How it works

When you enter your email address in both the observatory-side DragonFly software and the remote-side software, the system attempts to establish a connection through three stages in order:

  1. Direct connection—DragonFly and the remote PC or smartphone attempt to connect directly over the local network or the internet. This is the fastest and most efficient path.
  2. External addresses—If a direct link is not immediately available, the software tries connecting through your router's external internet addresses.
  3. Lunatico relay—If both direct methods fail, the connection is established through a relay server hosted by Lunatico. This always works but carries a limitation (see the note below).

Note on relay connections: Relayed communications are resource-intensive. They are not intended for extended periods, so expect them to be limited in time in the future. Where possible, configure a direct connection path.

Important: It is strongly recommended to have a computer physically connected to the DragonFly in the observatory during imaging sessions. The Zero Configuration Network is for remote monitoring and occasional control, not a replacement for a local PC during a session.

Setting up the observatory side

  1. Download and install firmware 4.x or later onto your DragonFly controller.
  2. Install the DragonFly software (Dragonfly5.0-Install.exe or later) on the observatory PC.
  3. Run Dragonfly Main and go to Controller Configuration.
  4. Enter your email address in the Zero Configuration Network field and click Apply.

Setting up the remote side

  1. Install the same DragonFly software on the remote PC or smartphone.
  2. Run Dragonfly Main and enter the same email address used at the observatory.
  3. Set the network timeout to 1000 ms as a starting point. Increase it if connections are slow or unreliable over the internet.
  4. Set the refresh period to 500 ms or more for non-local connections. Faster refresh rates than the network can sustain will cause timeouts.

This feature is available for all DragonFly customers—we'll add it to other products as soon as we can. The same Zero Configuration Network technology is also used by Solo CloudWatcher Android Widget users.

Firmware & software downloads · User manual (PDF) · Video tutorials