Hey Stephen,
I understand our recent security improvements forced you and a handful of other customers to rethink how you deploy your usage of the LimeLM web API. And I understand this change is frustrating.
The current limitation and the proposed more flexible solution (that will be out in the near future) is *not* to make it easier to use the LimeLM web API from computers with dynamic IP addresses. Instead our current design and upcoming more flexible design is for:
1. Servers with a static IP address.2. Servers that have a static IP address, but are completely out of your control (and thus the outgoing IP might change from time-to-time). For example, FastSpring.
Customers that use servers with dynamic IPs are forced to use static IPs. This will require a change in your network design. In the case of Azure it means buying another service and selecting a couple of options.
>> "The current and proposed API Key restrictions (Max of 3 IP Addresses per 72 Hours - https://wyday.com/forum/t/4205/current-limelm-server-status/#post-19959) are not compatible with services hosted on Azure App Service (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/) and possibly other hosting/PAAS solutions or Function/Lambda services."
Our proposed solution *is* compatible with "thin" VMs. You need to configure your setup to use a static outbound IP. This is possible with Azure and every other reputable hosting company.
>> "Currently there is a pool of 4 IP Addresses that are used for outbound requests, therefor there will be occasional requests that will fall out-with the proposed restrictions."
From my reading that's not the limit at all. The pool of IPs is much larger. This is typical of cheaper / dynamic solutions. And it's part of the trade-off to using these types of services.
>> "Obviously there are non-trivial workarounds to this incompatibility, move to the significantly more expensive ASE (App Service Environment) or move to a classic VM."
Yes, that's Microsoft's solution to this problem. If you want to use static outgoing IPs you need to move to their ASE. Glancing at the pricing it doesn't seem to be too expensive (a free plan, $10/month, and different tiers for different use-cases).