> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://manual.fotokite.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://manual.fotokite.com/installation-and-integration/network-integration-and-setup.md). # Network Integration and Setup The Fotokite system is capable to operate in different network setups depending on your needs. \ On this page we present supported network configurations. In general we distinguish between setups where the Fotokite system is connected to a customer managed network as[#integrated-network-setups](#integrated-network-setups "mention") and setups where the Fotokite system operates independently as[#standalone-setups](#standalone-setups "mention"). In this guide we consider the **Ground Station network** to be the IP network with the address space 192.168.2.x in which the Fotokite Ground Station acts as the DHCP server (Router). A **customer managed network** is an IP network to which the Fotokite is connected as a network client, where another device (usually a Router), acts as the DHCP server. ## Standalone Setups Standalone Setups are the default operation mode of the Fotokite system. The Fotokite system does not depend on any external Network to be used. In these setups there will only be the **Ground Station network**, where the Fotokite Ground Station acts as the only DHCP sever. Client devices connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi will get an IP address assigned by the Ground Station. In these setups the Fotokite System can only access the internet via cellular (LTE). ### Tablet connected via Wi-Fi The most basic setup with a Fotokite System. In this case the Tablet running Fotokite Live is connected to the Ground Station via Wi-Fi.

Fotokite Live Tablet is connected via Wi-Fi, Internet access via cellular (LTE)

### Tablet connected via Ethernet One variation of the Standalone setup, is to connect the Tablet running Fotokite Live via Ethernet.\ This is possible with Tablets with an Ethernet port or a corresponding USB-C to Ethernet adpater.

Fotokite Live Tablet is connected via Ethernet, Internet access via cellular (LTE)

Using a wired Ethernet connection between the Tablet running Fotokite Live and the Ground Station is sometimes useful in situations where the Wi-Fi connection between GS and Tablet is limited.\ Reasons for a bad Wi-Fi connection can be very busy surroundings (for example trade shows) where all Wi-Fi channels are occupied, or physical obstacles like large metal structures are present. **How to connect your Tablet to the Ground Station via Ethernet:** 1. Make sure the Ground Station's Ethernet Port is in Bridged Mode.\ System Menu > System Connect > Options > Advanced Settings > Upstream Ethernet
2. Physically connect the Tablet and the Ground Station via Ethernet. We recommend using a CAT6 Ethernet cable (RJ45) for optimal performance. See [#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection](#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection "mention"). 3. Disable Wi-Fi on your device in the Operating System Wi-Fi settings. 4. Confirm Fotokite Live uses the Ethernet connection.
### Customer devices in the GS Network In standalone setups other customer owned devices besides the Tablet running Fotokite Live can be connected to the Ground Station network. This can be done via Wi-Fi or Ethernet (Ethernet Port in bridged mode). Connecting other devices to the Ground Station network can be useful for the following use-cases: * Display Fotokite Video Stream via [Local Video Streaming (RTSP)](/installation-and-integration/local-video-streaming-rtsp.md). * Access recorded videos in the Video Library via a browser. For example to download these videos.\ See [Video Library](/fotokite-live-walkthrough/video-library.md#access-via-web-browser). * Use the Mobile Data Internet connection of the Fotokite System on customer owned computers/devices.

Customer Devices in the Ground Station network (192.168.2.x)

How to connect your device to the Fotokite System: **Via Wi-Fi:** Connect your device (computer, laptop, tablet) to the Ground Station Wi-Fi as you would connect to any other Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi credentials of the Ground Station Wi-Fi Network can be configured, see [Connecting to a Fotokite system](/fotokite-live-walkthrough/connecting-to-a-fotokite-system.md#change-wi-fi-password). Your device should receive a 192.168.2.x IP address once connected. **Via Ethernet:** 1. Make sure the Ground Station's Ethernet Port is in Bridged Mode.\ System Menu > System Connect > Options > Advanced Settings > Upstream Ethernet
2. Physically connect your device via Ethernet. We recommend using a CAT6 Ethernet cable (RJ45) for optimal performance. See [#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection](#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection "mention"). 3. Disable Wi-Fi on your tablet in your OS Wi-Fi settings. ## Integrated Network Setups The Fotokite system can be connected to a **customer managed network**. Either via Wi-Fi or via Ethernet. The customer provided network can for example be a vehicle network, a building/office network or simply a Smartphone with an enabled Wi-Fi Hotspot. In such a setup the Fotokite system will operate as a client device, but at the same time still act as a DHCP server for its **Ground Station network**. In an integrated network setup the Fotokite Ground Station will still provide its own Wi-Fi network at the same time. This Wi-Fi Network is still part of the **Ground Station network** and is necessary for the Fotokite Live Tablet. Use cases for integrated network setups are: * Providing internet access to the Fotokite system, where there is no reliable cellular connection via the cellular modem in the Ground Station. For example for better video streaming performance with [Remote Livestream](/system-profile/remote-livestream.md). * Integrating the Fotokite video streams in an IP-camera-like-setup, see [Local Video Streaming (RTSP)](/installation-and-integration/local-video-streaming-rtsp.md). The customer network does not need to provide an internet connection for this use case. The Fotokite system can fall back to its cellular modem. * Not wanting to use up the mobile data budget set by Fotokite, by using a customer owned (cellular) upstream connection. Systems without Fotokite Livestreaming have 1GB of cellular buget, systems with Livestreaming have 50GB per month. ### Integrated Setup connected via Wi-Fi The Fotokite system can make use of a customer provided Internet connection through Wi-Fi. This can be for example a Smartphone with a mobile data connection or a Wi-Fi Router of an office or home network.

