Reverse Tunnel
A network tunnel initiated from a device behind a firewall or NAT to an external server, allowing inbound connections to reach the device without opening firewall ports. In robotics, reverse tunnels enable secure remote access to robots without exposing them to the public internet.
Why It Matters
Robots typically sit behind firewalls or NAT on private networks. Traditional remote access requires VPNs or firewall changes. Reverse tunnels let the device initiate an outbound connection that is then used for inbound access — no network changes required.
How Roboticks Implements It
Roboticks provides hosted reverse tunnels that expose device web services via secure public URLs (device-*.fleet.roboticks.io). Built on AWS IoT Secure Tunneling, tunnels support HTTP, HTTPS, and WebSocket protocols with authentication, allowed user lists, and auto-expiration.