<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, I had a practical need: to write data into FileMaker directly from Node-RED<\/strong>, which I run on a Raspberry Pi at home. FileMaker is on my company network, so I needed a secure and stable<\/em> link between the two environments. The answer was OpenVPN<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my infrastructure, the company firewall already had an OpenVPN server<\/strong> configured. From the NethSecurity<\/strong> platform, I created a user with login credentials and downloaded the related Then I placed the Finally, I enabled and started the client so the VPN always comes up at boot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To guarantee reliability, I added a simple watchdog that checks if the VPN interface is up and restarts it if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Script<\/strong> Make it executable and run it every 5 minutes via cron:<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the VPN tunnel was established, I tested the connection using Node-RED and the node-red-contrib-filemaker<\/strong> package. These nodes make it easy to send API requests to FileMaker from Node-RED flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used the node The result was a JSON array with all accessible databases, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I used the node The result showed the list of layouts (tables) in the database:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With these nodes, I confirmed that Node-RED was able to connect, authenticate, and read from FileMaker via the Data API. The next step will be to use the This setup gives me a secure, stable, and self-monitoring connection<\/strong> between my home Raspberry Pi and the corporate FileMaker. With OpenVPN and Node-RED (plus Recently, I had a practical need: to write data into FileMaker directly from Node-RED, which I run on a Raspberry Pi at home. FileMaker is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,15,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-filemaker","category-node-red","category-raspberry"],"yoast_head":"\nStarting point<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
.ovpn<\/code> configuration (with certificates). That file, once copied to the Raspberry Pi, was all I needed for the client setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstall & configure on Raspberry Pi<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt update\nsudo apt install openvpn\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n.ovpn<\/code> file and the credential file auth.txt<\/code> in \/etc\/openvpn\/client\/<\/code>. I protected auth.txt<\/code> and referenced it inside the .ovpn<\/code> configuration:<\/p>\n\n\n\nsudo chmod 600 \/etc\/openvpn\/client\/auth.txt\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsudo systemctl enable openvpn-client@client.service\nsudo systemctl start openvpn-client@client.service\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAutomatic monitoring (every 5 minutes)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\/usr\/local\/bin\/check_vpn.sh<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n#!\/bin\/bash\n# Simple VPN watchdog for OpenVPN client\nif ! ip a | grep -q \"tun0\"; then\n echo \"$(date): VPN down, restarting...\" >> \/var\/log\/vpn_monitor.log\n systemctl restart openvpn-client@client.service\nfi\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsudo chmod +x \/usr\/local\/bin\/check_vpn.sh\n(crontab -l; echo \"*\/5 * * * * \/usr\/local\/bin\/check_vpn.sh\") | crontab -\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIntegration tests with FileMaker<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Test 1: List available databases<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
fm-list-databases<\/code> to query the FileMaker Server. The flow was very simple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
inject<\/code> node \u2013 to trigger the request<\/li>\n\n\n\nfm-list-databases<\/code> node \u2013 configured with FileMaker server address and credentials<\/li>\n\n\n\ndebug<\/code> node \u2013 to view the JSON response<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n{\n \"databases\": [\n \"timbrature\",\n \"utenti\",\n \"schede\",\n \"test\"\n ]\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTest 2: List tables of a specific database<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
fm-list-layouts<\/code> to check which layouts (tables) were available in a chosen database, e.g. timbrature<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
inject<\/code> node \u2013 with payload = “timbrature”<\/li>\n\n\n\nfm-list-layouts<\/code> node \u2013 connected to FileMaker server<\/li>\n\n\n\ndebug<\/code> node \u2013 to show the output<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n{\n \"layouts\": [\n \"timbrature\",\n \"utenti\",\n \"schede\"\n ]\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNext step<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
fm-create-record<\/code> node to insert new records directly from Node-RED flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFuture applications<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
Conclusion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
node-red-contrib-filemaker<\/code>), I can manage and exchange data without extra FileMaker Pro seats, while keeping flexibility, security, and service continuity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"