Specifications

Chapter 5 Connecting to an ISP
Niagara Considerations
Niagara Release 2.3
Niagara Networking & Connectivity Guide Revised: May 22, 2002
5–7
• Many factors are involved in choosing an ISP that will work with our
equipment. See “Selecting an ISP.”
Selecting an ISP
You should think about the following things when selecting an ISP for use with our
equipment:
• Does the ISP provide a phone number that is local to the location of the
equipment? Using a local ISP saves long distance charges.
• Does the ISP provide public IP addresses? If not, are they using NAT or a
proxy server to provide a private one? If they are using NAT, that excludes the
use of DDNS, therefore they must provide a static public IP address. If they use
a proxy server, you should not choose them.
• Does the ISP provide static IP addresses or dynamic? If the ISP provides a
dynamic address you must also register with a DDNS service.
• Does the ISP prohibit:
– DDNS use? If not, can they provide you with a permanent public IP
address?
– clients from connecting at all times (required by our software)?
– hosting a commercial application at your site?
These items may violate the ISPs service agreement. If you cannot get them to
make an exception, choose a new ISP.
• Does the ISP block port 80 (the standard HTTP port) or other inbound
ports? If they do, then you can change the port in the application, (see the
“Changing Niagara Default Ports” section on page 6-9). Changing the port is
recommended for security concerns (see the “Selecting an ISP” section on
page 5-7). Another approach is for you to purchase an HTTP port forwarding
service, which maps a call to the standard HTTP port to another port of your
choosing (TZO.com offers this).
• Does the ISP provide:
– firewall services? You could have them set up access restrictions for you.
– domain name registration services? Typically you would do this only if
the customer requires it. Domains registered through an ISP are typically
tied to equipment serviced by that ISP.
Some DDNS service providers also provide a domain registration service
that would allow you to have one domain name for hosts that are serviced
by multiple ISPs.
– one e-mail address with the account? If you are going to set up e-mail
notification on the Niagara host, then you must have either:
• a valid mail account with the ISP
• know of an Internet mail server that relays mail (most do not).
For more information on setting up the mail service and e-mail
notifications, see the Niagara Standard Programming Reference.