meshO Manager

Appearance

Multi-operator setup ​

Audience: Event organisers setting up the network and the volunteers' laptops, tablets and screens at the venue.

How to run one event from several devices at once: the network, the server computer, what each device needs, and what to expect when two people work on the same thing or a device drops off the network. For why Manager works this way, see How meshO Manager works.

The shape of it ​

One computer runs Manager: the server. Every other device opens it in a web browser, over the venue's local network. Nothing is installed on them, and they all see the same event, live.

  • Everything is kept on the server. A card read at a download laptop is stored on the server the moment it's read, not on the laptop.
  • Every change reaches every device within a second or so, with no refreshing.
  • meshO Prime plugs into the server, over USB. A SportIdent reader or a USB printer plugs into whichever device uses it.

The network ​

You need one local network that the server and every device join. It doesn't need the internet.

  • A Wi-Fi router, or a router with a switch. A small travel router is plenty for most events. Put the server on a cable to the router if you can: it's the one device everything depends on.
  • Laptops at fixed desks (download, registration) are better on a cable too, if the router has the ports. Phones, tablets and TVs can use Wi-Fi.
  • Keep the server's address from changing. Add a DHCP reservation for the server on the router, so it gets the same IP every time, and the links you hand out keep working. See When the IP changes.

Internet: optional ​

Running the event needs no internet at all. These do, and only on the server unless noted:

  • Eventor: importing entries and uploading results;
  • liveresultat and Cloud sync: publishing results online;
  • Livelox: sending trackers' positions;
  • The Street, Satellite and Topographic layers on Live view, on the device showing them. Your own event map doesn't need it;
  • Automatic updates.

A phone hotspot shared with the server is enough for these. If the internet drops, they catch up when it comes back; the event carries on regardless.

The public on the same network: the access PIN ​

Without a PIN, anyone who can reach the server can open the manager screens and change the event. If spectators, competitors or anyone else can join the network — to see live results on their phones, say — set a PIN in Settings → Access protection (at least 4 characters).

With a PIN set:

AppAddressAsks for the PIN?
Manager/managerYes, before any screen, including the Events list and Settings.
Registration desk/regoYes.
Info displays/infoNo, they only show the event. Two exceptions: the Camera screen asks, because it sends pictures to the server; and while an event is holding back some classes' results, a display that would show them asks on its settings page, or can Continue without the PIN and show those classes' start lists instead.
Commentary/commentaryOnly while the event is holding back some classes' results, as for the info displays.
Spectator, Kiosk and TV screens/, /kiosk, a screen's own linkNever.
An AI assistant—Yes.

A device that has entered the PIN stays signed in for 30 days, in that browser, so a volunteer isn't asked again at every reload. Changing the PIN signs everyone out, so do it before the event rather than during it. A forgotten PIN is cleared from the server computer's tray or menu bar with Reset Access Protection PIN. See Settings.

The server computer ​

  • Pick a computer that stays put for the whole event, on mains power, with sleep switched off. Closing a laptop's lid usually sends it to sleep, and every other device loses the event until it wakes.
  • Allow Manager through the firewall. On Windows, the first time Manager starts, Windows asks whether to let it communicate: tick Private networks and click Allow access. If you missed it, see Firewall prompt on first launch. On a Mac, allow incoming connections for meshO Manager if asked.
  • Check the venue network is a private one on Windows. A network marked Public blocks other devices even when Manager is allowed.
  • Settings → Server → Allow access from other devices on the network must be on. It is to begin with.

Manager listens on port 5154 unless you've changed it in Settings → Server.

Which address each device uses ​

Settings → Server lists each app's link twice: by the computer's name and by its IP. Which to use depends on the device:

  • Laptops doing the work (card download, station memory, the registration desk) should use the IP links. They need Chrome or Edge (or Firefox 151 or later) to read a SportIdent reader, and Chrome often can't find the computer by name.
  • Phones, tablets and TVs should use the name links. They find the name on their own, and a name survives the server's IP changing.