Fotokite Live Tablet is connected via Wi-Fi, Internet access via a Customer Network via Wi-Fi

In case you are only using Wi-Fi the Ethernet port Mode is not really relevant. The default Mode however is **Bridged**. **How to connect my Fotokite system via Wi-Fi to my own Network:** Use System Menu > System Connect > Internet over Wi-Fi in Fotokite Live to scan for networks and connect. For more information, please refer to the page [Connecting to the Internet](/fotokite-live-walkthrough/connecting-to-the-internet.md). **Frequently Asked Questions about connecting to a Customer owned Wi-Fi Network** * **Can I configure a static IP for my Fotokite System, when I connect it to my Wi-Fi network?**\ No static IP addresses can only be configured for Ethernet connections. With Wi-Fi you must use DHCP. * **Can the Fotokite connect to any one of multiple routers that are all unified under the same SSID (e.g. a mesh network)?** \ Yes. In this case, it will be connected to one of those routers at a time, and roam between them. * **Can I connect my Fotokite system to a Hidden Wi-Fi Network?**\ No, this is currently not supported. * **Can I connect my Fotokite system to a 5GHz only network?**\ No, this is currently not supported. * **Does the Fotokite system support WPS?**\ No * **Does the Fotokite system support WPA3?**\ No, this is currently not supported. * **Does the Fotokite support any "Enterprise" WiFi per device Authentication?**\ No, this is currently not supported. * **Can the Fotokite system connect to a single router that emits two different SSIDs (e.g. "Airport Extreme 2.4Ghz" and "Airport Extreme 5Ghz")?** \ There are two different cases here: * A single router advertises two distinct 5GHz and 2.4Ghz SSIDs. Those are, as far as the technical Wi-Fi standard is concerned, two different Wi-Fi networks. However, because the Fotokite supports only 2.4GHz APs for upstream Wi-Fi, in this case only "Airport Extreme 2.4Ghz" could be connected to. * A single router hosting multiple different SSIDs on the same frequency band and channel. This setup exists frequently in offices where you want to provide multiple networks for multiple use cases from the same hardware. For example, "Fotokite Office 2.4Ghz" and "Fotokite Office Guest 2.4Ghz". If the Fotokite has configured both SSIDs and passwords, it can be connected to both networks concurrently. It then also (should have) has a separate IP address on each of those connections. We have seen upstream networks being confused by this situation and e.g. assign them same IP multiple times, leading to issues. For this reason, we consider this an anti-feature. Unfortunately, it is not possible to disable this behavior on our hardware. We are not assuming that this is a common scenario for most customers, though. ### Integrated Setup connected via Ethernet The Fotokite system can make use of a customer provided Internet connection through Ethernet.

Fotokite Live Tablet is connected via Wi-Fi, Internet access via a Customer Network via Ethernet

For this use case the Ethernet (WAN) Port must be set to one of the following modes: * **NAT, DHCP** in which your own network assigns an IP address to the Fotokite system. * **NAT, Static** in which you can configure the IP address of the Fotokite system on your network manually. **How to connect my Fotokite System via Ethernet to my own Network:** 1. Set the mode of the (WAN) Ethernet port in System Menu > System Connect > Options > Advanced Settings > Upstream Ethernet and choose **NAT, DHCP** if your router assigns IP addresses automatically to clients.

DHCP mode selected, your router will provide an IP address to the Ground Station

2. Choose **NAT, Static** if you want to configure a **Static IP** address for your Fotokite System (ex. 10.10.1.123). You then also have to configure the **Netmask** (ex. 255.255.255.0) of the used Subnet and the **Default Gateway** (the IP Address of your own router, ex. 10.10.0.1). The **Netmask** depends on the address space your router uses. Usually it is 255.255.255.0 for most networks as one usually uses /24 IP spaces in private networks. For more details contact support or consult [this Wikipedia section](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subnet#Determining_the_network_prefix). The *DNS Server* is either the IP address of your Router or you can use the Google DNS Server `8.8.8.8`.

Static mode selected, you manually configure an IP address for the Ground Station in your Router

3. Click Save to store your settings. 4. Physically connect the Ethernet Cable to the Ground Station Ethernet port. We recommend using a CAT6 Ethernet cable (RJ45) for optimal performance. See [#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection](#physical-ethernet-rj45-connection "mention"). 5. Confirm the upstream Ethernet connection works. System Menu > System Connect > Options > Advanced Settings. At the very top of the advanced Ground Station Settings Page you can see the connection Status.

