Crestron E-CONTROL User Manual
Crestron e-control™ Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway
Contents
Crestron e-control™: Software Development Kit &
CNX Gateway 1
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1
What is Crestron e-control Software Development Kit? ............................................. 1
How do I Choose Whether to Use HTML/Java or ActiveX Components?................. 2
What Other System Requirements are There?.............................................................2
Installing the Software...............................................................................................................4
CNX Gateway Requirements ......................................................................................4
Installing From the CD-ROM......................................................................................4
Installing the SDK (Downloaded From the Website).................................................. 4
Installing SIMPL Windows......................................................................................... 4
Running the Demos..................................................................................................... 5
Licensing the CNX Gateway ..................................................................................................... 5
Calculating the Number of Connections......................................................................5
Transferring an Existing License To Another Computer ............................................6
Setup .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Hardware Setup of CNMSX........................................................................................ 7
Hardware Setup of CEN Series Devices .....................................................................8
Leading Specifications ................................................................................................8
Configure the CNX Gateway ......................................................................................9
Configure the Web Server........................................................................................... 9
Build the Application with ActiveCNX or Java..........................................................9
Write the SIMPL Windows Program ..........................................................................9
Running ...................................................................................................................................12
Start the CNX Gateway............................................................................................. 12
Getting Status Information from the CNX Gateway ................................................. 12
Start the Visual Basic Program or Web Page............................................................ 12
Shutting Down the CNX Gateway...........................................................................................12
Troubleshooting.......................................................................................................................13
Use of Ping or Telnet to Verify Communication....................................................... 14
Use of Viewport ........................................................................................................14
Appendix A: Contents of the Crestron e-control SDK CD...................................................... 15
Gateway Folder: ........................................................................................................15
SDK Folder: ..............................................................................................................15
New_Dll Folder:........................................................................................................ 15
Appendix B: Recommended Reading......................................................................................15
Glossary of Terms....................................................................................................................16
Software License Agreement................................................................................................... 18
Operations Guide - DOC. 5778A Contents • i
Crestron e-control™ Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway
Crestron e-control™:
Software Development Kit &
CNX Gateway
Introduction
Crestron e-control consists of two separate products – the Software Development Kit
(SDK) and the CNX Gateway. The SDK is a free download containing tools for
developing demo webpages or Visual Basic programs that have the potential to
communicate with Crestron CNX equipment. The CNX Gateway must be purchased
and licensed from Crestron. It is a software package that performs the actual
communication between the code developed by the SDK and the CNX equipment.
Demos created with the SDK will not be fully functional without the CNX Gateway
to “bridge” the communication gap.
For convenience, the CNX Gateway software package includes all the SDK tools.
What is Crestron e-control Software Development Kit?
The Crestron e-control SDK is a complete software development kit, rather than a
standalone product. It contains software components, examples, and directions for
writing your own custom user interface to Crestron’s control systems and equipment.
The examples ARE finished products that actually work, but are probably too simple
for typical applications.
The Crestron e-control SDK encompasses two different technologies. You can
choose the one which best suits your application and your development capabilities.
The Crestron e-control SDK has both Web pages that contain compiled Java classes
that are usable from most browsers and an ActiveX control (dubbed
“ActiveCNX™”) that is usable from Visual Basic, Internet Explorer, or any other
ActiveX compatible development environment such as Visual C++.
Operations Guide - DOC. 5778A Crestron e-control™: Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway • 1
Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway Crestron e-control™
How do I Choose Whether to Use HTML/Java or ActiveX Components?
Use the HTML/Java/Web page method if you need platform independence (i.e., you
must run from Macintoshes as well as PCs) and you have the ability to write HTML.
At this time, Crestron does not provide any method for developing Web pages. We
suggest using a third-party Web page development tool such as Microsoft
FrontPage ’98 or Adobe Page Mill to produce great looking Web pages without
having to code in HTML directly. The compiled Java classes that Crestron ships with
the SDK are used within the Web page to communicate with Crestron equipment.
The Web page method also means that no special software is needed to access the
Crestron equipment; the act of viewing the Web page is all that is required.
