Teledyne Dock Server User manual

Revision 7.10 2/28/2012
Dock Server User Guide
February 2012
Glider Mission Control Software
Teledyne
Webb Research
82 Technology Park Drive
E. Falmouth, MA 02536 USA
www.WebbResearch.com
[phone]
[email protected]

Revision 7.10 2/28/2012
Table of Contents
1. Dock Server out of the Box Setup.........................................................................7
1.1 Connecting Dock Server Hardware.......................................................................................8
1.2 Configuring Dock Server for the Network..........................................................................10
1.3 Shipped Modem Configuration...........................................................................................16
1.4 Shipped Serial Port Configuration.......................................................................................19
1.5 Troubleshooting Communication Issues.............................................................................20
2. How to use the Dock Server Application............................................................22
2.1 Starting Dock Server............................................................................................................22
2.2 Checking that Dock Server is Running................................................................................24
2.3 Stopping Dock Server..........................................................................................................24
2.4 Monitoring Dock Server while it's Running........................................................................25
2.5 Accessing Dock Server Glider Files....................................................................................26
2.6 Configuring Gliders Managed by Dock Server...................................................................27
2.6.1 Removing a Glider from Dock Server Management....................................................28
2.7 Configuring Serial Ports Managed by Dock Server............................................................29
2.8 Dock Server General Configuration....................................................................................34
2.9 Upgrading to the Latest Dock Server Release.....................................................................37
2.9.1 Upgrading from Release 3.6 through 6.36 to the Latest Release.................................37
2.9.2 Upgrading from Release 6.37 and Later to the Latest Release.....................................39
2.10 Rolling back to a Previous Dock Server Release..............................................................40
2.11 Uninstalling a Dock Server Release..................................................................................41
2.12 Installing a Dock Server Release for the First Time..........................................................42
3. Getting Started with the Glider Terminal Application........................................44
3.1 Installing Glider Terminal...................................................................................................44
3.2 Starting Glider Terminal......................................................................................................46
3.3 Stopping Glider Terminal....................................................................................................47
3.4 Browsing a Dock Server......................................................................................................47
3.5 Glider Terminal Perspectives...............................................................................................48
4. How to Use Glider Terminal’s Glider Perspective..............................................50
4.1 Interacting with a Glider......................................................................................................50
4.2 Sending Files to a Glider.....................................................................................................52
4.3 Receiving Files from a Glider..............................................................................................54
4.4 Controlling Dock Server Scripts..........................................................................................55
4.4.1 Adding a Script to a Glider's Script Queue...................................................................56
4.4.2 Remove a Script from a Glider's Script Queue.............................................................57
4.4.3 Pausing a Glider's Script Queue....................................................................................57
4.4.4 Resuming a Glider's Script Queue................................................................................57

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4.5 Receiving Glider Email.......................................................................................................58
4.6 Advanced File Transfer to a Glider – dockzr Command.....................................................60
4.7 Menu Bar Functions.............................................................................................................62
4.7.1 File Menu......................................................................................................................62
4.7.2 Edit Menu......................................................................................................................62
4.7.3 View Menu....................................................................................................................63
4.8 Popup Menu Functions........................................................................................................64
4.8.1 Dock Server Popup Menu.............................................................................................64
4.8.2 Glider Popup Menu.......................................................................................................64
4.8.3 Channel Tab Popup Menu............................................................................................65
4.9 Audio Alarms.......................................................................................................................65
4.9.1 Audio Alarm Configuration..........................................................................................66
5. How to Use Glider Terminal’s Serial Port Perspective.......................................69
5.1 Interacting with a Serial Port Device...................................................................................69
5.2 Menu Bar Functions.............................................................................................................71
5.2.1 File Menu......................................................................................................................71
5.2.2 Edit Menu......................................................................................................................71
5.3 Popup Menu Functions........................................................................................................72
