Nexudus Network Bridge

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Overview

The Nexudus Network Bridge is a secure communication system that allows Nexudus to connect with systems and services installed on your Location’s local network—without requiring VPNs, static IP addresses, or firewall port forwarding. Think of the Bridge as a secure tunnel that lets Nexudus talk to printers, access control systems, building management systems, and other hardware that lives inside your network, while keeping your network safe and isolated.

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Why the Network Bridge Exists

Many coworking spaces use local systems that don’t live in the cloud. These might include:

• Printing systems — PaperCut or other print management solutions
• Access control — Door locks and access management systems
• Building systems — HVAC, lighting, sensors, and other building automation
• Accounting and finance — Local invoicing or accounting software
• Custom applications — Business-specific tools running on your network

The challenge is that Nexudus (a cloud service) can’t directly reach these local systems. They’re intentionally hidden behind firewalls for security reasons. The Network Bridge solves this by:

• Creating a secure, one-way outbound connection from your local network to Nexudus
• Allowing Nexudus to request data or actions from your local systems
• Keeping your network isolated and secure—no inbound connections needed
• Eliminating the need for complex networking setups

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Who Needs the Network Bridge

The Network Bridge is essential if you:

• Use local printing systems (like PaperCut) that you want to integrate with Nexudus billing
• Integrate with local access control systems that don’t have native cloud connectivity
• Want to sync data between local business systems and your Nexudus Location
• Need real-time communication with on-premise hardware or software

If all your integrations are cloud-based (like cloud access control systems), you may not need the Bridge.

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How the Network Bridge Works

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The Basic Flow

1. Bridge Agent Installation — You install a small Bridge Agent application on a computer or server in your Location’s network
2. Secure Connection — The Agent establishes a secure outbound connection to the Nexudus cloud, creating a persistent tunnel
3. Request Handling — When Nexudus needs to access a local system, it sends a request through the tunnel to the Agent
4. Local Communication — The Agent forwards the request to the local system (like PaperCut or your access control system)
5. Response Delivery — The local system responds, and the Agent sends the response back through the tunnel to Nexudus
6. Connection Maintained — The tunnel stays open continuously, so Nexudus can make requests whenever needed

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Why This Architecture is Secure

• Outbound Only — The connection is initiated from inside your network going outward. No inbound connections from the internet are needed.
• Network Isolation — Your firewall doesn’t need any special rules or port forwarding. The Agent simply makes an outbound connection like any other application.
• One-Way Control — Only the Agent can initiate connections. Nexudus can only send requests through the established tunnel; it can’t directly reach your network.
• Encrypted Communication — All data traveling through the tunnel is encrypted and secure.

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Setting Up the Network Bridge

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System Requirements

To use the Network Bridge, you need:

• A Windows computer or server that runs continuously in your Location’s network
• Administrator access to install the Agent service
• The local IP address and port of the system you want to connect to (for example, http://192.168.1.100:9191 for PaperCut)
• Internet connectivity from the computer running the Agent

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Installation Overview

Setting up the Network Bridge requires three main steps:

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Core Behavior

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Connection Reliability

The Network Bridge is designed to handle temporary network issues gracefully:

• Automatic Reconnection — If the Agent loses internet connectivity, it automatically reconnects to the Nexudus cloud when the connection is restored
• Request Queuing — If the tunnel is temporarily unavailable, requests are held and processed once the connection is restored
• Fallback Handling — If the local system is unavailable, the Agent returns an error, and Nexudus logs the failure for troubleshooting

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Multi-Agent Setups

You can run multiple Bridge Agents on the same computer or network, each connecting to a different local system:

• Each Agent gets its own Device ID and configuration
• Each must be installed in a separate folder
• All operate independently and can be configured differently
• Use different Device IDs for each Agent in your Nexudus settings

This is useful if you want to integrate with both PaperCut and a local access control system, for example.

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Data Synchronization

How frequently Nexudus communicates with local systems depends on the specific integration:

• Periodic Syncing — Some integrations (like PaperCut) run on a schedule (for example, every 60 minutes) to check for changes and keep systems in sync
• Event-Driven Syncing — Other integrations sync immediately when something changes in Nexudus (for example, when a customer buys printing credit)
• Real-Time Updates — Access control integrations typically provide immediate updates when customer access should change

The specific sync behavior for each integration is detailed in that integration’s documentation.

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Key Interactions

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Access Control Integration

When the Network Bridge is used with access control systems:

• Customers are automatically added to or removed from access groups based on their active Plans and resource bookings
• Access is revoked immediately when a Plan expires or a booking ends
• Real-time occupancy check-ins may occur when customers unlock doors (depending on the access control system)

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Billing Integration

When the Network Bridge is used with systems like PaperCut:

• Customer account information is kept synchronized between Nexudus and the local system
• Credits allocated in Nexudus are synced to the local system, allowing customers to use them
• Overages are tracked and can trigger automatic billing in Nexudus
• Customer status changes (like when a Plan expires) are reflected in the local system

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Important Implications

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Network Access and Permissions

The Agent requires network access to the local system you’re integrating with. Make sure:

• The computer running the Agent can reach the local system’s IP address and port
• Any internal firewalls between the Agent computer and the local system allow communication
• The local system is configured to accept API requests (authentication keys, if required, are correctly entered)

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Agent Uptime

The Agent must run continuously for Nexudus to access your local systems. If the Agent is stopped or the computer is offline:

• Nexudus cannot communicate with your local systems
• Integrations may stop working until the Agent is restored
• Install the Agent as a Windows Service to ensure it starts automatically when the computer restarts

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Security and Access Keys

When setting up an integration:

• Store API keys and credentials securely—never share them publicly
• If you’re providing troubleshooting data to Nexudus support, be careful not to expose sensitive authentication credentials
• Only the registered Device ID should be used in your Nexudus configuration; changing this invalidates the Agent registration

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Testing and Troubleshooting

After initial setup, verify the integration is working by:

• Checking the integration status in your Nexudus Location settings
• Performing a test action (for example, creating a test customer in PaperCut and checking if they appear in Nexudus, or vice versa)
• Reviewing integration logs in your Location settings to see if any errors occurred
• Ensuring the Agent computer is online and the local system is accessible

If issues occur, check that the Agent is running, has network access to both the local system and the internet, and that your configuration settings are correct.