PLANNING
To enable an HCL Domino® server to connect to another server across the Internet, you must establish Internet access with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and register an Internet domain name with the ISP -- for example, renovations.com. After you contract Internet service, create Connection documents to instruct the local Domino servers how to contact the target server.
Servers can connect to the ISP using a direct connection or by way of a Domino or non-Domino proxy server. If the local network uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet, the calling Domino server does not need to connect to the ISP directly, because the proxy server establishes this connection to the ISP. Servers connecting to the Internet require networking software that is compatible with the Internet. If TCP/IP is not already installed on the Domino server, install the protocol using the installation instructions included with the operating system. If you do not have a Domino TCP/IP port enabled for the server, add and enable the network port.
Direct (leased-line) connection
A leased-line connection is considered a direct connection to the Internet. If you have a leased-line connection, Domino servers on the internal LAN connect to the Internet through a firewall or router over a leased phone line.
A firewall filters traffic passing between the internal network and the Internet and is usually part of a TCP/IP router. Most firewalls work by hiding the IP addresses of computers on your internal network from the Internet, thus breaking the connection between the internal and external networks, so that while there is a connection between the internal LAN and the firewall, and from the firewall to the Internet, there's no direct connection between the Internet and the local network.
To connect a Domino server to an Internet server over a direct connection, create a LAN Connection document to the target server.
Proxy connections
A proxy is a server that provides indirect access to the Internet. A proxy server usually runs in conjunction with firewall software to pass incoming and outgoing requests between servers on either side of a firewall. If your organization uses a proxy server for its Internet connection, a Domino server on the internal LAN connects to the Internet through the proxy and firewall servers, which, in turn, connect to your ISP. Because the proxy server establishes the connection with the ISP, the Domino server does not connect to the Internet directly.
A Domino proxy server is one type of proxy server. You set up a Domino pass-through server as a proxy for the Internet the same way that you set up a pass-through server for internal Domino communication. You do not need to configure the server differently for Internet connections. The proxy server does not have to be a Domino server.
Related concepts Planning server-to-server connections
Related tasks Creating a Network Dialup connection Creating a local area network (LAN) connection