Configuring the NI Web Server to Allow External Clients

Issue Details

Solution

The NI Web Server version 18.2 and above has a preset called Public Network Access which you can use to make sure all the settings are configured accordingly.

To select this preset, follow these steps:
1. Go to the windows start menu and search for “NI Web Server Configuration”.
2. If you have used the NI Web Server Configuration software before, navigate to the Summary tab and click Run guided setup to select preset settings. 

3. Select the Public Network Access option.

4. From there, click on Next and continue configuring the settings according to your network configuration (you may need help from your network administrator to get this information).

Additional Information

• Make sure that the application is hosted in a network and not just run locally in a browser view. Please refer to Hosting a Web Application on the NI Web Server for more information.
• Verify that there is a working network connection between host and client by pinging the IP address of the host from the client.
• Verify your firewall settings to allow traffic from the host to the port used by the web services, this will allow communicating the web services with the client-side application.
• When using NI Web Server for hosting the application open the NI Web Server Configuration program and make sure that the server settings allow for client access to the web service. Specifically, make sure to configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) according to your web application as explained in Considerations When Accessing Data from Web Services.
• Make sure that you are using the IP address for the web address that the web service calls from the web application. 
• Previous versions of NI Web Server did not have the Public Network Access preset. We recommend you upgrade your software if you have a version lower than 18.2.