Page 1
AdderLink Infinity Manager
User Guide
AIM
s
Page 2
Contents
Introduction
AIM basics ....................................................................................3
Supplied items .............................................................................5
Installation
Connections .................................................................................6
Network connections .............................................................. 6
Power supply connection .......................................................6
Front panel indicators .................................................................7
Installation requirements ............................................................ 7
Swapping out an AIM server ......................................................8
Configuration
Supported browsers ....................................................................9
Login for admin users..................................................................9
Adding AdderLink Infinity units .............................................. 10
If an ALIF unit is not located ................................................10
AdderLink Infinity manual factory reset .............................10
Basic steps for a new configuration .........................................11
The Dashboard tab .................................................................... 12
The Channels tab ....................................................................... 18
The Receivers tab ....................................................................... 21
The Transmitters tab .................................................................23
The Users tab .............................................................................25
The Presets tab...........................................................................29
Operation
Logging in .................................................................................. 31
Meanings of icons ................................................................. 31
Further information
Getting assistance ...................................................................... 32
Appendix A - Tips for success when networking ALIF units ..33
Appendix B - Troubleshooting ..................................................35
Appendix C - Glossary................................................................37
Appendix D - AIM API ...............................................................40
Warranty ....................................................................................48
Safety information ....................................................................48
Radio Frequency Energy............................................................49
Index
sll
1
Page 3
Introduction
AdderLink Infinity transmitter and receiver units allow multiple remote users
to access host computers in a very flexible manner. Such flexibility requires
management and coordination – that is where AIM (AdderLink Infinity Manager)
becomes vital.
AIM is designed to promote the most efficient use of AdderLink Infinity (ALIF)
units by allowing central control over any number of transmitters and receivers.
Using the intuitive AIM web-based interface, one or more administrators can
manage potentially thousands of users who are interacting with an almost
unlimited number of devices.
AdderLink Infinity Management operates from a self-contained compact server
unit that can be situated anywhere within your network:
AdderLink
MANAGEMENT SERVER
ALIF TX
ALIF TX
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
10/100
link
Gigabit
Ethernet
PWR
PWR
www.adder.com
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
The AIM server is supplied pre-loaded and is straightforward to deploy, requiring
only a network connection and a power input to begin operation.
All configuration of your AdderLink Infinity transmitters (channels), receivers
and users are performed using the intuitive AIM browser interface via a network
connected computer.
AdderLink
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
PWR
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
COM 3
PWR
www.adder.com
2
1
MANAGEMENT SERVER
12V
5A
INDOOR USE ONLY
The AIM server front panel with status indicators
COM 2
COM 1
sll
ALIF TX
ALIF RX
The AIM server connects to your network and provides administrative
control over the various AdderLink Infinity transmitters, receivers and their users.
Note: Although the AdderLink Infinity units require Gigabit Ethernet connections, in its
administrative role, the AIM server requires only a 10/100Mbps connection
to the network.
The AIM server rear panel. In normal use only the network and power
connectors are used.
Please see the section Basic steps for a new configuration for assistance
with creating AIM installations.
2
Page 4
AIM basics
Channels
Think of a channel as a ‘virtual transmitter’. It is virtual because the video,
audio and USB streams of a channel do not necessarily have to originate
from the same physical transmitter unit, although in most cases they will. For
instance, you could arrange for video and USB streams to be received from
one host computer, while the audio stream came from an alternative source.
Alternatively, two channels could be configured for the same host computer,
each with different access rights to suit particular situations.
Groups
In order to accommodate potentially large numbers of users and devices, AIM
uses a system of groups: User Groups, Receiver Groups and Channel Groups.
Groups allow the administrator to apply collective settings to all members and
also to take full advantage of Inheritance. Inheritance allows members of a
group to benefit from settings and permissions made within other groups to
which their group is linked. This saves administration time because members do
not need to be individually altered. For instance, if Sam is in User Group 1, all
Channels accessible to User Group 1 will be available to Sam.
User types
This guide refers to the two main categories of users involved with the AIM
system:
• AnAdmin (administrator) user accesses the AIM system via a network-
linked computer running an Internet browser. Once the necessary username
and password have been entered, Admin users can make changes to the
operation of the AIM system.
• ARegular user has a keyboard, video monitor and mouse (plus speakers
where appropriate) attached to an AdderLink Infinity receiver unit and
can access one or more computers that are linked to AdderLink Infinity
transmitters. The AdderLink Infinity receiver provides an On-Screen Display
(OSD) that lists all accessible computers and allows easy access to them.
Security
Security considerations form a major part of AIM operation, ensuring that users
have rapid access only to the systems for which they have permission. At its
core, AIM manages an important three-way relationship between the users, the
AdderLink Infinity receiver(s) and the channels from the host computers.
The diagram shows a representation of the three-way relationship which exists
between users, receivers and channels.
User
Access
permitted
by default
AIM
Receiver Channel
To successfully gain access to a channel:
• The user requires permission to use the receiver,
• The receiver requires permission to connect with the channel,
AND
• The user must have permission to access the channel.
In most cases, the need for three access permissions per connection is
unnecessary and raises administration overheads. Hence, by default, AIM grants
open access for the user to the receiver and the receiver to the channel while
restricting the final, most crucial piece of the puzzle. For those who require it,
the lock upon the user to receiver stage can be applied individually or globally.
See Permissions on the next page for more details.
Access always permitted
Access
denied by
default
sll
continued
3
Page 5
Active Directory
To streamline administration even further, AIM supports Active Directory. By
synchronising with an LDAP/Active Directory server, details of users (including
their usernames and group memberships) can be securely synchronised from
existing databases in order to both minimise the initial configuration as well as
streamline ongoing updates.
AIM interface
AIM appears in two main ways depending on whether you are an administrator
or a regular user.
• Foradministrators,fullaccesstotheAdderLinkInnityManagerSuiteis
granted. This comprehensive application shows six main tabbed areas:
Dashboard, Channels, Receivers, Transmitters, Users and Presets each
of which contains numerous related pages of settings and options. The
Dashboard provides a central location from which the administrator can
view overall operation, make various changes, database backups and also
upgrade the firmware of any linked AdderLink Infinity unit.
• Forregularusers,anefcientpagelayoutprovidesa list of all channels
for which you have permission to visit. Against each selectable channel
name and description, a series of icons provide clear feedback about current
availability.
Permissions
Permissions exist between Users, Receivers, and Channels.
By default, all users are granted permission to access ALL receivers.
By default, all receivers have permission to connect to ALL channels.
As shown in the introductory diagram, the missing part is the permission for a
user to access each channel.
Permissions between a user and a receiver can be applied in any of the following
ways:
• User–>Receiver
• User–>UserGroup–>Receiver
• User–>UserGroup–>ReceiverGroup–>Receiver
• User–>ReceiverGroup–>Receiver
Thus, a very indirect way of granting permissions could be:
• User1isinUserGroup1,
• UserGroup1hasaccesstoReceiverGroup1,
• ReceiverGroup1containsChannel1,
• Therefore,User1hasaccesstoChannel1indirectly,
sll
4
Page 6
Supplied items
AdderLink
MANAGEMENT SERVER
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
PWR
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
PWR
AIM server unit
12V, 5A Power supply plus
country-specific mains cable
www.adder.com
Rack mount brackets
sll
(contains this user guide)
CD-ROM
Safety leaflet
5
Page 7
Installation
COM 3
2
1
INDOOR USE ONLY
12V
5A
Connections
The AIM server unit is supplied fully pre-loaded and permits no local user
interaction. All configuration takes place remotely via the network connections
and as a result only two connections are required: Network and power.
Network connections
The AIM server has two network connections on the rear panel, labelled 1
and 2. These allow the unit to be connected to internal and external network
connections as required. The external network connection allows admin users
located away from the internal network to be able to login.
To connect the internal IP network port
1 Run a category 5, 5e or 6 link cable from the appropriate hub or router to
the AIM server unit.
2 Connect the plug of the link cable into the IP port labelled 1 on the rear
panel of the AIM server unit.
Power supply connection
Important: Please read and adhere to the electrical safety information given
within the Safety information section of this guide. In particular, do not use an
unearthed power socket or extension cable.
To connect the power supply
1 Attach the output connector of the power supply (country specific power
supplies are available) to the power input socket on the left side of the rear
panel.
sll
2 Connect the main body of the power supply to a nearby earthed mains outlet.
Category 5, 5e or 6 cable
from LAN / network switch
The unit has no power switch so it will
begin its booting process as soon as power
is applied. Allow 3 minutes for the booting
process to complete.
6
Page 8
Front panel indicators
To assist with operational checks and troubleshooting, the front panel provides
the following indicators:
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
PWR
ADM
USR
UNC
ETH1
ETH2
PWR
• ADM On when an administrator is logged in. Flashes when an
administrator is accessing the system.
• USR On if there are any connections between channels/receivers. Flashes
when a user is accessing the system.
• UNC Unconfigured RX or TX units are online
• ETH1 On when connected, flashes with network activity
• ETH2 On when connected, flashes with network activity
• PWR On when power is applied
Installation requirements
• AIMrequiresthatallAdderLinkInnityunitsthatitcontrolshavermware
version 1.9 or greater.
• Whenconguringtheinstallationformulticasting(andtoimproveoverall
performance), the network switch(es) being used must support a minimum
of IGMP v2 snooping. For faster performance use switches that support
IGMP v3.
• Inordertodisplayvideoresolutionsthatuseahorizontalvideoresolutionof
2048 pixels, the network switch must have support for Jumbo packets.
• PleasealsoseeAppendix A - Tips for success when networking ALIF
units.
sll
7
Page 9
Swapping out an AIM server
If a configured AIM server needs to be replaced within an installation, there are
steps that you can take to smooth the transition.
If ALIF devices have already been configured to run with the original AIM server
then their default IP addresses will have been changed as part of the installation
process. This means that in their current state they will be undetectable to the
new AIM server.
There are two ways to introduce the new AIM server into the network, either:
Start from scratch
Place the new AIM server into the network and then perform a factory reset
on every ALIF device. This will force the ALIF units back to their default states
whereupon they will announce themselves to the new AIM server.
This method requires a certain amount of effort because each ALIF unit must be
visited and reset, plus the AIM database will need to be fully reconfigured.
or
Transfer configuration to the new AIM server
1 Before connecting the new AIM server to the main network, connect the
new AIM server to a network switch that is isolated from the main network.
2 Use a computer connected to the same switch to login to the new AIM
server management suite.
3 Ensure that the new AIM server is running the same firmware version as the
one being replaced (upgrade if necessary). The firmware version is shown
in the top right hand corner of every page of the management suite (just
below the Adder logo).
4 Set the IP address of the new AIM server to match that of the original unit.
5 Restore a backup file of the original AIM server database to the new
device.
6 Remove the original AIM server from the network. Connect the new AIM
server in its place and power up.
The replacement unit should now work directly with the installed ALIF units.
sll
8
Page 10
Configuration
This section covers configuration of the AdderLink Infinity Manager Suite for
administrators. For details about the regular user interface, please see the
Operation section.
Supported browsers
The AIM admin interface requires an A-grade browser with Javascript enabled.
The list of appropriate browsers is as follows:
• GoogleChrome v7orgreater
• Firefox v3.5orgreater
• InternetExplorer v8orgreater(IE6isnotsupported)
• Safari v5orgreater
Google Chrome is the preferred browser because it is faster than Firefox or
Internet Explorer.
IMPORTANT
The first time you log in as an admin user to a new AIM unit, you will be
presented with the Settings page where you will need to change AIM’s default
IP address to one that suits your existing network configuration.
You will NOT be able to perform any other actions or navigate to any other
pages within the AIM admin interface until you have changed AIM’s IP address.
To change the IP address, type in a new IP address in the relevant field (you
should also change the gateway/netmask details for your network).
WhenyouclickSave,afteradelaythewebbrowserwillautomaticallyredirect
itself to the new IP address so that you can continue administering AIM.
Note: Ensure that your access computer can view the new IP address, otherwise
AIM will appear to be offline. Depending on your network configuration and
that of the access computer, you may need to change the access computer’s
configuration to be able to see AIM’s new network address.
You will then be asked to login again and will have full access to all of AIM’s
pages.
Login for admin users
1 Ensure that the AIM server is powered on (allow 3 minutes before accessing).
2 Using a computer located anywhere within the local network open a web
browser (see Supported browsers list opposite) and enter the default IP
address for the AIM server: 169.254.1.3
The Login page will be displayed:
3 Enter your Username and Password and click the Login button.
The default username is admin and the default password is password.
You are strongly recommended to change the default admin password as
one of your first actions: Go to Dashboard>Users. Click on the furthest right
icon in the admin row (configure users) and change the password for the
admin user.
