Version 7 - What is the Lights Gateway, and how do I use it?

BlueNote Communicator Lights relies on stable network connections to communicate between workstations. When this is not possible, for instance, if the security on a wireless network is not allowing BlueNote to connect, if you have multiple networks, or if something like a firewall or anti-virus or anti-malware software is blocking network traffic, this is when you'll need to route around that block by turning on a Lights Gateway.

A Gateway can also be used to connect multiple offices together when they want to share a unified light panel or for remote users. All of the remote clients will connect via the Gateway instead of connecting directly to each other. Note that the Beacon feature does not work across a VPN.

The Lights Gateway can be turned on at any BlueNote Client, but you should normally only need one Gateway per office. This should be activated at a computer that is turned on all day, where BlueNote always works well and stays connected.

To turn on the Lights Gateway, the first thing you need to do is to choose a computer that will be on throughout the day. 

Once you have determined the computer, open the BlueNote client on that computer and click  Menu > Preferences > Options > Network > Host Lights Gateway and then click the On button. 

NOTE: If you have updated all computers to the latest BlueNote Lights 7 (Lights Version 7.9.3 and up) and the Beacon is On, the BlueNote client that is hosting the Lights Gateway will allow any clients to connect, whether or not they have been told to bind to its specific IP address. The Beacon only applies to clients on the local network.

With the Gateway active you will see an orange  Client Configuration Instructions button at the bottom of the Gateway settings.

Click that button to open up a Text file with specific instructions about your Gateway:

Then take those instructions to any computer that's not working properly and follow the steps to connect it to the Gateway you just opened. 

On the computer(s) that you're tethering to the Gateway:

Go to Menu > Preferences > Options > Network > Connections. Switch the Connection Type from Multicast to Lights Gateway and enter the IP address from the Gateway computer.

NOTE: In the newest versions (7.9.3 and up), the Beacon option lets you use a Gateway without entering a specific hostname or IP address of the Lights Gateway. To use this feature, be sure that the Beacon option is chosen at both the Host and the tethered client. The Beacon only applies to clients on the local network.

Press "Save Gateway Settings" to connect this computer to the other one Hosting the Lights Gateway. Keep in mind that this BlueNote client will be tethering to another BlueNote client for communications, so the BlueNote client that is the Lights Gateway must remain active in order for the tethered computer to remain connected.

Tethered computers are not mirrors; in other words, they all still work independently from one another. The Gateway works behind the scenes only to keep all the clients connected to each other.