Edge2Cloud frequently asked questions

1 How do I get started with using Edge2Cloud?
2 What ports does Edge2Cloud need open?
3 I am a System Integrator. Can I use Edge2Cloud to provide secure remote access to build owners?
4 Is Edge2Cloud remote access free?
5 I’m seeing a user timeout screen after I have left FIN open for a while using remote access. What is this?
6 Is Edge2Cloud suitable for a Kiosk?
7 How long is the user timeout for the portal?
8 I can’t download a back up. What’s wrong?
9 I have successfully registered FIN for Edge2Cloud but FIN cannot seem to connect. What's the problem?
10 Loading FIN5 graphics remotely is slow. What can I do?
11 What are the public IP addresses that Edge2Cloud uses?
12 What device data is stored by Edge2Cloud?
13 How do I change a device name?

How do I get started with using Edge2Cloud?

Check out the Edge2Cloud getting started guide!

What ports does Edge2Cloud need open?

See firewall configuration in the Edge2Cloud guide.

I am a System Integrator. Can I use Edge2Cloud to provide secure remote access to build owners?

Yes you can. Edge2Cloud has a simple way for System Integrators to provide secure remote access to building owners. Fine grained authorization using access groups enables an SI to provide access to particular sites based on haystack tags.

Is Edge2Cloud remote access free?

FIN Edge2Cloud is part of J2 Innovation’s essentials package. It is free for all FIN instances that have valid maintenance that’s not out of date.

For more information on maintenance and FIN please contact sales@j2innovations.com.

I’m seeing a user timeout screen after I have left FIN open for a while using remote access. What is this?

For security reasons, a user is redirected to a user timeout screen after few minutes of inactivity. After one hour, the user will then have to login again once their server session has timed out.

Is Edge2Cloud suitable for a Kiosk?

No. Edge2Cloud is not suitable for a kiosk. A kiosk normally involves leaving an application open for long periods of time without any user interaction.

Edge2Cloud intentionlly redirects a user to a user timeout screen after a few minutes of inactivity. Please see the above answer.

How long is the user timeout for the portal?

The server timeout for the portal is one hour. After this period, a user will be asked to login again.

I can’t download a back up. What’s wrong?

The remote access connection isn’t designed to download and upload very large files. Instead of creating backups in the local system and downloading them using remote access, consider creating a cloud backup instead…

The back up encrypted and stored in the Cloud.
A cloud back up can store an extremely large file.

I have successfully registered FIN for Edge2Cloud but FIN cannot seem to connect. What's the problem?

If you have successfully registered your instance of FIN with Edge2Cloud, but it cannot connect, then you need to check your firewall configuration. Please see firewall configuration in the Edge2Cloud guide for more information.

Loading FIN5 graphics remotely is slow. What can I do?

Edge2Cloud is reliant on the quality of a device’s Internet connection. That being said, we have noticed a few things that can help speed up loading graphics…

Make sure any custom images you used use compression.
Make sure any custom graphic thumbnail images also use compression. A thumbnail image also only needs to be 128 pixels wide.

Smaller file image sizes = faster loading times.

What are the public IP addresses that Edge2Cloud uses?

Edge2Cloud is built upon AWS. Click here for a dynamically generated list of all public IP addresses AWS uses. For more background information on this information click here.

What device data is stored by Edge2Cloud?

A minimal amount of information is stored for a device in Edge2Cloud.

Every time FIN connects to Edge2Cloud, it sends device, project and site information. This includes all of the tags a user applies to every site record. This information is stored primarily for navigation. It’s also used when computing fine grained security permissions. In addition to this, a certificate for the device is also held and is used for the secure connection.

Here’s an example of the encoded device, project and site data…

{
 "deviceId": "89b2f42f-c7e1-4092-a7ef-386e30b3b857",
 "siteId": "p:demo:r:1eeaef2d-fd0e9c29",
 "orgId": "aaasystems",
 "proj": {
  "device": {
   "deviceName": "demo",
   "e2cVersion": "5.0.1",
   "lastUpdate": "2024-06-26T13:01:00.748+01:00",
   "licenses": [
    "noHostId-7cfda0f8-7418-49af-83b0-f1b9f12ac055"
   ],
   "registered": "2024-06-26T10:16:54Z",
   "type": "fin",
   "version": "5.1.3.86"
  },
  "rec": {
   "bacnetVer": "5.1.0.576",
   "created": {
    "tz": "America/Los_Angeles",
    "val": "2016-06-08T07:52:05.525-07:00",
    "_kind": "dateTime"
   },
   "dis": "Demo",
   "id": {
    "dis": "Demo",
    "val": "p:demo:r:22f7b6ce-ca0a1f9d",
    "_kind": "ref"
   },
   "mod": {
    "tz": "Etc/UTC",
    "val": "2023-12-11T14:00:10.916Z",
    "_kind": "dateTime"
   },
   "name": "demo",
   "projectMeta": {
    "_kind": "marker"
   },
   "projMeta": {
    "_kind": "marker"
   },
   "version": "3.0.29"
  },
  "tagTotal": {
   "aux": 102,
   "equip": 116,
   "floor": 21,
   "graphic": 41,
   "his": 1291,
   "point": 1448,
   "program": 24,
   "schedule": 11
  }
 },
 "projId": "p:demo",
 "rec": {
  "area": {
   "unit": "ft²",
   "val": 37000,
   "_kind": "number"
  },
  "dis": "City Center",
  "drEvent": false,
  "geoAddr": "13196 S Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89518",
  "geoCity": "Las Vegas",
  "geoCoord": {
   "lat": 35.950392,
   "lng": -115.176055,
   "_kind": "coord"
  },
  "geoCountry": "US",
  "geoPostalCode": "89101",
  "geoState": "NV",
  "highlights": "[{\"dis\":\"Alarms\",  \"link\":\"#alarms\",  \"value\":\"View Alarms\",  \"icon\":\"icon-plus\",  \"iconType\":\"class\",  \"valueType\":\"Normal\"}]",
  "id": {
   "dis": "City Center",
   "val": "p:demo:r:1eeaef2d-fd0e9c29",
   "_kind": "ref"
  },
  "imageRef": {
   "dis": "City Center Menu.jpg",
   "val": "p:demo:r:1eeaf070-b77025df",
   "_kind": "ref"
  },
  "mod": {
   "tz": "Etc/UTC",
   "val": "2024-05-01T15:44:35.033Z",
   "_kind": "dateTime"
  },
  "site": {
   "_kind": "marker"
  },
  "tz": "London",
  "weatherCondition": "clear",
  "weatherHigh": {
   "unit": "°F",
   "val": 107,
   "_kind": "number"
  },
  "weatherLow": {
   "unit": "°F",
   "val": 81,
   "_kind": "number"
  },
  "weatherStationRef": {
   "dis": "Las Vegas, NV",
   "val": "p:demo:r:1eeaef71-476252a2",
   "_kind": "ref"
  },
  "weatherTemp": {
   "unit": "°F",
   "val": 94,
   "_kind": "number"
  }
 },
 "tagTotal": {
  "aux": 3,
  "equip": 46,
  "floor": 5,
  "his": 551,
  "point": 568
 }
}

Please note, in addition to the device, project and site data, Edge2Cloud can also store remote device backups. This has to be intentionally configured in the system. Backups are encrypted into a encrypted zip file (AES 256).

How do I change a device name?

In FIN, go to Home Settings and, under Host, update the Host dis.

On Edge2Cloud, refresh your device.

Home Settings | Host