Connecting the Federation host to remote sites through reverse tunnels
2026-07-29Last updated
To connect the Security Center SaaS Federation™ host to a remote site using reverse
tunneling, you must follow a specific pattern for the Directory name while configuring the
Security Center Federation™ role.
In Security Center SaaS, the Security Center Federation roles necessary to federate
your remote systems are created for you. Configure these roles to connect to your remote
systems with the required options.
Procedure
In Genetec™ Configuration desktop, sign in to your Security Center SaaS system.
Open the System task and click the Roles
view.
If required, do the following:
In the entity tree, select an UnconfiguredFederation and
activate the role.
On the Identity page, enter a new name and description for
this Federation.
Select a Security Center Federation role (),
Click the Properties tab and enter the reverse tunnel name in
the Directory field.
Reverse tunnel names use the following format:
directory.<sitename>.tunnel.genetec.com,
where <sitename> is the name for the remote site in the
Reverse Tunnel Server role.
For example, if the remote site is named VM31614,
enter:
directory.VM31614.tunnel.genetec.com
The
string is not case-sensitive.
Configure the other Federation role settings as needed:
Username and password
Credentials used by the Federation role to sign in to the remote Security Center
system. The rights and privileges of that user determine what your local users can
see and do on the federated remote system.
Resilient connection
Turn this option on to automatically attempt to reconnect the Federation role to
the remote site if the connection is interrupted. If the role has been unable to
reconnect by the Reconnection timeout, the connection is
considered lost, and the role goes into a warning state.
Note:
Activating Resilient connection is highly recommended for
remote systems that might have an unstable connection to the cloud.
Reconnection timeout
The number of seconds that the Federation role attempts to reconnect to the
Directory before the connection is considered lost.
Forward Directory reports
Turn this option on to view user activities and configuration changes
performed at the federated site. User activities include viewing cameras,
activating the PTZ, and so on. This information is provided by the
Activity trails and Audit trails
reports on the Federation™ host, if the Federation™ user has the privileges and
access rights to view them. You can also view the federated units in the
Hardware inventory task.
Default live stream
The default video stream used for live video from federated cameras.
Remote is selected by default.
If your workstation does not require
specific video stream settings for Federation™, you can use the default stream
settings from Genetec™ Operation desktop instead.
Enable playback requests
Turn this option on for users to view playback video from federated cameras.
Federate alarms
Turn this option on for users to receive alarms from the federated system.
Federate custom icons
Turn this option on for federated entities to share custom icons with the
Federation host. This means that entity icons in the Federation host appear
identical to the federated system. It can take a few minutes to synchronize custom
icons.
Federated events
Select events to receive from the federated system. Events are necessary if you
plan to monitor federated entities in Genetec Operation desktop, or to configure
event-to-actions for the federated entities.
Click Apply.
The Federation role is configured.
The connection status should say
Synchronizing entities or Connected.
After you finish
After the role successfully connects to the remote system, open the Area
view task.
Expand the Federation role in the Area view and verify that all federated entities were
successfully imported.
The entity hierarchy corresponds to the Area view on the
federated system.
Note:
It can take up to an hour after synchronizing a new role for video to work.