Using DCS via the internet

Welcome to OGR.

There are a bunch  of real knowledgeable individuals including the one that wrote the book that may have  information your looking for.

Sorry, I'm not one of them.

I am very much interested in your question and will be listening to what some of them have to say.

Good Luck with that project.

Larry

East TN

Jim,

If you can open a port on your router and allow remote access to your home network, then anyone who logs into the network remotely should be allowed to connect to your WiFi camera and your WIU.

Thanks Larry for the "Welcome" and interest in my project.

Jim

Barry,

Thank you for the router port suggestion, I will investigate how to open the port and allow access to my local network while still keeping it as secure as possible.

I also want to thank you for writing and making available the "DCS Companion" books series.  I have the DCS Companion 3rd Edition and just learned of and purchased the DCS WiFi Companion 1st Edition.  These books are loaded with valuable information and I will be referring  to them regularly.  Again thank you for sharing your knowledge of and experience with DCS, it's greatly appreciated!

Jim

Jim, a really great idea for your grandkids!

The easiest and most secure way to go about this is to use a router with VPN support, or purchase one if you current router doesn't have it (they are not expensive at all)

iOS and Android support VPN login access. This allows them a private tunnel into your home network, but would still require a security token to gain access, so you can protect your internal network from unwanted guests.

Matt,

Thank you for the VPN suggestion to help increase my home network security.  I used VPN during my years of working from home for my employer but didn't get involved with the technical details.  I'll now check my current router (Apple AirPort Extreme) to see if it has VPN capabilities and how to use that feature.

Jim

Hello Jim, While this sounds easy it will take some complex setup, it is possible though! 

Barry mentioned about forwarding a port on your router, unfortunately it will take more than that as the app only scans the local network it is attached to and not remote networks via the internet.

The app doesn't support any way to instruct it what IP addresses the WIU's are using specifically, and it only scan the local network it is attached to to find the available WIU's. Also, you would need to know the specific port numbers that the WIU is using.  This all would required someone with networking expertise.

The best way (and simplest way) to accomplish this would be to use some VPN software that will allow your tablet to "tunnel" back to your network securely. When using a VPN, your tablet will function like you are operating it locally even though you are at a friends house using there WiFi or using a cellular connection. You would also need to have a router that has this VPN functionality built in.

I uses an ASUS router and have used the VPN functionality repeatedly on it.  The ASUS AI software has this built in and I believe they also have an app available for Android and Apple that allow these device to use the VPN functions on those devices. 

Now, I have never used the VPN functionality on my home router with my Tablet, only with my laptop. Also, I haven't tried running my trains via a VPN either. I'm curious as to how well this will work, so much so that I want to try it myself!

You can also ask your service provider for technical support, they are great but the process can be painful.

First, thanks to H1000 for your detailed response concerning VPNs and to PSU1980 for your tech support suggestion.  From everyones input, I can see that I will be consulting with a network specialist to help with finding the final approach for getting this "idea" into an actual working system.

With the need to dig deeper into required home network modifications, coupled with the Holiday Season upon us, and plans for spending a couple of weeks in search of the sun and its warmth; it will probably be late January or early February before I can make significant progress with this project.

Thank you everyone for your interest and excellent suggestions so far.  I'll continue to update this thread with details as I encounter and resolve problems faced with the project's implementation.

Until then, Seasons Greetings to each of you and may trains continue to bring a bit of joy to all!

Jim