Installation Guide

HSYCO SERVER ships pre-installed with the latest version of the HSYCO software, on a Linux Debian 9 (Stretch) distribution stripped of all not-essential services.

The Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment version 8 is also installed. No other software is required.

Legacy HSYCO SERVER units had Linux Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Server and Oracle Java SE Runtime Environment version 7 installed.

This chapter describes the access procedures for the basic management of the system and the structure of HSYCO’s installation and configuration files.

Initial Set-Up

HSYCO SERVER is available with different hardware configurations. Each version presents minor differences in its software configuration.

HSYCO PI - SFERA LABS STRATO PI SERVER

The standard version is installed on a Strato Pi Base Server, with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ 1GB RAM or Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 2/4/8 GB RAM with and a 4GB SLC industrial microSD card with pre-installed software. The operating system is Raspbian Stretch Lite or Raspberry Pi OS depending on the Raspberry Pi version.

HSYCO Pi is also available installed on Strato Pi UPS, Strato Pi CM or CM Duo or Iono Pi server.

Links to the HSYCO PI Servers User Guides:

https://www.sferalabs.cc/files/strato/doc/stratopi-base-user-guide.pdf

https://www.sferalabs.cc/files/strato/doc/stratopi-ups-user-guide.pdf

https://www.sferalabs.cc/files/strato/doc/stratopi-cm-user-guide.pdf

https://www.sferalabs.cc/files/strato/doc/stratopi-cmduo-user-guide.pdf

https://www.sferalabs.cc/files/ionopi/doc/ionopi-user-guide.pdf

To start the server simply plug the power supply. HSYCO automatically starts, the execution of HSYCO is signalled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO PI is configured with the following default network configuration:

• IP address (eth0): 192.168.1.50
• Net mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
• DNS: 192.168.1.1

The RS-232 / RS-485 port system id is /dev/ttyAMA0. You can only use either the RS-232 or the RS-485 port, not both at the same time, as they are connected to the same UART interface of the Raspberry Pi CPU.

If you have FTDI USB to serial adapters connected to the USB ports, use the following system ids, that are based on the physical USB port used:

• bottom right port: /dev/ftdi-1-1.2
• top right port: /dev/ftdi-1-1.3
• bottom left port: /dev/ftdi-1-1.1.3
• top left port: /dev/ftdi-1-1.1.2

HSYCO MINI - ARK-1123

This version is installed on an Advantech ARK-1123L (ARK-1123L-S3A1E), with 1.33 GHz Intel Atom E3825 dual core processor, 2GB RAM and a 500GB hard-disk with pre-installed software. Alternative storage configurations are also available. The operating system is Debian 9 (Stretch).

To start the server simply plug the power supply. HSYCO automatically starts, the execution of HSYCO is signalled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO MINI is configured with the following default network configuration:

• IP address (eth0): 192.168.1.50
• Net mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
• DNS: 192.168.1.1

HSYCO MINI has two RS-232 serial ports with standard DB-9 female connectors, on both sides of the chassis.

• the system id of the port (COM) next to the Ethernet (LAN) socket is /dev/ttyS1
• the system id of the port (COM1) on the opposite side (power button side) is /dev/ttyS0.

HSYCO PRO - ARK-2121

This version is installed on an Advantech ARK-2121L (ARK-2121L-U0A1E), with 2.0 GHz Intel J1900 quad core processor, 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard-disk with pre-installed software. Alternative storage configurations are also available. The operating system is Debian 9 (Stretch).

To start the server simply plug the power supply. HSYCO automatically starts, the execution of HSYCO is signalled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO PRO is configured with the following default network configuration:

• IP address (eth0): 192.168.1.50
• Net mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
• DNS: 192.168.1.1

The LAN1 port (left) is eth1. This port is not configured with factory default settings. The LAN2 port (right) is eth0. This is the default LAN port. On a system with factory default settings, you should connect the Ethernet cable to LAN2.

HSYCO PRO has four RS-232 serial ports with standard DB-9 female connectors.

