The Indigo Reflector Service
Note: this wiki page is about the Indigo Reflector service for Indigo 6 (left here for legacy purposes). Check here for the reflector docs for the latest Indigo version.
About Indigo Reflectors
Indigo Reflectors is a service that gives you secure (HTTPS) remote access from anywhere to your Indigo Server with no network configuration needed. This is particularly useful for those of us that have dynamic (vs. static) IP addresses at home, or that have routers or networks that are difficult to configure for remote access to your Mac running Indigo.
Reflectors provide:
- Personalized easy-to-remember URL when using Indigo Touch for the Web
- Indigo Touch for iOS (iPhone, iPad, etc.) and for the Web can access your Indigo Server from anywhere in the world
- Indigo Touch for iOS enabled – automatic switching between local Bonjour access and remote reflector access
- Complete remote access solution (much more than just a dynamic IP address mapping service)
- Fully encrypted (256-bit) communication
- Hassle free setup:
- No firewall configuration needed
- No router port forwarding needed
- No static IP address or DynDNS account needed
- No non-standard port numbers to remember
- No reverse proxies to implement SSL/HTTPS
Getting Started
Enabling a reflector is fast and easy. First, make sure you are running Indigo version 6.0.0 or greater(both client and server – check the About Box). Next:
- Choose the
Indigo 6→Start Local Server…
menu item. - Turn on the
Require authentication
checkbox and enter a User name and good Password. You will *definitely* want password authentication on since you are about to enable access to the Indigo web server from the Internet. - Turn on the
Enable anywhere secure access
checkbox. - Press the
Activate Reflector
button.
A browser page will open to the http://www.indigodomo.com/account/codes/ page listing your registration codes.
- If you already have an Indigo Account then log in (if necessary). You'll then be redirected to the registration codes page.
- If you don't have an Indigo Account then create one by clicking on the
Sign up
link below the login form. When you create an account, we'll send you an activation email that contains a link to activate your account. When you click that link, it will switch you back to your browser and open the reflectors page. If for some reason it doesn't, switch back to Indigo and click theActivate Reflector
button again and it will.
Once on the registration codes list page, you'll see a message to click the Create Reflector link next to your Indigo registration code. Click on that link and you'll switch to the Reflectors page with a form field to enter your reflector name. When you submit that we will create the reflector, activate it, and take you back to the codes page which will show your reflector activated.
Lastly, switch back to the Indigo Start Local Server…
dialog. It should now show that the reflector status is activated and will show a link to your new reflector URL. Press the Start Server
button and that is it – Indigo will restart and automatically connect to your reflector!
You can now access Indigo web pages from anywhere using your personalized URL. No firewall settings changes, router port forwarding, etc. is needed. And even if your IP address changes, Indigo will automatically make sure that a new connection is re-established within just a few minutes.
Your reflector will be active as long as you maintain an active Indigo Up-to-Date subscription.
Resetting Your Reflector's Activation
If you are switching to a different reflector that you've asked us to create for you, or you've been instructed by support to reset your current reflector's activation, then follow these steps:
- Shut down the Indigo Server (select
Indigo 6→Stop Server
) but don't quit the Indigo Client - Switch to your browser and log out of your Indigo Account
- Go to the reflector list in your Indigo Account (you'll need to log back in) and click the
Reset
link beside your reflector's status (it should say Activated before your press Reset) - Switch back to the Indigo Client and click on the
Start Local Server
button
You should now see an Activate Reflector
button towards the bottom of the dialog. Click that, log in to your reflector account, and select the appropriate reflector. If the reflector you want to use doesn't show in the list of inactive reflectors, contact us with the name of the reflector you're trying to activate and what steps you've performed.
Manual Reset
If the procedure above doesn't work, and if instructed by support, follow these steps to manually reset your Indigo Client reflector settings:
- Shut down the Indigo Server (select
Indigo 6→Stop Server
) but don't quit the Indigo Client - Switch to your browser and log out of your Indigo Account
- Go to the reflector list in your Indigo Account (you'll need to log back in) and click the
Reset
link beside your reflector's status (it should say Activated before your press Reset). If the reflector has already been deactivated that is fine – just skip this step. - In the Finder, select
Go→Go to Folder…
- In the resulting dialog, copy and paste the following:
/Library/Application Support/Perceptive Automation/Indigo 6/Preferences/
- In the resulting Finder window, delete the folder named
PrismReflector
- Switch back to the Indigo Client and click on the
Start Local Server
button
You should now see an Activate Reflector
button towards the bottom of the dialog. Click that, log in to your reflector account, and select the appropriate reflector. If the reflector you want to use doesn't show in the list of inactive reflectors, contact us with the name of the reflector you're trying to activate and what steps you've performed.
Indigo Touch and Your Reflector
Indigo Touch for iOS is transparently integrated with the Indigo Reflector service. When you use your iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) to connect to Indigo while in your house (and on your local Wi-Fi network), Indigo Touch will automatically retrieve and remember your reflector address. You can press the settings (gear) icon on the top toolbar then find the Reflector
item near the bottom to verify that it is working correctly.
Once Indigo automatically detects your reflector address, it will seamlessly change between using the local Bonjour detected address and the remote reflector address. Just launch Indigo Touch and it works, no matter where you are!
Bandwidth Limits
Because using a reflector has to bounce all requested files to and from our server, monthly bandwidth usage cannot be unlimited. Reflectors that exceed an average bandwidth of approximately 200 MB per day may have temporary limitations or throttles imposed, but a vast majority of the time bandwidth is not an issue. There are a couple of things that can lead to excessive bandwidth usage. So please consider:
- If you have a graphical Control Page in Indigo that uses the
Refreshing Image
control type then use a longer refresh duration (30 minutes or longer) for the image, especially if you plan to frequently access the page remotely.
- Not leaving Indigo Touch or an Indigo web browser page running continuously while not viewing it. By closing the browser window or leaving Indigo Touch (home button), the requests through the reflector will stop which significantly reduces daily bandwidth usage.
Note these usage suggestions only apply to connections when a reflector is being used. If you are directly connected to your Indigo Server on your home network or not using a reflector then the bandwidth isn't going through our servers and you can have Control Page images refreshed as frequently as you would like.