Standard Operating Procedure
Warnings for Loggernet 2.1
Compiled by / Supervised by / Date of creation / Version number / Name of the documentMarc DIBI / Dr. John Capece / 02/28/06 / original / SOP_ Loggernet2.1 _Warnings.doc
Table of contents
1. Introduction …………………………………………….3
2. Configuration of TCP/IP services ……………………...3
3. Allowing remote connections ………………………….4
4. Loss of computer power ……………………………….4
5 Conclusion ……………………………………………...5
1. Introduction
This document presents three parts regarding to Loggernet operations: the configuration of TCP/IP services, the allowance of remote connections and the consequences of the loss of computer power. We supposed that the reader has read the following document: SOP_Loggernet2.1_introduction.doc.
2. Configuration of TCP/IP services
TCP/IP services must be running on the computer for LoggerNet to run. Following are the procedures for enabling TCP/IP communication on a Windows 95, 98, or NT system. For Windows 2000 the same things need to be set up, but they are accessed in different ways.
NOTE Before beginning this procedure make sure that you have your Windows installation CD-ROM (or floppy disks as appropriate) handy.
As you install these options you may be prompted to insert various disks or the CDROM to complete the installation.
1. Click the Start button and select Settings | Control Panel.
2. When the Control Panel window comes up double click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Select the Windows Setup tab.
4. Select Communications and click the Details button.
5. On the Communications options screen click the box by “Dial-Up Networking” (Win 98/95) or “Phone Dialer” (NT). If already checked, click cancel and skip to step 9.
6. Click OK on the Communications Options screen and on the Windows Setup screen.
7. Provide the Windows installation software as prompted and then follow the directions.
8. When you are prompted to reboot the computer choose Yes.
9. After the computer boots, go to the Windows Control Panel and double click the Network icon.
10. In the list box on the Configuration tab (Win95/98) or Protocols tab (NT) of the Network window which comes up, see if there is an entry TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter or TCP/IP protocol. If this entry exists, cancel and skip the next steps.
11. Click the Add button. In the Select Network Component Type window which comes up select Protocol or TCP/IP protocol and click the Add or OK button.
12. When the Select Network Protocol window comes up select Microsoft under Manufacturers, and TCP/IP under Network Protocols: Click OK
3. Allowing remote connections
During installation, you have the option of allowing or denying remote connections to the LoggerNet server. This feature can be advantageous in some instances, but it can also increase the vulnerability of your LoggerNet network. Careful consideration should be given when deciding whether or not to allow remote connections.
LoggerNet is a 32-bit client/server application, and therefore, the server can run on one computer while a client application can be run on a separate computer attached to the same network. The LoggerNetData applications take advantage of this remote access capability. If Allow Remote Connections is chosen during installation, you can run LoggerNet on one computer, and use the LoggerNetData applications to display data remotely on a different computer or save a copy of the data on the remote computer. If remote connections are denied, data access from a remote computer is not possible.
Though this may be a desirable feature, enabling Allow Remote Connections also makes your LoggerNet network configuration vulnerable to changes by other parties on the network. LoggerNet comes with a command line utility called CoraScript. This utility can be used to create a back-up script of your network and troubleshoot problems. However, it is possible that another user could use CoraScript to make unwanted changes to the datalogger network, including changing the data collection schedule or deleting devices entirely. We, therefore, recommend that this feature be disabled, unless it is essential that the data be made available to a remote computer running LoggerNetData.
This option can be enabled/disabled only during installation of the software. If a change in the setting is desired after installation is complete, LoggerNet must be reinstalled.
4. Loss of computer power
The LoggerNet communications server writes to several files in the \SYS directory during normal operations. The most critical files are the data cache table files and the device configuration files. The data cache files contain all of the data that has been collected from the dataloggers by the LoggerNet server. These files are kept open (or active) as long as data is being stored to the file.
The configuration files contain information about each device in the datalogger network, including collection schedules, device settings, and other parameters. These files are written to frequently to make sure that they reflect the current state and configuration of each device. The configuration files are only opened as needed.
If computer system power is lost while the LoggerNet server is writing data to the active files, the files can become corrupted, making the files inaccessible to the server. This is particularly a problem for Windows 95 and 98 machines using the FAT32 disk file formatting. Windows NT, 2000, and XP offer the choice of NTFS that provides a greater protection for this type of event. Thus, Windows NT, 2000, and XP offer more robust operation.
While loss of power won’t always cause a file problem, having files backed up will allow you to recover if a problem occurs. If a file does get corrupted, all of the server’s working files need to be restored from backup to maintain the synchronization in the server state.
4. Conclusion
This document is a part of some others documents, which describe the Loggernet 2.1 software. Before setting up a datalogger network, you need to make the configuration of TCP/IP services. Be aware about the computer system power loss while the LoggerNet server is writing data to the active files.
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