BAcon 1.28: Network
The Network tab UI was updated in BAcon 1.XX. If you are using an older version of BAcon, refer to the older guide here (link to page in Legacy folder).
The Network tab allows you to monitor players on your BSN.cloud network and modify them using the Remote DWS. Note that you must have a BSN.cloud account to access the Network Tab.
RemoteView and some group options are only available to Content Cloud users (more details/checks needed). If you are not sure which type of network you are on, your network is part of the Content Cloud if the Content tab is not greyed out. Otherwise your network is a Control Cloud network.
Header Features
Hierarchy allows you to switch between All Players and Player Group (see below)
Expand All and Collapse All let you open or close all of the groups in the Player List.
Disable Player(s) or Delete Player(s):
Delete Player(s): Removes the selected player or players from your BSN.cloud network
Disable Player(s): Moves a player or players to the Disabled Players group. Players in this group will display a message indicating that the player is disabled.
Select the plus icon to add a group to your Content Cloud network. This feature is only available for Content Cloud users and is only visible when Hierarchy is set to Player Group.
Select the three gear icon to select the player information columns to display in the Player List.
Select the funnel icon to create custom filters to view only selected players. See Working with Filters, below.
Select the download icon to download a CSV file of the current Player List. If a filter is applied, only the filtered players will be in the CSV.
Select the refresh icon to update the list.
“All Players” Features
This is the default setting, which allows you to view all of the players on your network.
The tag icon is displayed if a player has a tag. Select the icon to see the tag name and value.
The single gear icon takes you to the player DWS.
The columns (Status, Player ID, Player Name, Model, etc.) display player information. To note:
The column display can be customized with the three gear icon in the header except for the Status column, which is always visible.
Players can be sorted in ascending/descending order by selecting the column name and then selecting the up/down arrow that appears.
Information can be copied and pasted from these columns (for example, IP Address).
In the Status column:
Hover over the Healthy, Idle, or Inactive buttons to get more information about how long the player has been active, idle, or inactive.
If the player ID is in red bold italic text, that player is missing or has an expired subscription. A new player that doesn’t have an available subscription would also display this way. Is this still true in the new UI???
Select the trashcan icon to delete the player from your network.
Players in the deleted group that were set up with BSN.cloud will be moved to the Unassigned group.
Players in the deleted group that were set up with a non-BSN.cloud setup will be moved to the Device Control group.
“Player Group” Features
Player Group allows you to view players according to their BSN.cloud group.
The Hierarchy Panel
Use the check boxes to select the group you want to view, or select All Groups to view all players on your BSN.cloud network. The groups are listed in the order in which they were selected.
There are two sorting options for groups:
Use the arrow icon to toggle between ascending and descending order.
Use the drop down menu to switch between sorting by group Name and player Count.
The Player List
The player information is the same as the player information that appears when Hierarchy is set to All Players. However, there is some additional functionality when Player Group is selected.
Group Headers
The number of players and their status color is displayed next to the group name.
Select the gear icon to view the Group Name and edit:
Serial Debugging (Content Cloud Users Only): Enable serial debugging for players in the group. The autorun script will output debugging information related to the presentation to the serial port (as well as over Telnet and SSH if these features are enabled).
System Log Debugging (Content Cloud Users Only): Enable system-log debugging for players in the group. The player will output system log information to the Log tab in the Diagnostic Web Server (or the Serial/Telnet/SSH ports if these are enabled via the Serial Debugging option).
Select the map icon toggle between a list view or a map view of the players.
Moving a Player or Players to Another Group
To move a single player to a different group, select the move icon (on the far left as shown in the image below) in the Player List and drag it to the correct group.
To move a group of players to another group, select the player check boxes and then select the move icon (on the far left as shown in the image below) to drag them to the correct group .
Properties Panel Features
Select a player to view and edit its properties:
Player Name: The player name, which is designated during the player setup process
Player ID: The serial number of the player
Model: The model number of the player
Setup Type: The setup type of the player
Current Presentation: The name of the presentation that is currently running on the selected player
Description: The player description, which can be edited with the provided field
Overview
Target Group: This pull down menu lets you change the group assignment for the selected player.
Time Zone: Change the configured time zone on the player
BrightSign OS Version: The current OS version installed on the player
Autorun Version (Standard): The current autorun version of the BrightAuthor:connected presentation assigned to the player
Remote Snapshot: Enable or disable Remote Screenshots on the player. You can view snapshots on the https://brightsign.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DOC/pages/404620688.
Subscription Type: The type of BSN.cloud subscription assigned to the player
Subscription Status: The current status of the BSN.cloud subscription assigned to the player
Player Configuration
Enable Diagnostic Web Server: Enable or disable the local Diagnostic Web Server.
Server Authentication (Optional)/Password: Specify a password for the local Diagnostic Web Server.
Limit content downloads: Check this box to restrict player content downloads to a certain time of day. This is useful if you want to limit network traffic during peak hours. This option is not available on Standalone and Local Network setups, because it is not applicable for those configurations.
Start of Range: The beginning of the time frame during which content downloads can occur.
