The Diagnostic Web Server (DWS) allows you to view and modify various settings on a networked BrightSign player. This page will walk you through setting up and using the Diagnostic Web Server.

There are two types of DWS:

The Remote and Local DWS variants provide nearly the same functionality with a few exceptions noted below.

DWS Versions

This document describes the DWS as of OS 8. See the attached document for documentation on the DWS before OS 8.

Setting up the DWS

The DWS is enabled out of the box. If you'd like to access the DWS before performing the player setup process, skip down to the Accessing the DWS section. Otherwise, follow the below steps to configure the DWS during the player setup process.

BrightAuthor:connected Setup

Follow these steps to enable and configure the DWS during the player setup process in BrightAuthor:connected:

  1. In BrightAuthor:connected, go the the Admin tab and select Setup.

  2. Under Player Settings > Player Configuration, click the box to enable the Local Diagnostic Web Server.

  3. (Optional) Enter a Password for the DWS for additional network security. The Username will always be “admin”.

  4. (Optional) Under Player Settings > Remote Screenshot, click the box to Enable remote screenshots box if you would like the player to take screenshots of the display area. These screenshots are accessible from the Screenshots tab on the DWS.

  5. Specify other player settings as desired and either save the Setup to a file location or add the Setup to the Setup Library.

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BrightAuthor:connected Network tab (Properties Section)

For players that are already setup and connected to a BSN.cloud Network, the Diagnostic Web Server can be turned on or off in the Properties section of the Network tab (see Network | Network-DeviceConfiguration ).

Advanced Setup

You can also configure the Diagnostic Web Server using the BrightSign serial command prompt or a custom script. 

Serial Prompt

Input the following commands in the serial prompt to run the DWS on the standard port:

>>registry write networking http_server 80
>>registry flush
note

A registry flush is necessary if you plan to power cycle the unit after executing the registry command. Registry writes will buffer for a few seconds because the EEPROM and NAND have a limited number of writes (and thus need to protect against carrying out too many writes too quickly).

A registry flush is necessary if you plan to power cycle the unit after executing the registry command. Registry writes will buffer for a few seconds because the EEPROM and NAND have a limited number of writes (and thus need to protect against carrying out too many writes too quickly).

BrightScript

The DWS can also be enabled in a custom script using the roNetworkConfiguration object. Include the following lines in a autorun.brs script to enable the DWS on Ethernet port 80:

nc = CreateObject("roNetworkConfiguration", 0)
rebootRequired = nc.SetupDWS()
if rebootRequired RebootSystem()

Setting the Password

By default, the DWS is enabled with the player serial number as password. To set a custom password with digest authentication, use the roNetworkConfiguration object:

nc = CreateObject("roNetworkConfiguration", 0)
rebootRequired = nc.SetupDWS({open:"password"})
if rebootRequired RebootSystem()

Use the username “admin” and your chosen password when connecting to the DWS.

Accessing the DWS

Remote DWS

In BrightAuthor:connected, go to the Network tab and locate the player you wish to access. Click the  icon to access the DWS of that player.

Local DWS

DWS Access must be turned on in the Control tab of the remote DWS to access the local DWS.

Follow these steps to access the Diagnostic Web Server using a web browser on the local network:

  1. If you don't know the IP address of the player, do the following:

    1. Power off the player by unplugging the power supply.

    2. Remove the SD card (as well as any internal storage devices, if applicable).

    3. Power on the BrightSign player by reconnecting the power supply.

    4. Wait for the player to boot up: The IP address of the player will be displayed on the screen.

  2. Enter the IP address of the networked player into the address bar of a web browser:

    1. If you've set up the DWS with a password, enter the password. The username is always "admin".

    2. If you haven't previously configured the DWS, use the serial number of the player as the password.

note

IP Address Variants

  • If the player is still set to factory defaults (i.e. the IP address returns the Device Setup screen), append /index.html to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99/index.html).

  • If the player is configured to use Appspace, append port 8080 to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99:8080).

  • If the player is running the Streaming Server module, append port 80 to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99:80).

IP Address Variants

  • If the player is still set to factory defaults (i.e. the IP address returns the Device Setup screen), append /index.html to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99/index.html).

  • If the player is configured to use Appspace, append port 8080 to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99:8080).

  • If the player is running the Streaming Server module, append port 80 to the end of the IP address (for example, 10.1.0.99:80).

Alternatively, you can access the Local DWS via the player’s serial number by typing brightsign-<serialNumber>.local into the browser where <serialNumber> is the serial number of the player (for example, brightsign-M2E33P002148.local). Bonjour must be installed to use this on Windows (it will work out of the box on Mac and desktop Linux unless the configuration has been changed).

Using the DWS

The Diagnostic Web Server user interface consists of several tabs. This section details the information and settings offered by each tab.

Info

This page provides general information about the player and its current status:

note

You cannot edit the time zone of the player from the DWS. To change the time zone, you will need to perform the player setup process again.

You cannot edit the time zone of the player from the DWS. To change the time zone, you will need to perform the player setup process again.

Log

This page provides a log of system processes and events on the player. The output is similar to the information generated through a serial, Telnet, or SSH connection.

Control

This page allows general control of the system processes of the player:

SD / microSD / MSATA / USB

This page provides information related to the storage device attached to the player.

File Uploads

You can use this page to upload files to the player storage. Files are uploaded to the currently selected directory. To upload files, click the Browse button to select one or more files, then click Upload Files. File uploads are limited to 10MB on the Remote DWS.

File Listing

This page also provides a listing of all files on the storage device. Depending on the type of file, there will be several options:

Diagnostics

This page provides various network and system tools that are helpful for diagnosing problems and getting information about a BrightSign player:

Screenshots

This page allows you to view Remote Screenshots of the visual output of the player.

Click the New Screenshot button to take a screenshot. Once the screenshot has been taken, you can click the thumbnail to view a full-size image of the screenshot.

Video

This page provides several diagnostic tools related to the video settings of the player:

Advanced

Registry

The Registry tab allows you to view and edit the registry: