Incoming Firewall Ports
No incoming firewall ports need to be opened.
Outgoing Firewall Ports
TCP Ports 80 and 443 (for low-volume control protocols).
UDP Port 53 (for DNS), unless a network-local DNS server is provided in the DHCP reply.
UDP Port 123 (for NTP), unless a network-local NTP server is provided in the DHCP reply.
TCP and UDP Ports 10,000 - 65,535 (for high-volume stream data).
The listed ports are all required to be open. The BoxCaster is directed by the BoxCast API to use a certain IP and port before a broadcast starts. This will change for each broadcast and is based on dynamic scaling of the cloud infrastructure – there’s no way to restrict that range right now.
Domains Accessed by BoxCast
You may encounter an issue where your BoxCaster encoder is showing as Online, but your scheduled broadcast doesn't stream. If your network is employing some kind of content filter, you may need to consider allowing the following domains.
api.boxcast.com
auth.boxcast.com
logs.boxcast.com
stats.boxcast.com
IP Address Requirements
DHCP is required for IP Address assignment. Networks that are configured to reject non-authorized devices will require that the MAC ID of the BoxCaster be added to the list of authorized devices. The MAC ID can be found on the under-side sticker.
BoxCast currently sends data to a range of IPs in the AWS East Coast region.
Can I Assign a Static IP Address to the BoxCaster?
Not directly. The BoxCaster itself requires DHCP to access our media servers so assigning a static IP to the device itself will not work but you can handle this from the network side by adding the MAC ID (found on the bottom of the BoxCaster or in the sources area of the dashboard) to the DHCP server and then creating an IP reservation in your network for that MAC ID. This way, when your network sees the BoxCaster online it can give a specific IP, no problem.
There is also a work around if the above fails for you. Bear in mind that this isn't the recommended first option. You can plug the network into a router and then plug the router into your BoxCaster. You can assign a static IP to the router while still allowing the BoxCaster to request DHCP. It is never ideal to add an extra piece of equipment between the network and the BoxCaster as this increases the chance of latency, but it can work in a pinch.
Go to the Sources tab in the BoxCast Dashboard and select the BoxCaster to find your MAC Address.
How and why does the BoxCaster use DNS (Domain Name Service)?
The BoxCaster uses the Domain Name Service (DNS) to locate services it needs to use on the internet (e.g. the BoxCast website). If your network provides a network-local DNS server, the BoxCaster will utilize it. If a network-local DNS server is not present or is misconfigured, the BoxCaster will utilize Google's public DNS.
We fall back to external DNS in case a local DNS service is not present, compromised, or misconfigured. If you have a strict IT policy regarding external communications, we recommend you allow the BoxCaster to communicate with Google Public DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4); however, if you have a properly configured local DNS server that is provided in the DHCP reply, this is not necessary.
If you have any other network questions please reach out to us at questions@boxcast.com or in the chat.