Network Options


The "Tools... Options... Network" command allows you to add, remove, or change connections between the RASTRAC viewer application and available I/O processors (IOP/Server).

Before RASTRAC viewer can "see" any data coming from your vehicles, the "Tools... Options... Network" dialog must be filled in with at least one IOP or Server to feed vehicle data to the viewer. Instructions for connecting the RASTRAC viewer to an I/O processors are listed below:

1. Open the "Tools... Options... Network" dialog, and give the IOP/Server any name you like by typing it into the "Local Alias" field. The name should describe the equipment to which the IOP is connected, e.g., "Local IOP", "Radio #1", "Server" or any other descriptive name.
   
   
2. Enter the computer on which the IOP/Server is running (probably the same computer on which you’re running the viewer for a local IOP) under "IP Address / Computer Name". You can either enter the IP address or enter the computer’s network name. You can find an IOP’s IP address (or computer name if local to the viewer’s machine) by opening "Edit... Network Settings" in the IOP application’s menu, and looking at the "Port Number" setting for the ‘rtioserver’ entry (usually 24).
   
   
3. Enter the port number of the IOP/Server under "Port Number". You can find an IOP’s port number by opening "Edit... Network Settings" in the IOP application’s menu, and looking at the "Port Number" setting for the ‘rtioserver’ entry (usually 24). Type this number into the RASTRAC viewer "Port Number" field. The Server’s port number is usually 26.
   
   
4. Click on "Add/Modify" to cause the RASTRAC viewer to connect to the IOP/Server. If the ‘Connected’ dot is not filled in, try pressing the ‘Reload’ button. Once RASTRAC has made the TCP/IP connection to the IOP/Server, the "Connected" button will be selected in the "Tools... Options... Network" dialog.
   
   

Quick tip: You can see all viewers which are connected to a specific IOP by looking at the "Edit... Network Settings" dialog on the running IOP. The addresses which have "Read-Only" selected are client viewers to that IOP and can currently accept data from it.

See also... I/O Processor Help


Several Viewer/IOP configurations are discussed below.

Single Viewer, Single I/O Processor
RASTRAC is typically used in a "single viewer/ single I/O source" arrangement in which the vehicles report to a base modem connected to the same computer that views the data. This is the simplest I/O configuration under which RASTRAC may be operated.

Single Viewer, Multiple I/O Processors
With the system’s built-in network features, the base modem can be remotely located from the viewer. Also, the viewer can simultaneously connect to other computers that are attached to a base modem. RASTRAC employs two separate program elements to make this possible. The Viewer (Rtmx.exe) is the element that the user sees and utilizes to interact with the vehicles, and the I/O Processor, or "IOP" (Iop.exe), is the software that physically connects the modem to the computer network. These two programs can reside on one machine (co-located) or they can be separated (remotely located).

Multiple Viewers, Multiple I/O Processors
If, for example, your fleet’s AVL communication network is spread over a number of trunking radio systems, you probably want to track each vehicle no matter which system it’s currently using. That is, you want parallel, simultaneous communication with vehicles on all systems. This is accomplished by tuning one radio-AVL modem set to each system and running one RASTRAC IOP for each set. To connect the viewer to the entire group of radios, simply type each IOP’s network address into the Network Settings dialog. It’s that easy. Furthermore, it’s just as simple to run a second RASTRAC viewer which is also connected to any combination (including all) of the incoming IOPs. Thus, for a large fleet, you have multiple incoming channels of communication and multiple workstation viewers (likely residing on different computers) processing the incoming vehicle information.

Of course, it’s just as easy for another RASTRAC viewer to log onto an additional IOP/Server for cellular telephone-based AVL.

Multiple Viewers, Multiple I/O Processors, over the Internet
Through networking, there can be a RASTRAC equipped computer with a base modem in every branch office of your company, allowing each office to track its local fleet. At headquarters, there may also be a RASTRAC equipped computer system connected to each one of those branch offices over the Internet. Headquarters can thus monitor vehicle movements for the entire nationwide company, even though the vehicles might only have local radio communications.

What’s in the Network Settings dialog:

Source I/O Processors: List of all RASTRAC I/O Processors (IOP/Server) that RASTRAC can connect to and receive data from.

Local Alias: The nickname of the I/O device (e.g., "Local IOP", "Maintenance Radio", "RVTS Server", or "Server") to which this RASTRAC is connected. The local alias is only used on the computer where it’s defined, so if two dispatchers’ viewers are connected to the same IOP or Server, they can use different aliases if they wish.

IP Address / Computer Name: The actual network name or IP address of the computer on which the IOP/Server is running. You can assign names to IP addresses in the "hosts" file in your Windows directory or through the Network icon in the Control Panel.

Port Number: The IP port number for the IOP/Server (default 24 for the IOP and 26 for the Server).

Ignore Connection: You can temporarily ignore (disable) a network connection without deleting the entry by checking this option.

Serial Number: The serial number of the connected IOP/Server will be displayed in this field (it is read-only so you cannot edit it).

Disconnect: Allows you to disconnect from a network connection.

Connected: The connected dot is filled in if RASTRAC is actually connected to an IOP or Server. ‘IOP’ or ‘Server’ will be displayed under the connected dot.

Read-Only: The read-only dot is filled in if the IOP/Server (or other source computer) has connected to RASTRAC. Read-Only connections can not be modified.

Send Ping If Connection Becomes Inactive After (minutes): This setting is used for detecting an improperly closed socket connection on a network that failed to notify RASTRAC of the closed socket. If this value is greater than 0 and no data has been sent or received on the network (socket) connection, then a 3-byte ping message is sent to the IOP/Server. If the network connection has been improperly closed and RASTRAC was not notified, then the ping message will fail and RASTRAC will gracefully close the socket connection. If the IOP/Server is still running, then RASTRAC will automatically reconnect. This option is useful if the IOP/Server (or even RASTRAC) is behind a firewall or on a network where an IP can get routed (mapped to a different IP address). Also, some networks may close a connection after a period of idle time (no data being sent or received). For most installations (RASTRAC to IOP direct connection) this feature is not needed and can be set to 0.

Add/Modify button allows you to add or modify IOP/Server connections.

Delete button allows you to delete an existing IOP/Server from the list.

Reload button reloads the settings for all list items (this is useful if a connection to an IOP/Server has been made after opening the Network Options dialog box). If you select an IOP/Server from the list and press the reload button a ping data message will also be sent to the IOP/Server.