5.3.1 Dock Server Popup Menu.............................................................................................72
5.3.2 Serial Port Popup Menu................................................................................................73
5.3.3 Serial Port Tab Popup Menu.........................................................................................74
6. How to use the Glmpc Terminal Application......................................................75
6.1 Installing Glmpc Terminal...................................................................................................75
6.2 Starting Glmpc Terminal.....................................................................................................77
6.3 Stopping Glmpc Terminal...................................................................................................78
6.4 The Glmpc Terminal User Interface....................................................................................79
6.5 Loading Maps......................................................................................................................80
6.6 Connecting to a Dock Server...............................................................................................86
6.7 Defining a Route..................................................................................................................88
6.8 Interacting with a Glider......................................................................................................90
6.9 Defining Mission Parameters...............................................................................................93
6.9.1 Setting Mission Parameters..........................................................................................93
6.9.2 Specifying scripts..........................................................................................................94
6.9.3 Setting .ma file names...................................................................................................95
6.10 Importing/Exporting Routes and Positions........................................................................96
6.11 Customizing the Display....................................................................................................97
6.12 Audio Alarms.....................................................................................................................98
7. How to use the Data Server Application.............................................................99

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7.1 Starting Data Server.............................................................................................................99
7.2 Checking that Data Server is Running...............................................................................100
7.3 Stopping Data Server.........................................................................................................101
7.4 Monitoring Data Server while it's Running.......................................................................102
7.5 Configuring glider data Managed by Data Server.............................................................103
7.6 Backing up glider data Managed by Data Server..............................................................104
8. How to use the Data Visualizer Application.....................................................106
8.1 Installing Data Visualizer..................................................................................................106
8.2 Starting Data Visualizer.....................................................................................................106
8.3 Stopping Data Visualizer...................................................................................................107
8.4 The Data Visualizer User Interface...................................................................................108
8.5 Displaying Sensor Data......................................................................................................109
8.5.1 Selecting data for Display...........................................................................................110
8.5.2 Using the Plots Menu..................................................................................................112
8.5.3 Constraining Displayed Data......................................................................................113
8.6 Manually Transferring glider data to Data Server.............................................................115
9. How to use the GMC FTP Application.............................................................117
9.1 Installing GMC FTP..........................................................................................................117
9.2 Starting GMC FTP.............................................................................................................120
9.3 Stopping GMC FTP...........................................................................................................120
9.4 Transferring Glider Files from the Dock Server Machine.................................................120
9.5 Transferring Glider Files to the Dock Server Machine.....................................................123
9.6 Transferring Glider Files with other FTP Clients..............................................................124
10. How to use Glider Simulators.........................................................................126
10.1 Pocket Glider Simulators.................................................................................................126
10.1.1 Connecting to Dock Server Hardware......................................................................126
10.1.2 Differences between a Pocket Simulator and an actual Glider.................................127
10.2 Shoebox Glider Simulators..............................................................................................128
10.2.1 Connecting to Dock Server Hardware......................................................................128
10.2.2 Differences between a Shoebox Simulator and an actual Glider..............................129
11. Theory of Operation........................................................................................130
11.1 When Does a Glider Icon turn Red, Green, or Yellow....................................................130
11.2 When Does a Dock Server Icon turn Red or Green.........................................................132
11.3 How do Iridium, Freewave, and Direct Communications Differ....................................133
11.4 How Does Dock Server Recognize a Glider...................................................................134
11.5 Dock Server Machine User Accounts..............................................................................135
12. Internet Communication: Iridium RUDICS....................................................137
12.1 Overview..........................................................................................................................137

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12.2 Pros and Cons..................................................................................................................138
