What is it?

HomeGate is a service that runs on a SSLIP server and implements the cyrious_cloud_connector on the local SSLIP computer. When enabled in Control, HomeGate establishes the cyrious_cloud_connector link which allows Control Cloud Apps to function. It is best explained with this simplified diagram:

HomeGate “dial out” to establish a connection to Cyrious Cloud (CloudSpace). After authenticating using a public-private encryption key (for which only you have the private key), the connection establishes a secure SSH tunnel that then allows Cyrious' CloudSpace to access your local information to provide approved services.

HomeGate does not host the document_management_api, that is handled by the Cyrious Document Access Service.

Status Monitoring

HomeGate has a very useful web front end that is accessible at http://localhost:12555 on machines it is installed on. It is NOT possible to get to this webpage via other machines, only the machine that the HomeGate is running on. The web site has two pages: the Status page and the Configuration page. The web site will only be available when the service is running.

Home Page

The home page is the primary monitoring page for HomeGate.

Actions available on this page are:
* Refresh. This refreshes the monitoring page with the latest information. Note: The status page does not refresh automatically.
* Connect. This connects the HomeGate to the Cyrious CloudSpace. This option is only available is the service is disconnected.
* Restart. This disconnected and reconnects the HomeGate. This will interrupt any existing CloudApp connection, but allow new connections to take place.
* Disconnect. This disconnects the HomeGate from the Cyrious CloudSpace.
» Warning: Disconnecting the HomeGate will close the Cyrious Cloud Connected and prevent any CloudApps from running. Any CloudApps already running will be interrupted.

Configuration Page


The configuration page give a read-only listing of the configuration information.

Normal Operation

These steps illustrate normal operation of the HomeGate

  1. HomeGate is installed
  2. When the cyrious_cloud_connector module is available, a “cyrious_cloud_connector Options” frame is accessible in Control System Setup
  3. A Control user can enable CCubed.
  4. On save of the CCubed options, if the option is enabled, the HomeGate service will be started.
  5. On startup of the service, HomeGate will start the status website
  6. If configured to connect (defaults to tru) HomeGate will attempt to contact CHAPI
  7. HomeGate requires a 5.6 CHAPI with Public/Private Keypairs set in order to function correctly
  8. After contacting CHAPI, HomeGate will attempt to contact the SQL Database
    • This will occur on port 1433 only on versions prior to 1.3.2.
    • Versions of HomeGate 1.3.2 and above will use the SQL port that Chapi has assigned.
  9. After gathering information from both CHAPI and SQL, HomeGate will attempt to connect to Cloudspace
  10. If successful, HomeGate will maintain the connection to Cloudspace
  11. If unsuccessful, HomeGate will retry with delays as specified in the configuration
  12. When manually disconnected, HomeGate will enter 'hibernate' mode and check every 15 minutes to see if it has been turned back on.
  13. While in 'hibernate' the status website will still be available

Installation

HomeGate requires four files to properly install:

The first two are C++ runtimes, and the third one is the .NET 4.5.1 runtime.

If any of the runtime installations fail to install, HomeGate will not function correctly.

HomeGate.Installer.msi will install all files and register the service, but does not set the service to automatically start.

NOTE: In order for HomeGate to function properly, all related files will need to be located on the same computer.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting tools are built into HomeGate! The easiest way to diagnose most problems (other than installation related problems) is to open the HomeGate monitoring page at http://localhost:12555.

Step 1 - Check if HomeGate is Installed, Enabled, and Running

  1. Go into your Services application and make sure HomeGate is in the list
  2. Go into Control and make sure the Cloud Connector is Enabled

//Setup > System Setup > cyrious_cloud_connector// - make sure the box is checked.

**Note:** If the HomeGate service is Started, but Cloud Connector is not turned on, you will receive an error message as shown below when you run the Test Database Connection from the HomeGate monitoring page (in the Settings section)

  1. Check back in Services to ensure that HomeGate is now Started

Note: If HomeGate is installed twice - One of them will be HomeGate verison 1.0.0. When you uninstall the first of two it will remove all the HomeGate files. Then when you attempt to uninstall the 2nd one, it will throw an error stating it cannot find the files to remove. At this point, run the HomeGate installer, the latest one, this will install the HomeGate files. You can then uninstall the other one. Afterward reinstall HomeGate again to install the correct version.

Step 2 - Check if HomeGate is Configured Properly

On the configuration page, you can test the connections to:

If any of these tests fail, the cyrious_cloud_connector will not be able to establish a connection with Cloud Apps.

Check to ensure ports 12345 and 6022 are open through the firewall. May need the customer's IT staff to check their hardware firewalls as well (if installed). To test if a port is open, use the following URL:

[[http://portquiz.net:12345/|http://portquiz.net:12345/]]

Change the port number to the port you want to test. If the webpage comes up on the server, the port is open.

Step 3 - Restart the Service

Logging

HomeGate will log to two different locations:

  1. logFile.txt in Cyrious\HomeGate folder
  2. The Windows event log

These logs are useful for troubleshooting.

Other Notes