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 Installation Manual
Contents

Setting up the Server
Things you will need:
  • Apache or IIS setup and running
  • PHP 7.4 or later (8.x recommended), with the PDO extension and the driver for your database (pdo_mysql, pdo_sqlsrv or pdo_sqlite), plus XML, and LDAP if you are using Active Directory
  • A database: MySQL/MariaDB or Microsoft SQL Server setup and running, or SQLite which needs no server at all
  • UNS Package
  1. Before you even start the UNS Installation, you will need to decide if you want your admin panel to be SSL or not.
    1. If you do want you Admin Panel to be SSL, there is an example apache config file in
      [uns]/configs/apache_ssl_admin.conf

    2. For IIS select the properties of the admin folder, go to Directory Security and under Secure Communications select Require Secure Channel.

  2. Install Page overview
    1. Prerequisites
      1. PHP Version
        Checks that PHP is at least 7.4. 8.x is recommended.
      2. PDO extension
        Checks that PDO is available, along with the driver for the database you pick - pdo_mysql, pdo_sqlsrv or pdo_sqlite.
      3. configs/ writable
        Checks that the web server can create configs/vars.php and configs/conn.php. UNS ships these as .sample.php files, so the installer creates the real ones.
      4. Template folders writable
        Checks that the folders Smarty compiles templates into can be created and written. These are kept outside the web root where possible.
      5. SQLite database safe from web download
        When SQLite is used, checks that the database cannot simply be downloaded over the web. UNS puts it outside the document root where it can, and ships Apache and IIS deny rules otherwise.
      6. LDAP Functions
        Checks to see if PHP has LDAP functions, you can ignore this if you are not going to be using Active Directory for your authentication. If it they are found, a link will appear so you can test the connection.

    2. The SQL Connection
      1. SQL Host
        Your MySQL Host, use localhost for the same machine, or IP address if it is another machine
      2. SQL Admin Username
        The administrative user on your SQL Host
      3. SQL Admin Password
        Kind of self explanatory...

      4. UNS SQL Username
        Default is uns_user, but can be changed to anything you want.
      5. UNS SQL Pasword
        Once again, self explanatory...

      6. UNS Database Name
        The Name of the Database that will store UNS Data. Default is uns, but can be changed to anything you want

    3. UNS Settings
      1. Instance Name
        The Name of your UNS installation, shown on the Admin Panel
      2. Hostname
        Used for cookies and URL redirections, use the hostname if you want, or IP address, up to you.

      3. HTTP root for UNS
        This is the folder that UNS lives in, for no folder put /, other wise the folder you put it in, IE uns/
        DO NOT put leading slashes, IE /usn/

      4. Session Timeout
        This is the time in seconds that a cookie session will last, default is 3600 (1 hour)

      5. SSL Admin Folder
        If you want your admin panel to only be accessable by https:// then check this off, all other folders will still be http://

      6. Use LDAP?
        This is if you are going to use Active Directory for your authentication.

      7. LDAP Domain
        For windows put the DNS name for you domain (e.g. example.com)
        For Linux you will need to configure your host to beable to know that your domain name is to a specific IP address (/etc/resolve.conf)
      8. LDAP Port
        The Port that you have for your AD server (default is 3268)
      9. Redirect timeout
        Time limit for page redirections
      10. Default client URL refresh time
        The refresh time for each clients default setting, can be changed per URL in each clients list appon addition, this is just a default setting.

      11. Internal Administrator Password
        Used for the Internal admin for UNS. This is needed even if you are using Active Directory for your authentication.

      12. Max Number of Archived links per client
        This is the maximum number of rows in the history table that will be kept per client

      13. Max Number of Client Connection history
        This is the number or rows that will be kept per client for historical records, really only 2 are needed, so that the main page knows that the client has connected at least once and is alive.

Setting up the Client
A client is just a screen showing a browser pointed at its own UNS URL. There are two ways to run one.

1. Browser homepage only. Set the machine's browser homepage to the client URL shown on that client's page in the admin panel (index.php?id=<client id>) and let it run. This works, but the page moves between URLs by redirecting, and some sites break out of that - once a site redirects the browser somewhere of its own, the screen is stuck there and stops rotating.

2. Kiosk browser with the UNS extension (recommended). The extension polls the client's XML feed and sets the tab's address itself, so a site that redirects or tries to escape a frame gets replaced at the next check instead of taking the screen over. This is what the Client/AlertStationClient folder in the download is for.
  1. A browser is not bundled. Install Chrome, or drop a portable Chromium build into AlertStationClient\Chromium\ so the paths in the batch files resolve.
  2. Copy the AlertStationClient folder to C:\.
  3. Edit StartClient.bat and set homepage to that client's URL.
  4. Edit Chromium\_UNS-Extension\background.js and set alertxml to the same URL with &out=xml on the end. The batch files already pass --load-extension, so there is nothing to add by hand in chrome://extensions. Current Chrome shows a "disable developer mode extensions" banner for any unpacked extension; removing that needs an enterprise policy.
  5. Run uns_client_shell.reg as the account the screen will use, so UNS starts automatically as the shell.
  6. Point the account's cursors at AlertStationClient\tinycursors so no pointer shows on screen.
  7. Use Autologon so the machine logs in as that account by itself after a reboot.
If you would rather use a normal Chrome install than the kiosk folder, Client/ChromeExtension is the same extension packaged on its own - set alertxml in its background.js and load it unpacked.

Tree Structure
What is in the download:
  • Server/www/ - the application. Point your web server at this folder and open install.php.
  • Server/www/admin/ - the admin panel.
  • Server/www/configs/ - configuration. The .sample.php files ship with UNS; the installer writes the real vars.php and conn.php.
  • Server/www/templates/ - the Smarty templates the pages are built from, and lib/smarty/ the engine itself.
  • Client/ - the kiosk client folder and the browser extension described above.
  • Scripts/EmergencyMonitor/ - the scheduled script that watches a CAP, RSS or Atom feed and switches emergency mode on and off.


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