Why EcoStruxure IT Advisor windows desktop client use IPv6

[MateFekete]

On premise IT Advisor version: 9.1.2

After some changes on our network infrastructure I noticed that desktop client was not able to connect to the server and drops the following error:

Even though the server responded to IPv4 ping request (and webUI worked as well) the issue was the same. I figured out that our network change was VPN related to block IPv6 communication and after I added the following line into "EcoStruxure IT Advisor.ini" it solved the problem:

-Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true

1. Please explain me why desktop client wants to communicate via IPv6 too and what above line does exactly.

2. Is there any documentation which describe the line items in the ini file?

Thank you.

[Jef]

Hi Mate,

Sounds great that you have resolved the issue and shared with us - I have consulted our team and the response was that this not designed/hardcoded in the product (DCO/ITA). What we are doing in desktop client is simple: "send HTTP request to that URL". No special coding forcing IPv6. Java (the programming language in which desktop is written in) is handling network stuff. And Java might forward this to the operating system even. 

That option -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true is for Java and has nothing to do with the code we wrote. It would work the same for other applications written in Java.

Official Oracle documentation for this option seems to be here:
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/net/doc-files/net-properties.html

I think ITA doesn't care about format of the IP addresses, because we are not storing them anywhere.

And finally answer to the last question, no we do not have documentation describing the content of the system files (including the ini file). Modifying the system files, by unexperienced users, may even break the functionality of the system.

Kind regards,

Jef

[MateFekete · Accepted solution]

Thank you Jef. Understand your point but I have a different opinion as a customer.

If you (Schneider Electric) delivers your application with integrated 3rd party GNU licensed free software like Java JRE then that is an organic part of IT Advisor or Expert client application.

Or should I turn with my problem to the open community which support that free software? 🙂

Anyhow, my problem solved just wanted to highlight and take a note if another Schneider customer will face with the same problem.