Content Server

[PixyT]

Hi
I got the content server up and running but it can only be accessed on the computer on which it is running.
My internet connection is through a wireless router. What do I need to do to be able to access it from other computers?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by PixyT

I got the content server up and running but it can only be accessed on the computer on which it is running.
My internet connection is through a wireless router. What do I need to do to be able to access it from other computers?

If you're just talking about accessing from your router it should be as simple as putting the ip of the machine running the content server as your url. Something like 192.168.1.147:8080 just substitute your IP.

Also note that 127.0.0.0 is the loop back or local host IP and is just for use testing on the local machine.

[roadstar]

I am having the same quandary. Nowhere can I get an answer to this question, despite asking several times on the forums. Although all the docs, videos etc clearly state access from anywhere in the world on a browser, I can NOT connect from another computer using my IP and port. I just don't get it. What gives? Thanks to anyone who can tell me what the heck is missing in this picture.
Thanks!
(by the way, I'm using the correct IP)

[piperclassique]

This is probably obvious to you, sorry if it is, but life will be easier if you set your content server computer to use a static ip.

And of course it needs to be running, with calibre running, and "wakeable" if it is hibernating.

[roadstar]

Thanks, I'll try the static route, good idea. My ipconfig always shows the same IP so I never felt the need to do this. If it always shows the same IP, shouldn't it theoretically work? How many calibre users are using static IPs?
Ya, calibre is running etc...but thanks for the ideas. I have it working great..with any device or computer connected to my wireless. Just tried it with my associate..."can't access page, error". Very frustrating.

[roadstar]

By the way, I also tried to access my associate's calibre server from my computer using his IP/port url, and could NOT access it, so same problem. This must be working for someone out there. (?)

[davidfor]

Where us your associates calibre server? If it is on the same network as you, then the ip address should be enough. But, it could be a firewall rule on either computer.

If it is on a separate network, say their home network, there will probably be some port-forwarding needed on the associates router. Exactly how to do this is dependent on the router.

[roadstar]

This just all seems to be defeating the whole purpose of this...which is to access the library easily from any computer anywhere in the world, (either password protected or not) just like it says on the Calibre support page. I know what you're saying, but surely we don't have to worry about port forwarding on every router/computer we might have access to, "anywhere in the world" (quote).

No my associate's computer is not on my network, it is in another city.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by roadstar

I know what you're saying, but surely we don't have to worry about port forwarding on every router/computer we might have access to, "anywhere in the world" (quote).

You have to worry about port forwarding on the router that the computer running the content server connects to.

Originally Posted by roadstar

(by the way, I'm using the correct IP)

If the IP you are using starts with 192.168.x.x, 172.x.x.x, 10.x.x.x or 127.x.x.x then you are using the wrong IP to try and connect with the content server from outside your local network. You need to use the external (internet facing) IP address of your WAN.

Try this thread for a better understanding.

[HarryT]

Please bear in mind that, if you make your Calibre server visible to the world at large, you must provide an authentication mechanism to ensure that only you are able to access it. If you didn't do this, you would (unless all your books were in the public domain) in effect be setting up a pirate book site, which is not a very good idea.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by roadstar

This just all seems to be defeating the whole purpose of this...which is to access the library easily from any computer anywhere in the world, (either password protected or not) just like it says on the Calibre support page. I know what you're saying, but surely we don't have to worry about port forwarding on every router/computer we might have access to, "anywhere in the world" (quote).

In fact you do have to worry about these things for every network that runs a server that you want to be visible on the internet. This is fundamental to the internet. Calibre can not and really must not even try to change the situation.

In the vast majority of cases (probably more than 99.9%) a home network is private, meaning that no computer outside that home network can see into it. You can tell if a network is private if it has IP addresses that match the list that DoctorOhh supplied. Without this "restriction", security on home networks would be nil. There is an excellent chance that files on your machines would be visible. Bad guys could print on your printers, just for the fun of it. And more.

It is possible to "open" a private network. It isn't even particularly hard, once you know how. The link that DoctorOhh provided discusses many of the issues. That said, one must be very careful not to let the bad guys in. There are people who run "scanners" on a full-time basis, looking for openings in networks behind every IP address in the world, then trying to exploit openings when found in multitudes of ways. I manage servers that get probed more than 50 times per day. The bad guys are very smart, and there are a tremendous lot of them.

