ADDERLink INFINITY Manager Manual
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AdderLink Infinity Manager User Guide Experts in Connectivity Solutions .9M ([tenViRn 00360052004F00580057004C005200510056
INSTALLATION 1 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX Introduction Firmware version 3.3...........................................................................................3 ALIF /A.I.M. features ............................................................................................4 A.I.M. basics ...........................................................................................................6 Supplied items .......................................................................................................8 Installation Connections ..........................................................................................................9 Front panel indicators .......................................................................................10 Installation requirements ..................................................................................10 Configuration Supported browsers ..........................................................................................11 Login for admin users ........................................................................................11 Adding AdderLink Infinity units ......................................................................12 If an ALIF unit is not located ......................................................................12 AdderLink Infinity manual factory reset..................................................12 Basic steps for a new configuration ...............................................................13 Notes on Zero-config networking ..........................................................13 The Dashboard tab ............................................................................................14 Upgrading firmware globally on ALIF units .......................................21 The Channels tab ...............................................................................................24 The Receivers tab ..............................................................................................27 The Transmitters tab .........................................................................................31 The Servers tab ..................................................................................................34 The Users tab .....................................................................................................35 The Presets tab ...................................................................................................39 The Statistics tab ................................................................................................41 Operation Logging in .............................................................................................................42 The Local OSD screen ......................................................................................43 Using the Remote OSD feature ................................................................44 Further information Getting assistance ..............................................................................................45 Appendix A - Tips for success when networking ALIF units ...................46 Appendix B - Troubleshooting .........................................................................48 Appendix C - Redundant servers: Setting up and swapping out .............50 Setting up A.I.M. server redundancy .........................................................50 Operation of Redundancy ..........................................................................50 Swapping out an A.I.M. server....................................................................51 Appendix D - Glossary .....................................................................................52 Appendix E - A.I.M. API .....................................................................................55 Warranty ..............................................................................................................64 Safety information ..............................................................................................64 Lithium battery ...................................................................................................64 Radio Frequency Energy ...................................................................................65 Index Contents
INSTALLATION 2 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX 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 A.I.M. (AdderLink Infinity Manager) becomes vital. A.I.M. 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 A.I.M. web-based interface, one or more administrators can manage potentially thousands of users who are interacting with an almost unlimited number of devices. A.I.M. operates as a self-contained compact server unit that can be situated anywhere within your network: www.adder .com AdderLink ADM ADM USR USRUNC UNCETH1 ETH1 ETH2 ETH2 PWR PWR MANAGEMENT SERVER INDOOR USE ONL Y 12V 5A COM 2 COM 1 COM 32 1 The A.I.M. 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 A.I.M. browser interface via a network connected computer. The A.I.M. server front panel with status indicators The A.I.M. server rear panel. In normal use only the network and power connectors are used. The A.I.M. 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 A.I.M. server requires only a 10/100Mbps connection to the network. Please see the section Basic steps for a new configuration for assistance with creating A.I.M. installations. Introduction
INSTALLATION 3 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX FIRMWARE VERSION 3.3 IMPORTANT: Please read this section completely before attempting installation, upgrades or restoring backups. The basic rule is: If firmware version 3.3 is to be used anywhere in your A.I.M.-controlled AdderLink Infinity installation, then it must be used everywhere, and you must upgrade A.I.M. before you upgrade the AdderLink Infinity units. Important upgrade notes • Always upgrade the A.I.M. server(s) to v3.3 before attempting to upgrade (or add) AdderLink Infinity units at v3.3* – you will then be prompted to upgrade the AdderLink Infinity units. • ALIF1002 units are only available with firmware starting at v3.3 (and cannot be downgraded), so if you add one or more ALIF1002 units to your installation, it is mandatory to upgrade A.I.M. to v3.3 (earlier A.I.M. firmware versions have no knowledge of the new product). • If an AdderLink Infinity unit at v3.3 is added, but you don’t want to upgrade your A.I.M. server; simply upload the current firmware from your A.I.M. server to the AdderLink Infinity unit in order to downgrade it. This is not possible on ALIF1002 units. * If you add an AdderLink Infinity unit at v3.3 to an earlier version of A.I.M. and then upgrade A.I.M. to v3.3, the AdderLink Infinity unit will not operate after the upgrade. To rectify this, you will need to delete the record from the A.I.M. database and factory reset the AdderLink Infinity unit before it will reacquire.