If you check the Remember Me box, a cookie will be stored on the
computer, allowing you to access the admin section without having to log in
each time. The cookie expires 2 days after your last use of the system. If you
do not check the Remember Me box, you will remain logged in only for the
duration of your browser session.
sll
9
Page 11
Adding AdderLink Infinity units
www.adder.com
WhennewALIFtransmittersandreceiversareaddedtoanetwork,theyare
designed to automatically announce themselves* to the AIM server. Once the
AIM server receives their announcement(s), the ALIF units will be added to
the administrator’s view of the Dashboard. From here you can then begin to
configure each new ALIF unit.
* ALIF units can be configured either from their own browser-based
configuration utility or via the AIM server. Once an ALIF unit has been
configured in one way, it cannot be reconfigured using the other method
without undergoing a factory reset. This policy is in place to help prevent
accidental overwriting of configurations. It also means that once an ALIF unit has
been locally configured, it will not announce itself to the AIM server upon being
added to a network. Please see right for details about resetting an ALIF unit.
If an ALIF unit is not located
There are several reasons why an ALIF unit might not be located by AIM:
• TheALIFunithasbeenlocallyconguredorisotherwisenotusingitsfactory
default setting. Try performing a factory reset on an ALIF that is not being
located.
• TheALIFunitisnotlocatedinthesameethernetsegmentastheAIMserver.
Double check connections and move units where necessary, so that all
reside within the same ethernet segment.
• ThereisapotentialcablingproblembetweentheALIFandAIMunits.Check
and where necessary, replace faulty cables.
AdderLink Infinity manual factory reset
WhereapreviouslyconguredALIFunitisbeingaddedtoanetworkfor
control by an AIM server, you can use this method to reset the unit to its
default configuration.
To perform a manual factory reset
1 Remove power from the ALIF unit.
2 Use a narrow implement (e.g. a straightened-out paper clip) to press-and-
holdtherecessedresetbuttononthefrontpanel.Withtheresetbutton
still pressed, re-apply power to the unit and then release the reset button.
AdderLink
[ALIF1000] [ALIF2000]
sll
Further information
Please also see:
• Basic steps for a new configuration
• Appendix A - Tips for success when networking ALIF units
• Appendix B - Troubleshooting
• Appendix C - Glossary
• Appendix D - AIM API
Use a straightened-out paper clip to press the reset button
while powering on the unit
After roughly eight seconds, when the factory reset has completed, five
of the front panel indicators will flash for a period of three seconds to
indicate a successful reset operation.
10
Page 12
Basic steps for a new configuration
WhenaddingandconguringnewdevicesusinganAIMserver,thesearethe
basic steps that you need to take:
1 Add the new ALIF devices to the network and ensure that they are using a
default factory configuration. If necessary, Reset each one.
2 Ensure that the AIM server is attached to the same subnet (installing AIM)
as the ALIF units and is powered on.
3 On a host computer also connected to the same subnet, use a suitable web
browser to login to the AIM server as the admin user.
4 View the Dashboard page. The ALIF units should announce themselves to
the AIM server and as they do so, they will be automatically added at the
top of the Dashboard page.
If your ALIF units are not added to the Dashboard page, please see If an
ALIF unit is not located.
5 Either:
• Click‘Congure’foraparticularALIFentrytodealwithanindividual
unit in isolation, or
• Click‘Congureallnewdevices’tolistallunitswithintheConfigure
New Devices page.
6 Withinthechosencongurationpage,performthefollowing:
• SubstitutethedefaultIPaddressappliedtoeachALIFunitforasuitable
one (e.g. 192.168.x.y) within the subnet.
• OptionallyusetheDescription and Location fields to add unique
identifying information for each ALIF unit - this is particularly important
for medium to large installations.
Note: Where necessary, click the icon for a particular ALIF unit to
flash the unit’s front panel indicators to confirm its location.
• Click the Save button. The new ALIF units will be restarted and will be
changed to use their new IP addresses.
7 ThenewALIFunitswillbeaddedtotherelevantTransmitter and Receiver
pages within the AIM admin view. You can now refine their configurations
and organise their relationships with each other and with registered users.
sll
11
Page 13
The Dashboard tab
The Dashboard is your main point of contact for checking and changing the
general status of all AIM operations.
Click the DASHBOARD tab to view its initial home page.
The various other Dashboard pages (e.g. Settings, Backups, Updates, etc.) are
selectable within the blue section located just below the tabs.
Dashboard > Home page
• Shutdown button - Allows the admin user to shut down the AIM server.
The OSD will no longer work on Receivers. The AIM server will need to be
manually started again when next required.
• Restart - The admin user can reboot the AIM server. The OSD and admin
section will be unavailable while the server is rebooting. This currently takes
about75seconds.
WithintheHomepage*,thedifferentsectionsprovideavarietyofinformation:
• Warning messages - Live alerts are displayed concerning any devices that
are offline, rebooting, recently added or unconfigured.
• Active Connections - shows the five most recent active sessions, detailing
foreach:Whenthesessionstarted;whichuser/receiver/channelisinvolved;
the connection type (icons show audio, video, serial, USB, exclusive) and IP
addresses in use. The red unplug icon on the far right allows the admin user
to disconnect a connection.
• Event Log - shows all actions performed by the admin or end-users within
the AIM system. See also the Event Log page.
• Latest Channels - shows the last five channels created within the AIM
system. A channel is created by default when a new transmitter is added
and configured. The edit icon next to a channel allows the admin user to
configure the channel.
• Latest User Logins - shows the last five users who logged in (either to the
AIM admin or at an AdderLink Infinity Receiver).
• Latest User Registrations - shows the last five users added to the AIM
system, with a link to edit the user’s details/permissions.
• Latest Channel Changes - shows the last five users who changed a
channel, either while using the on-screen display (OSD) at an AdderLink
Infinity Receiver, or via the AIM admin control panel.
• Latest Receivers - shows the last five receivers to be added and configured
within the AIM network. Click tocongureareceiver;click to connect
toachannel;orclick to disconnect an existing connection.
• Latest Transmitters - shows the last five transmitters to be added and
configured within the AIM network. Click to configure a transmitter.
* The Home page is auto-refreshed every ten seconds to ensure that the latest
information is always available.
sll
12
Page 14
Dashboard > Settings page
Click the Settings option below the Dashboard tab.
Most global configuration options for the AIM system are available in the
settings page. For configuration options that affect individual receivers, users
and channels, see the sections dealing with those tabs.
Check For Updates - If this setting is off, AIM will never attempt to connect to
the update server to check for updates. If it is on, the first time the AIM admin
section is visited each day, an online check takes place. This check is only ever
performed once per day. If new AIM software has been released, the Version
number at the top right of the page will now contain a link, allowing automatic
upgrade of AIM. See Dashboard > Updates page for further details.
Note: For the AIM unit to successfully locate and use updates it requires access
to the Internet, usually via the second Ethernet connection to the rear of the
unit. The IP address for the second Ethernet connection can be configured
within the Settings page.
Login Required
Determines whether a login is required to use AdderLink Infinity receivers. This
is a global setting that applies to all receivers but which can be overridden for
specific receivers or receiver groups. Options are:
• No: Anyone can use a receiver without login credentials, using the channels
granted to the “Anonymous User” (set further down the page).
• Yes: Users need to login to use a receiver.
Note: Within AIM, Login requirements filter down from the top (i.e. from
this setting), but can be overridden at lower levels, such as at the Receiver or
Receiver Group levels. See The Receivers Tab section for more details.
Grant All Users Exclusive Access
Determines whether a user can connect to a channel exclusively and thus
prevent any other users from also connecting to that channel. If not set, users
can only connect in view-only mode or shared mode. Settings that are applied
specifically to a user will override settings applied to user groups they’re in,
which in turn override this global setting.
Note: If a user has exclusive mode granted or NOT granted at user level, then it
doesn’t matter what settings there are above (usergroups or global).
• Ifauserissettoinherit“allowexclusivemode”fromtheirusergroups,
ifanyoneoftheirusergroupshas“allowexclusivemode”granted,then
the user will have it granted, even if the rest of the user’s usergroups have
exclusive mode not granted.
• Ifauserissettoinherit“allowexclusivemode”fromtheirusergroups,and
one of the user groups is set to inherit from the global setting - if that global
settingis“allowexclusivemode,”theneffectivelytheusergroupis“allow
exclusivemode,”sotheuserwillbeallowedexclusivemode.
Allowed Connection Modes
Determines the global setting that will be applied to all new channels concerning
connection modes. The setting made here is only applied as a default and can be
overridden at the channel level, where necessary. Options are:
• View/Shared only: Prevents users from gaining exclusive access to a channel.
• Exclusive only: Ensures that all connections to a channel are made
singularly.
• View/Shared & Exclusive: Permits either type of connection to be made.
Note: By default, all new channels are set to inherit this global value. So it’s easy
to change all channel connection modes simply by changing the global setting.
If a channel has its own setting, the global setting has no effect on that channel.
Initial Streaming Mode
All new connections are created in unicast mode in order to minimise multicast
traffic on network switches that may have limited IGMP snooping capabilities.
If a second receiver connects to the same channel, the unicast connection is
briefly disconnected and replaced with the new multicast connection. The firstconnected receiver would experience a brief screen black-out.
Selecting multicast in this option causes new connections to start directly in
multicast mode so that subsequent receivers can connect to the same channel
or video stream without causing any interruption to the initial video connection.
DDC
Allows you to force a particular DDC to be sent to receivers, or you can set it to
use the DDC of the monitor currently connected to the receiver.
Hot Plug Detect
Controls whether Hot Plug Detect is allowed to be brought up/down by ALIF RX
unit.
USB Speed
Determines the USB version/speed capability of the ALIF system that is reported
to the host computer (USB 2 Hi-Speed or USB 1 Full Speed).
USB Hub Size
Determines the USB hub size of the ALIF system that is reported to the host
computer(13or7ports).
sll
13
Page 15
Hotkey
Allows you to define the default keypress combination that will be used to
access the AIM on-screen display (OSD) menu by each user. If the hotkey
combination is altered, the change will be applied instantly to all receivers.
Anonymous User
Allows you to nominate a profile for an anonymous user that will be applied to
any receivers that do not require login. The channels available to that receiver
will be those available to the user that is selected here. You can create a suitable
standard user profile in the same way as any other user (see The Users tab) and
then choose it within this setting.
Rows per Page
Determines how many rows to show per page in any paginated table within the
admin section, e.g. Users, Channels, Receivers, Event/Connection Logs.
AIM IP Address
Defines the IP address to which the AIM server has been set. Connect a display
monitor to the VGA port of the AIM unit to discover its current IP address.
The default AIM server IP address is 169.254.1.3
Note: If the AIM server’s IP address is changed, any connected transmitters or
receivers will be rebooted.
Gateway IP Address
Defines the network gateway IP address for the AIM server.
Netmask
Defines the netmask for the AIM server.
Time
NTP Enabled?
If set to No, you will need to enter the date and time manually.
If set to Yes, you need to enter an NTP Server Address, declare your Timezone
Area and your Timezone Location.
Note: For the AIM unit to use NTP it requires access to the Internet, usually via
the second Ethernet connection to the rear of the unit. The IP address for the
second Ethernet connection can be configured within the Settings page.
API
Determines whether login is required (and which user profile to use, if login
is made a requirement) when AIM is driven using API scripts from an external
system.
Mail Server
A range of settings to define your email server, so that AIM system backups can
be automatically emailed to you.
Active Directory
If you wish to import user details from an existing LDAP connection, such as
Active Directory, this section allows you to enter all of the necessary details. See
Users > Active Directory for details about using Active Directory links.
sll
DNS Server IP Address
Defines the IP address for a suitable DNS server to use within the AIM network.
Syslog IP Address
Defines the IP address for a suitable syslog server to use within the AIM network.
Multicast IP Base
Defines the base IP address for use in multicast configurations (where multiple
receivers use the output from a single channel). Multicast IP addresses are
assigned in pairs (one for audio, one for video), starting from this lowest IP
address. If you expect to have several multicast/shared connections within your
AIM network, ensure that sufficient IP addresses are available, starting from this
IP address.
14
Page 16
Dashboard > Backups page
You can schedule backup copies of the AIM database (containing all devices,
users, channels and logs) to be made on a recurring basis and you can also
perform backups on demand, as required.
IMPORTANT: You are strongly recommended to arrange regular
scheduled backups of your AIM database. Adder cannot be held
responsible for any loss of data, however caused.
Backup Options
Download to your computer: If this option is checked, when you click the
“Backup Now” button, the backup file will be saved to the server and then will
be presented as a download in your browser, so that you may save a local copy
of the backup file.
