ControlByWeb X-600M, User Manual

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X-600M Users Manual Appendix E: External Server and Remote Services
Appendix E: External Server and Remote Services
Note: The following methods are supported by the X-600M; however, Xytronix Research & Design, Inc.
does not provide or support custom third-party applications, or external web servers.
Accessing X-600M with Custom Software or Third-Party Applications
Custom applications can send commands to the X-600M for monitoring and control functions using XML
or JSON files. (See
Section 6: XML/JSON Operation for more information.) The application interface
can be used to provide a custom user interface, access to multiple units in a single screen, and allow for
automation, logging, and other application-specific features.
Using an External Web Server
Rather than accessing the X-600M directly from a computer, an external web server can be used. The
term “external” web server is used here to mean a separate web server (such as Apache or IIS) that is
not the web server built into the X-600M. In this scenario, users can access custom web pages that
reside on the external web server and the external web server communicates with the X-600M.
An external web server can integrate multiple ControlByWeb devices into a single control page. In other
words, the user may not be aware that he/she is using multiple ControlByWeb devices, but rather the
user sees an integrated control page for the entire system. In addition, the use of an external web server
allows programmers to create custom user interfaces that take advantage of the additional resources
typically available on larger web servers, including more memory and various web programming
languages.
There are two approaches that an external server can use to communicate with the X-600M and other
ControlByWeb devices - Direct Server Control and Remote Services.
Direct Server Control
The first approach is for the external server to create a TCP connection whenever it needs to access the
X-600M. In this case, the external server opens the connection, sends commands and/or reads the
device, and then closes the connection.
This method is ideal when the web server and all of the X-600M devices are on the same network
(without routers between them). In this case, the server can communicate with the X-600M devices
directly and securely since data never has to leave the local network.
When the server and the X-600M are on different networks, routers must be configured to allow
appropriate access. If a public network is used, such as the Internet, security precautions should be
considered.
Remote Services
The second approach is for the X-600M to initiate a connection using Remote Services. The settings
under the
Network > Advanced Network > Remote Services Client menu tab in the setup pages will
enable the X-600M to open a TCP connection with an external server. Once the connection is open, the
external server can send commands and/or read the device. The external server can leave the
connection open (so that it never closes) or it can close the connection.
“Remote Services” is ideal for installations where the server and the X-600M are installed on different
networks. This is especially useful when each X-600M is installed on a separate, private network.
For example, if the user does not control the network connections where the X-600M is installed,
Remote Services would initiate a TCP connection over the Internet with the control computer. Since the
X-600M initiates the connection, the control computer does not have to know the IP address of the X-
600M. This means that the X-600M can be installed using DHCP. In addition, no special router
configuration is required. This makes the network installation of X-600M very simple, and since no
Xytronix Research & Design, Inc. Page 121