Accessing Vera remotely through the server

Community Playground General Discussions
1

I would like to access Vera remotely via the MIOS Server, mainly to turn on and off a Virtual Sensor stating my presence at Home.
I read the Wiki (http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/UI_Notes) and tryied to use the followng command:

https://fwd2.mios.com/USERNAME/PASSWORD/12345/data_request?id=action&DeviceNum=14&serviceId=urn:dcineco-com:serviceId:VMotion1&action=SetTripped

Where USERNAME and PASSWORD are the ones used to login remotely to my Vera Edge.

The result is a replay like this: Invalid user/pass. and then I’m redirected to the following page: MiOS

I use the latest UI7 firmware (1.7.1598).

I thank you for any help.
Andrea

2

That references UI5 and earlier connections.
For UI6 and later see
http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=24942

Note: this is not trivial!!

3

I am having a similar issue but I am on UI5. I am seeing the ‘Invalid user/pass’ message when using fwd2.mios.com address, but surprisingly I was able to get it to work using fwd6.mios.com . I sent a command to turn a switch on and off and I got the ‘OK’ response and the device turned on/off with each attempt. I tied these urls into my location app an EgiGeoZone to trigger on entering/leaving the zone but the device did not change state. I tried the url that had been working and now I’m getting ‘Invalid user/pass’ on that one too.

Initially I did set up an account on UI7 with the same username but different password. I downgraded to UI5 and had to use a different password. I have tried both username/passwords but only the UI5 one ever worked.

Can someone tell me what mios.com subdomain I should be using? Why am I able to sometimes succeed with the command but other times cannot? Thanks

4

The protocol allows for the servers to move … and they do based on load.
The first thing you do is login and ask what server my Vera is currently connected to … then you connect to that server.
I have not documented the steps for UI5 … but the only Addresses that do NOT change (For UI5) are:

https://sta1.mios.com
https://sta2.mios.com

The protocol always has an error fail-over server where a pair is an even/odd number.

From those servers you get the details about the current FWD servers for the Vera you want to connect to.

If you hardcode FWD server … you will be fighting problems … They do not change often … but always when you need access to them.
Forward servers also come in a pair, the second one in case of hardware problems on the first.

5

Thank you for the response. I logged into cp.mios.com and used my username/passwd. The url then resolves to fwd6.mios.com … I try accessing https://fwd6.mios.com/[myusername]/[mypassword]/[myunitnumber]/data_request?id=lu_action&DeviceNum=89&serviceId=urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=0 and I am still getting the ‘Invalid Userid/Password’

I’ve looked at my saved passwords and I have a different password for http://apps.mios.com but the same password saved for https://apps.mios.com and https://cp.mios.com . The weird thing is when I had it working the password for http://apps.mios.com is the one that worked. Am I getting the error message because the password is no good or is it because I’m on the wrong subdomain and that message is the generic ‘Could not connect’ message?

Thanks for your patience on this matter. Your help is most appreciated.

6

Apps.mios.com uses the UI5 accounting system.

The Web Frontends are smart (???), based on the user and password they route you to the appropriate UI5 or UI6+ backends.
It can get confusing when you have the same user account on both, but a different password.

If you are trying to connect to a UI5 machine … you must use the UI5 password for that backend server.
If you are trying to connect to a UI6+ machine … you must use the UI6+ password for that backend server.

7

Okay. I’m using UI5. I logged into cp.mios.com and see it’s currently connecting via fwd6.mios.com (see previous message). I then try my UI5 username/password but am still getting ‘Invalid Userid/Password’ … I’m guessing this should not be happening right? Moreover, is there an easier way for me to go about trying to turn on/off a device via a web request?

I’m hesitant to open the port on my Vera to the outside world and just connect directly but I’m thinking this might be easier? I have another webserver running at home that I can use to trigger the local vera webserver by creating a webpage that when accessed will run a script to hit Vera server via curl/wget/something, but if there’s an easier way I’d much rather use it. Seems I might be over complicating things but I’m plagued by the ‘Invalid Userid/Password’ error.

8

I do not know what to say … I am out for a late lunch … I just checked and I can access my UI5 home system and my UI7 test system.

9

I do not login via the web servers. I used 3rd party apps designed to access Vera. In this case I wrote them.

I do not recommend you open an external port your router. They just announced a website that lets you look at all kinds of cameras that folks are using at home and have followed someone’s instructions on how to poke a hole in the firewall… Because it’s easy!
And NO the folks do not know. Probably the NSA is pissed about Snowden disclosing this as well …

Hook Vera up to an outside port and you might just find your garage door opening and closing at late hours in the night … Or lights going on and off … But then again that does sound like a few Vera Features that people have advertised here lately.

10

Thanks for the advice. I just wrote a couple of php scripts on my webserver that hits the Vera webserver on my local network and have tested it. One url turns the device on and another url turns it off. Works great.

I was trying to bulletproof my set up by going through Mios webserver should my webserver go down for some reason, but it really comes back to being the same single point of failure but at least I have full control of my webserver. I’m still not sure why the Mios server wouldn’t auth me but oh well. Moving on to something else. Thanks again.

11

I hope you have bullet proofed your Web server and PHP setup.
There are a LOT of exploits there.