Why Servers?

As prices have fallen, many manufacturers are producing devices that provide APIs can be accessed over LANs (hardwired or Wifi) within secure networks.

To keep costs down, these devices may lack sophisticated function. Consider the two cards supported in the MPP suite:

CT-30

• The REST api provides neither encryption nor security. It should not be exposed outside of your firewalls.
• The web server is limited, and under any amount of stress will lock up or drop it's wifi connection

Envisalink 2DS/3DS

• Only basic password encryption is provided, with no encryption
  • the web page is susceptible to brute force password attacks
  • accessing the page from an unsecured or unencrypted network will show your security system status "in the clear", allowing a packet sniffer to determine your security system status, login password, and even worse, your security code
  • there is no protection to ensure you have connected directly to your security system, making it susceptible to a DNS or "man in the middle" attack
  • the TPI has the same issues
  • the TPI only allows one connection at a time, and needs to be kept open

In short, NEVER expose your device interfaces outside of your network, and ensure that your network is secured against external intrusion (properly firewalled, encrypted wireless, no exposed connections).

So these devices need a front end system of some kind to provide security and in some cases functionality.

Why an Android Server?

A dedicated (always on) tablet sits idle most of the time. Why not harness that CPU power to do something useful?

Dedicated phones or tablets are an inexpensive way to add more function to your network use very little power and can be located almost anywhere without additional wiring. Smaller tablets are inexpensive - $80 on ebay new. Used android phones (look for Android 2.1 or later) are often better than the cheap tablets and are coming down in price quickly. The LG Optimus One (P500H) is a good, solid platform available for $40-$100. Using a phone as a server means that it can send or be controled by text messages (for example alerts such as a security alarm or loss of power) and are less likely to lose connectivity.

These features make them perfect for running servers like the DscServer app. They can be easily configured to be accessable from the outside world, come with a built in screen for configuration and status, and you can setup as many as you'd like quiet easily.

These simple, cheap and useful servers are ideal front ends to eliminate the shortcomings of these automation devices as they become available.