• the system id of COM1 is /dev/ttyS0
• the system id of COM2 is /dev/ttyS1
• the system id of COM3 is /dev/ttyS2
• the system id of COM4 is /dev/ttyS3.

HSYCO ENTERPRISE - ARK-2250

This version is installed on an Advantech ARK-2250L (ARK-2250L-U6A1E), with 2.6 GHz Intel i7 dual core processor, 8GB RAM and a 500GB hard-disk or SSD with pre-installed software. HSYCO ENTERPRISE can also be configured with an additional high speed mSATA SLC solid state drive. In this case the SLC drive becomes the main drive, while the hard-disk is configured to store HSYCO logs and cameras' motion recording files. The operating system is Debian 9 (Stretch).

To start the server simply plug the power supply. HSYCO automatically starts, the execution of HSYCO is signalled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO ENTERPRISE is configured with the following default network configuration:

• IP address (eth0): 192.168.1.50
• Net mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
• DNS: 192.168.1.1

The ARK-2250 dynamically allocates the Ethernet ports. If only one port (eth0) is configured at the operating system level, then eth0 is assigned to LAN1 if this port is connected. If LAN2 is connected and LAN1 is not, then eth0 is assigned to LAN2. This dynamic setup offers an automatic failover configuration where eth0 is automatically switched from LAN1 to LAN2 in case of a physical link failure on LAN1. If both ports (eth0 and eth1) are configured at the operating system level, and both LAN1 and LAN2 are connected, eth0 is assigned to LAN1, and eth1 to LAN2. But, if LAN1 is not connected, eth0 will be assigned to LAN2, leaving eth1 down.

HSYCO ENTERPRISE has four RS-232 serial ports with standard DB-9 female connectors.

• the system id of COM1 is /dev/ttyS0
• the system id of COM2 is /dev/ttyS1
• the system id of COM3 is /dev/ttyS2
• the system id of COM4 is /dev/ttyS3.

Access to the Manager

HSYCO SERVER is pre-configured with a Web-based toolkit of applications, the Manager, that gives you access to configuration and administration functions, including the ability to change the network settings and the operating system's password, HSYCO users management and the tools to create customized graphic user interfaces.

To access the system's management application, simply called Manager from now on, enter the following URL in your Web Browser:

https://192.168.1.50/hsycoserver/manager

The Manager runs on most modern Web browsers, including tablets like Apple’s iPad. It even runs on small screen devices like the iPhone or iPod touch, although a larger screen size is advisable for ease of use. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer versions 8 and older are not supported, and IE9 is not guaranteed to work, although it should in most cases.

HSYCO default configuration only accepts Web requests through the HTTPS secure protocol, while access via HTTP is disabled.

Furthermore, to protect against malicious service discovery robots, HSYCO does not answer to Web requests where only the server address is defined, for example https://192.168.1.50, but requires an extended URL, which must include an access key, called URLKey, defined in the general system configuration parameters.

The factory default URLKey is hsycoserver.

The URLKey is not a secret password, but only an additional protection feature.

Because the SSL certificate used to secure the communication between the Web Browser and HSYCO SERVER is self-generated, you will be asked to accept the server's certificate.

On the iPod touch, iPhone or iPad press Continue, on other browsers follow the dialog boxes to permanently accept the certificate.

You will see the PIN and PUK authentication page. Enter the default PIN and PUK, and press OK:

PIN: 0000
PUK: 00000 0000 00000

The default pre-configured PIN and PUK are the same for all HSYCO SERVERS, to let you conveniently access the user interface during the initial installation. Both the PIN and PUK should be changed immediately to different, hard to guess numbers.

Press the Admin icon in the Manager’s main menu to access the Users, System Password, Network and Clock settings functions.

HSYCO is now ready to be configured!

For further information about the Manager toolkit usage please visit the Configuration Guide.

SSH Access to the Operating System

The configuration of the operating system only needs one administrator user, whose login is hsyco.

The password initially configured for the hsyco user is hsycoserver.