12.2.1 Reliability..................................................................................................................139
12.2.2 Data Rate...................................................................................................................139
12.2.3 Ease of Initial Setup..................................................................................................139
12.2.4 Scalability (many gliders).........................................................................................140
12.2.5 Mobility (shore side).................................................................................................140
12.2.6 Initial Cost.................................................................................................................141
12.2.7 Recurring Cost..........................................................................................................141
12.2.8 Real World Experience.............................................................................................141
12.3 How to Get Started..........................................................................................................142
12.3.1 Plan your Network....................................................................................................142
12.3.2 Open account with Iridium RUDICS Service Provider............................................144
12.3.3 Configure your Network, Firewalls, and Operating System....................................144
12.3.4 Configure the Dock Server Application...................................................................145
12.3.5 Configure the Gliders................................................................................................145
12.4 Glider/GLMPC Terminal Usage......................................................................................145
12.5 CONFIGURATION: Network, Firewall, and Operating System....................................147
12.5.1 Example Names and IP Numbers.............................................................................148
12.5.2 Typical Topology: NATed behind a Firewall...........................................................149
12.5.3 Simple Topology: Directly connected to the Internet...............................................152
12.5.4 Advanced Topology: Relay Host with SSH Forwarding..........................................153
12.5.5 Configuring the Operating System Firewall.............................................................154
12.5.6 Adding Glider User Accounts to the Operating System...........................................155
12.6 Configuration: Dock Server Application.........................................................................156
12.7 Configuration: Glider.......................................................................................................158
12.7.1 Configure and Install the SIM card...........................................................................158
12.7.2 Tell the Glider the “number to call”.........................................................................158
12.7.3 Tell the Glider the authentication sequence..............................................................159
12.8 Initial Checkout and Troubleshooting.............................................................................161
12.8.1 More Example Names and IP Numbers...................................................................161
12.8.2 Configuration/Testing Tools.....................................................................................162
12.8.3 Checkout/Troubleshooting Sequence.......................................................................163
12.8.4 Checkout/Troubleshooting Procedures.....................................................................164
12.8.5 Testing with Simulated Glider..................................................................................172
12.8.6 Testing with a Glider................................................................................................175
12.9 How it all Works – the bits and bytes..............................................................................177
Appendix A. Anatomy of Dock Server Log Files................................................178
A.1 Master Log File console.log.............................................................................................178

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A.1.1 Dock Server Startups.................................................................................................179
A.1.2 Glider Connects, Disconnects, and Redirects............................................................181
A.1.3 Glider Commands......................................................................................................183
A.1.4 File Transfers to / from Gliders.................................................................................183
A.1.5 Dock Server Scripts...................................................................................................185
A.2 Daily Event Log Files.......................................................................................................186
A.3 Glider Surface Log Files...................................................................................................187
A.4 Serial Port Log Files.........................................................................................................191
A.5 Email System Log File......................................................................................................192
Appendix C. Quick Guide to Authoring Dock Server Scripts.............................196
Appendix D. Shipped Dock Server Configuration File........................................205
Appendix E. Dock Server Install from Scratch....................................................207
Appendix F. Dock Server RPM Upgrade Output.................................................208
Appendix G. GLMPC File formats.......................................................................209
Appendix H. Java 1.4.2 Regular Expression Syntax.............................................211
Appendix I: Glider login_script_syntax.txt...........................................................219
Appendix J: Calibrating the glider Revolution(TM) compass..............................221
Appendix K: How to Use Glider Terminal's Dock Server Perspective.................227

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1. Dock Server out of the Box Setup
Each Dock Server ships with the following components.
1. Laptop computer with USB connectors.
2. A 4-Port USB Serial Adapter (Keyspan or Edgeport).
3. U.S. Robotics Courier 56K Business Modem (Model 3453B) – contains a 25-pin to 9-pin
serial cable and an RJ-11 phone cable.
4. Optical Mouse.
5. PC Card Compact Flash Adapter.
6. Straight through Serial Cable 9-pin male to 9-pin female.
7. RJ-45 Ethernet Cable
Additional hardware used by Dock Server but shipped with a glider include a Freewave
wireless data transceiver.
