Managing openGear Frames in DashBoard
When DashBoard is launched, openGear frames are automatically discovered and are available in the Tree View where they can be custom identified, collapsed to view just the frame or opened to view available devices in the frame.
This section includes information for enabling DashBoard to auto-connect to openGear frames, manually adding and re-naming frames to the Tree View, and removing frames from the Tree View.
Refer to the section DashBoard Basic Tree View for information on using the Basic Tree View. For information on using the Advanced Tree View, refer to the section Using the Advanced Tree View. It is assumed that if you have the DashBoard Server and URM feature installed, that your user account is configured for write access to the frames communicating with your DashBoard client.
DashBoard uses the open SLP protocol to locate openGear frames on the network. In larger installations, it is recommended to use an SLP Directory Agent (DA). Contact your IT Department for more information on whether your facility uses an SLP DA.
Adding openGear Frames to DashBoard
Each openGear frame lists all devices within the frame, and provides status information in the Tree View. You can also remove and disconnect an openGear frame from DashBoard. There are two methods for adding an openGear frame to the tree view: using the auto-connect feature or manually adding a frame by specifying the IP address of the frame. Both methods are described in this section.
Using the Automatic Detection Feature
By default, the DashBoard Control System auto-detects any openGear frame on the same IP subnet. How often DashBoard queries the network for new frames (the default is every 10 seconds) depends on how the Automatic Detection feature is configured in the Preferences menu. Refer to the section Automatic Discovery for setup details. Refer to the section DashBoard Basic Tree View for information on the toggling the Auto-Connect Devices button.
Manually adding openGear Frames to DashBoard
You must add openGear frames to the Tree View manually when the frame is on a different subnet from your computer running the DashBoard client.
To manually add an openGear frame to a DashBoard Tree View:
1.Click on the Tree View toolbar to open the Select Equipment or Service Type to Add dialog box.
2.Expand the openGear / DashBoard Connect node.
3.Select TCP/IP DashBoard Connect or openGear Device., and then click Next.
The New TCP openGear Frame Connection dialog box appears.
4.In the IP Address box, type the IP address of the frame.
The Detect Frame Information button becomes available.
5.To specify connection settings for the frame, do one of the following:
•To make DashBoard detect the frame properties automatically, click the Detect Frame Information button.
DashBoard retrieves the port, name, unique identifier, and other connection information from the specified IP address. Once DashBoard detects the information, the Automatically Track Updates to Frame Information check box is selected so that any changes are automatically updated in DashBoard.
•To specify frame properties manually, complete the following:
›Display Name — Type the name of the frame, as you want it to appear in DashBoard.
›Protocol — Selected whether the frame communicates over OGP (openGear Protocol), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).
›Port — Specify the port used for communication.
›Remember connection settings for this frame — Select to retain the settings.
6.Click Finish to display the frame in the Tree View. Frames added to the Tree View are also displayed in the Advanced Tree View.
7.Repeat the procedure for each frame that you wish to add to the Tree View.
Re-naming an openGear Frame in the Tree View
There are two methods for re-naming an openGear Frame in DashBoard. The first method is for frames manually added to the Tree View as described in the section Adding openGear Frames to DashBoard. The second method describes how to re-name an auto-detected frame using the DashBoard menu options available on the MFC-8300 series cards. Both methods are described below.
To re-name a manually added openGear frame:
1.Right-click the frame you wish to rename.
2.Select Rename Frame.
3.Enter the new name for the frame in the text field provided.
To re-name an Auto-Detected openGear frame:
1.Right-click the frame you wish to rename.
2.Select Open to display a Device Editor tab. Note that the tab title displays the name of the frame, and information about the MFC-8300 series Network Controller Card currently installed in the frame.
3.Select the Network tab.
4.Enter a new name for the frame in the Frame Name field.
5.Press Enter.
6.Click Apply.
Removing openGear Frames from a Tree View
This section outlines how to remove an openGear frame from a Tree View in DashBoard. Once a frame is removed, DashBoard no longer reports the status in the Tree View and you are no longer able to monitor or control the affected devices. If communication with a frame is disconnected via the Disconnect option, the status indicator is light gray until the frame is re-connected. If the status indicator is dark gray, with the rest of the node displaying as normal, a connection cannot currently be established to the device.
To remove or disconnect an openGear frame from the Tree View:
1.If the frame you are removing is in a Custom Folder, you must first delete the frame from the Custom Folder before it can be removed from the Tree View.
2.To remove a manually added openGear frame from the Tree View:
•Right-click the openGear frame you wish to remove.
•Select to remove the openGear frame from the Tree View.
3.To disconnect communications to an openGear frame from DashBoard:
•Toggle to off.
•Right-click the openGear frame you wish to disconnect.
•Select .
•The frame status indicator is grayed out in the Tree View.
4.To re-connect to an openGear frame:
•Right-click the frame status indicator.
•Select or toggle
to on.
Auto-Discovery
Selecting for an auto-detected frame will temporarily remove the frame but the frame will re-appear in the Tree View again due to the auto-discovery feature of DashBoard. You must first disable the auto-discovery feature before you can remove a frame in this instance. Refer to the section Automatic Discovery for details on configuring the auto-discovery feature.
However, you can still disconnect from an auto-discovered frame by toggling the Automatic Discovery option off.