I refuse to open my private (home) network. For me, the risks are too high. However, like many people I do want my content server to be visible when I am out and about, for example when using 3G connections on my phone. My solution: rent time on a server in someone's data center (in my case cheapvps.co.uk) and run my content server there. Put nothing else of interest on that server. I use dropbox as the transport to ensure that library changes I make at home are propagated to my internet-visible server. I use apache reverse-proxy to manage password access, giving each user (members of my immediate family) individual passwords. Given my experiences with the cleverness of bad guys I don't think that I am exhibiting excessive paranoia. YMMV.

[roadstar]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Please bear in mind that, if you make your Calibre server visible to the world at large, you must provide an authentication mechanism to ensure that only you are able to access it. If you didn't do this, you would (unless all your books were in the public domain) in effect be setting up a pirate book site, which is not a very good idea.

Thanks for the note, it's a really important point. I'm not interested in setting up a pirate site. (I'm a musician/composer and I have copyright stuff being pirated as we speak). I'm only into having personal access, when I need it, and allowing others to access in situations where I need/want someone to look at or get something from my library (very few others, close associates/family). I am simply trying to implement something that Calibre presents to me as a feature, with a tab and menu item all its own. If no one wants anyone to use it, what's the point? I'm trying to connect my devices, as stated by Calibre, period.
Yes, I will definitely be using a password, once I get it working.

[roadstar]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

You have to worry about port forwarding on the router that the computer running the content server connects to.

If the IP you are using starts with 192.168.x.x, 172.x.x.x, 10.x.x.x or 127.x.x.x then you are using the wrong IP to try and connect with the content server from outside your local network. You need to use the external (internet facing) IP address of your WAN.

Try this thread for a better understanding.

Ok...after much adieu, it's working! (famous last words). Thanks for the link the other thread. Too many IP addresses!...speednet showed me one, my router showed me another and Calibre showed me another one (not cluing me into the fact that this is only local). However, this is the only IP address presented by Calibre as the way to access your library anywhere in the world. So this cryptic journey has not been a welcome one, eating up way too much time.
To continue...I tried every one of the IPs above and nothing worked. I forwarded the port, and when my router rebooted it showed yet another IP, which was like the one speedtest showed, but again it didn't work. I changed a port forwarding setting, rebooted, used the new IP and now it works!! I don't get why it didn't work when I forwarded the port...but who cares, it's working. So, a password has been safely applied, and working.
I think it would be a good idea to use a static IP, as was suggested.

To all, thanks for all the help and ideas, I hope others will benefit by this thread.
hew.... (Calibre, why didn't you just tell me in the first place)

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by roadstar

Ok...after much adieu, it's working! (famous last words). Thanks for the link the other thread.

You're Welcome, I'm glad you got it working.

Originally Posted by roadstar

Too many IP addresses!...speednet showed me one, my router showed me another and Calibre showed me another one (not cluing me into the fact that this is only local). However, this is the only IP address presented by Calibre as the way to access your library anywhere in the world. So this cryptic journey has not been a welcome one, eating up way too much time.

The test IP is a local loopback used for testing on the machine you are on.

Depending on where you look the router will show you both your local network IP, most likely 192.168.x.x or it will show you the external IP (same as Speedtest.net). It can be confusing. On the Preferences - Sharing over the internet page calibre says to use http://myhostname:8080 or the IP adress of the computer calibre is running on. In this case myhostname refers to either the static name you got to use as an external pointer to your LAN or the actual external IP address that speedtest.net gave you.

If you are connected directly to the internet the IP of the computer calibre server is running will work fine, but most of us have a router of some sort in between our local computer and the internet. In which case it is up to each of us to configure our router to allow the external internet through our router to our server. Calibre has no way of knowing how each of our homes are configured.

If your up to it maybe you could contribute a How-To document explaining how you managed to get your home server connected to the internet.

Originally Posted by roadstar

I tried every one of the IPs above and nothing worked.

The IPs I listed were examples of ones that would not work since they are all local networks, virtual networks or loopback test. The IP Speedtest.net showed you is the external, internet facing IP. When you set a forward it allowed info from this address on the port specified through your router to the machine the port was being used on within your local network.

Note that on occasion your ISP may change the external IP address when this happens your content server will stop connecting and you will have to update the IP in whatever program you are using to connect to your server.

Originally Posted by roadstar

To all, thanks for all the help and ideas, I hope others will benefit by this thread.
hew.... (Calibre, why didn't you just tell me in the first place)

You are correct there is room for a good tutorial at least explaining where to find the info for port forwarding and how to locate your external IP.

LAN management and local router configuration is not part of calibre. If you have a router port forwarding is knowledge required to get many programs access to the internet at large. I have never setup calibre for access to the internet, but have run into multiple other programs that required port forwarding for the program to properly work. It seems calibre was the first program you personally have run into that required this.

Good reading!