Home Assistant issue - "Invalid Server Details"

thompssc

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Hi all, BI noob here. I successfully got it installed and running, and have setup the web server and am able to view the cameras on my phone. However, I am trying to set it up to tie into my Home Assistant setup. I have added BI in HACS and am now trying to add the integration via Configuration. I put in the server address and port 81, username, and password (that I created specifically for HA). It repeatedly gives me "invalid server details". I have restarted HA (obvious first trouble shooting step...turn it off and then back on). No dice. I believe it's not actually a BI issue but a network issue, but I am hardly a networking expert. The reason I suspect this is, on the BI PC, if I go to a browser and enter the internal server address, I am able to log on and view the cameras. That plus the fact that I got my cell phone to be able to view the cameras tells me that the web server is setup correctly on BI. What's weird is that if I use a different laptop and punch in the same exact internal server IP address, I get nothing. So I reason HA is also failing to find the server. Does anyone experienced in networking have a theory as to what is mucking things up? I did confirm that Blue Iris is allowed through the firewall. So why can't I access the internal server from a different computer? If I can solve that, I think HA will be golden.
 

TonyR

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Can you ping the BI server's IP from that laptop?
If so, what is the exact URL you're putting into that laptop's browser to access the BI server on the LAN?
No need to redact your LAN IP, we all have them...mine is 192.168.1.239.
 

thompssc

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Can you ping the BI server's IP from that laptop?
If so, what is the exact URL you're putting into that laptop's browser to access the BI server on the LAN?
No need to redact your LAN IP, we all have them...mine is 192.168.1.239.
Screenshots below. I also tried it with "http://" in front to the same effect. I tried it with and without the port to the same effect. But if I try putting "172.19.16.1:81" in on the Blue Iris PC, it works fine. Note, I actually am using Remote desktop to remote in to the Blue Iris PC. So it's not like that PC is somehow firewalled off from the rest of the network.
 

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Vettester

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You might want to try going into the advanced option on your web server page and change your require from authentication option to non-lan only. Also add ^172.19.16.* to the limit access by ip address option.

Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 6.29.26 PM.png
 

thompssc

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You might want to try going into the advanced option on your web server page and change your require from authentication option to non-lan only. Also add ^172.19.16.* to the limit access by ip address option.

View attachment 117794
Thanks for the input. I just tried both of these and still nothing :/.
 

Vettester

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Thanks for the input. I just tried both of these and still nothing :/.
If you can't ping your BI server these options will not work. Is your HA and BI server on the same subnet?
 

thompssc

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If you can't ping your BI server these options will not work. Is your HA and BI server on the same subnet?
Woah, you win the prize! I didn't even notice that. For some reason, the BI server is on 255.255.240. How do I change this? I'm googling it and searching the settings but if you happen to know how to put it on 255.255.255.0 like the rest of my network, I'd appreciate any insight!

Edit: OK I figured out how to change the subnet for that virtual ethernet thing, but it's still not working. Meaning, I still can't ping it from my other laptop.
 
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Vettester

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Did you go into your network settings on your BI server and change the following? Keep in mind that when you change this you will also need to change the subnet setting in all of your cameras.

Screen Shot 2022-02-04 at 8.28.15 PM.png
 

thompssc

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Did you go into your network settings on your BI server and change the following? Keep in mind that when you change this you will also need to change the subnet setting in all of your cameras.

View attachment 117805
Yeah, that's what I just did. So now it's 255.255.255.0 on the virtual internet thing. I did confirm the cameras are on 255.255.255.0 and I can ping them from my laptop no problem. But I still can't ping the 172.19.16.1 IP address of the BI server for some reason.
 

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Can you ping your laptop from the BI server?
 

thompssc

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Can you ping your laptop from the BI server?
Yep. Or at least, I think so. On the windows PC that the BI server lives on, I opened command prompt and typed ping [this laptop IP address] and it worked. I assume that's what you mean "from the BI server". Then I retried from the laptop to the BI server, just to be sure, but it didn't work. If I misunderstood how to ping "from the BI server", let me know.
 

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If you enter ipconfig in the command line on the BI server are you seeing the expected network info?
 

TonyR

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Insure the "Network Profile" is configured as "Private", not "Public."

Also, and this a bit of a reach, but on the BI server insure that box at step #4 is not checked (assuming Win 10):

do-not-block-incoming.jpg
 
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Vettester

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I believe so:
Your vEthernet subnet mask should be 255.255.255.240. You are using the wrong IP address for the BI integration in HA. You need to use 192.168.1.20.

Enter 192.168.1.20:81 in a browser on your HA machine and see if it brings up BI.
 

thompssc

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Insure the "Network Profile" is configured as "Private", not "Public."

Also, and this a bit of a reach, but on the BI server insure that box at step #4 is not checked (assuming Win 10):

...
Thanks for the idea. I just checked and confirm those boxes are unchecked.
 

thompssc

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Your vEthernet subnet mask should be 255.255.255.240. You are using the wrong IP address for the BI integration in HA. You need to use 192.168.1.20.

Enter 192.168.1.20:81 in a browser on your HA machine and see if it brings up BI.
I just changed the subnet mask to that but it still doesn't work. Also, when I ping the IP address from my laptop now, I get "request timed out" which is different from the "host not found" I originally got. So somehow I'm making progress, the ping request seems to be finding the server, but something is gatekeeping the response. I have confirmed Blue Iris is on the allowed list of apps for the firewall.
 

Vettester

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Also, when I ping the IP address from my laptop now, I get "request timed out" which is different from the "host not found" I originally got.
Which IP address are you trying to ping?
 
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