Email backup: If this option is checked, a copy of the backup file will be sent to
the email address specified in the “Email Backup To” field. The backup file will
be emailed either when you click “Backup Now” and/or according to the option
selected in the Schedule section.
Note: Use of the Email backup option requires a valid email address to be stored
within the Dashboard>Settings page.
Note: Emailed backups are encrypted, and these backup files are automatically
decrypted by the AIM server when they are used.
Schedule: Determines how often a backup should be created. There are set
periods for the various options:
• Hourlybackupsareexecutedonthehour(orquarterpast).
• Dailybackupsareexecutedat2am(orquarterpast).
• WeeklybackupsareexecutedeverySundayat3am(orquarterpast).
Restore from Server
All backups (whether initiated manually or by schedule) are saved on the server
together with a time-stamp of when the backup was run. If required, you
can select a previous backup and restore its contents. Alternatively, you can
download the backup file to another location.
IMPORTANT: It is advisable to make a backup of the current state of the
AIM system before restoring a previous backup. Restoring the contents
of a backup file will overwrite ALL data in the AIM system, with the data
within the backup file. This includes configured devices, channels, users,
connection logs and action logs.
Restore from File
Use this option to upload a backup file that you have previously downloaded
or received by email. This will overwrite the contents of the current AIM system
therefore it is advisable to make a backup of the current state of the AIM system
before restoring a previous backup.
Archive Log to CSV Report
You can archive connection or log data to a CSV file and, at the same time,
remove old log data from the database.
Click “Archive” to save a CSV file to the server.
sll
Download CSV Reports
You can download any CSV report that was created in the archive step
(described above) by selecting from the archives saved on the server.
The CSV report can be opened in Microsoft Excel (or similar) to perform detailed
analysis of actions and connections within the AIM system.
15
Page 17
Dashboard > Updates page
Upgrade AIM Software
If you have downloaded an update file for AIM software, you can upload it here
to the AIM server and AIM will automatically be upgraded to the new version.
Upgrade files are encrypted and digitally-signed for AIM-server integrity.
Upload New TX/RX Firmware
This section allows the AIM admin user to upgrade firmware on receivers and
transmitters, wherever they are located.
1 Use the “Upload New Firmware” section to place new transmitter and/
or receiver firmware file(s) onto the AIM server. Once uploaded, the stored
firmware files are listed within the relevant “Available firmware” drop-down
boxes within the sections below.
2 Withintherelevant“InstallFirmwareonto...”section,clickthedrop-down
box and select the required new firmware version.
3 Click the “Install” button to display a list of devices.
4 On the right side of the list, select the devices to which the firmware
upgrade will be applied by checking boxes next to each device. The “Select
All” option makes it easy to apply firmware to all devices.
5 Click the “Upgrade Selected...” button to create a queue of devices to be
upgraded. If there are many devices to upgrade, this may take some time.
The status of devices during the upgrade process should be shown in near-
real time on the receivers/transmitters pages and on the device’s own page.
The page will show whether the device is still in the queue to be upgraded
or if it is in the process of rebooting with the new firmware. Note that the
process of applying firmware to a device and enacting a reboot takes several
minutes to complete.
Dashboard > Active Connections page
Shows only connections that are currently active within the AIM network. Please
refer to the Connection Log page section below.
Dashboard > Connection Log page
Shows all connections that have occurred within the AIM network. The most
recent connections are shown at the top, and the log is paginated (the number
of rows per page can be set from the Dashboard > Settings page). The log can
be filtered to show all connections, or only currently active connections. Current
connections have no “end time” and a disconnect icon ( ).
The “Audio Broadcast IP” and “Video Broadcast IP” columns show whether
the audio and video are being sent directly from the transmitter to the receiver
or broadcast to a multicast group. Direct links are denoted by the receiver’s IP
addressonly;whereasmulticastbroadcastsareindicatedbythemulticasticon
( ) and the common multicast IP address (the address will be in the range
speciedwithinthe“MulticastIPAddress”optionoftheDashboard>Settings
page).
Actions that you can take within this page include:
• Hoverthemouseoverthereceiver,userorchannelnamestoshowmore
information about each item.
• Hoverthemouseovertheve“Info”iconstoseedescriptions(audioon/off;
videoon/off;USBon/off;shared/exclusivemode;serialon/off).
• Click to end a connection between a receiver and a channel.
sll
16
Page 18
Dashboard > Event Log page
This page lists events that have occurred within the AIM system. A row of
buttons just below the blue options bar allows you to filter log page entries to
show only particular categories, as follows:
All | Admin | Users | Login | Channel Changes | Device Status
Where:
•All: Lists all events
•Admin: Lists automatic events and/or those performed by the admin user
(including: backup, scheduled backup, backup restored, updating AIM
settings, adding/removing/updating channels/users/devices, Active Directory
Sync, Firmware upgrades, AIM upgrades, etc).
•Users: Lists events performed by regular users (including: login, logout,
channel connections, disconnects, etc).
•Login: Lists login and logout events, whether performed via the admin
console or receiver devices.
•Channel Changes: Lists only channel changes (connections & disconnects).
•Device Status: Lists new devices that are added to the AIM network, get
restarted/rebooted or go online/offline
You can archive Event Log data to a CSV file via the “Archive log data” link,
which jumps to the relevant section within the Dashboard > Backups page.
sll
17
Page 19
The Channels tab
The Channels tab provides access to all settings and options related directly to
the video, audio and USB streams, collectively known as channels, emanating
from any number of transmitters.
Click the CHANNELS tab to view the initial View Channels page.
The various other Channels pages (e.g. Add Channel, View Channel Groups,
etc.) are selectable within the blue section located just below the tabs.
Search filters
The key fields (Name, Description and Location) all provide
a search filter to locate particular items within long lists.
Enter a full or partial search string into the appropriate filter
box and then click to start the search. Optionally use the
buttons to invert the order of the listing.
The page will reload with the same pagination/sort order, but with the added
search filter. It’s possible to filter by several columns at once (e.g. search for all
entries with “mac” in the name, and “mixed” in the description). Search terms
are case-insensitive. You can re-sort and paginate on filtered results without
losing the filters.
To remove a filter, click the red cross next to the relevant filter, (you can also
empty the search box and click again).
Channels > View Channels page
This page lists all channels that currently exist within the AIM system. A channel
is automatically created for every transmitter when it is added and configured
within the AIM network. The new default channel for each added transmitter
will inherit the name of the transmitter. Such default names can be altered
at any time and additionally, you can also create new channels manually, if
necessary.
Withinthelistofchannels,theAllowedConnectionscolumnindicateshow
each channel may be accessed by users. By default, these settings are inherited
from the global setting (configurable within the Dashboard > Settings page),
however, each channel can be altered as required. The icons denote the
following connection rules:
Connection details inherited from the global setting
Shared access
Exclusive access
View only
The Channel Groups column shows to how many channel groups each channel
belongs.
The Users column indicates how many users have permission to view each
channel.
Actions that you can take within this page include:
• Create a new channel: Click the “Add Channel” option.
• Create a new channel group: Click the “Add Channel Group” option.
• Configure an existing channel: Click for the required channel.
• Delete a channel: Click for the required channel.
• View a channel group: Click the “View Channel Groups” button.
sll
18
Page 20
Channels > Add or Configure a Channel
From the View Channels page, you can add a new channel or configure an
existing channel:
• Tocreateanewchannel:Clickthe“AddChannel”option.
• Tocongureanexistingchannel:Click for a channel.
The Add and Configure pages are similar in content.
Channel Name, Description and Location
These are all useful ways for you to identify the channel and its origins.
A consistent naming and description policy is particularly useful in large
installations.
Video, Audio, USB and Serial
These drop down boxes list all of the available streams from installed
transmitters.Whencreatingachannel,youcanchoosetotakeallfourstreams
from the same transmitter or from different ones, as required.
Notes: Where necessary, channels can be created without video, audio, USB
and/or serial.
Only one receiver can use a transmitter’s serial port at any time.
Allowed Connections
This section allows you to define the types of connection that you wish to permit
users to make. You can define particular individual or combined connection
types to suit requirements.
Note: This setting for each channel acts as the final arbiter of whether exclusive
access can actually be achieved. If you deny exclusive access rights within this
setting, then exclusive access for any user cannot take place for this channel,
regardless of settings made elsewhere.
• Inherit from global setting - uses the setting of the “Allowed Connection
Modes” option within the Dashboard > Settings page.
• View only - allows users only to view/hear the video and audio output, the
USB channel is denied.
• View/Shared only - denies exclusive mode to all users.
• Exclusive only - forces all user connections to be exclusive only.
• View/Shared & Exclusive - allows all types of connection modes.
Group Membership
Groups provide a quick and easy way to manage settings for channels. By
making a channel part of a particular group, the channel automatically inherits
the key settings of that group.
The group membership section displays existing channel groups in the left list (to
which the current channel does not belong) and the channel groups in the right
list to which it does belong.
To add the channel to groups: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL key if
selecting more than one) group names in the left list and then click to add
the name(s) to the right list.
Note: You can also include or exclude individual channels by double clicking on
them.
To add the channel to all groups: Click to move all group names from the
left to the right list.
To remove the channel from groups: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL
key if selecting more than one) group names in the right list and then click to
move the name(s) back to the left list.
To remove the channel from all groups: Click to move all group names
from the right to the left list.
Permissions
This section allows you to determine which users and user groups should be
given access to this channel. Individual users and user groups are handled
within separate sub-sections, but both use the same method for inclusion and
exclusion.
To include one or more users (or groups): Highlight one or more (use the
CTRL key if selecting more than one) user/group names in the left list and then
click to add them to the right list.
To include all users (or groups): Click to move all user/group names from
the left to the right list.
To remove one or more users (or groups): Highlight one or more (use the
CTRL key if selecting more than one) user/group names in the right list and then
click to move them back to the left list.
To remove all users (or groups): Click to move all user/group names from
the right to the left list.
sll
19
Page 21
Channels > Add or Configure Channel Group
Channel groups allow easy permission-granting for several channels at once.
Permissions can be set to determine which users can access channels within a
channel group.
From the View Channels page, you can add a new channel group or configure
an existing channel group:
• Tocreateanewchannel:Clickthe“AddChannelGroup”option.
• Tocongureanexistingchannel:Click“theViewChannelGroups”option
and then click for a group.
The Add and Configure Channel Group pages are similar in content.
Channel Group and Description
These are all useful ways for you to identify the channel and its origins.
A consistent naming and description policy is particularly useful in large
installations.
Channel Group Membership
Allows you to determine which channels should be members of the group. By
making a channel part of the group, each channel automatically inherits the key
settings of the group.
To add a channel to the group: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL key if
selecting more than one) channel names in the left list and then click to add
the name(s) to the right list.
Note: You can also include or exclude individual channels by double clicking on
them.
To add all channels to the group: Click to move all channel names from
the left to the right list.
To remove a channel from the group: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL
key if selecting more than one) channel names in the right list and then click
to move the name(s) back to the left list.
To remove all channels from the group: Click to move all channel names
from the right to the left list.
Permissions
This section allows you to determine which users and user groups should be
given access to channels within this group. Individual users and user groups
are handled within separate sub-sections, but both use the same method for
inclusion and exclusion.
To include one or more users (or groups): Highlight one or more (use the
CTRL key if selecting more than one) user/group names in the left list and then
click to add them to the right list.
To include all users (or groups): Click to move all user/group names from
the left to the right list.
To remove one or more users (or groups): Highlight one or more (use the
CTRL key if selecting more than one) user/group names in the right list and then
click to move them back to the left list.
To remove all users (or groups): Click to move all user/group names from
the right to the left list.
sll
20
Page 22
The Receivers tab
The Receivers tab shows a paginated table of all receiver devices within the AIM
network.
Click the RECEIVERS tab to view the initial View Receivers page.
Receivers > View Receivers page
The table shows the following information for each receiver:
• Name • Onlinestatus
• IPaddress • Firmwarerevisionofreceiverunit
• Description&Location • Manage(adminoptions-seebelow)
The other Receivers pages (e.g. View Receiver Groups, Add Receiver Group, etc.)
are selectable within the blue section located just below the tabs.
Search filters
The key fields (Name, Description and Location) all provide
a search filter to locate particular items within long lists.
Enter a full or partial search string into the appropriate filter
box and then click to start the search. Optionally use the
buttons to invert the order of the listing.
The page will reload with the same pagination/sort order, but with the added
search filter. It’s possible to filter by several columns at once (e.g. search for all
entries with “mac” in the name, and “mixed” in the description). Search terms
are case-insensitive. You can re-sort and paginate on filtered results without
losing the filters.
To remove a filter, click the red cross next to the relevant filter, (you can also
empty the search box and click again).
