cRIO in MAX - Firewall

[taper]

Having some trouble with MAX discovering a cRIO-9012.  I recently got a new Win7 laptop at work and my existing cRIO is no longer discovered under Remote Systems.  Since I know the static IP I can add it using Create New../Remote Device(not on the local subnet), but only if it is on my 255.255.255.0 subnet.  If I do this I can access all the settings except Add/Remove Software, which is what I need.  I get through all the menus to pick the installed modules, it reboots the cRIO into programming mode, then times out waiting for a response.  Everything works in LabVIEW, the project connects, the FGPA compiler works, RT Get Target Information.vi finds it.  I'm fairly certain this is a firewall issue.  On my old laptop I could temporarily allow programs access, which allowed everything to work.  This new one uses Windows Firewall, is controlled by corporate IT and I have no admin access to it.  I can request ports be opened for specific programs, but it isn't an easy process and they won't allow a blanket opening for a program.  I have UDP 44525 open, as shown in NI's official port list, and after digging around in the forums also added UDP 44515 and 44516.  I typically have the cRIO at 169.254.62.215 and the PC at 169.254.62.10.  The IT department went through my firewall logs and added a few more ports from what they saw in there.

The firewall rule that's been set for me uses C:\Program Files\National Instruments\MAX\NIMax.exe.  UDP Local Ports 5353,64087,62355  Remote Ports 44515,44516,44525,5353,6106*(cut off in the window, I can't view anymore, could be more).  Scope is Local IP Addresses 224.0.0.251 224.0.0.252.  Remote IP address 169.254.62.0/24 169.254.218.0/25.

I'm not too familiar with firewall routing, does the cRIO use a combination of IP/ports during discovery not shown above?

[AndyClegg]

Just checked on my firewall settings and MAX is not set as an exception through the firewall - yet I have done the same Add/Remove software task you are asking about today. There are many other NI applications that are set as an exception, so perhaps it works through one of the others - I can't see which ports are open in my firewall software, so can't help you any more than this.

[Aldo_A]

Hi taper,

First verify that it is a true networking/firewall issue by temporarily connecting your cRIO directly to your PC and disabling the PC's firewall. If the issue persists, then there might be a problem with the configuration on your PC or software installed on the cRIO/PC. If the behavior stops, then we do have a network issue.

I understand that you have opened UDP 44525 for MAX Ethernet Target Device Discovery, however, I recommend opening both TCP and UDP 44525 ports for incoming and outgoing traffic.

If the issue continues, look at your firewall log and filter traffic coming from your PC's IP address and the cRIO's address, from the log files, you can verify if certain comm. sessions are being blocked and at what specific ports. (this will depend on your company's firewall solution).

Hope this helps!

[taper]

I am using a direct crossover connection.  I have absolutely zero control over my firewall.  Everything else works, and on my old PC I saw the same behavior unless I opened the firewall.  My IT department has already gone through my logs several times and opened the ports it saw from that.

Is something other than \National Instruments\MAX\NIMax.exe used for discovery?  All the firewall exceptions granted to me are specific to this program, I'm wondering if another program is called or if an IP outside the allowed scope is being used.

[Aldo_A]

Hi Taper,

Not being able to access the Add/Remove Software settings is usually due to the cRIO being in a different subnet mask than your host PC. Please test out your connection to your cRIO when you are on the same subnet mask. for example:

Your cRIO

IP Address 169.254.62.215

Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

then your PC should have:

IP Address 169.254.62.216

Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

Try switching your PC to a static IP address with the IP settings mentioned above and let us know if that gets you access to the Add/Remove Software section on the cRIO.

[AndyClegg]

We've just had problems with connecting reliably to a cRIO, which was working well up to recently - and seem to have fixed it. Maybe worth checking on your system, particularly as you say the development PC is new.

- connection was being established between cRIO and PC but dropped out quite frequently - this was with a direct device to device connection with crossover cable

- tried lost of different cables, IP settings etc

- LAN network speed on PC had recently been set to "auto-negotiate" after a fix on our office network. Setting this back to 10Mbps Half Duplex gave a nice reliable connection.

It doesn't sound exactly like your problem, but maybe worth a try.