I would like to be able to stop my machine remotely when I am not home. I have it networked but have failed to access it through DNS and port forwarding. Wondering if anyone has done this.
Please, no sermons on not running machine unattended. Thanks!
Could you remote into a computer on your local network? Remote desktop on your phone into your desktop PC would theoretically work
I see two different thoughts here. I want to clarify what I see so that others will think, “Oh, I get it.”
The question was about how to remote stop but that he couldn’t port-forward or access via dns.
The response was remote desktop to another PC in the house.
@ConvenientWoodwork I think the BuildBotics controller is accessible over http on the local network, yeah? If true, this is precisely why you said to just remote into another pc on the local network.
Else, @IGotYourWoodCrafts, what you’re trying to do by accessing the machine is remote procedural call into a linux computer running on a raspberry pi. You’d still need to have some software agent running on the pi to operate in the traditional manner of ‘remote desktop.’ I think @ConvenientWoodwork is right on the money since you could probably use a free remote desktop software between your phone to your computer and be done without touching the BB controller.
You hit the nail on the head. Just ensure your controller is connected to your home network. The IP address used to connect can be found at the top of the home screen.
So instead of gaining access directly to controller from my phone remotely, you are suggesting that I remote into my PC on my home network and then access it from there. Makes sense. I will have to give it a try. Thanks!
Exactly. I believe that you can just open a web browser and view your controller from a computer that is on your network.
This opens up the doorway to a couple of different issues though
If I were in your shoes, I’d use a free product like TeamViewer so that I wouldn’t need to set up a VPN and an additional remote desktop client. Just install both computer and mobile apps. As long as you only connect to your own computer, you should be fine to use it as often as you need (I used this to support parents in different states).
I have no affiliation with TeamViewer.
Have you considered VPNing (pretty sure that’s an verb) into your network?
For instance, my NAS has VPN software on it that I use when traveling. It gives my phone an IP address on my home network. While I have not tried to connect to my 1F, I do use other network resources and assume I could have connected to the cnc.
I had instructions sitting for setting up OpenVPN or TunnelBlick (some WAPs use this).
But I sat and really pondered on it because if he isn’t super familiar, he may need to bridge his gateway and then expose the Router/WAP and they don’t always have the best security. He could set up a gateway and run Sophos for free but it requires a dedicated dual NIC hardware appliance for him to install that onto.
(If You Give A Mouse A Cookie)
@Mitch You’re correct about VPN, but the right remote desktop software and the agent need to be in use on the right hardware. And even then security is sadly a real concern. I’ve seen consumer routers penetrated and all kinds of not fun things happen. I usually hesitate before telling somebody how to open that doorway. But yes, A VPN and remote desktop tools are viable.
And clearly I have been reading Aiph5u’s posts waaaaay too much because now I’m linking jargon to a wiki. 
I highly recommend something like this.
Another option I have used for years on all my family support phone calls is “AnyDesk Remote Desktop.” Just keep in mind these two solutions are where you remote into a desktop computer on your network first, then use that computer as if you were sitting in front of it. Whereas other solutions mentioned like “VPN” are just getting you connected to your home network, just like your (assuming)
mobile phone would do if you were at home.
Doing IT (network, servers, and programming) is my day job, and even I seem to be constantly struggling to find the perfect remote solution. I use a pfSense firewall (PC with multiple network cards installed), multiple VLANs, and four separate WiFi networks, so any and all possible remote options are available to me.
For now, I have settled on a VPN-type of tunnel via Cloudflare which supports 2FA logins and just requires me to have a Raspberry Pi to host the software on my network. Some NAS devices (especially Synology) have a Cloudflare app that makes things much easier.
With my Cloudflare tunnel, I just browse to a custom web link at Cloudflare and they redirect me to my Raspberry Pi which tells them to go wherever I want locally. I can keep the same web link and just change the Pi to go somewhere else whenever desired.
These “VPN-less” solutions like Cloudflare (which still use VPN technologies) are becoming more popular and easier to use, but something more classical like OpenVPN, or WireGuard are still viable, and are more likely to be available as apps for things like NAS devices.
