System Backup

This facility saves the identity, control, status and alarm objects of all the devices to an external file in XML format. This file can then be used in future to restore the system to the current 'known' state. This is often used in studio or mobile environments where the configuration of the system changes from one program/event to another. Most often it is used to bring the configuration back to a 'normal' state, or if the system is being changed between different configurations like Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD).

The system will save the settings for each occupied slot in each frame. The settings will be assigned against the IP address of the frame. So if the IP address of a frame or the slot position of a card or card type changes then the restore will not match and the settings will not be restored.

Different firmware versions of card types will not effect the backup and restore feature as the object is referred by its label rather than position.

The tree on the left hand side of the dialog by default selects all devices in the current system view to be backed up (denoted by a tick next to the device). Frames or cards can be deselected from being saved to the backup file.

The drive and directory selection on the right hand of the dialog can be used to save the file to the desired location and the file name should ideally be changed to be recognisable on restoration of the system. The XML file extension has been used by default so the file can automatically open in other programs that recognise the XML format.

When the desired device filter and filename have been selected pressing the Backup button will save the settings to the file and update the give a progress indication to the user. If the system has been working for some time all of the information should be in the local database and so the process should be quick, if it finds that some information is missing for devices then it will interrogate them for this which will cause the process to be throttled back by the communication with the frame. If the backup was successful or was not successful for any device then a warning message will be displayed. An icon by each selected device will show whether it has been backed up successfully.

Include Presets

Note that on some cards presets are used to store multiple settings of the same parameter, for these presets to be saved to an backup or archive file it may be necessary to change the preset that is currently active for that card. This will potentially cause the on-air system to be effected so presets should only be saved if it is safe to do so. For this reason the default for this check-box is off. For later cards that use presets the active preset is not normally effected. If you are in doubt what effect this will have on your system and you are currently on-air then leave this option unchecked. The backup file can be viewed in tools such as Microsoft Excel and if required can be changed given that the format of the original data is not changed. In this way simple off-line editing of a system can be achieved, although this feature is due to be released in the near future. By using a file comparison tool differences between different configurations can also be found.