RMS II
RMS ServerConfig Application

(rev. 13-Nov-07)

RMS ServerConfig

Introduction

The RMS ServerConfig application's sole purpose is to create and edit "config" documents which contain the settings for a particular RMS Server installation. Once a config document has been created, it is placed next to the RMS Server application. When launched, the RMS Server reads the settings from the config document and uses them during its execution.

System Requirements

CPU:           Any 680x0 or PowerPC Macintosh, PowerBook, or clone
Memory Usage:  1.5MB
Disk Usage:    0.5MB
Network:       none required
OS:            System 9.1 or later (RMS ServerConfig 9); or OS X 10.2 or later (RMS ServerConfig X)

Software Components

Software Installation

  1. Copy the application file "RMS ServerConfig 9" or "RMS ServerConfig X", (which ever matches the MacOS version) to the Mac's hard disk.
  2. Drag the desired Communications Toolbox files into the Extensions folder inside the Mac's System Folder (OS 9 only).

Software Setup

In order to determine its proper configuration, the RMS Server application reads a "config" file, which is created by the RMS ServerConfig application. This file contains the Server's Site Name, Site Code, and information about the Client communication settings, Internet settings, and Radio settings which the RMS Server is to use. To create a "config" file, open the RMS ServerConfig application and perform the following steps:

