RT and cRIO default Ports

[Priley]

I want to set up a cRIO rack so that I can access it remotely. I understand this can be done by setting the company firewall so that the Rack TCP/IP address is in the DMZ which could be fairly unsecure OR setting port redirection so a remote PC can access the rack.

Question: which one works?, what are the pitfalls and what is the default port number of these racks (where is it set?)

Paul

[RobSims]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for posting on the NI Forums.

The default ports for communication to a cRIO's Real-Time controller are documented on the Knowledge Base (KB) linked below.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/7798C466CA55912986256F23007E9122?OpenDocument

The methods you noted, DMZ and port forwarding should both work correctly. The DMZ method essentially removes any port blocking for the cRIO device and will be open to connection on any port, however the cRIO will not be able to send information into your firewall where your PC undoubtably resides. The second method is really what you'd have to implement even if your cRIO was in the DMZ.

A useful high-level definition and concept of DMZ's can be found below.

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/networksecurity/g/bldef_dmz.htm

In this case I would suggest using a port forwarding method so that communication to/from your cRIO are routed through to your PC. As the KB notes, only two of the communication ports may be modified, the VI Server port and the web server port. These may be set by right-clicking the cRIO target in the project explorer window and selecting 'Properties'. Within the resulting dialog box you should see these settings. However, if you are using LabVIEW 7.1 to program your cRIO, then you may target the cRIO as an RT target, once targeted use 'Options>RT Target Options' from the drop-down menu to get to a similar configuration dialogue box.

I hope this helps. Please post back if you have any further questions on this issue. Thanks,

Rob