WebAccess (HTTP and VNC service) in the StrideLinx Cloud can be used without first establishing a VPN connection. The connection from your computer to the machine consists of an encrypted HTTPS connection from your computer to the StrideLinx Cloud and an encrypted VPN connection from the StrideLinx Cloud to the StrideLinx router. Using WebAccess is therefore just as secure as using VPN.
This works as follows:
- You click on an HTTP or VNC service button in the StrideLinx Cloud, which requests a unique URL from our API.
- This triggers our WebAccess proxy to establish an HTTP(S) or VNC connection to your PLC or HMI via the secure VPN connection already established between the StrideLinx router and one of our VPN servers.
- The response from the PLC's local HTTP server or HMI's VNC server then follows the same route back over the VPN connection to the WebAccess proxy.
- At the WebAccess proxy the connection is converted to a secure HTTPS connection.
- The result will be displayed in your browser.
The URL you see in your browser cannot be used by anyone who does not have access. If you open the URL on a different computer, access will be checked again with our API. If you don't have access, you won't be able to use the HTTP or VNC service.
For more information on our security, see our Security Whitepaper in the Security article.