!