Self-Hosting Jira for Small Teams Part 3: Accessing Jira from Other Computers

By Joshua Render on August 15, 2018 • ( 1 Comment )

Now that you have Jira on your computer(Self-Hosting Jira for Small Teams Part 2: Setting Jira up on First Run), you might just find that you want others on your network to access it. If you recall from the earlier tutorials, there was talk about “localhost.” If someone else on your network used localhost to try and access the Jira instance on your computer, it wouldn’t work.

Localhost is a reserved word that translates to 127.0.0.1, or the local IP address. That is an address that allows your computer to call itself. http://localhost:8080 will take you to your Jira instance, http://127.0.0.1:8080 will take you to the same spot. *This is, of course, a simple explanation of what is going on – it looks like the same spot, it accesses the same application, but from a web server point of view, it is actually different. For our purposes here it is the same spot. If you are curious though, google “Canonicalization” or view this article on canonicalization.

The first thing you want to do to access it from other computers is to figure out what your computer’s IP address is; by your computer, I mean the computer you installed Jira on. I have instructions for that right here: Windows 10: Finding your IP Address.

Once you have that IP address, try it out. Open a web browser and type: your_ip_address:8080

This view is from my cell phone:

Unfortunately, you aren’t done yet. Odds are high, unless someone already set it up, that your IP address on your local area network will change every time the computer is shut down and rebooted. You want to, at the very least, reserve your IP address so that each time your computer gets shut down it can get the same IP address back.

*Please be aware that this is only one possible way to do this, and it may not be the best way for your needs. If you are planning on doing this for a business, consult your IT professional. I don’t work with corporate networks on a day to day basis, the last time I was even involved with corporate networks was 3 years ago.

Now, routers and networks are all different. The process to do this may not fit exactly with your business. I am doing this at home on my own equipment so I will show you that process.

A lot of businesses use IP addresses that start with 10 for their local networks. Home users probably have one that starts with 192. Small businesses tend to have networks similar to home users, but not always. I don’t have screenshots of corporate networks, so you are getting the home version – plus I assume you have corporate IT staff if you are using corporate routers and switches, and they should know how to do this with your specific equipment.

Your local router needs to be told to reserve an address for your computer. To do that, you have to access your router and make changes. You need administrative rights for your router. Home users, your default username and password for the administrator can often be found taped onto the router itself or in the documentation (hopefully you changed it and you noted it elsewhere). Business users, it better not be there and it really shouldn’t be set to the default.

The address of your router could be 192.168.1.1, or it could be 192.168.0.1 (a Business alternative could be 10.1.10.1). You need to put one of those numbers in your web browser.

I happen to have two routers on my network, but the one I want is the primary one, which is at 192.168.1.1. I would put that entire IP address in the web browser navigation bar.

I hit enter and it takes me to the router login.

*You may have a different router and things may be set up and arranged differently. Consult your router manual or help files before going any further.

I enter my information and then I hit “Sign in.”

Usually, the first thing I do when I get a new router is play around with it. I have broken a couple of brand new routers doing that. Luckily for me, they usually have a revert back to factory settings option.

You need to find LAN setup options. On my home router, it is under an “Advanced” tab.

Your menu options may look something like this:

We want “LAN Setup”

I would click the “Add” button. It may be, that in some routers you have to manually type the information in. With this router, I can just click a radio button and click “Add.”

It can be as simple as that.

If my computer hosting the Jira software gets shut down, the router should recognize the computer based on my MAC address. If you need to find your MAC address (or sometimes called MAC ID) follow the process outlined here: Windows 10: Finding your IP Address, but instead of using “ipconfig” type “ipconfig /all.” You then look for the “Physical Address” line.

And there you have it. you have Jira installed on your computer and users in your office can access it. You have now implemented a collaboration tool that can be twice as powerful as a board with notecards on it.

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