Logically, the InfoPanels system is divided into three parts: Client Workstations, Server and Displays.
Client workstations
The client workstations are personal computers running on the MS Windows XP operating system with user software for controlling and maintaining the installed InfoPanels system. The applications are InfoPanels Explorer and InfoPanels Layouts Editor. It is advisable to install both the applications using ClickOnce technology from the web to the server to establish automated updates of new versions.
Server
The server is a powerful server computer with SQL server, media server, etc. The server runs Windows 2003 Server and several software components are active on the server:
- SQL Server
It is usually MS SQL Server 2005 Express. The server contains the InfoPanels database. - Media Server
It is a Windows NT service. The service takes care of storing media data (video files, PPT presentations, etc.) on a server disk. The Media Server is in communication with Player and PlayerLauncher on the displays and Explorer and Layouts Editor. - Web server
The InfoPanels does not need a web server for its operation. It is an extra option here only. It includes especially the installation folder for Explorer and LayoutsEditor (ClickOnce installation). The web server also hosts the RSSRouter web application. - RSSRouter
It is an ASP.NET web-based application providing RSS resources to the displays. It provides cache resources in case the displays do not have direct access to internet. - Logs and media files deleting
It is a utility launched by the standard Windows scheduler once a day (at night). This utility purges the Logs table in the InfoPanels database and logs older than 1 month are purged. The utility also purges unused media files from the Media Server’s service folder (usually from C:\Program Files\InfoPanels\Server\Media)
Displays
The displays are Windows XP-based computers (Embedded) running software for playback of multimedia contents to which a display is connected.
