Purpose:
This article describes a checklist of items to check for, to determine if a panel is able to reach the WMS Pro server when attempting to connect / register. This may be used in situations where you want to troubleshoot cross network port forwarding, or issues with panel registration etc.
The Checklist:
Panels connect to WMS Pro via a TCP socket, which is configured by default to be on port 13,000, unless you have specified a different port number on WMS Pro installation.
If you are having issues getting a panel to connect to WMS Pro, the following steps can be checked:
NOTE: For this test to be valid, your computer must be on the same IP address range / network / VLAN as the Challenger Panels are, because you are testing the connection from that network, to the WMS Pro server.
REQUIRED: Windows telnet client must be installed - Telnet can be run from a Windows command prompt - however if typing "telnet" at a command prompt tells you it's an invalid command, you may need to install telnet using the "Turn Windows features on or off" window (you can search for this, or it is also often found under the Add or Remove Windows Components settings), to add the "Telnet client" (a google search will show you the correct way for your version of Windows).
1. Testing to see if the port is accessible and open using your PC, and telnet from a command prompt:
telnet 123.45.67.89 13000
Where 123.45.67.89 should be replaced with the IP address of the WMS Pro server.
If this works, it will open a blank page in the cmd prompt.
However if it fails to connect, then you may need to talk with IT for port blocking / forwarding / etc.
2. Checking that the "WMS Pro Comms Service" is running in Services on the WMS Pro server. If not, then start the service (right click and choose "Start").
3. Checking to ensure the Comms path is set up correctly on the panel, as per the WMS Pro instructions / guides. The WMS Pro Quick Start guide is available here:
4. Re-generating the encryption key from the WMS Pro web interface. See the screenshots below along with these steps:
- In WMS Pro, go to Administration > Controllers
- Select the correct controller to bring you to the Edit controller > Setup page
- Pressing the "Auto generate" button next to the "Encryption key" field
- Copying the new key from here, to place into the Panel's comm path settings
- Click "Ok" on the Encryption key page, and then ALSO ensuring you press "Save" on the Edit Controller - Setup page, to save the new key.
(WMS Pro 1.0 tip: If the "Save" button is greyed out / disabled, you can tick the "Disable time synchronisation" tickbox above the "Save" button, and then untick it again (or return it to it's previous state), to update the "Save" button to see that a change has been made, and enable saving.)
- Paste the new encryption key into the panel's "Encryption key" field on the panel's comms path settings (on the Comms paths > IP/Encryption setting tab in CTPlus), and then press Save on this record as well.
Screenshots for regenerating the Encryption key:
A) Re-generating a key in WMS Pro:
B) Updating the Panel's comms path in CTPlus:
(NOTE: The Encryption key of "123456" has only been used as an example here. Your own key will be generated by the WMS Pro system).
If you have confirmed that all the above steps are completed, and your panel is still not connecting, you may need to speak with Technical Support. However please be sure to ensure that the above checks have been completed first, and that if you can't connect with a telnet session to the WMS Pro server, then the companies IT department will be who you need to contact first.