Project Group Roles: Server and Client
Every Juggler, Actor or Conjurer is running its own instance of Compere. Any device added to the network, running Compere, can also provide a user interface (UI) into the network and can join a project group.
•A project group comprises a system of devices running instances of Compere on a common network that operate together from a single Project file.
•The group has one server to lead the project group and one or more clients following.
•Any device can see project groups represented by other devices live on the same network.
•When a device joins a project group it retains this membership setting when switched off, or offline.
•If all members, clients and server leave a project group, the project group no longer exists.
Project Group Server
In this role, Compere can connect to any number of clients. A server shares its projects with clients and there can only be one server per project group. The server is automatically assigned.
Project Group Client
In this role, Compere does not connect to other clients directly. A client does not share its own projects, so any Project opened on a client will be dropped on joining a group with a server.
Example system:
4 Actors as pre-rendered media servers, 1 Conjurer for generative content, 2 Jugglers handling a large canvas, a dedicated PC as project user interface, all in a single project group. The project group server role is preferably given to a device with least project load.
The project group server is automatically elected within the project group, based on a score that the user assigns to each device. If the server instance of Compere drops out, another will be reassigned to the role. (See Server Failover Configuration below.)
The instance of Compere elected as server holds the Project file, and distributes it to all other instances of Compere in the project group. Every project group member then shares the same Project file. Any new device or instance of Compere joining a project group will receive the server’s Project file.
All edits made to the project file by group members are sent back to the project group server to redistribute. Any edits made whilst a device is offline will be lost (but see Save, Save As, and Export).
Changing to another project group
If a device elected as server is moved into a different group, it does so as a client. This does not immediately close any project file it retains.
The device being moved will then adopt the project file of the server in a new group, displacing any project file it previously may have held as server.
If the new group has no server, the device that has moved may or may not be elected into the role according to its failover score as assigned in Network Configuration.
If the moving device was moved to a group without a server, and is then elected as server, it will distribute the project file it retained to the new project group of clients.
Configure Devices in the Network
All instances of Compere on devices on the local network are listed under Configuration > Network Configuration, in a panel titled ‘Network Discovery’. This includes Jugglers, Actors and Conjurers:
Your local instance of Compere has the green flash across it marked ‘Local’. The list can be sorted by clicking on any column head.
Here, you select a NIC (expand the dropdown for details) and a project group (editable dropdown - type to add a new Project Group), set yourself online/offline and set your score for server failover.
Hostname
This is the name that has been given to a device running an instance of Compere: Juggler units, control PC(s), Actors and Conjurers. Initially these will be the names assigned when the devices were built.
Type
Compere instances have an instance type – determined by startup command line parameters – which is one of:
GUI, Juggler 1, Juggler 2, Actor, GUI (Actor), Daemon, or Unknown. The default is Unknown.
Version
Different versions of Compere might conflict within a project group. This column shows the version of each instance of Compere.
Instance
The UUID of the instance of each Compere running on this device, mainly useful for External Control.
Colour
User choice. Just used as a visual identifier for each instance of Compere.
Selected NIC
This dropdown selector shows all available NICs for the device. Jugglers will be defined and show the label, which cannot be changed.
IP address
Shows the current IP of each unit. Mouseover the coloured dot for a tooltip revealing DHCP/Static status (magenta = DHCP, blue- static IP).
Note: The internal IP range for all Juggler 1 devices is 172.30.n.n so do not use this range for your network of Jugglers and other devices. For Juggler 2 it is 127.0.0.255. |
Project Group
Which devices share the Project file (‘stage manager script’)? Devices communicate by joining a project group. Initially, all instances of Compere available on the network appear under a group label ‘Default’, which is not a communications group. Project groups are created by typing a new name into the field here, or select to join from listed groups.
You must also belong to the same group as the devices with which you want to share a Project.
Role
Shows cyan C icon for Client or magenta S icon for Server (elected). An adjacent yellow warning triangle shows that this project group currently has no server (and has so far been unable to elect a server), or that an individual device has a Compere version different from that of the Project Group server. All members of a Project Group should be running he same build version.
Comms
Toggle switch for offline or online, but stay within the project group.
Score
Assign a relative score for Server Failover election. 0 = remain as client only, 10 = strongest candidate as server.
Although any instance of Compere can act as group server, we advise giving preferential voting scores to a separate control PC or to a Juggler because of the additional communications load.
Page edited [d/m/y]: 29/04/2024