  1. Invoke the New command from the File menu to create a new configuration document.
  2. Enter the name of the site for the RMS Server that you are configuring (e.g. Vienna) along with its 4-character site code (e.g. VIEN).
  3. Enter the server limit parameters: the limits on the number and size of sound/scan files the Server will collect before auto-purging the oldest files; the maximum Log file size; and the maximum number of files you want to allow to be sent during each e-mail event (set to something less than 9999 to prevent mail servers from thinking you are spamming).
  4. Click the "Enable Watchdog..." checkbox to turn on or off the watchdog feature of RMS Server. When turned on, this feature allows the RMS Server to monitor its own progress. If it detects a crash or a hang, it automatically reboots the Mac thereby resurrecting the Server application without requiring any human intervention.
  5. Configure radios by clicking the Radio tab. Select the Radio Receiver to be used for radio1 and/or radio 2: Drake R8A, Icom PCR-1000, TenTec RX320, AOR AR7000B, or radioSHARK. Specify if the radios are to be used to monitor AM, FM or both (or not used at all). You must enable at least one radio. At most one radio can be used to monitor AM and at most one radio can be used to monitor FM.
  6. Within the Radio Receiver categories, and if using the Drake R8A, click the appropriate radio button to specify where the Drake radio's antenna is connected. If using the Icom PCR-1000, select the sound output volume level. If using the TenTec RX320, select the line out and external speaker volume levels. If using the AOR AR7000B, select the sound output volume level.
  7. Select the RMS Server computer's Sound Input source to use for interfacing with each radio's sound output (typically "Sound In [Built-in]", "External Mic [Built-in]", "External Mic [USB Audio]", "RadioSHARK [RadioSHARK]" -- these names often change between MacOS versions, and between different Mac computer models).
  8. Select the Serial port to which each radio is connected. IMPORTANT: If you are using port 1 on the KeySpan USA-28X then you must first configure that port to not emulate the printer port (emulating the printer port causes communication problems with the radio). To reconfigure the Keyspan, plug the Keyspan connector into a USB port. Then open the "KeySpan USA28X Serial Assistant" control panel. Click the Advanced Settings button. In the dialog that appears, uncheck the option "Emulate Printer Port". Close and quit the control panel. The port name will change to something like "P#1USA28X0223".
  9. Configure internet settings by clicking the Internet tab. Click the appropriate radio button to specify the type of Internet connection (if any) the RMS Server should use. This information is used by the server to perform FTP and E-Mail file transfer operations to Internet servers. Selecting the full time or PPP options requires you to install the appropriate Open Transport and Open Transport/PPP software on the RMS Server Mac.
  10. Also under the Internet Connection tab, if you intend to use E-mail events in the server script file, you must fill in the mail settings values which are used to process E-mail script events. In the SMTP Server 1 edit box, enter the name of the mail server the RMS Server should contact in order to E-mail RMS data files (e.g. mail.mymailserver.com). In the Alternate SMTP Server 2 edit box you may optionally enter a second mail server. With two mail servers configured, RMS Server will alternate back and forth switching to the "other" server if an error occurs, or if the send rate drops below the configured threshold. In the POP3 Server edit box, enter the name of the mail server the RMS Server should contact in order to receive RMS script files which have been E-mailed to the RMS Server. Note that in many cases, both the SMTP server and the POP3 server will have the same name/address. In addition to specifying the POP3 Server, you must also specify the user name and password which the RMS Server should use when logging onto the POP3 Server in order to receive E-mail.
  11. If you want to use SMTP AUTH, fill in the AUTH user and password for each SMTP server. Often times, these are the same as the POPs user/password. To disable SMTP AUTH, just leave the AUTH user and password fields blank.
  12. Under the Internet tab you may also explicitly specify the return E-mail address that should be used in all messages which are sent by the RMS Server. To explicitly specify the return E-mail address to use, enter the complete return address in the appropriate edit box. Whenever the RMS Server sends an E-mail message, it sets the message's return E-mail address using the following rules: 1) if you specified a return E-mail address in the server config document, then the RMS Server will use that address as the return E-mail address in all messages sent by the Server; 2) if you didn't specify an E-mail address, then the RMS Server will set the return E-mail address to be the concatenation of the user name setting and the SMTP server name setting (e.g. "myusername@mymailserver.com").
  13. The remaining internet mail settings allow you to turn on/off Extended Logging, turn on/off auto-SMTP switching when the send rate drops below a threshold, and whether to Ping the SMTP server when a switch occurs. Extended Logging will log every file as it is sent.
  14. Configure the NTP settings so that RMS Server can set the Mac's system clock from the internet. Enter a Primary NTP Server address (e.g. time.apple.com) and how long to wait for an NTP response before timing out. You may optionally enter a Secondary NTP Server address and timeout. If a Secondary NTP Server is specified, then whenever RMS Server uses the Primary NTP Server and it fails, an additional attempt is made using the Secondary NTP Server.
    To find NTP server addresses, visit www.ntp.org and look for the list of public NTP time servers. You should choose from the list of available "Stratum 2" servers. In general, servers that are located geographically close to the RMS Server are good candidates.
    You may optionally enter a delay (in seconds) value to wait before doing the NTP. This is useful for Servers with dial-up internet access. A small delay is often needed so that the internet connection can become stable before attempting to use it.
  15. If you are going to do web monitoring, be sure to set the Web Monitoring settings in that section.
  16. For Server 9 only: Configure the Client Communication settings by clicking the Client tab. (For Server X, the Server is automatically configured for TCP with IP port 20000, but only if configured for "full time internet connection". Server X cannot connect to Clients when configured for PPP internet). The Client Commmunications section allows you to specify the type of communication connection to maintain with the RMS Client. Note: these communication settings are only for RMS Client "dial-in"; they are completely independent of the Internet connection setup for sending out data files via FTP and E-mail.
    Click the Change Settings button to specify the communication settings. In the dialog which appears, a popup menu listing the available Communications Toolbox Tools is provided. Consult the following to determine which tool to use for your type of Client connection:
    • For Client dial-up connections to Server, select Apple Modem Tool. This option works well if you are using a modem with PPP to connect to the internet.
    • For Client full-time Internet connections to Server, select TCP Tool. This option works well if you are always connected to the internet via Ethernet LAN or ISDN, for example.
    • For Client local AppleTalk network connections to Server, select AppleTalk ADSP Tool. This option is used mainly for testing and demos.
    • Configuring Apple Modem Tool Connections:
      • Select the Apple Modem Tool from the popup menu.
      • Select the following communication settings:
        • Baud rate: fastest the modem will support (use 38.4K for 28.8 and 33.6 modems)
        • Parity: None
        • Stop Bits: 1
        • Data Bits: 8
        • Handshaking: DTR & CTS
      • Set the modem to answer after one ring.
      • Select the port your modem is connected to from the list at the lower right.
      • Don't enter a phone number in the box provided.
      • Under Modem Options, select the name of your modem. If your modem doesn't appear in the list, you can contact the modem manufacturer to see if a Apple Modem Tool compatible script exists for your modem, and if so, get a copy from them. You can also create a custom modem definition by invoking the Custom command from the menu. This is considered an expert feature and not to be used under normal conditions.
      • Once a modem is selected from the list, choose the best error correction options available for the modem.
      • Click OK in the dialog.
    • Configuring TCP Tool Connections:
      • Select the TCP Tool from the popup menu.
      • For host name, enter 0.0.0.0. Make sure you're connected to the Internet before configuring the TCP Tool, because it will attempt to determine and/or verify the IP address when you dismiss the dialog.
      • For IP Port, enter a port number the RMS Client and RMS Server should communicate on. A good number to use is 20000. Note that this number must match the one configured for the RMS Client.
      • Click OK in the dialog.
    • Configuring AppleTalk ADSP Tool Connections:
      Note: This option is primarily to facilitate demonstrations and testing of the RMS II system and is not intended as an option for installing RMS II in the field.
      • Select the AppleTalk ADSP Tool from the popup menu.
      • Enter "RMS II" in the Connection Type edit box.
      • Enter "RMS Server" in the Local Name edit box.
      • Click OK in the dialog.
  17. Save changes to the configuration document by invoking Save As from the File menu. You can name the document anything you choose.
  18. Quit the RMS ServerConfig application. Place the configuration document in the same folder as the one containing the RMS Server application. Be sure that only one configuration file is in the RMS Server's folder at any one time. For instructions on how to remotely update an RMS Server with a new configuration document, or a new copy of RMS ServerConfig via e-mail, see the RMS Server documentation.

Notes