Manny InternetAdapter

Together with the idea to execute online competitions, the necessary software extension for Manny was implemented.
This extension to allow online judging (the jury and chief are sitting at home) is now part of the Manny distribution.

Even if such online competition are now possible I hope, that it will be needed only for a short period of time. Therefore for the InternetAdapter no Menu entry is created.


Where to find the InternetAdapter?

The InternetAdapter is placed in the installation directory of Manny. There it can be started directly.

How to use the InternetAdapter?

The InternetAdapter should be simply started before the other applications of the electronic judgement.  


The organizer of the competition provide you the needed server address.
This need to entered into the address field 1.

Afterwards you can establish the connection by pressing the Connect button 2 .
In case of success, the status 3 changes to 'connected'.

All additional steps have now been completed.
The InternetAdapter can be minimized or move to background, but never close it as long as you take part on competition.

Now start the needed application of the electronic judgement (e.g. Jury  or Chief, Teacher, Scoreboard) at the same computer.

Important:
The InternetAdapter needs to be started and connected at all computer, which host a judgement application!

Important:
Don't forget to disconnect the internet connection at the end by pressing 'Disconnect' and to exit the InternetAdapter! Otherwise you will block the whole competition!


How to create a server?

For the execution of a competition a dedicated server is needed. This server must fulfill the following condition:

  1. The server must be reachable from the internet.
  2. The IP-addresse must be known.
  3. The InternetAdapter at the server machine must be started in Servermodus.
  4. The computer must be connected by LAN (cable) to the local network.

Important:
It is impossible to use the same server for different competitions at the same time.


How to make my server reachable?

Normally your private network is protected (by firewall) against access from the internet. To changes this, you need to access the configuration interface of your router.

So login into the configuration interface and search for a menu entry 'internet' or something similar (it varies for each router). There select 'port activation' or 'port forwarding', like shown in the picture below.

Enter there  as TCP port 1 number 20593 and select 2 the computer, which you want to use as the server. Save and activate the changes.

Important:
If this computer is equipped with multiple network interfaces, please choose a cable connection!

How to get my IP-Adresse?

You can find out your own IP address simply by entering 'whats my ip address' in the search field of your browser. Google will show you your address.
Please forward this number to all competitors of the judgement, so they can enter it in there InternetAdapter.

Important:
The IP-addresses are assigned dynamically and may change from time to time, so please determine it immediately before the start of the competition.


How to start the InternetAdapter in server mode?

The InternetAdapter in server mode must run at the computer, you assigned at your router!
Simply start the InternetAdapter with the additional parameter 'server' (without the ticks). This can be done in a terminal or CMD-window.

e.g. InternetAdapter.exe server

In server mode the InternetAdapter looks a little bit different.
The Server-Addresse field should be left empty.

Activate the server by pressing the 1 Connect button. The status 2 will change to  'listening'. Now the server is ready to use.

Behind active clients 3 you can see the count of currently connected computers.

The statistic values, shown in the lower part, are not relevant.

For a quick check of the setup, you can start a 'normal' InternetAdapter with the current IP-address of the Server. The connection should be establish. Close the 'normal' InternetAdapter after this test.

If not, please repeat the previous steps and check setup.

note:
You can run any other application of the electronic judgement at the server as well, e.g. Organizing office or teacher.

Important:
Never run the 'normal' InternetAdapter together with the server at the same computer (except the short time initial test).