The Manage icons are as follows:
(Note: You can hover your mouse pointer over any icons to reveal additional
information):
Identify unit: Causes the LED lights to flash on the front of the selected
unit. An alert will be shown if the unit cannot be contacted (e.g. if it is
offline)
Reboot device: Allows you to reboot or reset a unit to its factory settings.
A popup will ask which task you wish to carry out. A reboot is useful if a
device enters an unknown state. A reset will return the unit to its factory
default state and reset its IP address (the unit will retain any firmware
updates that have been applied).
Delete device: Confirmation will be requested. You will need to factory-
reset any devices that you wish to re-configure to work with AIM.
Configure device: Displays the “Configure Receiver” page.
Connect to a channel: A list of available channels is shown, along with
connection modes (view/shared/exclusive). The admin user can thus
remotely change channel on any receiver.
Disconnect: If a receiver is currently connected to a channel, clicking the
disconnect icon will end the connection, regardless of who is connected.
Hovering over the icon will show which user is connected, which channel
they are connected to, and when the connection was created.
sll
21
Page 23
Receivers > Configure Receiver page
From the View Receivers page, you can configure details for a receiver:
• Click for a receiver.
Note: If the IP address of the receiver is changed, the device will need to reboot
itself.
Login Required
• No:Whenselected,anyonecanuseareceiverterminalandconnecttoa
channel. The channels/permissions displayed to this anonymous user are
those that are set for the “anonymous user” that is defined within the
Dashboard > Settings page.
• Inherit from Receiver Groups:Whenselected,therequirementforuser
login will be determined by the “Login Required” settings within the
Receiver Groups to which this unit belongs:
• IfANYofthereceivergroups(towhichthisreceiverbelongs)aresetas
“Login Required = Yes”, this receiver will require login.
• IfANYofthereceivergroups(towhichthisreceiverbelongs)aresetas
“Login Required = Inherit...” and the global setting is “login required =
yes”, then this receiver will require login.
• IfALLreceivergroups(towhichthisreceiverbelongs)aresetas“Login
Required = No”, then this receiver will NOT require login.
• Yes:Whenselected,auserwillneedtologinwiththeusernameand
password defined in the “Users” section. They will only be allowed to login
if they have been granted permission to access that particular receiver.
Group Membership
To facilitate collective permission-granting for numerous receivers, a receiver can
belong to one or more receiver groups. Any permissions applied to the receiver
group are inherited by all receivers that are included within the receiver group.
For example, multiple receivers can be made available to a user by placing them
all in a receiver group and then granting the user permission to use that receiver
group.
Permissions
This is hidden by default as, by default, all users have access to all receivers. You
can deny access to particular receivers for a user in this section. However, be
aware that users who are included within user groups may have access to the
same receivers via their groups.
Receivers > Add Receiver Group or Configure Group page
From the View Receiver Groups page, you can create a new group or configure
an existing group:
• Tocreateanewgroup:Clickthe“AddReceiverGroup”option.
• Tocongureanexistinggroup:Click for a group.
The Add and Configure pages are similar in content.
Login Required
• No:Whenselected,anyonecanuseareceiverterminalandconnecttoa
channel. The channels/permissions displayed to this anonymous user are
those that are set for the “anonymous user” defined within the Dashboard
> Settings page.
• Inherit from global setting:Whenselected,therequirementforuserlogin
will be determined by the “Login Required” setting within the Dashboard >
Settings page.
• Yes:Whenselected,auserwillneedtologinwiththeusernameand
password defined in the “Users” section. They will only be allowed to login
if they have been granted permission to access devices in the receiver group.
Group Membership
This section allows you to easily include or exclude individual receivers for this
group. All relevant group permissions will be applied to all receivers that are
included within the group. Receivers that are not currently included in this group
within the left list and those receivers that are included within the right list.
To add a receiver to this group: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL key if
selecting more than one) receiver names in the left list and then click to add
the name(s) to the right list.
To add all receivers to the group: Click to move all receiver names from
the left to the right list.
To remove a receiver from the group: Highlight one or more (use the CTRL
key if selecting more than one) receiver names in the right list and then click
to move the name(s) back to the left list.
To remove all receivers from the group: Click to move all receiver names
from the right to the left list.
Permissions
This is hidden by default because all users have access to all receivers. You
can deny access to the receiver group, however, be aware that users who are
included within user groups may have been given access to the receiver group
via their user groups.
sll
Receivers > Update Firmware
ClickthisoptiontogostraighttotheDashboard>Updatespage.See
Dashboard > Updates page for more details.
22
Page 24
The Transmitters tab
The Transmitters tab shows a paginated table of all transmitter devices within
the AIM network.
Click the TRANSMITTERS tab to view the transmitters page.
Search filters
The key fields (Name, Description and Location) all provide
a search filter to locate particular items within long lists.
Enter a full or partial search string into the appropriate filter
box and then click to start the search. Optionally use the
buttons to invert the order of the listing.
The page will reload with the same pagination/sort order, but with the added
search filter. It’s possible to filter by several columns at once (e.g. search for all
entries with “mac” in the name, and “mixed” in the description). Search terms
are case-insensitive. You can re-sort and paginate on filtered results without
losing the filters.
To remove a filter, click the red cross next to the relevant filter, (you can also
empty the search box and click again).
Transmitters > View Transmitters page
The table shows the following information for each receiver:
• Name • Onlinestatus
• IPaddress • Firmwarerevisionoftransmitter
• Channels(attributedtoeachtransmitter) • Description&Location
• Manage(adminoptions-seebelow)
The Manage icons are as follows:
(Note: You can hover your mouse pointer over any icons to reveal additional
information):
Identify unit: Causes the LED lights to flash on the front of the selected
unit. An alert will be shown if the unit cannot be contacted (e.g. if it is
offline)
Reboot device: Allows you to reboot or reset a unit to its factory settings.
A popup will ask which task you wish to carry out. A reboot is useful if a
device enters an unknown state. A reset will return the unit to its factory
default state and reset its IP address (the unit will retain any firmware
updates that have been applied).
Delete device: Confirmation will be requested. You will need to factory-
reset any devices that you wish to re-configure to work with AIM.
Configure device: Displays the “Configure Transmitter” page.
sll
23
Page 25
Transmitters > Configure Transmitter page
Whenyouclick for a particular transmitter, this page lists information about
the unit and allows numerous settings to be configured.
IP Address
Allows you to alter the IP address of the transmitter unit. Any change in address
will be enacted when you click the “Save” button at the foot of the page. Any
IP connections currently made to the transmitter will be ended.
Device Name, Description and Location
These are useful identifiers for the transmitter unit and its exact location. These
become even more valuable as the number of transmitters within the system
increases.
Video Settings
This section allows you to directly adjust various key video controls within the
transmitter in order to obtain the most efficient operation taking into account
connection speeds and the nature of the video images sent by that transmitter.
DDC
Allows you to use a global DDC setting, the monitor’s DDC or a particular DDC
chosen from the list.
Background Refresh
The transmitter sends portions of the video image only when they change. In
order to give the best user experience, the transmitter also sends the whole
video image, at a lower frame rate, in the background. The Background Refresh
parameter controls the rate at which this background image is sent. The default
value is ‘every 32 frames’, meaning that a full frame is sent in the background
every 32 frames. Reducing this to ‘every 64 frames’ or more will reduce the
amount of bandwidth that the transmitter consumes. On a high-traffic network
this parameter should be reduced in this way to improve overall system
performance. Options: Every 32 frames, Every 64 frames, Every 128 frames,
Every 256 frames or Disabled.
Colour Depth
This parameter determines the number of bits required to define the colour of
every pixel. The maximum (and default) value is ‘24 bit’. By reducing the value
you can significantly reduce bandwidth consumption, at the cost of video colour
reproduction. Options: 24 bit, 16 bit or 8 bit.
Peak Bandwidth Limiter
The transmitter will use as much of the available network bandwidth as
necessary to achieve optimal data quality, although typically the transmitter
will use considerably less than the maximum available. In order to prevent the
transmitter from ‘hogging’ too much of the network capacity, you can reduce
this setting to place a tighter limit on the maximum bandwidth permissible to
the transmitter. Range: 1 to 100%.
Frame Skipping
Frame Skipping involves ‘missing out’ video frames between those captured by
the transmitter. For video sources that update only infrequently or for those that
update very frequently but where high fidelity is not required, frame skipping
is a good strategy for reducing the overall bandwidth consumed by the system.
Range: 0 to 99%.
Serial Settings
Serial Parity, Serial Data Bits, Serial Stop Bits, Serial Speed
This group of settings allows you to define the key parameters for the AUX port
of the transmitter so that it matches the operation of the device attached to it.
Transmitters > Update Firmware
ClickthisoptiontogostraighttotheDashboard>Updatespage.See
Dashboard > Updates page for more details.
sll
24
Page 26
The Users tab
The Users tab shows a paginated table of all users within the AIM network.
Withinthelist,theadminuserisalwayspresentandcannotbedeleted-inorder
to avoid being locked out of the AIM system. The username and name details of
the admin account, however, can be edited as required.
Click the USERS tab to view the initial View Users page.
The other user pages (e.g. Add User, View User Groups, etc.) are selectable
within the blue section located just below the tabs.
Search filters
The key fields (Name, Description and Location) all provide a search filter to
locate particular items within long lists. Enter a full or partial
search string into the appropriate filter box and then click
to start the search. Optionally use the buttons to invert
the order of the listing.
The page will reload with the same pagination/sort order, but with the added
search filter. It’s possible to filter by several columns at once (e.g. search for all
entries with “B” in the Username, and “Smith” in the Last Name). Search terms
are case-insensitive. You can re-sort and paginate on filtered results without
losing the filters.
To remove a filter, click the red cross next to the relevant filter, (you can also
empty the search box and click again).
Users > View Users page
The table shows the following information for each user:
• AD-indicateswhethertheuserwasimportedfromActiveDirectory
• Username • FirstName • LastName
• UserGroups-thenumberofusergroupstowhichtheuserbelongs
• Channels-thenumberofchannelstowhichtheuserhasaccess
• Receivers-thenumberofreceiverstowhichtheuserhasaccess
• AllowExclusive?-indicateswhethertheuserispermittedtoaccesschannels
in exclusive mode ( - Yes, - No, - Inherited setting from user groups)
• Suspended-indicatestheuseraccountstatus( - User is suspended,
- User account is active, i.e. not suspended)
• Admin-indicateswhethertheuserhasadminprivileges
The Edit option icons are as follows:
Configure user: Displays the “Configure User” page.
Delete user: Confirmation will be requested.
sll
25
Page 27
Users > Add User or Configure User page
From the View Users page, you can add a new user or configure an existing
user:
• Toaddauser:Clickthe“AddUser”option.
• Tocongureanexistinguser:Click for a user.
The Add and Configure pages are similar in content.
Username
The username is mandatory and must be unique within the AIM installation.
Note: If a user is synced with Active Directory, it is not possible to change the
Username, First/Last Name, Password, or User Group membership. These items
must be edited on the Active Directory server and the changes will filter through
to AIM the next time a sync takes place with Active Directory.
First Name, Last Name and Email
The First Name, Last Names and Email address entries are optional but are
advisable within an installation of any size or one that will be administered by
more than one person.
Password
The password is required for logging into a channel and/or for logging into the
AIM admin system, if the user is to be granted admin privileges.
Admin?
WhensettoYes,theuserisgrantedprivilegestologintotheAIMadminsystem
and make changes.
Account Suspended?
Allows the admin user to temporarily prevent the user from logging in without
the need to delete the whole account.
Allow Exclusive Mode?
Defines whether the user is able to connect to channels exclusively (preventing
otherusersfromsharingtheconnection).Whenthisissetto“InheritfromUser
Groups/Global Setting”, if ANY user-group that a user is a member of is granted
permission to connect exclusively, then the user will have permission to connect
exclusively. Note: It is an additional requirement that the channel being accessed
by the user, must also permit exclusive access.
Group Membership
This section defines the user groups to which the user will be a member. Any
permissions applied to the user group are inherited by all users in the user
group. User groups to which the user is not currently a member are shown in
the left list and those to which the user is a member are shown within the right
list. See Including and excluding a user... on the next page for details about
including and excluding group membership.
Permissions
This section defines to which channels and/or channel groups the user should
have access. Note: Only the channels for which a user is given permission to
access will appear within their channel list.
See Including and excluding a user... on the next page for details about
including and excluding channels and/or channel groups.
Receiver and Receiver Group Permissions
Receiver and Receiver Group Permissions are hidden by default because all users
are initially granted permission to use all receivers. If desired, permission to use
a receiver and/or receiver group may be withdrawn from a user by revealing this
section.
sll
26
Page 28
Users > Add User Group or Configure Group page
From the View User Groups page, you can create a new group or configure an
existing group:
• Tocreateanewgroup:Clickthe“AddUserGroup”option.
