Technical information
Concepts
5
RMS NetLinx Programmer’s Guide
Concepts
Network Configuration
The RMS application is a client/server application where the NetLinx system acts
as the client and the RMS application server listens for connections from NetLinx
systems. NetLinx and the RMS application server communicate using TCP/IP
sockets. In order to establish communication, each NetLinx system must be able
to resolve and connect to the RMS application server. This can be accomplished
with a variety of Network configurations including local area networks (LAN),
wide area networks (WAN), and the Internet.
In order to communicate with RMS, a NetLinx system must have the RMS
modules added to its programming. The RMSEngineMod module includes the
core API and communication stack that allows NetLinx to communicate with the
RMS server.
Since each NetLinx system acts as the client, it must be configured to
communicate to the RMS server using the 'SERVER-' command in NetLinx
programming. NetLinx can accept either an IP address or a HostName for the
server. NetLinx supports DNS so if you are using a HostName, the HostName
must be registered with the DNS server that NetLinx has been configured to use.
The DNS server configuration will be picked up automatically through DHCP if
the DNS servers are registered with the DHCP server. For more information on
configuring DNS servers in NetLinx, see the NetLinx master’s instruction
manual.
Optionally, the server IP or host name can be placed in a file called ServerInfo.txt
and placed in the RMS directory of the NetLinx master's file system. If this file is
present, the RMS communication module ignores the SERVER- command and
uses the address supplied in the file. Enter the IP address or hostname on a single
line using a text editor and FTP the file to the NetLinx master. If the RMS
directory does not exist, you can create it and place the file in the directory.
By default, NetLinx and the RMS server will communicate using TCP/IP port
3839. Port 3839 is registered to AMX Resource Management Suite with IANA
(http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers). This can be changed to suit
your particular facility but it must be changed in both the RMS server software