Network requirements
GroundControl and connectors involve three distinct network paths. Most are local and require no firewall changes. Cloud connectivity requires one outbound port.
Network paths
| Path | Protocol | Port | Direction | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge machine → Lab instrument. | Device-specific (TCP, serial, USB) | Varies per instrument | Local | Yes |
| GroundControl ↔ Connector | gRPC (SiLA 2) | 50000 - 60000. | Local loopback | Yes |
| GroundControl/Connector → UniteLabs Cloud | gRPC over TLS (HTTPS) | 443 (default) | Outbound only | Yes |
Instrument connectivity
The edge machine must be able to reach the instrument directly. This is typically:
- Serial (RS-232/USB): physical cable, no network configuration needed
- TCP/IP: the instrument's IP address must be reachable from the edge machine. If instruments are on a separate VLAN or subnet, ensure routing is in place.
The specific address and port are entered in the connector's configuration form in GroundControl.
Local SiLA 2 port
Connectors service port 0 by default for local gRPC communication with GroundControl and should be changed in the connector config. A port in the range of 50000 - 60000 is typically used. This port is bound to the loopback interface and does not need to be opened in any external firewall. If you run multiple connectors on the same machine, make sure that each uses a different port (50052, 50053, 50054, …).
Cloud relay
When cloud connectivity is enabled, GroundControl opens a single outbound TLS connection to:
<tenant-id>.unitelabs.io:443
This is a persistent gRPC stream over HTTPS — default port 443, outbound only. No inbound firewall rules are needed. If your network enforces egress filtering, allow outbound TCP on port 443 to *.unitelabs.io.
mDNS discovery (optional)
GroundControl uses mDNS (Multicast DNS) to auto-discover SiLA 2 connectors running elsewhere on the local network. mDNS uses UDP port 5353 on the 224.0.0.251 multicast address.
This is only relevant if you're using the Discovered connector mode. Local-only and cloud-only setups don't require mDNS.
Instruments on separate network segments
If lab instruments are on a different subnet or VLAN from the GroundControl machine:
- Ensure the edge machine has a route to the instrument's subnet
- Or place GroundControl on a machine that is already on the same network segment as the instruments
- Alternatively, run the connector on a machine co-located with the instruments and add it to GroundControl as a remote connector
See Multiple devices networks for multi-site topology options.