• Tocongureanexistinggroup:Click for a group.
The Add and Configure pages are similar in content.
User Group Name
The User Group name must be unique within the AIM installation.
Allow Exclusive Mode?
Defines whether the users within the group will be able to connect to channels
exclusively(preventingotherusersfromsharingtheconnection).Whenthisis
set to “Inherit from global setting”, the setting for the “Grant all users exclusive
access” option (within Dashboard > Settings) will be applied. Note: The final
arbiter of whether any user can gain exclusive access is always whether the
channel being accessed is also set to allow exclusive connections.
Group Membership
This section allows you to select which users should be members of the group.
Any permissions applied to the user group are inherited by all users in the user
group. Users who are not currently members are shown in the left list and those
who are members are shown within the right list. See Including and excluding a
user... on the right for details about including and excluding group membership.
Permissions
This section defines to which channels and/or channel groups the user within
this group should have access. Note: Only the channels/channel groups for
which a user is given permission to access will appear within their channel list.
See Including and excluding a user... right for details about including and
excluding channels and/or channel groups.
Receiver and Receiver Group Permissions
Receiver and Receiver Group Permissions are hidden by default because all
users/user groups are initially granted permission to use all receivers. If desired,
permission to use a receiver and/or receiver group may be withdrawn from
members of this user group by revealing this section.
Including and excluding a user within group or channels
The Group Membership and Permissions section use the same method to
determine inclusion and exclusion:
To add the user to a group or grant access to a channel: Highlight one or
more (use the CTRL key if selecting more than one) of the entries in the left list
and then click to add them to the right list (you can also double-click on an
entry to quickly add it).
To add the user to all groups or grant access to all channels: Click to
move all entries from the left to the right list.
To remove the user from a group or channel: Highlight one or more (use
the CTRL key if selecting more than one) entries in the right list and then click
to move them back to the left list (you can also double-click on an entry to
quickly remove it).
To remove the user from all groups or channels: Click to move all
entries from the right to the left list.
sll
27
Page 29
Users > Active Directory
To simplify integration alongside existing systems within organisations, AIM
can be synchronised with an LDAP/Active Directory server. This allows a list of
users (and user groups), together with usernames and group memberships to be
quickly imported and kept up to date.
Initial configuration
The basic Active Directory (AD) server details are defined in the Dashboard
> Settingspage.Oncecongured,theUsers>ActiveDirectorypage(called
“Import Users from Active Directory”) will allow you to scan the AD server for a
list of folders and users/groups within those folders.
Choosing users and groups
Once scanned, the “Import Users from Active Directory” page shows all folders
that are available on the AD server.
1 Use the “Include Users” and “Include Groups” checkbox columns on the
right hand side of the folder lists to select which items to import (with
optional additional LDAP filters where necessary).
• IfanADuserwasnotintheAIMuserdatabase,theywillbeimported.
• IfanADuserisalreadyintheAIMuserdatabase,theyarekept.
• IfanADuserisNOTmarkedforimport/syncfromtheADimportpage,
and they already exist in the AIM user database, they will be removed
from the AIM user database during the sync operation.
IMPORTANT: It is thus vital to ensure that all users you want in the
AIM system are always selected for import/sync, otherwise they will be
removed.
2 You can choose to synchronise immediately or to preview the results of your
settings:
• Clickthe“Preview”buttontoviewthelistofusersthatwillbeadded/
updated/removed on this synchronisation. Once previewed, you can
either go ahead with the sync or return to the filter page and edit your
settings.
• Clickthe“Save&Sync”buttontosynchronisetheselecteditemsinto
the AIM user database.
Note: AIM will only import folders/groups/users up to the limit set by the AD
server. There is a known issue: AIM can only import x users/groups from AD
where x is the limit set on the AD server. Any users/groups beyond this limit will
not be imported.
Active Directory Tips
• AbackupscheduleisrecommendedsothatanychangesontheADserver
are carried across to the AIM server regularly. You can choose from hourly/
daily or weekly syncs. The settings/filters saved on this screen will be applied
to each subsequent sync, ensuring that your list of users is kept accurate.
• TotemporarilyremoveaparticularuserfromAIMaccess,withouthavingto
make complicated LDAP filters, simply edit the AIM user to be suspended
(see Users > Add User or Configure User page). Even though they will
continue to be imported/synced from AD, they will be prevented from
logging on.
• AllLDAPltersshouldbeself-contained,e.g:(!(cn=a*))
• Besuretosaveanychangesmadetothesyncsettingsbeforeclickingthe
“sync-now” option. Otherwise, the next scheduled sync operation will
overwrite any user changes you made in your “sync-now”.
• UsergroupsareonlyimportedfromADtoAIMiftheycontainusersthatare
set to be imported too (i.e. a group will not be imported, even if it contains
users, unless its users match the sync filters).
• AssociationsbetweenusersandusergroupscanonlybemadeontheAD
server - it is not possible to edit user/user-group membership for AD users/
groups on the AIM server.
• Usersandgroupsaretechnically“synchronized”ratherthan“imported”
- each time a sync takes place, details are updated and if a user no longer
matches the sync filters, they will be removed from the AIM user list.
sll
28
Page 30
The Presets tab
Presets enable multiple actions to be pre-defined so that they can be initiated
with a single action. This feature is particularly useful when switching multiple
AdderLink Infinity units, such as in the example below where multiple video
heads need to be switched in unison between different server systems.
INFINITY RX
The preset allows
multiple AdderLink
Infinity receivers to
be switched between
transmitters using a
single action.
INFINITY TX INFINITY TXINFINITY TX INFINITY TX
A B
According to how a preset is configured, it is possible to have one or more
receivers connected to separate channels (i.e. unicast) or multiple receivers
connected to a single channel (i.e. multicast).
INFINITY RX
The Presets page is where the admin user can create and configure new and
existing presets.
Click the PRESETS tab to view the Presets page.
The nature of each preset, i.e. which receiver connects to which channel(s),
is defined by the admin. The permitted connection modes are worked out
according to:
• Thetopologyofthepreset,
AND
• ThecurrentconnectionswithintheAIMnetwork.
For instance, if two receivers in a preset are configured to connect to the same
channel (multicast), it will not be possible to connect to the preset in exclusive
mode.
The presets table shows the preset name, description, allowed connection
modes, and number of receiver-channel pairs in the preset.
If any preset-pairs are misconfigured (e.g. a channel no longer exists), a warning
triangle will appear. The preset will NOT be usable if any receiver-channel pairs
are misconfigured.
The admin user can connect any presets using the standard view/shared/
exclusive buttons.
Note: There are no permissions to set for a preset. Instead, a preset will only
be available to users who have permission to use ALL receivers and channels
within the preset. In other words, permissions on the preset are implied by the
permissions on the preset’s contents.
continued
sll
29
Page 31
Presets > Add or Configure Presets page
From the Presets page, you can add a new preset or configure an existing
preset:
• Tocreateanewpreset:Clickthe“AddPreset”option.
• Tocongureanexistingpreset:Click for a preset.
The Add and Configure pages are similar in content.
Preset Name and Description
The Preset Name is mandatory, whereas the Description is optional but
recommended when numerous presets will be used. A consistent naming and
description policy is particularly useful in large installations.
Receiver - Channel Pairs
Pair 1
From the two drop down lists, choose a receiver and a corresponding channel
for it to connect with. This base pair can be altered but cannot be deleted from
the preset.
Add another pair
Click this link to define another receiver/channel pairing.
Note: While channels can be assigned to multiple receivers, each receiver may
only appear once within a single preset.
Allowed Connections
Choose one of the following connection rules to be applied to the preset:
• Inheritfromglobalsetting
• Viewonly
• View/Sharedonly
• Exclusiveonly
• View/Shared&Exclusive
Note: If multicasting is present (e.g. two or more receivers connected to the
same channel or two channels containing the same audio/video end point), it
will not be possible to choose the ‘Exclusive only’ connection mode.
sll
30
Page 32
Operation
For non-admin users, AdderLink Infinity Manager offers a clear way to choose
and access multiple channels.
Logging in
1 On the keyboard connected to your AdderLink Infinity receiver, press the
hotkey combination Ctrl-Alt-C to display the On-Screen Display or OSD
(your administrator may have changed the hotkey combination).
You will either see the list of channels for which you have permission or be
presented with the following login:
AdderLink
Login
*
Username
*
Password
ADDER
Login
®
The list of channels for which you have permission will be shown:
Click to Logout or close the windowConnection information displayed here
AdderLink
ADDER
Receiver ‘Middle’, connected to Channel ‘Mac’
CHANNEL NAME
Channel Technical 1
Channel Sales 2
Channel Warehouse
Channel Technical 2
Mac
Mac 2
Mac 3
Mac 3
Mixed 1
Mixed 2
PAGE:
Click to change to other list pages
1 2
DESCRIPTION
Public server
Order processing...
Temporary server
Private server
Mini Mac
Mac Video, Audio...
Mac Video, Audio...
®
Displaying Channels 1-10 of 11
Click this button to list Connection Presets
(if defined and permitted by the admin).
Meanings of icons
Connect in view-only mode.
User: admin (Logout)
Presets
sll
2 Enter your Username and Password and click the Login button.
Once logged in, you will remain logged in until either you click the Logout
linkinthetoprightoftheOSD;orthereisnoactivityfortwodaysoruntil
the AdderLink Infinity unit is rebooted.
Connect in shared mode.
Connect in exclusive mode.
Choice not currently available (because someone else is currently
connected, therefore exclusive connection is not possible).
You are currently connected to this channel.
Another user has connected this receiver to this channel.
Blank Connection mode not permitted by admin (e.g. a channel doesn’t allow
exclusive connections or a user doesn’t have exclusive rights).
End this connection.
31
Page 33
Further information
This chapter contains a variety of information, including the following:
• Gettingassistance-seeright
• Appendix A - Tips for success when networking ALIF and AIM units
• Appendix B - Troubleshooting
• Appendix C - Glossary
• Appendix D - AIM API
• Safety information
• Warranty
• Radio frequency energy statements
Getting assistance
If you are still experiencing problems after checking the information contained
within this guide, then we provide a number of other solutions:
• Online solutions and updates – www.adder.com/support
Check the Support section of the adder.com website for the latest solutions
and firmware updates.
• Adder Forum – forum.adder.com
Use our forum to access FAQs and discussions.
• Technical support – www.adder.com/contact-support-form
For technical support, use the contact form in the Support section of the
adder.com website - your regional office will then get in contact with you.
sll
32
Page 34
Appendix A
1GB links
Tips for success when networking ALIF units
ALIF units use multiple strategies to minimise the amount of data that they send
across networks. However, data overheads can be quite high, particularly when
very high resolution video is being transferred, so it is important to take steps to
maximise network efficiency and help minimise data output. The tips given in
this section have been proven to produce very beneficial results.
Summary of steps
• Choosetherightkindofswitch.
• Createanefcientnetworklayout.
• Conguretheswitchesanddevicescorrectly.
Choosing the right switch
Layer 2 switches are what bind all of the hosts together in the subnet. However,
they are all not created equally, so choose carefully. In particular look for the
following:
• Gigabit(1000Mbps)orfasterEthernetports,
• SupportforIGMP v2 (or v3) snooping,
• SupportforJumbo frames up to 9216-byte size,
• Highbandwidthconnectionsbetweenswitches,preferablyFibreChannel.
• Lookforswitchesthatperformtheirmostoneroustasks(e.g.IGMP
snooping) using multiple dedicated processors (ASICS).
• Ensurethemaximumnumberofconcurrent‘snoopablegroups’theswitch
can handle meets or exceeds the number of ALIF transmitters that will be
used to create multicast groups.
• Checkthethroughputoftheswitch:Fullduplex,1Gbpsup-anddown-
stream speeds per port.
• Usethesameswitchmakeandmodelthroughoutasinglesubnet.
• YoualsoneedaLayer 3 switch. Ensure that it can operate efficiently as an
IGMP Querier.
Layer 2 (and 3) switches known to work
• Cisco2960
• Cisco3750
• Cisco4500
• Cisco6500
For the latest list of switches known to work with ALIF and
setup instructions for them, please go to www.adder.com
• ExtremeNetworksX480
• HPProcurve2810
• HPProcurve2910
• H3C5120
• HuaWeiQuidway
s5328c-EI
(Layer 3 switch)
Creating an efficient network layout
Network layout is vital. The use of IGMP snooping also introduces certain
constraints, so take heed:
• Keepitat.Useabasicline-cascadestructureratherthanapyramidortree
arrangement.
• Keepthedistancesbetweentheswitchesasshortaspossible.
• Ensuresufcientbandwidthbetweenswitchestoeliminatebottlenecks.