Note that each glider ships with one of two possible 4-port USB serial adapters: a
Keyspan or an Edgeport. This document uses the term “4-port USB serial adapter” to
refer to the model shipped with your glider.
Dock Server has been installed on the laptop and configured to monitor the internal
serial port (if any) and the 4-port serial adapter’s ports for glider communications. The
modem has been configured for use with Dock Server. The Freewave device has been
configured to communicate only with its shipped glider.
To use Dock Server out of the box, its hardware components must be connected and
the laptop machine must be configured for your network environment. Follow the steps
in section 1.1 then section 1.2 to complete the Dock Server setup.
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1.1 Connecting Dock Server Hardware
To connect the Dock Server hardware, follow the steps in this section.
1. If turned on, turn off the laptop, the modem, and the Freewave.
2. Connect the 4-port USB serial adapter to a USB port on the laptop using the cable
supplied with the adapter.
3. Connect the Freewave transceiver to serial port two on the 4-port USB serial adapter
using the shipped 9-pin to 9-pin serial cable.
4. Connect the U.S. Robotics modem to the internal serial port on the laptop using the 25-
pin to 9-pin cable supplied with the modem. If the laptop does not have an internal serial
port, then connect the modem to port one on the 4-port USB serial adapter.
Important Note: Dock Server treats modems and Freewaves differently. It must be told
which device is connected to each serial port. Dock Server’s factory configuration
expects a modem to be connected to the laptop’s internal serial port. Or, if no internal
serial port exists, then Dock Server expects a modem to be connected to port one on the
4-port serial adapter. Dock Server expects a Freewave to be connected to port two on the
adapter. To change this configuration, refer to section 2.6.
5. Connect the U.S. Robotics modem to the iridium phone line using the RJ-11 phone cable
supplied with the modem. On the modem, the plug labeled “JACK” should be used (the
plug closest to the 25-pin connector). Figure 1-1 shows this modem connection. Figure
1-2 shows all hardware connections.
6. Power on the modem, Freewave, and laptop in any order.
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Figure 1-1. Modem connections to the computer’s serial port and iridium phone line.
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Figure 1-2. All Dock Server Hardware connections.
The Dock Server hardware is ready for use. To connect the Dock Server machine to a
network, refer to the next section. To start the Dock Server application, refer to section
2.1.
1.2 Configuring Dock Server for the Network
While the Glider Terminal application can run on the Dock Server machine, Glider
Terminal can also run from any machine networked to the Dock Server machine. To
configure the Dock server machine for a network, follow the steps in this section.
1. Collect the following information from the network administrator.
a) A fixed IP address for the Dock Server.
b) The subnet mask for this IP address.
c) The default gateway IP address.
d) The primary and secondary (if one) DNS IP addresses.
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e) The hostname for the Dock Server machine.
f) The domain name for the Dock Server machine.
For example, a hostname could be “dock”. A domain name could be “webb.com”. This
hostname and domain name would combine to make a fully qualified domain name of
“dock.webb.com”.
2. Log on to the Dock Server machine as user “localuser”. The factory delivered password
for this account is “WideOpen” (see Appendix D).
3. Select “Applications / System Settings / Network” from the menu in the upper left-hand
corner of the desktop.
4. Enter the root password and click the OK button. The “Network Configuration” dialog
opens (Figure 1-3). Appendix D specifies the factory delivered root password for your
Dock Server.
Figure 1-3. The Network Configuration Dialog.
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5. Select the “Hosts” tab. Select the one host entry in the table and delete it by clicking the
“Delete” button.
Figure 1-3 shows the one host entry selected. Note, the host entry shown in this figure
may not match the one in your Network Configuration dialog.
6. Create a new host entry by clicking the “New”
button. In the hosts entry dialog (Figure 1-4), enter
the information collected in step 1. Use the fixed IP
address as the “Address”, the fully qualified domain
name as the “Hostname”, and the hostname as the
“Aliases”. Click the OK button.