End of Range: The end of the time frame during which content downloads can occur.
Logging
Enable playback logging: Record playback start and end times, zone names, media types, and file names.
Enable event logging: Record timestamps, state names, zone names, event types, and event data.
Enable diagnostic logging:Record timestamps, firmware and script versions, and the current presentation.
Enable state logging: Record current and last state names, timestamps, and media types.
Enable variable logging: Record the current and default values of all User Variables in the presentation.
Network Settings
Select Save to validate and apply the changes made in Network Settings or Reset to reset to the current settings.
Interface Priority: Interactive settings that allow you to prioritize Ethernet, WiFi, cellular, virtual, or other networks. The BrightSign player will always attempt to download and upload data for any particular data type using the first interface (at the top of the list) and will only use the next option if the first is unavailable, and so on to the bottom of the list.
Data Types Enable: Use these check boxes to determine the data types that can be transferred using the selected interface:
Content (download videos, images, and audio)
Text Feeds (download tickers and live text)
Media Feeds (download media RSS, dynamic playlists)
Health (upload the health status of the player)
Log Uploads (upload logs)
Connection Settings: Specify advanced settings for the wired and/or wireless connection. If DHCP Enabled is selected, the player will obtain its IP address using DHCP. Otherwise you will need to enter the required parameters in these fields:
IP Address: Enter the player IP address
Subnet Mask: Enter the subnet mask
Default Gateway: Enter the default gateway
DNS1: Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address in CIDR notation
DNS2: Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address in CIDR notation (optional)
DNS3: Enter an IPv4 or IPv6 address in CIDR notation (optional)
Rate Limit Network Download Traffic: Set rate limitations for downloading content. You can also set rate limitations for During content download window (the "content download window" is specified during the Player Setup process) and During initial downloads.
Outside Content Download Window
Unlimited Download Rate: Sets no limit on downloads.
Default limit: Sets the default limit (2000 Kbps) on downloads.
Specify limit: Sets a customized limit. Enter a limit in the text field (in Kbps).
During Content Download Window
Unlimited Download Rate: Sets no limit on downloads.
Default limit: Sets the default limit (2000 Kbps) on downloads.
Specify limit: Sets a customized limit. Enter a limit in the text field (in Kbps).
During Initial Downloads
Unlimited Download Rate: Sets no limit on downloads.
Default limit: Sets the default limit (2000 Kbps) on downloads.
Specify limit: Sets a customized limit. Enter a limit in the text field (in Kbps).
Network Authentication: Use this section to configure the player for WPA Enterprise authentication.
Enable 802.1X Authentication / Enable WPA Enterprise Authentication: Check this box to enable authentication via 802.1x (for wired) or WPA Enterprise Authentication (for wireless).
Choose Network Authentication Variant: Choose one of the following:
EAP-TLS: This authentication variant requires a client certificate and private key, which can be provided with one of the following certificate types:
PKCS#12: The client certificate and private key are both provided in a single PKCS#12 formatted file (usually with a .p12 file extension). Select the first Browse button to locate the certificate file.
X.509 PEM/DER: The client certificate is provided as a X.509 certificate (using PEM or DER encoding), and the key is encoded separately. Use the first Browse button to locate the X.509 certificate and the second Browse button to locate the PEM/DER key.
If you are using PKCS#12 or X.509, you can protect the client certificate using an optional passphrase in the Enter passphrase field.
PEAP/MSCHAPv2: This authentication variant requires a Username (i.e. identity) and Passphrase. For this method to work, the server must be configured to accept a username/password scheme instead of a client certificate.
Select Browse to add a CA Certificate: This should be the root CA certificate for the CA which signed the authentication server certificate. If omitted, the server certificate will not be validated.
Location
GPS Coordinates: Specify the location of the player as a set of Latitude and Longitude coordinates.
Address: Specify the location of the player using its City, State / Prov., and Country.
Cell modem locations may not be accurate due to issues with the processing of cell tower information.
Downloads
The Downloads section allows you to monitor the player synchronization process. Here you can view the progress of individual file transfers.
Select Refresh to update the status of the file transfers.
Error Logs
The Error Logs section provides detailed information about the last five reported errors. If the player is operating normally, the error list will be blank.
Select Refresh to update the error list.
Other
Working with Filters
Creating a Filter
Select the funnel icon in the heading of the Network tab to create a filter. In the pop-up that appears:
Select the plus icon to add a filter
Use the default category name (model, setup type, etc.) or select the arrow to pick a different category to add to the filter and add a value to create the filter.
If you want to add additional filter parameters, select the plus icon again to add another category and value. Repeat as needed.
Select Apply when you are done. Each component of the filter is displayed individually in the group heading. See the image below which displays the results of a filter which selects for Player Description, Setup Type, and Model.
Removing a Filter from a Group
To clear all filters, select Clear all filters on the right side of the group heading.
To remove individual components of a filter, select the X next to the component name. For example, in the image below, the HD1025 group filters for Player Description, Setup Type, and Model, while the Player 1 group only filters for Player Description and Setup Type.
Additional Information
Mousing over the filter name will display the filter value information.