Connect to remote processor

[jorfarella]

Is there any way to connect to a processor at a remote site from Lutron Designer? I'm not able to install any kind of Windows-running machine to run Designer locally (e.g. for RDPing into), and I'm not able to install a VPN either. The controls all work via the Lutron app from anywhere, but how can I do e.g. firmware updates or timeclock programming remotely?

I thought I'd be able to do it with Designer from anywhere but it doesn't work. For instance when something needs a database transfer, despite the transfer page saying "You can now transfer to all activated processors that are either connected locally or over the Internet", I get an error message saying "Unable to communicate with any processor in the system. Please ensure that the computer and processor(s) are communicating and try again."

[Rowdy R.]

Hi Jorfarell,
As long as you turned on the remote access when designing the project, you should be able to push any changes to the software or otherwise to that system. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to send any firmware updates or do remote device activations; however, you should be able to transfer to the processor from afar for items like timeclock changes and programming changes without hinderance.
We would suggest taking a look into your firewalls or at least making sure the Lutron Designer program has access to bypass your firewalls so that it doesn’t get in the way. The other block maybe something on the customers network depending on the topology of the system
We would also suggest going back and double checking our Networking guide that came out during Ra2 and Homeworks as it is still applicable here in Ra3. Networking Guide

[jorfarella]

Thanks for the reply!

I was able to convince them to let me put in a VPN endpoint. Now it mostly works -- I can do a database transfer for instance -- but because the VPN is (like nearly every VPN) layer 3, it's on a different subnet, so the LAN discovery fails even though everything is routable locally.

Does this mean that it's still actually going out over the Internet and I won't be able to do firmware upgrades? I can't find a way to let me point to the controller address instead of it trying to do auto discovery.

Thanks!

[jorfarella]

On the Activate tab there is actually, when looking at the processor, a System Communication section -- it shows the address of the processor and the help text says that it can change from UDP to TCP communication, which is likely to be exactly what I need for reliable local communications -- but it's greyed out. The drop down will show the processor but I can't figure out a way to actually _make that switch_ to TCP. Any idea how to do it?

[johnmax]

On the Activate tab there is actually, when looking at the processor, a System Communication section -- it shows the address of the processor and the help text says that it can change from UDP to TCP communication, which is likely to be exactly what I need for reliable local communications -- but it's greyed out. The drop down will show the processor but I can't figure out a way to actually _make that switch_ to TCP. Any idea how to do it?

In Lutron's "wisdom" when making the designer software (which is really the same as the older QS software), they took away the ability to mnually enter an IP address like you used to be able to which is the dumbest thing ever. Why would they take such features away???

[jorfarella]

So is that old help text that they forgot to take out for a feature that no longer exists?

[johnmax]

Apparently so...

[SparkyCoog]

I still can't believe that in late 2023, we are still having communication issues with Lutron products. Ra3 is MUCH better than Ra2...as long as you have the cloud to help you, but I just don't know why there are so many issues still.

[johnmax]

The software is filled with bugs. They remove connection features that we have relied upon for years. The networking in these processors is archaic. If they are telling you to turn off your windows firewalls to be able to connect to a piece of equipment in 2023 its an embarassment.