One of the most important benefits of the Fids3 software
system solution is its consequently hardware independency.
This means that all components (servers, video controller and
client operation PCs, LCD monitors, network components etc.) can be
sourced from commonly available (and proven) brands (e.g.
Hewlett Packard, Samsung, NEC, Asus etc.).
We do not deal with hardware and so, we are not interested
to build up proprietary hardware depedencies (e.g. by
any native controller hardware and/or protocols).
The benefits for the customer are obviously:
Technical independency
Reduced costs
Local sourced hardware
Local maintenence/support
A typically, monitor based Fids3 system consists of the following
hardware components:
One or two servers (Single Server/Hot-Standby)
LCD Monitors (e.g. Samsung, NEC)
Video Controller PCs (One for each monitor, equipped with the F3 controller plug-in)
Network cabling (Cat-6) and standard components (Switches, Routers)
Due to its Java based design the system can run on any
common operating system (e.g. Unix, Linux, Solaris, Windows).
The redundant configuration is limited to Linux because
the embedded hard disk mirroring and observation software
components are only available for this OS.
The dimensioning of the server depends on the amount of clients and devices
connected to the system. The system design itself hasn't any limitation and is scalable to any size.
We recommend to choose Hewlett Packard ProLiant Servers (e.g HP proLiant DL 380 G6).
But this isn't a must, you also can use any no-name PC as well to run the system on
(as far as the hardware is full compliant to to the operating system used).
Monitors
Fids3 enables you to display your flight information using any LCD
monitor brand available on the market (e.g. NEC, Samsung). A single monitor
unit consists of
The LCD monitor
A Thinclient PC acting as the video controller
The only pre-condition for the Thinclient PC is to run the free Firefox browser
on it, so you can run Windows XP embedded as well as any Linux OS
(e.g. Suse, Ubuntu) coming with this popular and stable browser. Fids3 is delivered with a
so-called F3 controller (F3C). This is a small software module
running inside the Firefox browser and which communicates with the Fids3 server and provides
the perfect graphical rendering engine.
The preferred technical dimensioning of a video controller PC is
Tested OS: Ubuntu 10.04, Suse Linux 11.2 or Windows XP Embedded
Firefox Browser v3.5 or better
Graphic card supporting the inquired resolution (1366x768, 1920x1080 etc.)
The most monitor manufacturers provide also integrated solutions (LCD monitor with PC inside).
How ever, we recommend to keep the PC outside/separately of the monitor, because it mostly is
the cheaper option and makes you more flexible in case of any hardware defectives/replacements.
Operator and Staff Clients
Fids3 doesn't need any special client software to be installed. Every PC
you have a browser available on and which is connected to the FIDS network
can access the Fids3 system. So, also 'Thin Client' equipment can be used for
this purpose.
The consequently integration of Internet Browser technology enables
the usage of todays mobile devices (e.g. Apples iPad or iPhone). So, mobile
connectivity is inevitable part of the Fids3 system without any extra
charge of it.
Network Components
From the technically point of view a Fids3 system is a normal, conventional network. All
components (servers, video controllers and client PCs) wired together using standard network
cables (Category 6/7, Gigabit or better) and components (switches, router etc.). So, for installation of it, no
specific know how is necessary and the installation and maintenance can be done by any local IT company if desired.
Hardware