INSTALLATION 4 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX ALIF /A.I.M. FEATURES AFZ lossless codec The AFZ compression scheme is primarily focused on improving the performance for “natural” images (i.e. photographs and movies) and is automatically selected whenever there is a benefit to do so. The AFZ codec is lossless and is very low latency (a small fraction of a frame delay). It generally achieves 50% improvement (in compression) over the RLE scheme for any areas of the screen that consist of images, gradients, shadows etc., elements commonly found in modern desktop environments. To maintain compatibility with non AFZ -enabled transmitters and receivers there is an automatic switching method which will revert back to RLE compression when an ALIF (1000) receiver is connected. Magic Eye (anti-dither support added) The Magic Eye feature increases performance and reduces network traffic when ALIF units are used with Apple Macs and other host computers that have dithered video output. It also improves performance if the video source is noisy (e.g. from a VGA-to-DVI converter). Dithering is a technique used by some graphics cards to improve perceived image quality by continuously varying the color of each pixel slightly. This gives the illusion of more shades of color than the display can really reproduce, and smooths the appearance of gradually shaded areas in images. Unfortunately dithering is an issue for KVM extenders such as ALIF because it makes the image appear to be changing all the time even when it is static, thus creating much more network data than can be carried by a Gigabit Ethernet. The result is a reduction in video frame rate, which the user sees as slow mouse response. Magic Eye works by ignoring small variations in the video from frame to frame. It is enabled by default as it is not obvious to the user that his poor mouse behaviour is caused by dithering. In most cases Magic Eye is invisible, but it can produce slight color inaccuracies on the monitor. For full color accuracy, Magic Eye can be disabled for video sources which are not dithered or noisy. Transport Layer Security (TLS) ALIF and A.I.M. units support the industry standard Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. This offers protection against eavesdropping and tampering by third parties when data are transferred between ALIF transmitters and receivers across networks and also between ALIF units and the A.I.M. server(s). New feature: AFZ+ codec AFZ+ compliments the existing AFZ codec by providing greater compression for increased speed where pixel perfect results are not the primary focus. The Dashboard > Settings > Transmitters page allows you to choose the required compression mode. Choices are: • ‘Pixel perfect’ - only uses pixel perfect AFZ, • ‘Adaptive’ - guarantees frame rate, builds to pixel perfect, • ‘Smoothest video’ - forces the maximum compression, or • ‘Advanced’ - allows you to choose the mode: • ‘AFZ only (pixel perfect), • ‘AFZ+ Minimum compression’, • ‘AFZ+ Middle compression’, o r • ‘AFZ+ Maximum compression’.
INSTALLATION 5 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX Teaming operation The units have dual network interface ports that can be used in parallel to produce important benefits: • Improved connection speeds up to 2 Gigabits per second, and • Important link redundancy that can maintain operation in the event of a failed connection. Teaming offers immediate speed improvements in a one-to-one arrangement... ...and also in multicast installations:
INSTALLATION 6 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX A.I.M. 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, A.I.M. 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 A.I.M. system: • An Admin (administrator) user accesses the A.I.M. 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 A.I.M. system. • A Regular 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 A.I.M. operation, ensuring that users have rapid access only to the systems for which they have permission. At its core, A.I.M. 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. 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, A.I.M. 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. continued
INSTALLATION 7 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX Active Directory To streamline administration even further, A.I.M. supports Active Directory. By synchronizing 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 minimize the initial configuration as well as streamline ongoing updates. A.I.M. interface A.I.M. appears in two main ways depending on whether you are an administrator or a regular user. • For administrators, full access to the AdderLink Infinity Manager Suite is granted. This comprehensive application shows eight main tabbed areas: Dashboard, Channels, Receivers, Transmitters, Servers, Users, Presets and Statistics, 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. • For regular users, an efficient page layout provides a 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 à Receiver • User à User Group à Receiver • User à User Group à Receiver Group à Receiver • User à Receiver Group à Receiver Thus, a very indirect way of granting permissions could be: • User1 is in UserGroup1, • UserGroup1 has access to ReceiverGroup1, • ReceiverGroup1 contains Channel1, • Therefore, User1 has access to Channel1 indirectly.
INSTALLATION 8 CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX SUPPLIED ITEMS A.I.M. server unit 12V, 5A Power supply plus country-specific mains cable www.adder .com AdderLinkADM ADM USR USRUNC UNCETH1 ETH1 ETH2 ETH2 PWR PWR MANAGEMENT SERVER Rack mount brackets Information wallet containing: Four self-adhesive rubber feet Safety document
9 INSTALLATION CONFIGURATION OPERATION FURTHERINFORMATION INDEX CONNECTIONS The A.I.M. 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. Note: If an existing A.I.M. server must be replaced, follow the important advice given within Appendix C (Swapping out an A.I.M. server). Network connections The A.I.M. server has two network connections on the rear panel, labeled 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. Network port 2 supports DHCP, however, port 1 does not and needs to be configured manually. 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 A.I.M. server unit. 2 Connect the plug of the link cable into the IP port labeled 1 on the rear panel of the A.I.M. server unit. CO M 3 2 1 INDOOR USE ONL Y 12V 5A Category 5, 5e or 6 cable from LAN / network switch 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. 2 Connect the main body of the power supply to a nearby earthed mains outlet. 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. Installation HT