7. Select the “DNS” tab on the Network Configuration
dialog. Enter the following information collected in
step 1. Figure 1-5 shows the “DNS” tab with
example information entered.
a) The fully qualified domain name as the “Hostname”.
b) The primary DNS IP address as the “Primary DNS”.
c) The secondary DNS IP address (if one) as the “Secondary DNS”.
d) The domain name as the “DNS search path”.
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Figure 1-4. New Hosts Entry Dialog.

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Figure 1-5. The DNS tab of the Network Configuration Dialog.
8. Select the “Devices” tab in the Network Configuration dialog.
Figure 1-6 shows the one device entry selected on the Devices tab.
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Figure 1-6. The Device tab of the Network Configuration Dialog.
9. Select the one device entry in the table and edit it by clicking the “Edit” button.
Figure 1-7 shows the Ethernet Device dialog for editing the device’s configuration.
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Figure 1-7. The Ethernet Device Dialog.
10. If not already selected, select the “Statically set IP addresses” option and enter the
following information collected in step 1.
a) The dockserver’s fixed IP address as the “Address”.
b) The collected subnet mask as the “Subnet mask”.
c) The collected gateway address as the “Default gateway address”
11. Click the OK button on the Ethernet Device dialog.
12. Select “File / Save” from the menu on the Network Configuration dialog.
13. Select “File / Quit” from the menu on the Network Configuration dialog.
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14. Connect the Dock Server machine to the network using the supplied RJ-45 Ethernet
Cable.
15. Reboot the Dock Server machine.
The Dock Server’s client tools (e.g., Glider Terminal and gmcFTP) are now available to
remote machines on the network. To install these tools on remote machines, refer to
section 3.1 for Glider Terminal and section 5.1 for gmcFTP.
1.3 Shipped Modem Configuration
The U.S. Robotics modem shipped with Dock Server has been factory configured for
iridium communication between the Dock Server and gliders; it requires no out of the
box configuration. This section details the modem’s shipped configuration.
The modem’s configuration involves two parts. One, setting the DIP switches on the
modem’s bottom. And two, configuring the modem’s NVRAM to load the appropriate
settings upon power up.
Dock Server never sends AT commands to the modem. Upon power up, the modem is
expected to auto-answer incoming glider calls and to negotiate the incoming baud rate.
It should communicate with its host (i.e., Dock Server) at a fixed baud rate of 115,200
(DTE serial port speed). The modem's host connection should be configured with
hardware handshake (RTS/CTS), and should provide a CD (carrier detect) signal
continuously to reflect its current in-call state.
Figure 1-8 shows the modem’s DIP switches. Their setting, as described on the
modem’s bottom, follows.
Switch Position Meaning
1 OFF DTR normal
2 OFF Verbal result codes
3 ON Display result codes
4 OFF Echo offline commands
5 OFF Auto answer on ring
6 OFF Normal carrier detect
7 OFF Display all result codes
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8 ON Enable AT command set
9 OFF Disconnect with +++
10 OFF Load NVRAM defaults
Figure 1-8. Modem DIP Switch Settings.
Figure 1-9 shows the modem’s NVRAM settings. Upon power up, the modem initializes
itself with these settings. To communicate with the modem using minicom, open a
terminal window and type “minicom s0” at the command prompt. Enter the desired
modem AT commands.
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Figure 1-9. Modem settings saved in NVRAM and loaded upon power up.
Note that upon power up the DTE port speed is configured to 115,200 baud. However,
once the modem is powered up, it continuously monitors for changes in the port speed
by watching for AT commands and auto-adjusts itself to any new detected speed. This
auto-adjusting can cause Dock Server to stop communicating with the modem.
