DXLOG NETTVERK

 

NETWORK DXLOG

OPPSETT AV  SERVER

OPPSETT AV KLIENT

HAMACHI ADRESSE på NETWORK SERVER – Last ned hamachi her -> https://vpn.net/

LAN OG VPN NETTVERK 

FULL OPPSKRIFT med LAN og VPN HER >>> https://dxlog.net/docs/index.php/Additional_Information#Networking_over_internet

 

I DXLOG Aktiver nettverk ved å huke av på Nettverk.


sett opp IP adresser.

VED LAN sett opp dine PC sine ipadresser.

Ved bruk av VPN, så bruk Hamachi 25.xxx.xxx. eller 5.xxx.x.x.x for etablere nettverk.

Aktiver nummerserver !!

 

Networking over internet

When, for instance, activating a special event callsign it is possible to network multiple DXLog stations over the internet.

Pro tip: Consider displaying the callsign, message ID, Message text, etc. fields in the Network status
window when operating a distributed station. Also, learn to use the gab [Alt][G] and [Alt][J] function.

VLAN/VPN Solution

The most secure way for remote networking is to rely on a VLAN (virtual LAN) software. There are several available such as:

ZeroTier https://www.zerotier.com/
FreeLan http://www.freelan.org/
Player.me https://player.me/
OpenVPN https://openvpn.net/

Each VLAN solutions have their own particular set up which is covered in their respective documentations.
With a VLAN solution, all DXLog configurations are the same as when operating in a regular LAN however with a few exceptions.

One weakness with connections over the internet (a.k.a. WAN), including VLAN solutions, is that they are prone to packet loss.
Packet loss is disastrous to DXLog’s (or any logger’s) “standard” UDP networking.

It is therefore essential to use only client/server networking over a VLAN.
This also means you should never use interlock over an internet connection unless you use a zero packet loss VPN tunnel.

ZeroTier is particularly popular since it is free.

Since DXLog is able to mix TCP (client/server) and UDP (peer-to-peer) networking, a distributed station set up should be configured to rely on TCP
for the wide-area network and UDP for the local network at each station location. Below you will find the station
set up for the Swedish HQ station SE9HQ in the 2019 IARU HF Championship. The DXLog.net.DXC cluster client was run
on SK3W-A which distributed spots to all stations over the network. Inband interlock was also used at the SK3W location.

SE9HQ-network-eng.png

Important to note:

  • For the server as well as the main clients, Server IP should be set to the server’s VLAN IP address, not its LAN address.
  • The server should check both “Act as network server” and “UDP network broadcast for multiple stations”.
  • The main clients should check both “Connect to network server” and “UDP network broadcast for multiple stations”.
  • The sub clients should check only “UDP networking for multiple stations”.
  • Interlock (which is UDP-based) over VLAN does not work reliably because of packet loss.
Therefore, it is important to configure any interlock to only consider relevant operating positions,
which all must be local. Use the possibility to only consider named stations for the interlock in the software
interlock set up. Options|Networking|Software interlock “Custom station ID(s)”
  • For a large set-up with many stations connecting as clients to a central server you may overload the server if you also
distribute spots via all client-server connections. In this case, check the “No spots via client/server” option
on all stations and use local DX cluster connections via UDP at each location.
Important: Limitations in Windows networking makes client/server networking unreliable beyond 10 station locations.
  • Make sure to check Options->Load contest at startup to avoid opening the wrong log after a restart.
  • Remote commands are not forwarded in the network but are executed in the station where they arrive.
Thus, to clear all logs, disconnect networking on each main client, execute the remote command CLEARLOGNOW on each main client
to clear the logs of all sub clients and do not reconnect until the server and all other main clients have done the same.

Port forwarding Solution

If you are less worried about competitors or government agencies listening in on your contest data,
it is possible to route the traffic directly over the internet using port forwarding at the server.

Important security notice: This solution is not without risk. It offers no security or authentication.
Any DXLog station running the same contest configuration, knowing the URL or IP address and IP port of the
server can connect to the server station. There are no means to disconnect a station by force.

Also note the comment about remote commands in the section above.

With a port forwarding solution, the following must be observed:

  • Server configuration
  • Only one of the stations should be configured as the server.
  • “Connect to network server” should not be checked on this station and
“UDP networking for multiple stations” should only be enabled if it is used to
communicate with a cluster client or other stations locally on the same LAN.
Either use a central cluster connection (uncheck “No spots via client/server”)
or use one cluster connection per station location (check “No spots via client/server”).
If one cluster connection per station location is used, make sure they
all use different SSID to prevent disconnects, such as E7HQ-1, E7HQ-2, etc.
This will ensure the cluster node regards all connections as having the same callsign
which is essential for e.g., correctly receiving own spots.
  • The PC acting as server must be configured for a fixed LAN IP address. This is done
either by manually configuring the networking settings in the PC to use a fixed
LAN IP address, or by setting up the router in the server’s LAN to to always allocate
the same IP address to it.
  • The internet connection used by the server PC must either have a fixed public IP address or
use dynamic DNS. Otherwise clients will not be able to reliable connect over the internet.
  • The server’s TCP/IP port (e.g., 9888) must be forwarded to the server by the server LAN’s router.
Only TCP traffic should be forwarded. DXLog UDP traffic is not carried well over the internet.
Serverconfig.png
Example configuration for server for networking over internet
Portforwarding.png
Example of port forwarding UI in router
  • All other stations
  • All other PC in the multi-station set up should be set up as clients.
  • Over the internet, “Server:” is either the static, public IP address of the server’s internet
connection (e.g. 5.140.211.42) or the dynamic DNS address (e.g. hq.sm7iun.se).
Clients connecting over the internet does not have to enable UDP networking and should not
enable a server.
  • A client may connect via UDP if it is on the same LAN as the server or a “main client”.
A “main client” is a client that connects to the server using the “Connect to network server” option in
the networking set up panel. A “main client” acts as a UDP gateway which means that if
several computers on a LAN are part of the same multi station set up but the server is located
elsewhere, only one computer in that LAN needs to connect as a client and the rest can use UDP.
  • Software interlock is UDP-based and can only reliably be used locally. Never over the internet.
If used, make sure the interlock is explicitly limited to local stations. See above for more details.
Clientconfig.png
Example configuration of client for networking over internet
  • In a multi-station setting it is recommended to enable
Options|Networking|Block standard messages if no operator is logged on
  • Make sure Options|Enable network is checked.
  • It is also a very good idea to check Options|Load contest at startup to reduce the
risk of the wrong contest log file being loaded by any stations.