Starting from version 3.3, FlexiHub offers a new option that allows keeping connections to remote devices active even when you temporarily lose the Internet connection.
The new feature is called Keep connections active and is available in the Options menu, where you can also find the already-existing feature Auto reconnect devices.
Now, let’s consider how these FlexiHub features work and which advantages they offer to users.
Scenario 1. Auto reconnect is disabled.
In case the auto-reconnect feature is not enabled in the Options menu, the connection to a remote device will break any time the client or server machine disconnects from the Internet. In order to re-establish the connection to the device (once the Internet connection is renewed), you will need to click the “Connect” button.
Scenario 2. Auto reconnect is enabled.
When the server or client machine gets disconnected from the Internet, or the device that has been shared on the server computer gets unplugged from the machine, the client automatically disconnects from the remote device.
If a user enables the Auto-reconnect feature, the software will attempt to re-establish the connection to the remote device automatically, once the Internet connection is renewed, or the device is physically re-attached to the server computer.
Note: You should enable the Auto-reconnect feature before establishing any connections to remote devices.
Scenario 3. Keep connections active is enabled.
If you use FlexiHub, for example, for remote reprogramming or configuration of USB devices, or copying files from a remote USB device, a sudden disconnection from the Internet can interrupt an important process, which means you’ll need to start the procedure over again. To prevent such a situation, the software now offers the new ability to keep all connections active in case the Internet connection is lost for a few minutes.
Here’s how to prevent the immediate disconnection from a remote device if the Internet connection is lost:
- Start FlexiHub, go to the main menu and select Options>Keep connections active.
- Connect to the required remote device.
Now, in case the server or client computer is temporarily disconnected from the Internet, the software will keep the connection to the device active for several minutes.
For instance, when you connect to a remote USB flash drive and start copying files from it, and the client or server computer suddenly loses the connection to the Internet, the file copying process will be paused but not canceled.
If the Internet connection is restored in a few minutes, you’ll be able to finish copying files without having to start all over again.
Note: In order to activate the new feature, you need to run the latest version of FlexiHub on both the server and client nodes.
Note: The feature Keep connections active does not support serial devices and USB devices of some types. Users should check whether this option will work with their particular USB device.