So, as far as this entire subject of accessing local network anything from the outside, the can of worms can get quite large. There are solutions like the ones mentioned here, as well as others like ZeroTierOne which I have used with great success, but basically, I say narrow it down to:
Explaining how all the software works is a tough pickle to be in (I know you’ll understand). Your points are great and are typically how I think about software help (number one being the most valuable):
This is exactly why:
And it happens really fast.
My $0.02 is that the average person needs to realize this is a new doorway for somebody else to enter. Usually somebody else gaining access is a matter of ‘when’ and not a matter of ‘if’ for home networking. With that, figuring out VPN and remote access is easy, but understanding how to keep the door locked requires thought. 
It’s mind blowing to see the sheer number of automated brute-force attacks that will eventually find you once you become publicly visible.
This 
is exactly why I tend to default most people towards the remote tools that can be configured all-in-one, without a stand-alone VPN and network modification.
Perhaps I am over thinking this. I am not an IT guy. Maybe I could just get one of those google smart plugs and just plug my machine into it and be able to turn it off and on from my phone. Any bad things happen from hard shutdowns of this control?
It’s not just about the 1F control box (computer), I think the router/spindle and any dust collection would be more important?
Technically, abruptly removing power from a running operating system is not recommended. With that said, the Raspberry Pi OS (Linux) is far more robust and capable of handling hard off scenarios, and will probably handle this most of the times. But if you can afford to keep the Onefinity control box up and running, you could use your smart plug(s) for just the router and dust collecting.
My router and dust collection are wired to be turned on and off by my machine. If the machine has no power, the router and dust collection have no power. The stopping scenario I am wanting would only be in the event of a problem. I would only be running unattended during long 3d finish passes. I typically do not run my dust collection on finish passes because the dust generated will simply clog my filter and potentially burn up my shop vac. I check in every few hours and clean things up. During normal operation, machine would simply finish and the router would shut off at the end of the program. I have installed a WiFi smoke detector. If I am notified in the event of smoke, I want to be able to kill everything. I have also installed automatic fire suppression in the event of a fire. I have decided to just go with the smart plugs and also have a WiFi camera for remote viewing. Thanks everyone for your help and discussion.
Google Remote Desktop works for this. Easy to set up if you already have a Google account. Works with phone or remote computer.
My personal suggestion… set up a domain with Cloudflare and set up a tunnel to point directly to it… something like cnc.myonefinity.com (eg.) and you should be able to tunnel directly to it as if you were there locally. I use this for my NAS and other appliances at my home. You could set up an IP based camera as well to view a live feed in this same manner.
PS
You can ssh into the controller for the OneFinity and add this via the guide on Cloudflare.
Hey warnersmith, hey all,
on the buildbotics-derived Onefinity Controller (on the Original/X-50/PRO machines) that is connected to a local network, you simply open a web browser on your remote computer and open the Onefinity User Interface (usually under http://onefinity.local/): There you click on the shutdown button on the side menu. Voilà.
Of course you can also log in via ssh and sudo the shutdown command. But why not use the Onefinity User Interface. A web browser is present on every remote computer, a ssh client perhaps not.
This sets up a link-local connection due to the zero-configuration networking that is installed on the Onefinity Controller:
How to access your local network from the WWW through your DSL router’s firewall should not be a topic on this forum. There are tons of howtos in the WWW for that. What you need to know that using a link-local address like described in the support document above is not suitable in this case so you would have to setup the network configuration on the Onefinity controller, e.g. like this:
# This is /etc/network/interfaces.d/eth0
auto eth0
allow-hotplug eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.220.▮▮▮
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.220.0
#broadcast 192.168.220.255
## == ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ is our DSL gateway: ==
gateway 192.168.220.▮▮▮
## Use this when ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮ is our Gateway:
dns-nameservers ▮▮▮.▮▮▮.▮▮▮.▮▮▮ ▮▮▮.▮▮▮.▮▮▮.▮▮▮
## == We have local name servers: ==
#dns-nameservers 192.168.220.▮▮▮ 192.168.220.▮▮▮
Replace the “▮▮▮”'s by useful numbers on your local network.
You activate this with the command
ifdown eth0 && ifup eth0
The rest would be your DSL router’s configuration to have an port open to the WWW and how to forward incoming requests to the Onefinity Controller’s address. See the tons of howtos in the WWW. You may also setup a DMZ and put the Onefinity Controller into it. Or better set up a VPN.