Dispatcher installation

Install the dispatcher workstation

In your network, you will normally only have a single SW-Lookup® dispatcher running. The installation for this is done as follows:

1. Install the Java® Runtime, if Java® is not yet on your system. You may first test if java is available by entering:
   java -version
   at a system shell.

   In case Java® should not yet be installed, download the installation file jre-1_2_2_006-win-i.exe from the internet and start it (for Windows NT - if you should prefer Linux or Unix, you may download the corresponding files from the Sun Homepage). Installation is then done as usual by following the instructions of the installation procedure. It will take you about a minute.

   Note that the current Java® Version and therefore the installation file may have a slightly different name. Normally, the most current Java® version 1.2x should work.

2. The archive swl_dispatcher should be unpacked in an empty directory, where you will afterward find the following files (among others):
   • The directory home, which contains the files which form the "homepage" of your SW-Lookup® installation,
   • the directory swlookup, which contains the Java® class files, and
   • the files start_dispatcher.cmd and run_dispatcher.cmd, where the latter is used to run the dispatcher. It forms a loop which allows to restart the dispatcher in case you should run into problems.
3. Start the file run_dispatcher.cmd by double clicking on it (on a UNIX system, you would have to write a shell script which does the same as the .cmd file). This batch file will run the dispatcher and perform a restart if you choose this menu entry. The dispatcher will also restart each night in order to prevent from memory garbage (don't fear, we've tested the dispatcher up to around 15.000 accesses without restart).

After the dispatcher has started, it will try to provide service on port 80; if this port should not be available, it will choose a free port. Be sure to write down the port which the dispatcher uses. If it is not 80, you may enter the self-chosen port as an argument in the run_dispatcher.cmd file to ensure that the dispatcher always comes up with the same port.

For installation of the peerservers, write down the port and the name of the machine or the TCP/IP address. In the example shown above, the name of the server is "theresa" and the port 80. If your TCP/IP name configuration is out of order, it is possible that the dispatcher finds no useful name, then you should either correct your network names or use the address directly.

Now you should also write down the serial number, which you will need to order a licence. You can request the serial number at any time by choosing the menu entry "Licenses/Show serial number".

The dispatcher is now ready to serve. You can test it by accessing it through a browser as described in access SW-Lookup® with a browser. You should keep the dispatcher running all the time, and should include the run_dispatcher command in your startup script. If the dispatcher should ever run into troubles, you may simply restart it by choosing the menu command. All connections should then be re-established within a maximum of 2 minutes.

Configure the dispatcher workstation

If you are running an internet server on the workstation you choose for the dispatcher, the port 80 will be occupied - the dispatcher tells this on startup and will not work. In this case, you must use another port, preferably 8080 or 8008.

To start the dispatcher on another port, simply change the file run_dispatcher.cmd. You find hints on the possible parameters on the REM lines therein. Please change the line
java swlookup/swldispatcher
to
java swlookup/swldispatcher 8080

On UNIX systems, the port number is preset by the shellscript to 8080, because most often there is already a webserver running on port 80.