In order to guarantee the system safety and to prevent any unauthorized access it is essential to modify the access password of the HSYCO user before installing the system onto any not-secure LAN network.

The SSH secure protocol is used to access the operating system’s console and, if needed, to manage files. The SSH protocol encrypts all traffic and can be safely used for remote management. If the network has a firewall it might be necessary to open port TCP 22 and configure traffic forwarding towards the HSYCO SERVER IP address.

HSYCO is installed in the home directory of the hsyco user, /home/hsyco.

In this directory, the subdirectory ./hsyco contains the software, the configuration files, custom Java programs, logs and recorded images from cameras.

Several software programs are available for the SSH access on Microsoft Windows, in particular Putty to access the console, and Bitvise Tunnelier [1] and WinSCP to access files through SFTP.

On Apple Mac OS X the SSH access is integrated in the operating system and directly usable through Terminal, while Cyberduck is one of the most widespread utilities to manage files through SFTP.

On Ubuntu OS the SSH access is integrated in the operating system and accessible through Terminal, while Filezilla is a good solution for managing file through SFTP.

Start and Stop the HSYCO Server (HSYCO version 3.6.0 or later)

HSYCO starts automatically with the operating system when the server is turned on. The execution of HSYCO is signaled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO also restarts automatically with every change to the hsyco.ini, hsyco.jar and com/hsyco/user.class files. In this case the restart is also signaled by three beeps.

The following commands should be used for all HSYCO Server units shipped with HSYCO 3.6.0 pre-installed. For servers shipped with an older version, use the commands listed in the next chapter.

To manually stop HSYCO, access the console via SSH:

ssh hsyco@192.168.0.50

and execute the command:

sudo systemctl stop hsyco.service

To start HSYCO, execute:

sudo systemctl start hsyco.service

Finally, to verify the current state of HSYCO execute:

sudo systemctl status hsyco.service

If HSYCO is running, the answer to the command will be something like:

hsyco.service - HSYCO Server service
  Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/hsyco.service; enabled)
  Active: active (running) ...

Start and Stop the HSYCO Server (HSYCO version 3.5.x or older)

HSYCO starts automatically with the operating system when the server is turned on. The execution of HSYCO is signaled by three consecutive high-pitch beeps.

HSYCO also restarts automatically with every change to the hsyco.ini, hsyco.jar and com/hsyco/user.class files. In this case the restart is also signaled by three beeps.

To manually stop HSYCO, access the console via SSH:

ssh hsyco@192.168.0.50

and execute the command:

sudo stop hsyco

To start HSYCO, execute:

sudo start hsyco

Finally, to verify the current state of HSYCO execute:

sudo status hsyco

If HSYCO is running, the answer to the command will be something like:

hsyco (start) running, process ...

SMB Access to Files

Starting with HSYCO 3.6.0, SMB support is not pre-installed. If you need SMB on you HSYCO Server you can install it on Linux, or contact HSYCO for support.

To guarantee an easy access to files, HSYCO SERVER makes the main directory available through a standard file server (network disk) service. The name of the service is hsyco. To access the file server you should use the same hsyco user and password provided to access the operating system.

Access to Files on Microsoft Windows

In order to connect a Microsoft Windows system to the HSYCO SERVER shared network folder, select Tools > Map network drive from the Explorer menu.

Type \\192.168.0.50\hsyco in the field Folder and press Finish.

Then, insert the user name (hsyco, as before) and password (initially hsycoserver, that you can modify as already described) and press OK.

All the HSYCO files are available and accessible in the shared folder window, and you have full read and write permissions on them.

In order to guarantee the highest safety and protection of HSYCO from any unauthorized access, you should disconnect the shared folder when not in use and avoid saving^{[Note 8]} the password for automatic access.

To manually edit the content of the files directly from the shared folder, use the WordPad application, and not the Notepad application, the latter cannot correctly manage the text files format.

To open the files using WordPad, right click on the file, then select Open with... and WordPad, if it appears in the menu, or go to Programs and choose WordPad in the list of available applications.

