Owner's Manual (Complete)

Chapter 24—Client Server
6 The Home Control Assistant
What can you do with HCA Client – Server
As stated above, the goal of the HCA Client is that you can do anything you would normally do
with HCA except for creation of a new file.
This means that each of your actions results in a communication with the server. If you control a
light, for example, the client sends a message to the server to turn on the light.
Any operation that happens in the background when you are using stand-alone HCA happens on
the server when in client-server mode. This includes:
 Schedules
 Program execution
 Trigger response for programs, devices, and groups
 Periodic status export
 Green Home Mode and statistics
 Web Component
 Alert Manager
 Weather observations
 Power failure and restore
 Startup status polling
 Protocol Bridges
 Any device control initiated from the user interface
From the client, you can do more than just action operations. You can also change schedules and
programs, add new devices, etc.
One important point to keep in mind as you work with your design are those areas that reference
external files. For example, suppose you modify a program that uses the Read-Data element. This
element reads an external file. Where does that file need to reside and what is the path that goes in
the element properties?
Since all programs are executed on the server, the path in the element needs to be a
path to the file
on the server
and not a path on the client computer.
Those dialogs that accept a path contain a warning to remind you of this when HCA is working in
client mode.
You can also work with those settings that are made in HCA – Properties. For example you can
test the connection to your hardware interfaces, start and stop the web component, and change
program execution options. All these result in communication from the client to the server to carry
out the action.
Should your connection to the server be lost – this can happen with network communications for a
variety of reasons – you can reconnect to the server by selecting from the menu File – Reconnect
to server. This causes your design to be reloaded.
Note: Some HCA settings are local and others are global. For example, you can configure a
client’s display pane settings (HCA – Properties Display Pane tab) and those settings are
local to that client. Other settings, like the Advanced Settings (HCA – Properties Advanced
tab) are communicated to the server when changed on the client as they effect the action of
the server.