IP Addresses
IP addresses are used in the OdataLink Firewall to secure access to the OData Feed URLs and your data.
For more information on configuring IP addresses, see configuring IP addresses.
Understanding the different mechanisms of IP addresses available in OdataLink
OdataLink provides three different mechanisms of IP addresses to assist securing OdataLink.
- System entries
- Some IP addresses are managed by OdataLink (the Power BI (Cloud) one as an example). These are provided to simplify managing IP addresses from services such as Power BI.
- IP-based entries
- IP-based entries are those that specify a single or a range of IP addresses. These can be IPv4 or IPv6 based. These IP addresses are static and are best used for offices whose IP addresses are fixed and not dynamic. They ensure that the queries will always work from specific locations.
- Geo-based entries
- For those whose ISPs reassign their IP addresses frequently, OdataLink provides a Geo-based mechanism. Using this mechanism, the ASN (or ISP) along with a specific geographical region (e.g. city, state or country) can be configured in the OdataLink Firewall. This is particularly useful for Countries whose internet infrastructure is more mobile.
- You can easily convert an IP-based entry to a Geo-based entry. See Converting an IP-based IP address to a Geo-based IP address.
Understanding how IP addresses relate to users of OdataLink
In addition to the mechanisms described above, IP addresses can either apply to all users of OdataLink or to a single user.
IP addresses associated to a single user are particularly useful. Each time a user logs into OdataLink, OdataLink checks to see if their IP address is authorised. If it is not authorised, they will be prompted to update their associated IP address. This greatly simplify managing the Firewall for those that have dynamic IP addresses.
Note that, for non-administrators, this feature is only applicable for IP-based entries and is not available for Geo-based entries.
It is also possible to allow a user specific IP address to apply to all users. See Allowing a user-specific IP address to apply to all users.
Understanding how IP addresses are associated with models
Models control all aspects of security within OdataLink. Defining an IP address does not automatically make it active. It must also be associated with a model.