• WheretheAIMserverisusedtoadministermultipleALIFtransceivers,
ensure the AIM server and all ALIF units reside in the same subnet.
• DonotuseVGAtoDVIconverters,insteadreplaceVGAvideocardsinolder
systems with suitable DVI replacements. Converters cause ALIF TX units to
massively increase data output.
• Stackableswitcheswillallowyoutocreatemoreportsateachcascadelevel.
• Whereverpossible,createaprivatenetwork.
The recommended layout
The layout shown below has been found to provide the most efficient network
layout for rapid throughput when using IGMP snooping:
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
ALIF TX
Layer 3
Switch
(Querier)
20GB link
Layer 2 Switch
10GB link
Layer 2 Switch
• Usenomorethantwocascadelevels.
• EnsurehighbandwidthbetweenthetwoL2switchesandveryhigh
bandwidth between the top L2 and the L3. Typically 10GB and 20GB,
respectively for 48 port L2 switches.
ALIF TX
ALIF RX
ALIF TX
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
ALIF RX
continued
sll
33
Page 35
Configuring the switches and devices
The layout is vital but so too is the configuration:
• EnableIGMP Snooping on all L2 switches.
• EnsurethatIGMP Fast-Leave is enabled on all switches with ALIF units
connected directly to them.
• EnabletheL3switchasanIGMP Querier.
• EnableSpanning Tree Protocol (STP) on all switches and importantly also
enable portfast (only) on all switch ports that have ALIF units connected.
• Ifanyhostswilluseanyvideoresolutionsusing2048horizontalpixels(e.g.
2048 x 1152), ensure that Jumbo Frames are enabled on all switches.
• Chooseanappropriateforwardingmodeonallswitches.UseCut-through
if available, otherwise Store and forward.
• OptimisethesettingsontheALIFtransmitters:
• Ifcolourqualityisimportant,thenleaveColourdepthat24bitsand
adjust other controls,
• Ifmovingvideoimagesarebeingshownfrequently,thenleaveFrame
Skipping at a low percentage and instead reduce the Peak bandwidth
limiter and Colourdepth.
• Wherescreensarequitestatic,tryincreasingtheBackgroundRefresh
interval and/or increasing the Frame skipping percentage setting.
Make changes to the ALIF transmitters one at a time, in small steps, and
view typical video images so that you can attribute positive or negative
results to the appropriate control.
• EnsurethatallALIFunitsarefullyupdatedtothelatestrmwareversion(at
least v2.1).
sll
34
Page 36
Appendix B
Troubleshooting
Problem: The video image of the ALIF receiver shows horizontal lines
across the screen.
This issue is known as Blinding because the resulting video image looks as
though you’re viewing it through a venetian blind.
WhenvideoistransmittedbyALIFunits,thevariouslinesofeachscreenare
divided up and transmitted as separate data packets. If the reception of those
packets is disturbed, then blinding is caused. The lines are displayed in place of
the missing video data packets.
There are several possible causes for the loss of data packets:
• Incorrectswitchconguration.Theproblemcouldbecausedbymulticast
flooding, which causes unnecessary network traffic. This is what IGMP
snooping is designed to combat, however, there can be numerous causes of
the flooding.
• Speed/memorybandwidthissueswithinoneormoreswitches.Thespeed
and capabilities of different switch models varies greatly. If a switch cannot
maintain pace with the quantity of data being sent through it, then it will
inevitably start dropping packets.
• OneormoreALIFunitsmaybeoutputtingJumboframesduetothevideo
resolution (2048 horizontal pixels) being used. If jumbo frames are output
by an ALIF unit, but the network switches have not been configured to use
jumbo frames, the switches will attempt to break the large packets down
into standard packets. This process introduces a certain latency and could be
a cause for dropped packets.
• OneormoreALIFunitsmaybeusinganoldrmwareversion.Firmware
versions prior to v2.1 exhibited an issue with the timing of IGMP join and
leave commands that caused multicast flooding in certain configurations.
Remedies:
• EnsurethatIGMP snooping is enabled on all switches within the subnet.
• WhereeachALIFunitisconnectedasthesoledeviceonaportconnection
to a switch, enable IGMP Fast-Leave (aka Immediate Leave) to reduce
unnecessary processing on each switch.
• Checkthevideoresolution(s)beingfedintotheALIFtransmitters.If
resolutions using 2048 horizontal pixels are unavoidable then ensure that
Jumbo frames are enabled on all switches.
• Checktheforwarding mode on the switches. If Store and forward is being
used, try selecting Cut-through as this mode causes reduced latency on
lesser switch designs.
• EnsurethatonedevicewithinthesubnetiscorrectlyconguredasanIGMP
Querier, usually a multicast router.
• EnsurethatthermwareineveryALIFunitisversion2.1orgreater.
• TryadjustingthetransmittersettingsoneachALIFtomaketheoutputdata
stream as efficient as possible. See Alter ALIF transmitter video settings if
necessary for details.
Problem: The audio output of the ALIF receiver sounds like a scratched
record.
This issue is called Audio crackle and is a symptom of the same problem that
produces blinding (see left). The issue is related to missing data packets.
Remedies:
As per blinding discussed previously.
continued
sll
35
Page 37
Problem: AIM cannot locate working ALIF units.
There are a few possible causes:
• TheALIFunitsmustberesetbacktotheirzerocongIPaddressesforAIM
discovery. If you have a working network of ALIF’s without AIM and then
add AIM to the network AIM will not discover the ALIFs until they are reset
to the zero config IP addresses.
• ThiscouldbecausedbyLayer2CiscoswitchesthathaveSpanning Tree
Protocol (STP) enabled but do not also have portfast enabled on the ports
towhichALIFunitsareconnected.Withoutportfastenabled,ALIFunitswill
all be assigned the same zero config IP address at reboot and AIM will only
acquire them one at a time on a random basis.
You can easily tell whether portfast is enabled on a switch that is running
STP:WhenyouplugthelinkcablefromaworkingALIFunitintotheswitch
port, check how long it takes for the port indicator to change from orange
togreen.Ifittakesroughlyonesecond,portfastison;ifittakesroughly
thirty seconds then portfast is disabled.
Remedies:
• EnsurethattheALIFunitsandtheAIMserverarelocatedwithinthesame
subnet. AIM cannot cross subnet boundaries.
• ManuallyresettheALIFunitstotheirzerocongIPaddresses.Pleasereferto
the ALIF user guide for details.
• Enableportfast on all switch ports that have ALIF units attached to them
or try temporarily disabling STP on the switches while AIM is attempting to
locate ALIF units.
Problem: The mouse pointer of the ALIF receiver is slow or sluggish
when moved across the screen.
This issue is often related to either using dithering on the video output of one or
more transmitting computers or using VGA-to-DVI video converters.
Dithering is used to improve the perceived quality and colour depth of images
by diffusing or altering the colour of pixels between video frames. This practice
is commonly used on Apple Mac computers using ATI or Nvidia graphics cards.
VGA-to-DVI converters unwittingly produce a similar issue by creating high levels
of pixel background noise.
ALIF units attempt to considerably reduce network traffic by transmitting
onlythepixelsthatchangebetweensuccessivevideoframes.Whendithering
is enabled and/or VGA-to-DVI converters are used, this can have the effect
of changing almost every pixel between each frame, thus forcing the ALIF
transmitter to send the whole of every frame: resulting in greatly increased
network traffic and what’s perceived as sluggish performance.
Remedies:
•Linux PCs - Check the video settings on the PC. If the Dither video box
option is enabled, disable it.
• Apple Mac with Nvidia graphics - Use the Adder utility for Macs (contact
technical support).
• Apple Mac with ATI graphics - Use the ALIF 2000 series unit with Magic
Eye dither removal feature.
• Windows PCs - If you suspect these issues with PCs, contact technical
support for assistance.
sll
36
Page 38
Appendix C
Glossary
Internet Group Management Protocol
WhereanALIFtransmitterisrequiredtostream
video to two or more receivers, multicasting is the
method used.
Multicasting involves the delivery of identical data
to multiple receivers simultaneously without the
needtomaintainindividuallinks.Whenmulticast
data packets enter a subnet, the natural reaction of
the switches that bind all the hosts together within
the subnet, is to spread the multicast data to all of
their ports. This is referred to as Multicast flooding
and means that the hosts (or at least their network
interfaces) are required to process plenty of data that
they didn’t request. IGMP offers a partial solution.
The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is
designed to prevent multicast flooding by allowing
Layer 3 switches to check whether host computers
within their care are interested in receiving particular
multicast transmissions. They can then direct multicast
data only to those points that require it and can shut
off a multicast stream if the subnet has no recipients.
There are currently three IGMP versions: 1, 2 and 3,
with each version building upon the capabilities of
the previous one:
• IGMPv1allowshostcomputerstooptinto
a multicast transmission using a Join Group
message, it is then incumbent on the router to
discoverwhentheynolongerwishtoreceive;
this is achieved by polling them (see IGMP
Querier below) until they no longer respond.
• IGMPv2includesthemeansforhoststooptout
as well as in, using a Leave Group message.
• IGMPv3encompassestheabilitiesofversions
1 and 2 but also adds the ability for hosts to
specify particular sources of multicast data.
AdderLink Infinity units make use of IGMPv2
when performing multicasts to ensure that no
unnecessary congestion is caused.
IGMP Snooping
The IGMP messages are effective but only operate
at layer 2 - intended for routers to determine
whether multicast data should enter a subnet.
A relatively recent development has taken place
within the switches that glue together all of the
hosts within each subnet: IGMP Snooping. IGMP
snooping means these layer 2 devices now have
the ability to take a peek at the IGMP messages. As
a result, the switches can then determine exactly
which of their own hosts have requested to receive
a multicast – and only pass on multicast data to
those hosts.
IGMP Querier
WhenIGMPisused,eachsubnetrequiresone
Layer 3 switch to act as a Querier. In this lead
role, the switch periodically sends out IGMP
Query messages and in response all hosts report
which multicast streams they wish to receive. The
Querier device and all snooping Layer 2 switches,
then update their lists accordingly (the lists are
also updated when Join Group and Leave Group
(IGMPv2) messages are received).
IGMP Fast-Leave (aka Immediate Leave)
Whenadevice/hostnolongerwishestoreceivea
multicast transmission, it can issue an IGMP Leave
Group message as mentioned above. This causes
the switch to issue an IGMP Group-Specific Query
message on the port (that the Leave Group was
received on) to check no other receivers exist on
that connection that wish to remain a part of the
multicast. This process has a cost in terms of switch
processor activity and time.
WhereALIFunitsareconnecteddirectlytothe
switch (with no other devices on the same port)
then enabling IGMP Fast-Leave mode means
that switches can immediately remove receivers
without going through a full checking procedure.
Wheremultipleunitsareregularlyjoiningand
leaving multicasts, this can speed up performance
considerably.
Jumbo frames (Jumbo packets)
Since its commercial introduction in 1980, the
Ethernet standard has been successfully extended
and adapted to keep pace with the ever improving
capabilities of computer systems. The achievable
data rates, for instance, have risen in ten-fold leaps
from the original 10Mbit/s to a current maximum of
100Gbit/s.
Whiledataspeedshaveincreasedmassively,the
standard defining the number of bytes (known
as the Payload) placed into each data packet has
remained resolutely stuck at its original level of
1500 bytes. This standard was set during the
original speed era (10Mbits/s) and offered the best
compromise at that speed between the time taken
to process each packet and the time required to
resend faulty packets due to transmission errors.
But now networks are much faster and files/data
streamsaremuchlarger;sotimeforachange?
Unfortunately, a wholesale change to the packet
size is not straightforward as it is a fundamental
standard and changing it would mean a loss of
backward compatibility with older systems.
Larger payload options have been around for a
while, however, they have often been vendor
specific and at present they remain outside the
official standard. There is, however, increased
consensus on an optional ‘Jumbo’ payload size
of 9000 bytes and this is fully supported by the
AdderLink Infinity (ALIF) units.
Jumbo frames (or Jumbo packets) offer advantages
for ALIF units when transmitting certain high
resolution video signals across a network. This is
because the increased data in each packet reduces
the number of packets that need to be transferred
and dealt with - thus reducing latency times.
The main problem is that for jumbo frames to be
possible on a network, all of the devices on the
network must support them.
sll
37
Page 39
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
In order to build a robust network, it is necessary
to include certain levels of redundancy within the
interconnections between switches. This will help to
ensure that a failure of one link does not lead to a
complete failure of the whole network.
The danger of multiple links is that data packets,
especially multicast packets, become involved in
continual loops as neighbouring switches use the
duplicated links to send and resend them to each
other.