The Fotokite system can access the Internet via Ethernet

In DHCP mode the system will report its IP address and the Gateway (Router) IP address

If the system is connected to a network in NAT mode, any network connected via Wi-Fi will not be used. ## Ethernet ports ### Port Modes The WAN Ethernet port of the Fotokite Ground Station can be set to 3 different modes via the Advanced Ground Station settings. Depending on your Network Setup ([Standalone Setup](#standalone-setups) / [Integrated Network Setup](#integrated-network-setups)) you'll have to choose the appropriate configuration.
Ethernet port modeDescription
BridgedIn this mode the Ground Station Ethernet port is connected to the Ground Station network (192.168.2.x address space). A connected device therefore will receive an IP address in the 192.168.2.x network (when it uses DHCP). This is useful for connecting a Tablet with Fotokite Live.

You never want to connect your Fotokite via Ethernet in this mode to a customer managed network, this can cause problems in your network.
NAT, DHCP

In this mode the Ground Station Ethernet port is separated from the Ground Station network. This mode is useful for connecting the Fotokite to a customer managed network, which runs a DHCP server. Once connected the Fotokite can use the customer network for internet access.

Also other devices in the customer network can access the Local Video Streaming (RTSP) at the Fotokite's IP address (see /pages/c0fzkDBikellMTcPvlXU).

NAT, Static

In this mode the Ground Station Ethernet port is separated from the Ground Station network. This mode is useful for connecting the Fotokite to a customer managed network, which makes use of static IP addresses. Once connected the Fotokite can use the customer network for internet access.

Also other devices in the customer network can access the Local Video Streaming (RTSP) at the Fotokite's IP address (see /pages/c0fzkDBikellMTcPvlXU).

### Physical Connection The Fotokite Fotokite system always provides an external Ethernet (RJ45) port in all variants. The external Ethernet port is in a different location depending on your variant. In RTB Systems there also are additional ports. #### Transport Case & Tray-Mount Variant In the Transport-Case and Tray-Mount configuration the Ethernet port (RJ45 Female) is attached at the end of a black cable. In the transport case configuration the Ethernet cable will sit between the white plastic cover and red transport case plastic.

Ground Station Ethernet Port in Tray Mount Configuration

Since 2022 all Fotokite Units come with the black Ethernet cable. Should your unit not have the Ethernet port extension cable, please contact Fotokite Support. #### Roof Top Box In RTB Units there are 3 Ethernet ports available. The configurable Ethernet WAN port is port 1.

Ethernet ports of the Fotokite RTB

PortUsage
1WAN port that can be controlled via the Advanced Ground Station Settings.
To be used to connect the RTB to a customer managed network
2Free port connected to the internal Network of the Fotokite system.
Can be used to connect a Tablet running Fotokite Live.
Never connect this port to a customer managed network.
3Free port connected to the internal Network of the Fotokite system.
Can be used to connect a Tablet running Fotokite Live.
Never connect this port to a customer managed network.
## Limitations and Caveats * With the Fotokite currently only integration with IPv4 networks is supported * **The 192.168.2.X/24 IPv4 subnet is used internally by the Fotokite system. There will be address conflicts if the customer network is configured with an overlapping IP address range. This cannot be changed.** * You **cannot** connect the Fotokite system to your network, if the office router/Cradlepoint/access point has the IP 192.168.2.X and hands out IPs in the 192.168.2.X range. Connecting can trigger a problematic behavior where the internal IP communication in the Fotokite system fails. In this case, only the Fotokite Support team can make your system usable again. * You have to configure your office router, Cradlepoint etc. to run on a different IP range, e.g. 192.168.0.X or 192.168.1.X or 192.168.100.X * You also have to configure the **Netmask** of your office network, so the network does not overlap **Ground Station network.** In case your office router has an IPv4 of 192.168.0.X or 192.168.1.X, please make sure that the **Netmask** of your office network is set to /23 or 255.255.254.0 or higher. In case your office router is set to 192.168.100.X, the **Netmask** shall be set to /18 or 255.255.192.0 or higher. * The tablet running Fotokite Live must always be directly connected to the GS via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. It is currently not possible to have the Fotokite Live tablet in your own network. * #### Data Usage of Devices in the Ground Station Network Clients in the Ground Station network (usually the tablets controlling the Fotokite) can use the Ground Stations cellular modem to reach the internet. This for example allows you to use your browser on your tablet. At the same time the data traffic inflicted by network clients will also use up cellular data budget. This can also happen due to services in the background on your tablet (ex. Operating System updates). In case one wants to reduce the data consumption caused by the tablet, one can mark the Ground Station WiFi as a **Metered Connection**, this will indicate to your OS that it should not download unnecessary amounts of data (ex. optional updates) via the Ground Station. Keep in mind that marking the Ground Station network as a metered connection is not automatically unset in case the Ground Station has internet by other means than the cellular modem inside. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://manual.fotokite.com/installation-and-integration/network-integration-and-setup.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.