FAQs |
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I have an unsupported device, where do I stand?
Emerge might still run on your device and you’re welcome to try it. Particularly if your school has a very small SIMS database you might be fine. However if you run into problems then unfortunately you’ll have to consider an upgraded device or trial on one of our loan devices.
Our school wireless network is firewalled from our SIMS server, how do I install Emerge?
You will need to do one of two things:
a) Install the Emerge Web Service on a computer that is accessible, you will need a working SIMS
Workstation client on that computer.
b) Make exceptions on your firewall to allow access to the SIMS server via http. You might want to or
need to set static IP addresses on any devices that connect.
I need to use a proxy to access the Internet but the proxy will block access to the EmergeWeb Service. Can Emerge cope with this?
Yes. When you connect to the Emerge Web Service and have a proxy configured on the device then Emerge will try via the proxy initially. If this is unsuccessful then Emerge will try without the proxy and if that is successful it will remember to try without the proxy first in future. This detection process can cause the initial connection to the Emerge Web Service to take up to 20 seconds.
I’m trying to install Emerge on my device but there is no sliding bar to start the install
Your device is running an iOS version that is too old for Emerge. Please update the device to iOS version 4 or higher then try again.
How does Emerge talk to SIMS?
The Emerge client app talks to SIMS via the Emerge Web Service that is installed on your SIMS server (or elsewhere if you require). The Emerge Web Service uses a single SIMS user to connect to SIMS, via another Groupcall produce called Xporter. That single SIMS user carries all Emerge traffic, using Staff Codes to differentiate data for different users.
The Emerge Web Service applies two layers of authen-ca-on (device and user) before allowing data to be transmitted. Transmitted data is encrypted so that it can only be decoded by the device it is being sent to.
What are the server specs for the Groupcall software?
We do not have any set specs for this (it can run on 32 and 64 bit) same as sims specs.
What are the software pre reqs for the Groupcall server?
.NET Framework 3.5 and MMC V3.0.
We would want to install the Groupcall software on a separate server to SIMS, is this possible?
Yes, but needs to have sims client installed on that server to work.
When are Android/Windows Mobile platforms launching?
This currently in development but not available yet.
How does Groupcall authenticate with SIMS, do we need a separate account for the software to log in to SIMS?
It uses a DATA extract tool (Xporter) this uses sims report files to pull out the DATA. Accounts to use the
devices are setup separately.
Does the Groupcall software connect directly to the SIMS database?
No it uses the xporter tool to receive and send back commands.
Can we run the Groupcall services with domain accounts and not local system accounts?
Yes you can.
What protocols does the Groupcall software need to be running on the network?
Connects over standard TCP/IP.
If used outside of the network via the internet how do the devices connect to the Groupcall server?
Via a hosted BUS url in the cloud – through Microsoft Azure Service Bus see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/
en-us/windowsazure/ff181517 for more details.
If the Groupcall/SIMS data is held offsite for remote device access where is this data stored and how secure is it?
It is not held off-site. All data is read direct from what Xporter pulls from the database directly to the device.
What if any Firewall ports need to be opened up?
80 and 443 by default can be changed to other port numbers if needed.
Can we lock down the Groupcall server so it only works internally?
Yes by default the system is setup as internal use only, it has to be requested to have a service bus url put in to use via 3G.
