Automatic Thermal Printers on CLOUD Server with VPN

Automatic Thermal Printers on CLOUD Server with VPN

Installation Requirements for Automatic Thermal Printers on CLOUD Server


If your connection to Novohit is Cloud, a special VPN connection is required. This is because Novohit is "outside" of your company's LAN and in order for Novohit to print automatic Point of Sale or Bank Draft printing orders, the orders must be sent from a local network, either real or virtual.

There are two ways for Novohit in the cloud to send orders on the local network:

Method A: VPN connection to the LAN Router: In this configuration, the Novohit cloud server acts as a client of a VPN network whose VPN server is the Router or active computer on your network. Thus, the cloud server would be available on the VLAN as if it were physically on the LAN (e.g. 192.168.X.X).
Method A is always the most recommended as it allows all possible printing configurations and is easier to maintain, but it requires an advanced configuration of your router: your router has to have OPENVPN Server capability and to route all traffic to and from Novohit through the VPN. The Mikrotik routers we recommend have this capability. Method A may not be compatible with Satellite or cellular connections.
Method B: direct VPN connection to a PC in your LAN: In this configuration the Novohit server acts as an OpenVPN server and a PC in your local network connects as a client. In this case, the server can send all print orders to this PC. The PC in question would act as a "print server" since the printers would be registered there.
Method B has certain limitations, for example, it requires a VPN for each Workstation Printer and is more difficult to maintain. In general, we only use 2 VPN connections in this method.

Method A: VPN Connection to the LAN Router

This method is highly recommended and will always be the first method, as it involves a single point of contact, facilitating monitoring, tracking, backup scheme and security.
In this configuration, the Novohit cloud server acts as a client of the VPN network as if it were physically in the same LAN IP (e.g., 192.168.X.X), so routing to that network must be enabled.

The NS/DNS of your active LAN equipment must be configured as indicated here so that all calls made on the work LAN to mycompany.novohit.com are mapped to the server's VLAN IP (e.g., 192.168.X.X) instead of the calls going out to the WAN (internet network).

This method requires a joint collaboration of your network or system consultant and the Novohit Support Team. So, for this configuration place a ticket. Have the following items handy:
  1. The characteristics of your Router/Modem must be among those required by Novohit (see specifications). In particular, the Router must have VPN functionality.
  2. Have at hand the administrator access credentials to the Router.
  3. Prepare the LAN Printers according to the instructions in this link, making sure to fill out the form for each printer to be connected. The IP to provide is the LAN IP.
  4. Configure the active Router or Device as indicated in this guide: https://help.novohit.com/portal/en/kb/articles/port-forwarding-and-dns-router-configuration-for-wan-access
  5. Your active network equipment must have included routing to the VLAN created by the VPN.

Method B: Connection to Each PC (Only Recommended for up to 2 Stand-Alone Printers)

This method will only be implemented by our staff under specific circumstances.
In conjunction with your network and hardware consultant, correctly configure the parameters described in the following steps:

Install OpenVPN Client on Windows

  1. Download the OpenVPN GUI client from any of these links: 
    1. https://build.openvpn.net/downloads/releases/openvpn-install-2.4.11-I601-Win10.exe 
    2. https://drive.novohit.com/file/eiz5b6212b206c26b479f8494ec56ee8be2a9
  2. Install the OpenVPN GUI client, if you have any doubts about the installation process, see the official guide: https://openvpn.net/community-resources/how-to-install-the-openvpn-gui-on-windows/
  3. Copy the .crt, .key and .ovpn files provided by our staff via ticket.
  4. Configure the VPN to connect automatically at Windows startup by following these instructions: https://help.novohit.com/portal/en/kb/articles/openvpn-gui-client-connection-on-windows-terminal-workstation
It is the client's responsibility to back up VPN configuration files. All configuration and re-configuration is subject to charge according to Technical Support SLA.

If a Firewall is Installed:
  1. Add in green list (so that the firewall does NOT block) the following ports: 137/139 TCP, 445 TCP.
  2. Enable the ICMP PING Requests
  3. Enable connections through the VPN IP ranges.
  4. In the advanced settings of the Windows firewall, under domain, public and private, disable control over the Network interface (TAP) that virtually creates the VPN, usually named "Local Area Network 2".
  5. On the internal router, open port 1194 UDP, the complete list of Open Ports can be found here.
  6. Disable or properly configure any anti-virus so that it does not interfere with VPN print commands.

It is the responsibility of the client to allow the data exchange flow as defined in the above instructions.
In case our staff performs the installation, you agree that the windows firewall will be disabled and Avast will be configured with special parameters to allow connections. However. we are not responsible for the security of your computers.

On Mac

Download the Client https://tunnelblick.net 
Follow the Tunnelblick instructions to set up a VPN network with the .ovpn file sent by our staff.

Printer Information

Communicate via ticket the information requested in the following link.

If Instructed by our Staff, Download and Install Novohit Assist in Administrator Mode.

Download and Install Novohit Assist as instructed in the ticket by our Support staff.

Recommended Print Servers



General Printers Diagram

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