Looking for help to install vPilot on 2 computers

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

I read all the vPilot docomeentation on installing it for use with two computers. Would someone be willing to walk me through the installation and setup? I especially need as much help as possible with the port stuff because I understand nothing of that.

[Ross Carlson]

Sounds like something is blocking the remote from connecting to the host, such as a firewall or antivirus system.

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

I'm not having issues. I just have no idea what ports are and what ones to use or anything like that, which is why I'd like someone to kind of walk me through it or help me out

[Ross Carlson]

Mark, I was talking to Fred. (This is why we don't hijack others' threads.)

 

I would suggest you do some Googling on how to set up port forwarding in your router. Each router is different.

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

Ross, my response was meant for Fred too. I will do some reading. My mom is totally against port forwarding, so I'll have to do it without her knowing. Just to be clear for the both of us, is it safe and will it affect the entire network (i.e. her computer)?

 

Fred, I've read about the need for ports and SimConnect for the two to work together. I'm going to sound like a total noob, but what's the homegroup feature? Is that something I can do in Control Panel or is it a router thing?

[Ross Carlson]

Ross, my response was meant for Fred too. I will do some reading. My mom is totally against port forwarding, so I'll have to do it without her knowing. Just to be clear for the both of us, is it safe and will it affect the entire network (i.e. her computer)?

 

Is it safe to do something behind your mother's back? Nope.

 

Is it safe to forward a port? Depends on who you ask. If you ask me, yes, in this case. (There are cases where port forwarding can expose a vulnerability on the internal PC.) If you ask your mother, apparently not!

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

You're the expert here, so I'll go with the yes. Looks pretty simple after reading how to forward a port for my router. How would I go about setting this up on both computers for vPilot?

[Ross Carlson]

Mark, I re-read this thread and I realize I brought up port forwarding without needing to. You only need the port forwarding if you are having problems staying connected to a voice server.

 

Where exactly do you need help with networking two copies of vPilot together?

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

I was really hoping for kind of step by step advice. I just read a guide at the BVA ARTCC forums on how to network SimConnect. The steps I get are:

 

1. Share the FSX installation folder, FSX AppData folder, and the Flight Simulator X Files folder in My Docomeents with both read and write permissions and shortened names on the remote computer.

2. Set up SimConnect.xml in the FSX AppData folder and SimConnect.ini in the Flight Simulator X Files folder on the simulator computer.

3. Access the SimConnect.msi on the remote computer to install SimConnect.

4. Set up SimConnect.cfg in My Docomeents on the remote computer. (Little confused on what exactly to add)

 

At this point, I would download vPilot on the remote computer and test the configuration by running it in remote mode with voice on the remote computer and host mode on the simulator computer. If all is good, then I'm good to go.

 

The forum goes into more detail so I will link it here: http://forums.bvartcc.com/index.php?topic=4950.0

 

Does this sound good? Am I missing anything or interpreting anything wrong?

[Ross Carlson]

One of the major changes in vPilot version 2 is that it no longer uses SimConnect to communicate between the host and the remote. So none of that stuff you saw at the BVA site is necessary unless you need it for some other add-on like Active Sky.

 

With vPilot 2.0, you just put the host's IP address in the "Host Address" box in the settings.

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

Nope, I run ASN on my simulator computer, but it might be fun to set it up to run it remotely to take a little more load off that computer. So is it as simple as downloading vPilot v2 on the remote computer and running it in remote mode with voice and running it in host mode on the sim computer?

[Ross Carlson]

Yes, plus entering the host's IP address in the remote's settings as I said above.

 

Have you read the docs?

 

http://vpilot.metacraft.com/Docomeentation2.aspx#networking

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

I read that, but was confusing that and the v1 docomeentation into one. Must I worry about the port stuff mentioned?

[Ross Carlson]

I read that, but was confusing that and the v1 docomeentation into one. Must I worry about the port stuff mentioned?

 

The default port should be fine. I only allow you to change it in the off chance that you have some other program using that port. That is highly unlikely.

 

And as it says in the docs, the selected port must be opened in the firewall on the host. Usually, when you run vPilot in host mode for the first time, Windows will prompt you to ask if you want to open the port. If you say yes, you're good to go.

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

Alright, awesome. Thanks for the help and sorry about the confusion. Time to give it a shot.

[Mark Salgado 1273215]

Ross, I apologize; I have one more question. Is the IP I enter the IPv4?

[Ross Carlson]

Yes.