Note 8 

Do not select the Remember my password option in the window where the username and password are required.

Access to Files on Mac OS X

In order to connect an Apple Mac OS X system to the HSYCO SERVER file server, select Go > Connect to Server from the Finder menu.

In the Server Address field insert smb://192.168.0.50 and press Connect.

Then, insert the username (hsyco) and password (initially hsycoserver, that you can modify as already described) and press Connect.

In order to guarantee the highest safety and protection of HSYCO from any unauthorized access, we advise you to disconnect the shared folder when not in use and not to save the password in the Mac keychain.

Software License Key

The license.txt file contains the software license key needed to unlock HSYCO. The first time HSYCO is started, or in case this file is removed before start, HSYCO creates a new file containing the encrypted code that univocally identifies the hardware where the software runs. In order to allow the correct execution of HSYCO the file should contain the software license key, issued by HSYCO Srl specific to every single computer.

The hardware identification code is based on the hardware components installed on the server. For example, by replacing or adding network cards the code changes and therefore the software license key will be no longer valid for the new configuration.

If the license key is not in the file, or if it is not correct, HSYCO disables all the access functions to the field devices, keeping only the Web Server working. It will be therefore possible to access the Web pages, but not to execute any action on or interface to the systems connected to HSYCO.

The possible error messages related to the software license are written in the daily log files.

The content of license.txt, generated by HSYCO and containing only the hardware identification code is the following:

#Generated by HSYCO CONTROLLER 3.3.0
#Tue Dec 10 11:49:06 CET 2013
hwid=2080334b6283f450283bd4bbc3389bf66dc03dda 

To unlock HSYCO features, replace the license.txt file generated by HSYCO at the time of its first execution with the license.txt version with the key provided by HSYCO Srl. The file and the key are automatically recognized within a few seconds, it is therefore not necessary to restart HSYCO.

This is an example of the complete software license key file:

#Generated by HSYCO LICENSE MANAGER 3.3.0
#Tue Dec 10 12:20:00 CET 2013
name=Company Name
hwid=2080334b6283f450283bd4bbc3389bf66dc03dda
key=302D021500898B20F13ABE66DF3D2577809C6A53343A23A5CD0214540FD580A1E3DA1CBEB18D11E98CAAE453D402BF

The Configuration Console

HSYCO Server provides a simple low-level maintenance console, used to reboot the system, reset its settings or restore the whole system to the original factory configuration.

This console is not used for normal operations.

The console is available using a keyboard and a monitor connected to the VGA/DVI/HDMI video out connector.

Server Configuration Console

1) Reboot the system
2) Halt the system
3) Stop HSYCO Server
4) Start HSYCO Server
5) Restore network configuration to factory defaults (192.168.0.50)
6) Delete all PINs and file server password and restore default values
7) Restore database to factory defaults. All data will be lost
8) Restore system software to factory defaults. All data will be lost
Type a function number and press Enter [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]:

Type the desired function number and Enter, then press Y to confirm after the beeps (the system will sound a number of beeps, corresponding to the function number; this should allow you to access the console functions using the keyboard and audio feedback only, without a monitor).

Function 1 performs the operating system shutdown, followed by a reboot.

Function 2 performs the operating system shutdown and halts the system. You should turn it off then back on to restart.

Function 3 and 4 are used to temporarily stop the HSYCO Server process, and to restart it.

Use functions 5 to 8 with caution. These function will delete configuration settings, user data, and security settings of the system. They could allow a local user with physical access to the server, unrestricted access to your data.

Function 5 restores the factory default network configuration. If you make a mistake while setting the network parameters, preventing access to the server via the network connection, you can use this function to reset the configuration and regain access to the server.

Function 6 removes all users’ PIN and PUK codes, restoring the default 00000 administrator enabled PIN. It also reset the operating system password to its default.

Function 7 deletes all data in the HSYCO database, including persistent variables.

Function 8 performs a full factory reset, returning the system to the HSYCO version and settings as shipped, removing all custom data, configuration and programs.