To prevent such bridging loops from occurring, the
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), operating at layer
2, is used within each switch. STP encourages all
switches to communicate and learn about each
other. It prevents bridging loops by blocking newly
discovered links until it can discover the nature of
thelink:isitanewhostoranewswitch?
The problem with this is that the discovery process
can take up to 50 seconds before the block is lifted,
causing problematic timeouts.
The answer to this issue is to enable the portfast
variable for all host links on a switch. This will
cause any new connection to go immediately into
forwarding mode. However, take particular care
not to enable portfast on any switch to switch
connections as this will result in bridging loops.
ALIF transmitter video settings
Each ALIF transmitter includes controls to help you
customisehowvideodataistransmitted.When
configured correctly for the application, these can
help to increase data efficiency.
Background Refresh
The transmitter sends portions of the video image
only when they change. In order to give the best
user experience, the transmitter also sends the
whole video image, at a lower frame rate, in the
background. The Background Refresh parameter
controls the rate at which this background image
is sent. The default value is ‘every 32 frames’,
meaning that a full frame is sent in the background
every 32 frames. Reducing this to ‘every 64 frames’
or more will reduce the amount of bandwidth
that the transmitter consumes. On a high-traffic
network this parameter should be reduced in this
way to improve overall system performance.
Colour Depth
This parameter determines the number of bits
required to define the colour of every pixel.
The maximum (and default) value is ‘24 bit’. By
reducing the value you can significantly reduce
bandwidth consumption, at the cost of video colour
reproduction.
Peak Bandwidth Limiter
The transmitter will employ a ‘best effort’ strategy
in sending video and other data over the IP
network. This means it will use as much of the
available network bandwidth as necessary to
achieve optimal data quality, although typically
the transmitter will use considerably less than the
maximum available.
In order to prevent the transmitter from ‘hogging’
too much of the network capacity, you can reduce
this setting to place a tighter limit on the maximum
bandwidth permissible to the transmitter.
Frame Skipping
Frame Skipping involves ‘missing out’ video frames
between those captured by the transmitter. For
video sources that update only infrequently or
for those that update very frequently but where
high fidelity is not required, frame skipping is a
good strategy for reducing the overall bandwidth
consumed by the system.
sll
38
Page 40
Forwarding modes
7L
6L
5L
4L
3L
2L
1L
Network connection
In essence, the job of a layer 2 switch is to
transfer as fast as possible, data packets arriving
at one port out to another port as determined
by the destination address. This is known as data
forwarding and most switches offer a choice
of methods to achieve this. Choosing the most
appropriate forwarding method can often have a
sizeable impact on the overall speed of switching:
• Store and forward is the original method
and requires the switch to save each entire
data packet to buffer memory, run an error
check and then forward if no error is found (or
otherwise discard it).
• Cut-through was developed to address
the latency issues suffered by some store
and forward switches. The switch begins
interpreting each data packet as it arrives.
Once the initial addressing information has
been read, the switch immediately begins
forwarding the data packet while the remainder
is still arriving. Once all of the packet has been
received, an error check is performed and, if
necessary, the packet is tagged as being in
error. This checking ‘on-the-fly’ means that cutthrough switches cannot discard faulty packets
themselves. However, on receipt of the marked
packet, a host will carry out the discard process.
• Fragment-free is a hybrid of the above two
methods. It waits until the first 64 bits have
been received before beginning to forward
each data packet. This way the switch is more
likely to locate and discard faulty packets that
are fragmented due to collisions with other
data packets.
• Adaptive switches automatically choose
between the above methods. Usually they start
out as a cut-through switches and change to
store and forward or fragment-free methods
if large number of errors or collisions are
detected.
Sowhichonetochoose?TheCut-through method
has the least latency so is usually the best to use
with AdderLink Infinity units. However, if the
network components and/or cabling generate a lot
of errors, the Store and forward method should
probably be used. On higher end store and forward
switches, latency is rarely an issue.
Layer 2 and Layer 3: The OSI model
Whendiscussingnetworkswitches,theterms
Layer 2 and Layer 3 are very often used. These
refer to parts of the Open System Interconnection
(OSI) model, a standardised way to categorise the
necessary functions of any standard network.
There are seven layers in the OSI model and these
define the steps needed to get the data created by
you (imagine that you are Layer 8) reliably down
LAYER
LAYER
LAYER
LAYER
LAYER
LAYER
LAYER
onto the transmission medium (the cable, optical
fibre, radio wave, etc.) that carries the data to
anotheruser;tocompletethepicture,considerthe
transmission medium is Layer 0. In general, think of
the functions carried out by the layers at the top as
being complex, becoming less complex as you go
lower down.
As your data travel down from you towards
the transmission medium (the cable), they are
successively encapsulated at each layer within a
new wrapper (along with a few instructions), ready
for transport. Once transmission has been made
to the intended destination, the reverse occurs:
Each wrapper is stripped away and the instructions
examined until finally only the original data are left.
Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
Network
Data Link
Physical
AYER 7
AYER 6
AYER 5
AYER 4
AYER 3
AYER 2
AYER 1
So why are Layer 2 and Layer 3 of particular
importancewhendiscussingAdderLinkInnity?
Because the successful transmission of data relies
upon fast and reliable passage through network
switches – and most of these operate at either
Layer 2 or Layer 3.
The job of any network switch is to receive each
incoming network packet, strip away only the first
few wrappers to discover the intended destination
then rewrap the packet and send it in the correct
direction.
In simplified terms, the wrapper that is added
at Layer 2 (by the sending system) includes the
physical address of the intended recipient system,
i.e. the unique MAC address (for example,
09:f8:33:d7:66:12)thatisassignedtoevery
networking device at manufacture. Deciphering
recipients at this level is more straightforward
than at Layer 3, where the address of the recipient
is represented by a logical IP address (e.g.
192.168.0.10) and requires greater knowledge
of the surrounding network structure. Due to
their more complex circuitry, Layer 3 switches are
more expensive than Layer 2 switches of a similar
build quality and are used more sparingly within
installations.
sll
39
Page 41
Appendix D
AIM API
The AIM API provides access for external applications to key routines used within
the AIM server. This appendix provides a reference to the available methods.
API version: 2
Changelog
• v2(AIMv2.3)-addedget_devices, get_channels, connect_channel,
disconnect_channel. Updated version compatibility information.
• v1(AIMv1.3)-addedlogin, logout, get_presets, connect_preset,
disconnect_preset
Methods
login (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#login)
logout (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#logout)
get_devices (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#get_devices)
get_channels (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#get_channels)
get_presets (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#get_presets)
connect_channel (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#connect_channel)
connect_preset (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#connect_preset)
disconnect_channel (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#disconnect_channel)
disconnect_preset (http://<aim.ip.address>/api/#disconnect_preset)
login
This method was last updated in API version 1, and is compatible with API
requests from version 1 onwards.
The API will require a valid AIM user’s login credentials to be presented in the
first request. The API will return an authentication code, which must be passed
in all future requests. This authentication code can be re-used until a logout
request is made, at which point the authentication code will no longer be valid.
The concept of an ‘anonymous user’ can apply to the API. If no login username
and password are provided, the API will return an authentication token for the
anonymous user (either the same one as for the OSD, or else an ‘anonymous API
user’ account can be created).
Input parameters:
- username
- password
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
Output values:
- timestamp - the current server time
- version - the current API version number
- token - an authentication code for future API requests
- success
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=1&method=login&username=xxxxx&password=xxxxx
Output:
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1412:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
<token>5cf494a71c29e9465a57a81e0a2d602c</token>
</api_response>
or
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1412:12:12</timestamp>
<success>0</success>
<errors>
<error>
<code>2</code>
<msg>Invalidusernameorpassword</msg>
</error>
</errors>
</api_response>
sll
40
Page 42
logout
This method was last updated in API version 1, and is compatible with API
requests from version 1 onwards.
The authentication token provided by the Login function can be used until the
logout function is called.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
Output values:
- timestamp - the current server time
- success - 0 = fail, 1 = success
Examples
Input:
/api/?method=logout&token=xxxxx&v=1
Output:
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2011-02-0415:24:15</time>
<success>1</success>
</api_response>
or
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>0</success>
<errors>
<error>
<code>3</code>
<msg>Errorloggingout(youmayalreadyhaveloggedout)</msg>
</error>
</errors>
</api_response>
get_devices
This method was last updated in API version 2, and is compatible with API
requests from version 2 onwards.
This function returns a list of devices.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- device_type (‘rx’ = receivers, ‘tx’ = transmitters. Default = ‘rx’)
- filter_d_name (Optional. Device name search string)
- filter_d_description (Optional. Device description search string)
- filter_d_location (Optional. Device location search string)
- sort (Optional. Sort results by ‘name’/’description’/’location’. Default = ‘name’)
- sort_dir (Optional. Sort direction for results ‘asc’/’desc’. Default = ‘asc’)
- status (Optional. ‘’,’outdated_aim_ip’,’rebooting’,’offline’,’outdated_
firmware’,’invalid_backup_firmware’,’rebooting’,’upgrading_firmware’,’backup_
mode’)
- show_all (Optional. If set and not blank, shows all receivers, not just those the
logged-in user is permitted to use)
- page (page number to start showing results for, default = 1)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = 1000)
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success
- page (page number)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = unlimited)
- total_devices - the total number of devices
- count_devices - the number of devices on this page
continued
sll
41
Page 43
get_devices (continued)
- for each device:
-attribute:item(e.g.17thdevice)
- d_id (device id)
- d_mac_address (device MAC address)
- d_name (device name)
- d_description (device description)
- d_location (device location)
- d_online (0 = offline, 1 = online, 2 = rebooting, 3 = factory_resetting,
4 = firmware_upgrading, 6 = running backup firmware)
- d_type (rx, tx)
- d_version (1 = Infinity ALIF 1000, 2 = Infinity Dual ALIF 2000/2002/2112)
- d_variant (‘’, ‘b’ = ALIF 2002, ‘v’ = ALIF 2112)
- d_ip_address
- d_configured (0 = no, 1 = yes)
- d_valid_firmware (0 = no, 1 = yes)
- d_valid_backup_firmware (0 = no, 1 = yes)
-d_rmware(rmwareversion,e.g.2.5.17879)
- d_backup_firmware (backup firmware version)
- d_date_added (Date device added to AIM network
e.g.2012-07-1322:17:22)
The following property is only returned for transmitters:
- count_transmitter_channels (the number of channels containing this
transmitter)
The following properties are only returned for receivers:
-con_start_time(starttimeoflastconnectione.g.2012-09-0713:33:17)
- con_end_time (empty if connection still active, else date/time the connection
wasendede.g.2012-09-0713:33:17)
- con_exclusive (0/1 - if the last connection is/was in exclusive mode)
- con_control (0/1 - if the last connection has/had USB enabled)
- u_username (username of the user who initiated the last connection)
- u_id (user ID of the user who initiated the last connection)
- c_name (name of the channel last connected)
- count_receiver_groups (the number of receiver groups this receiver is a part of)
- count_users (the number of users who have access to this receiver)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=2&method=get_devices&token=xxxxx
/api/?v=2&method=get_devices&device_type=tx&page=2&results_per_
page=3&token=xxxxx
Output:
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-09-1214:56:11</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
<page>2</page>
<results_per_page>3</results_per_page>
<total_devices>12</total_devices>
<count_devices>3</count_devices>
<devices>
<deviceitem=”4”>
<d_id>170</d_id>
<d_mac_address>00:0F:58:01:6E:3D</d_mac_address>
<d_name>RX123</d_name>
<d_online>1</d_online>
<d_type>rx</d_type>
<d_version>2</d_version>
<d_variant></d_variant>
<d_ip_address>10.10.10.66</d_ip_address>
<d_description></d_description>
<d_location>ServerRack3</d_location>
<d_congured>1</d_congured>
<d_valid_rmware>1</d_valid_rmware>
<d_valid_backup_rmware>1</d_valid_backup_rmware>
<d_rmware>2.3.16682</d_rmware>
<d_backup_rmware>2.3.16682</d_backup_rmware>
<d_date_added>2012-07-1401:37:07</d_date_added>
<con_exclusive>0</con_exclusive>
sll
continued
42
Page 44
get_devices (continued)
<con_control>1</con_control>
<con_start_time>2012-09-0713:33:19</con_start_time>
<con_end_time/>
<u_username>admin</u_username>
<u_id>1</u_id>
<c_name>Channel1</c_name>
<count_receiver_groups>1</count_receiver_groups>
<count_users>1</count_users>
<custom_settings>0</custom_settings>
</device>
</devices>
</api_response>
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-09-1214:56:11</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
<page>1</page>
<results_per_page>1</results_per_page>
<total_devices>1</total_devices>
<count_devices>1</count_devices>
<devices>
<deviceitem=”1”>
<d_id>64</d_id>
<d_mac_address>00:0F:58:01:56:85</d_mac_address>
<d_name>TX456</d_name>
<d_online>0</d_online>
<d_type>tx</d_type>
<d_version>1</d_version>
<d_variant></d_variant>
<d_ip_address>1.1.201.31</d_ip_address>
<d_description></d_description>
<d_location></d_location>
<d_congured>1</d_congured>
<d_valid_rmware>1</d_valid_rmware>
<d_valid_backup_rmware>1</d_valid_backup_rmware>
<d_rmware>2.1.15747</d_rmware>
<d_backup_rmware>2.1.15747</d_backup_rmware>
<d_date_added>2012-07-1317:50:04</d_date_added>
<count_transmitter_channels>3</count_transmitter_channels>
<custom_settings>0</custom_settings>
</device>
</devices>
</api_response>
get_channels
This method was last updated in API version 2, and is compatible with API
requests from version 2 onwards
This simple function returns a list of channels available to the authenticated user,
for a specific receiver.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- page (page number to start showing results for, default = 1)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = 1000)
- device_id (ID of the receiver that this channel will be connected to.