For example, many terminal emulation applications (e.g., minicom, Kermit, and
Procomm) send initialization AT commands when the application first communicates
with the modem. If the computer’s serial port speed is set to 9600 baud when the AT
commands are sent, then the modem will adjust its DTE port speed to 9600. When
Dock Server launches, it sets the computer’s serial port to 115,200 but never sends any
AT commands. Since the modem has not sent any AT commands, it never detects and
adjusts its DTE port speed. Thus, the modem sends glider character traffic to the Dock
Server at 9600 baud, but the Dock Server is expecting it at 115,200 baud. These
mismatched baud rates result in glider output appearing garbled in Glider Terminal.
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Thus, users should be very careful when using Dock Server and other communication
applications on the same serial ports. To return the modem to settings compatible with
Dock Server, stop Dock Server, cycle the modem’s power, and restart Dock Server.
1.4 Shipped Serial Port Configuration
The serial ports shipped with Dock Server have been factory configured as detailed in
this section. It is rare that the shipped configuration needs to be changed.
The file dockServerState.xml in the folder /var/opt/gmc stores Dock Server’s serial port
configuration. For laptop machines, the internal serial port and all ports of the shipped
4-port USB serial adapter are configured for Dock Server management as shown in
Table 1-1.
Port Baud
Flow
Control Data bits Stop bits Parity
/dev/ttyS0 115,200 RTS/CTS 8 1 None
/dev/ttyUSB0 115,200 RTS/CTS 8 1 None
/dev/ttyUSB1 115,200 RTS/CTS 8 1 None
/dev/ttyUSB2 115,200 RTS/CTS 8 1 None
/dev/ttyUSB3 115,200 RTS/CTS 8 1 None
Table 1-1. Shipped Laptop Serial Port Configuration.
Dock Server treats modems and Freewaves differently. Since Dock Server can not
determine the device attached to a serial port, the dockServerState.xml file must specify
the device type attached to each serial port. For laptop machines, table 1-2 shows the
device type associated with each managed serial port as shipped from the factory. In
addition, this table depicts the correspondence between OS serial port devices and the
serial port labels that appear on the USB to serial port hub. For example, OS device, “/
dev/ttyUSB0” corresponds to the serial port connector labeled “1” on the USB hub and
is configured to have a modem attached for Iridium communications.
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Serial Port Device
USB to Serial
Port Hub
/dev/ttyS0 modem (Iridium)
/dev/ttyUSB0 modem (Iridium) 1
/dev/ttyUSB1 freewave 2
/dev/ttyUSB2 freewave 3
/dev/ttyUSB3 direct 4
Table 1-2. Shipped Serial Port – Device Type Assocations.
If the user changes the physical attachment of device types to serial ports, he or she
must make corresponding changes to the dockServerState.xml file (see section 2.6).
1.5 Troubleshooting Communication Issues
Communication problems can arise when unplugging and plugging USB cables
attaching the Dock Server to Keyspan or Edgeport USB serial adapters. For example,
the Dock Server device numbers specified by /dev/ttyUSB0 thru /dev/ttyUSB3 can
change, preventing communication. Alternatively, the wrong number of specified
devices can result, or even a complete computer lockup requiring a hard reboot. To
avoid these problems, it is recommended that the following procedures be adhered to:
1. Do not use any USB hub to enable sharing a notebook USB port between the USB serial
ports and any other USB device or devices.
2. When plugging in the USB cable, wait 30 seconds before starting any process which uses
the serial ports (e.g., minicom, dockserver, kermit, etc).
3. Before unplugging the USB cable, make sure to first stop all processes which are using
the serial ports. Failure to do so can result in too many /dev/ttyUSB* devices (some of
them phantoms) or even the system freezing. These problems can happen either after a
period of time, or when plugging the USB cable back in, and may require a hard reboot.
4. Before plugging the USB cable back in after unplugging it, first wait at least 30 seconds
with the cable unplugged. Failure to do so can result in the wrong /dev/ttyUSB* device
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