Browse through these FAQs to find answers to commonly raised questions. If you're a new customer, we encourage you to read through the relevant articles regarding our Middleware.
1. Can the middleware write directly to a network share?
The middleware can only write to local paths, both on Windows and Linux.
However, if you want to write to a network share, you can always mount it on a local path and configure the middleware to write there.
2. How many Middlewares can I run?
The number of Middlewares that you can run depends on your current plan. Usually, you will use one Middleware per control room.
If you need to run additional Middlewares, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
3. How many computers do I need to run Flowics through Middleware?
Typically you'll need two computers:
One for the Middleware, running on the same network as the graphics insertion system.
One to configure and operate Flowics, which can be anywhere with an internet connection.
Additional computers might be needed if you are running cloud graphics, which must be connected to your control room switcher.
4. Will the Middleware periodically delete downloaded data?
File and database data is rewritten as long as the Middleware Sources are connected to the middleware. Downloaded media (photos, videos, audio) data is never deleted by the Middleware.
This is done by design because any piece of data could be displayed in the graphics insertion system at any time.
5. In which format is media (photo, videos, audio) downloaded? Can it be transformed?
Media is downloaded in the same format provided by the corresponding social network (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.).
Since Version 4.1.0, you can integrate a transcoder into our middleware to transform media.
6. Can I run two Middlewares on the same computer?
Yes, you can.
If you have two or more Middleware tokens and want to run more than one Middleware service on the same computer, you can decompress & configure the Middleware software in different folders. Then:
6.1 Open the file conf/middleware.conf
6.2 Look for the line wrapper.app.parameter.2=9090, and increase the number after the equals sign. In this case, you can use 9091, 9092, etc. It's important not to repeat that number for Middlewares running on the same computer.
6.3 Start your Middleware. To learn how to run the middleware click here
7. Why am I seeing the "Address already in use: bind" error in the logs?
The Middleware tries to bind to port 9090 on the machine you run it, so you'll get this error if you start the Middleware and port 9090 is already taken.
This situation can happen if you try to run the Middleware both in standalone and service mode at the same time, or if another application uses port 9090.
To prevent this, you can change the port which is going to be used by the Middleware as explained in the previous question.
8. What firewall connections should I allow and what domains should I enable?
For the Middleware your firewall has to allow outgoing connections to ports 443 and 80, HTTPS and HTTP protocols respectively.
You have to allow outgoing connections to any domain, remembering that we also download content from twitter.com, facebook.com, instagram.com, etc, and subdomains like video.twimg.com and pbs.twimg.com among others.
9. Is it possible to run the Middleware in a VM (Virtual Machine)?
Yes, it is. Take into account that with a VM as well as with a physical PC, you will need to meet the requirements exposed in the installation guide.