Each link has a QR code button, so a phone or tablet can open it with its camera. Full detail, including the exact Chrome error and how to give the server a name every browser can find: Reaching the server: name or IP.

What each device needs ​

DeviceWhat it opensWhat it needs
The serverhttp://localhost:5154/managerNothing else.
Download laptopThe Manager link, then Card downloadsChrome or Edge (or Firefox 151 or later), a SportIdent USB station, and HTTPS with meshO's certificate trusted, because a browser only lets a page use the reader over a secure link. See HTTPS and certificates. On a Mac, the CP210x driver too (SportIdent USB stations on macOS).
Registration deskThe Registration linkAny browser. To read card numbers off cards, the same as a download laptop. See The registration desk.
Results and problemsThe Manager linkAny browser. A laptop is easier than a tablet for the detailed screens.
CommentaryThe Commentary linkAny browser. See Commentary.
TV screensA screen's own link, from the Screens pageA smart TV's browser, a media stick, or a computer driving one or more TVs. See TV screens.
Info displays (start clock, starters due, a radio control's punch feed, pending downloads, a camera or its video)The Info linkA tablet or a small screen. See Event info screens.
Spectators' phonesThe Spectator link, or its QR codeAny browser. See The spectator site and kiosk.
Kiosk (a self-serve results lookup for competitors)The Kiosk linkA tablet or a laptop. See Setting up a kiosk.

Every link opens with nothing to install and nothing to log into, apart from the PIN if you've set one (see the access PIN). Bookmark the link on each device, or add it to a phone's or tablet's home screen, so a volunteer can reopen it with one tap.

Name each computer when Manager asks ("Download A", "Entry desk"). The name says which computer made each change in the audit trail, and is how you pick out that computer when choosing where its splits print.

Printers ​

A printer can be on the network, on the server computer, or plugged into a download laptop by USB, and each computer's splits and labels go to the printer you choose for it. See Printing splits.

Splitting the work ​

A common split for a mid-sized event:

WhoDeviceDoing
Download desk (one or more)Laptops with readersDownloading cards, dealing with the obvious problems on the spot
Registration deskLaptop or tabletLate entries, card changes, hire cards
ResultsThe server, or a laptopWatching the dashboard, resolving the problems, publishing results
CommentatorLaptop or tabletCommentary and the Leaderboard
StartTabletThe start clock and who is due

Several download laptops can download at the same time. Each is its own desk with its own reader, and a card can be read at any of them.

Two people, one competitor ​

Everyone works on the same event, so two people can change the same thing:

  • A change appears everywhere at once. A competitor's Edit competitor dialog, open on another laptop, shows the change as soon as it's saved, unless that laptop has an edit of its own still being saved.
  • If both change the same competitor at the same moment, the later save stands. There's no merging and no warning. It's rare, because each save takes a fraction of a second, but agree who deals with what: the download desk fixes what it can on the spot, and everything else goes to one person.
  • The audit trail keeps both. Every change is recorded with the computer that made it, so you can see what happened and put it right. See Audit trail.

When a device loses the network ​

  • The device shows a banner, Server unavailable — reconnecting…, and keeps trying by itself. When it's back, everything on screen catches up with whatever changed in the meantime. There's no need to reload.
  • A download laptop can't save cards while it's off the network. A card read then gets no confirming beep and shows an error. Read it again once the banner has gone. The control units' memories still have the punches if something is ever missed (see Station memory).
  • TV screens and info displays show that the connection was lost and reconnect by themselves. Nobody needs to stand at them.
  • Don't reload a download laptop's page to fix it: that drops the reader, and you'll have to connect it again. See Card download.

If the server stops, every device shows the banner until it's running again, and then carries on. Nothing already saved is lost.

How many devices ​

Manager sets no limit on how many devices connect. What limits it is the server computer and the network: put the server on a cable, keep other programs on it closed, and if the Wi-Fi is struggling, move the fixed desks onto cables before you cut down the screens.