The latest version of VisionTools™ Pro (VT Pro-e) is able to produce HTMLencoded Web pages, just as previous versions of VisionTools produces touchpanel
displays.
Use the ActiveCNX method if you want to program in Visual Basic to provide a
completely custom look to your interface, or you need a background non-visual
interface to Crestron control systems.
What Other System Requirements are There?
Refer to the diagram on the next page for a graphical representation of the required
system components.
1. The Crestron e-control SDK requires that there be a Windows 95/98 or
NT PC accessible on your network to run the “CNX Gateway”. The
Gateway is an application that routes packets from the SDK Java
components or ActiveX controls to Crestron’s control systems or
Ethernet-enabled (CEN series) devices.
2. If you are running the CNX Gateway and the browser on different PCs,
OR if you are using Internet Explorer as your browser, you must also
run a Web Server on the network, perhaps Microsoft’s own Personal
Web Server that is distributed free with Windows 95/98 or downloaded
from their Web site. The “CNX Gateway” and Web Server must be
running on the same machine to remotely access and control the system
from any LAN location.
3. The PC with CNX Gateway and all Crestron equipment must be
connected to the TCP/IP network and given static IP addresses.
4. SIMPL Windows, Crestron’s graphical programming environment,
must be used to program any control system that accepts commands
from a virtual Touchpanel, just as it is used to program the control
system to respond to wired or wireless touchpanels. A sample SIMPL
Windows program has been included in this SDK. Crestron’s Ethernetenabled devices (CEN series) can be controlled directly without any
special programming, if there is no control system, or if multiple points
of control are required. Of course, they can also be controlled through a
SIMPL Windows program running on the control system.
2 • Crestron e-control™: Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway Operations Guide - DOC. 5778A
Crestron e-control™ Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway
A
A
e-control™ System Architecture
Web
Browser
CNX
Gateway/
Web Server
VC++ VB IE
ctive
CNX
Control
Clients
Server
Crestron
Network
ny Crestron
Controllable
Device
Operations Guide - DOC. 5778A Crestron e-control™: Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway • 3
Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway Crestron e-control™
Installing the Software
Depending upon where you received your e-control software, installation procedures
may vary. Currently, there are two ways to get a copy of the e-control SDK software.
1. Purchase the CNX Gateway from Crestron (you receive a CD-ROM).
2. Download the e-control Software Development Kit (SDK) from the
Crestron website.
If you have purchased the CNX Gateway from Crestron, then you should have
received a CD-ROM which contains both the CNX Gateway and the SDK software
necessary for doing custom programming. Using the SDK alone, you will be able to
develop solutions, but you will not be able to test them by connecting to a Crestron
control system. Contact Crestron for more information about licensing the CNX
Gateway.
CNX Gateway Requirements
The minimum system requirements for the CNX Gateway are as follows.
• Pentium 200
• 32Mb RAM (for Windows 95)
64 Mb Ram (for Windows 98/NT)
Installing From the CD-ROM
To prevent installation problems, you should exit all programs prior to running the
install application. Insert the CD into your drive. From the Start menu, select Run,
then click on Browse. Locate the CD-ROM drive, select “setup.exe" and hit OK. Hit
OK again to run it. Follow the instructions on the screen to install the software. By
default, this will install both the CNX Gateway and the e-control SDK on the
computer. If you want to install only one of these packages, you can simply uncheck
the check-box next to the component you do not want to install.
Installing the SDK (Downloaded From the Website)
If you download the e-control SDK from the Crestron website, you should have a
single executable file. Simply run this file by double-click on its icon. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation. Realize that this installation does not
include the CNX Gateway.
Installing SIMPL Windows
If you will be programming Crestron control system processors (as opposed to
controlling CEN series devices), you will need to install SIMPL Windows version
1.30.01 or later (with SIMPL Windows Library Update file, v62 or higher) and the
Crestron database. They are available on the Crestron ControlCD (v6.1 or higher),
that is available free for authorized Crestron dealers, or from our FTP site. The
SIMPL Windows release notes detail how to enable Ethernet access to the CNMSX
and how to program SIMPL Windows to respond to the SDK.
4 • Crestron e-control™: Software Development Kit & CNX Gateway Operations Guide - DOC. 5778A
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