Recommended to ensure full checks for connection mode availability.
- filter_c_name (channel name search string)
- filter_c_description (channel description search string)
- filter_c_location (channel location search string)
- filter_favourites (set this non-empty to only show a user’s favourites)
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success
- page (page number)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = unlimited)
- count_channels - the number of channels on this page, available to the
authenticated user
continued
sll
43
Page 45
get_channels (continued)
- for each channel:
-attribute:item(e.g.17thchannel)
- c_id (channel id)
- c_name (channel name)
- c_description (channel description)
- c_location (channel location)
- c_favourite (true if this channel is in the user’s favourites, 0-9 if it’s a
numbered shortcut)
- view_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - whether the user can connect to the
preset in view-only mode.
disabled = no, because something is in use by someone else.
hidden = never. enabled = yes
If the device_id of the proposed receiver to be used in the connection is not
provided, this will not necessarily be an accurate indication of whether other
connections may actually interfere)
- shared_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - as above, but in shared mode)
- exclusive_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - as above, but in exclusive mode)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=2&method=get_channels&token=xxxxx
Output:
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1412:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
<page>1</page>
<results_per_page>10</results_per_page>
<count_channels>2</count_channels>
<channelitem=”1”>
<c_id>3</c_id>
<c_name>Channel1</c_name>
<c_description>DescriptionforChannel1</c_description>
<c_location>LocationofChannel1</c_location>
<c_favourite>false</c_favourite>
<view_button>disabled</view_button>
<shared_button>disabled</shared_button>
<exclusive_button>disabled</exclusive_button>
</channel>
<channelitem=”2”>
<c_id>5</c_id>
<c_name>Channel2</c_name>
<c_description>DescriptionforChannel2</c_description>
<c_location>LocationofChannel2</c_location>
<c_favourite>2</c_favourite>
<view_button>disabled</view_button>
<shared_button>enabled</shared_button>
<exclusive_button>hidden</exclusive_button>
</channel>
</api_response>
sll
44
Page 46
get_presets
This method was last updated in API version 1, and is compatible with API
requests from version 1 onwards
This simple function returns a list of presets available to the authenticated user.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = 1000)
- page (page number to start showing results for, default = 1)
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success
- page (page number)
- results_per_page (number of results per page, default = unlimited)
- total_presets - the total number of presets available to the authenticaed user
- count_presets - the number of presets on this page, available to the
authenticated user
- for each connection_preset:
-attribute:item(e.g.17thpreset)
- cp_id (preset id)
- cp_name (preset name)
- cp_description (preset description)
- cp_pairs (the number of channel-receiver pairs in this preset)
- problem_cp_pairs (the number of channel-receiver pairs that are
mis-configured
(e.g. receiver offline, receiver not defined)
- count_active_cp (the number of channel-receiver pairs in this preset that are
already connected)
- connected_rx_count (the number of receivers in this preset that are already
connected)
- view_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - whether the user can connect to the
preset in view-only mode.
disabled = no, because something is in use by someone else.
hidden = never. enabled = yes)
- shared_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - as above, but in shared mode)
- exclusive_button (disabled/enabled/hidden - as above, but in exclusive mode)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=1&method=get_presets&token=xxxxx
Output:
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1412:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
<page>1</page>
<results_per_page>10</results_per_page>
<total_presets>2</total_presets>
<count_presets>2</count_presets>
<connection_presetitem=”1”>
<cp_id>3</cp_id>
<cp_name>Preset1</cp_name>
<cp_description>DescriptionforPreset1</cp_description>
<cp_pairs>1</cp_pairs>
<problem_cp_pairs/>
<count_active_cp/>
<connected_rx_count>1</connected_rx_count>
<view_button>disabled</view_button>
<shared_button>disabled</shared_button>
<exclusive_button>disabled</exclusive_button>
</connection_preset>
<connection_presetitem=”2”>
<cp_id>4</cp_id>
<cp_name>Preset2</cp_name>
<cp_description>DescriptionforPreset2</cp_description>
<cp_pairs>2</cp_pairs>
<problem_cp_pairs/>
<count_active_cp/>
<connected_rx_count/>
<view_button>enabled</view_button>
<shared_button>hidden</shared_button>
<exclusive_button>hidden</exclusive_button>
</connection_preset>
</api_response>
sll
45
Page 47
connect_channel
This method was last updated in API version 2, and is compatible with API
requests from version 2 onwards
This simple function connects a receiver to a channel.
connect_preset
This method was last updated in API version 1, and is compatible with API
requests from version 1 onwards
This simple function connects all channel-receiver pairs in a preset.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- c_id - the ID of the channel (acquired from get_channels)
- rx_id - the ID of the receiver (acquired from get_receivers)
- view_only (optional, 0/1 - defaults to 0)
- exclusive (optional, 0/1 - defaults to 0)
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success (0 = fail, 1 = success)
- errors (optional, if anything went wrong with connecting the channel)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=2&method=connect_channel&token=xxxxx&c_id=1&rx_
id=2&exclusive=1
Output:
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
</api_response>
or
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>0</success>
<errors>
<error>
<code>231</code>
<msg>ERROR-exclusiveconnectionnotavailable</msg>
</error>
</errors>
</api_response>
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- id - the ID of the preset (acquired from get_presets)
- view_only (optional, 0/1 - defaults to 0)
- exclusive (optional, 0/1 - defaults to 0)
- force - whether to ignore errors with some of the preset’s pairs or not
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success (0 = fail, 1 = success)
- errors (optional, if anything went wrong with connecting the presets)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=1&method=connect_preset&token=xxxxx&id=1&force=1
Output:
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
</api_response>
or
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>0</success>
<errors>
<error>
<code>210</code>
<msg>AReceiverisinusebyanotherUser</msg>
</error>
</errors>
</api_response>
sll
46
Page 48
disconnect_channel
This method was last updated in API version 2, and is compatible with API
requests from version 2 onwards
This function disconnects a receiver, a number of receivers, or all connected
receivers.
disconnect_preset
This method was last updated in API version 1, and is compatible with API
requests from version 1 onwards
This function disconnects all channel-receiver pairs in a preset, or disconnects
ALL connections in the whole AIM network.
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- rx_id (ID(s) of the receiver, as an integer, or comma-separated set of integers.
Optional. If not supplied, all connections will be ended)
- force - whether to disconnect existing connections by other users, or for offline
receivers
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success (0 = fail, 1 = success)
- errors (if anything failed, details are returned here)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=2&method=disconnect_channel&token=xxxxx&rx_id=1
/api/?v=2&method=disconnect_channel&token=xxxxx&rx_id=1,2,3
/api/?v=2&method=disconnect_channel&token=xxxxx&force=1
Output:
<api_response>
<version>2</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
</api_response>
Input parameters:
- token
- v (the AIM API version this request is designed for)
- id (optional. If not supplied, all connections will be ended)
- force - whether to ignore errors with some of the preset’s pairs or not
Output values:
- version - the current API version number
- timestamp - the current server time
- success (0 = fail, 1 = success)
- errors (if anything failed, details are returned here)
Examples
Input:
/api/?v=1&method=disconnect_preset&token=xxxxx&id=1&force=1
Output:
<api_response>
<version>1</version>
<timestamp>2012-12-1212:12:12</timestamp>
<success>1</success>
</api_response>
sll
47
Page 49
Safety information
• Foruseindry,oilfreeindoorenvironmentsonly.
• Warning-livepartscontainedwithinpoweradapter.
• Nouserserviceablepartswithinpoweradapter-donotdismantle.
• Plug the power adapter into a socket outlet close to the module that it is
powering.
• Replace the power adapter with a manufacturer approved type only.
• Do not use the power adapter if the power adapter case becomes damaged,
cracked or broken or if you suspect that it is not operating properly.
• Do not attempt to service the unit yourself.
• Notsuitableforuseinhazardousorexplosiveenvironmentsornexttohighly
flammable materials.
• Donotusethepoweradapterifthepoweradaptercasebecomesdamaged,
cracked or broken or if you suspect that it is not operating properly.
• Ifyouuseapowerextensioncable,makesurethetotalampereratingofthe
devices plugged into the extension cable do not exceed the cable’s ampere
rating. Also, make sure that the total ampere rating of all the devices
plugged into the wall outlet does not exceed the wall outlet’s ampere
rating.
• Thepoweradaptercangetwarminoperation–donotsituateitinan
enclosed space without any ventilation.
Warranty
Adder Technology Ltd warrants that this product shall be free from defects in
workmanship and materials for a period of two years from the date of original
purchase. If the product should fail to operate correctly in normal use during the
warranty period, Adder will replace or repair it free of charge. No liability can be
accepted for damage due to misuse or circumstances outside Adder’s control.
Also Adder will not be responsible for any loss, damage or injury arising directly
or indirectly from the use of this product. Adder’s total liability under the terms
of this warranty shall in all circumstances be limited to the replacement value of
this product.
If any difficulty is experienced in the installation or use of this product that you
are unable to resolve, please contact your supplier.
sll
48
Page 50
Radio Frequency Energy
All interface cables used with this equipment must be shielded in order to
maintain compliance with radio frequency energy emission regulations and
ensure a suitably high level of immunity to electromagnetic disturbances.
European EMC directive 2004/108/EC
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class
A computing device in accordance with the specifications in the European
standard EN55022. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions may cause harmful interference to radio or television reception.
However, there is no guarantee that harmful interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment on
and off, the user is encouraged to correct the interference with one or more
of the following measures: (a) Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. (b)
Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver. (c) Connect
the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected. (d) Consult the supplier or an experienced radio/TV technician for
help.
FCC Compliance Statement (United States)
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy
and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the
manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio communication.
It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class A computing
device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of part 15 of FCC rules,
which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference
when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area may cause interference, in which case the user at
his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be necessary
to correct the interference. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by
the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
Canadian Department of Communications RFI statement
This equipment does not exceed the class A limits for radio noise emissions from
digital apparatus set out in the radio interference regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant
les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe A prescrites dans
le règlement sur le brouillage radioélectriques publié par le ministère des
Communications du Canada.
sll
49
Page 51
Web: www.adder.com
Documentation by:
www.ctxd.com
Contact: www.adder.com/contact-details
Support: forum.adder.com
© 2013 Adder Technology Limited
All trademarks are acknowledged.
PartNo.MAN-AIM•Release1.4a
sll
50
Page 52
Index
A
Active Directory 4,28
B
Browsers
supported 9
C
Cable spec
null modem 34
Channel
add channel group 20
configure channel group 20
Channels
add a channel 19
configure a channel 19
view channels page 18
whatarethey?3
Channels tab 18
Colourdepth 24
Connections
transmitter - power in 6
D
Dashboard
active connections page 16
backups page 15
connection log page 16
eventlogpage17
home page 12
settings page 13
updates page 16
Dashboard tab 12
F
Factory reset 10
Frame Skipping 24
G
Groups
whatarethey?3
I
IP port
connecting 6
L
Logging in
administrators 9
normal users 31
O
On-Screen Display 3,31
OSD 3
P
Peak Bandwidth Limiter 24
Permissions 4
Presets 29
add presets page 30
configure presets page 30
Presets tab 29
R
Receivers
add receiver group page 22
configure group page 22
configure receiver page 22
view receivers page 21
Receivers tab 21
Regular user 3
Relationship
three-way 3
Reset
manual 10
S
Safety information 48
Search filters 18
Security 3
Swapping an AIM server 8
T
Transmitters
configure transmitter page
24
update firmware 24
view transmitters page 23
Transmitters tab 23
Troubleshooting 32
U
Users
active directory 28
addusergrouppage27
add user page 26
conguregrouppage27
configure user page 26
view users page 25
Users tab 25
sll
51
Loading...