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Firewall Configuration

A network can allow users to sign in to Files.com while still blocking file transfers. The application authenticates users and checks permissions, while transfers can also connect directly to storage. Network administrators need to allow the destinations used by the clients, storage, and features their organization uses.

For connections from your network to Files.com, allow the required hostnames and ports. Web and API transfers can use signed URLs to native storage, so allowing only your site's login hostname or dedicated IP addresses does not cover every transfer destination. The hostname reference identifies the storage URLs and optional services needed for editing, hosting, and other features.

For connections Files.com initiates to another system, that system's firewall needs to allow Files.com's source addresses. The IP address reference describes the shared range and dedicated-address choices. Remote Server connection routing identifies the addresses to give a storage provider or partner, including connections made through an Agent.

These network rules permit a connection to reach a service. Files.com authentication, folder permissions, and site access policies determine what the connected person or system can do.

DNS Resolution

Allow outbound DNS queries so clients can resolve your site's hostname and the service hostnames they use. Files.com endpoints are load-balanced and use DNS-based routing for failover and regional routing. Your Files.com subdomain resolves to Files.com-managed addresses; a Custom Domain resolves to the addresses configured for that domain.

A firewall or secure web gateway that supports hostname rules can use your Custom Domain as an allowed destination. That does not remove the need to allow the application and storage hostnames required by the features you use. Allow the feature-specific destinations from the hostname reference rather than assuming a single hostname covers every request.

Hostnames and Static IP Addresses

Use DNS names in client configurations. Files.com uses DNS to direct connections to available servers and to take servers undergoing maintenance out of service. A hardcoded or stale address bypasses that routing and can direct a client to an unavailable server.

Fixed addresses in a firewall rule serve a different purpose from hardcoded addresses in a client. A client can continue resolving its hostname while the firewall allows the dedicated IP addresses assigned to that domain. If a device can connect only to a static address, a Custom Domain with dedicated addresses is the supported workaround; review their lifecycle before relying on them. The IP Addresses APIExternal LinkThis link leads to an external website and will open in a new tab supports checking the current addresses programmatically.

Connection Checks

Test the protocol and operation the workflow needs from the network that will run it. Successful sign-in does not establish that storage URLs are reachable, and a successful connection from one partner does not establish another partner's firewall rules.

Files.com does not respond to ICMP traffic, so ping and traceroute do not establish service availability. Test an actual TCP connection, such as HTTPS on port 443 or SFTP on port 22. If sign-in succeeds but a transfer fails, check whether the network permits the relevant storage and feature hostnames as well as the application endpoint.