Yes, Usage Intelligence provides you with the option to create a CNAME record in your own DNS server and point it to your personal call home URL provided by Usage Intelligence. However, there are a number of points you must follow for this to work.
For every product that you register with Usage Intelligence, we supply you with a call home URL for that specific product. Each URL is unique to a single product and the server will not accept any call home data to that URL unless it is originating from the product associated with it. You can get this Call Home URL by logging on to the Usage Intelligence Dashboard and doing the following:
Usage Intelligence v2.0: Open the Admin page and look in the Developer Zone section.
Usage Intelligence v3.0: On the Administration menu, select Developer Zone.
The URL is usually in the form: '123456.tbnet1.com'
Now let's say your domain is mycompany.com and you choose to create the following CNAME DNS entry:
check4updates.mycompany.com pointing to: 123456.tbnet1.com
Once the CNAME is set up in your DNS server, please allow 48 hours for DNS replication and then contact Revenera Support to request an update to your call home URL. From this point onward, all new and existing end-user installations will be automatically updated to start calling home to your new URL: check4updates.mycompany.com
NOTE: Custom URLs are limited to 64 characters.
NOTE: This is an optional paid feature available on all paid account plans.
NOTE: The callhome URL should not be changed in the Usage Intelligence SDK before the necessary updates are made from the server side. If clients try to callhome using the custom URL before it is configured on the server the sync will fail.
What If I Want To Use HTTPS?
When you have a custom call home URL configured, we will use a certificate from Let’s Encrypt (https://letsencrypt.org) to enable the SDK to call home via HTTPS. This requires no further setup from your end.
Let’s Encrypt is an automated and open certificate authority managed by the Internet Security Research Group (https://www.abetterinternet.org). Its board of directors includes representatives from Cisco, Mozilla, EFF, RedHat, Facebook, Akami, etc. and the project is sponsored by a number of major internet companies such as Google, Shopify, Verizon, Zendesk, etc.
If you prefer to use your own domain SSL certificate, contact Revenera Support to discuss your requirements.
Why Should I Use a Custom Call Home URL?
There are a number of advantages of using your own call home URL such as check4updates.mycompany.com. The most evident advantage is that users who check on their web gateway logs or sniff their network traffic, will see your software calling home to your own domain, rather than an unknown domain belonging to Usage Intelligence. This could improve customers' perception and make them more comfortable in allowing that traffic through their web filters as they can immediately associate that HTTP(S) traffic to a known software provider - in this case your company.
Another advantage of your software calling home to a custom URL on your own domain is that it will increase your credibility since it would seem as if you are running your own call home server infrastructure just like larger well-established enterprises.
