Connecting to a Remote Server

Overview

In environments with network access, you can connect to remote MCP servers to extend the capabilities of the AI assistant. Remote MCP servers are useful for sharing tools across a team or offloading heavy workloads to a high-performance server.

Air-gapped environments: Remote MCP servers cannot be used in fully air-gapped environments where network access is unavailable. In this case, refer to Local MCP Server Configuration.

Connection Settings

SSE (Server-Sent Events) Method

Remote MCP servers primarily use the SSE protocol.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "remote-tools": {
      "url": "http://192.168.1.100:3000/mcp",
      "transportType": "sse"
    }
  }
}

Configuration Fields

Field	Description	Required
`url`	Remote server URL	Required
`transportType`	Transport protocol (`sse`)	Required
`headers`	Authentication headers	Optional
`timeout`	Connection timeout (ms)	Optional

Server with Authentication

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "authenticated-server": {
      "url": "http://internal-server:3000/mcp",
      "transportType": "sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Security Considerations

Internal Network Only

Only connect to remote MCP servers within a trusted internal network.

Verify the scope of data and tools that the MCP server can access.
Using HTTPS to encrypt communication is recommended.
Rotate authentication tokens regularly.

Firewall Configuration

The MCP server port must be allowed through your organization's firewall. Coordinate with your security team to open only the minimum required ports.

Timeout Settings

You can adjust the connection timeout based on network conditions.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "remote-tools": {
      "url": "http://192.168.1.100:3000/mcp",
      "transportType": "sse",
      "timeout": 30000
    }
  }
}

The default timeout varies by environment. For slow network conditions, setting it to 30,000ms (30 seconds) or higher is recommended.

Verifying the Connection

After connecting to a remote server, verify the following in AIRGAP Assistant:

Check that the server status shows Connected in the MCP section of the settings panel.
Confirm that the list of tools provided by the server appears.
Test a simple tool invocation.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Solution
Connection failure	Incorrect URL or server not running	Verify URL and check server status
Timeout	Network latency	Increase the timeout value
Authentication error	Expired or missing token	Check authentication headers and refresh token
Tools not showing	Server configuration error	Check server-side logs

Configuring MCP Servers - Local MCP server configuration
MCP Server Features - MCP overview and concepts