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Congratulations on your purchase of the Pathfinder Core PRO. We know that you're anxious to get started, so this section will take you from “out-of-the-box” to “up-and-running” as quickly as possible.
We've made a few basic assumptions:
That you have some knowledge of network basics and network terminology
That you are familiar with other Axia Livewire products
That you have a correctly configured network switch
Once you’re all set up, the manual will provide in-depth knowledge of Pathfinder Core PRO's more advanced options. Please refer to the Quick Start Guide below that matches the platform you purchased (R/2, AE-2000 (2021), or Virtual Machine). The R/2 and AE-2000 (2021) look identical from the back and use the same software update packages, but the AE-2000 (2021) platform does not have an LCD display on the front. Once you're completed the product specific section, finish with the "Discovery" section of this Quick Start Guide.
Your system is configured from the factory with default Livewire and office IP address as follows:
Left NIC: 192.168.2.100 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0 Right NIC: 10.10.2.100 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0
These IP addresses can be changed either by attaching a monitor and USB keyboard and using the intuitive menu or by browsing to the default IP address as described below.
Attach a monitor to the VGA port on the back of PathfinderCore PRO and a USB keyboard to the USB port. You will see a menu dialog similar to this:
Menu navigation uses the arrow keys and the ENTER and ESC keys.
Press ENTER to access the configuration menu
Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to highlight the NETWORK menu option, then press ENTER
Use the UP/DOWN arrow keys to highlight the LIVEWIRE network interface, then press ENTER
Configure the IP settings using the UP/DOWN arrow keys to increment or decrement the values and the ENTER or ESC keys to edit or exit each option; you can also type numerals instead of using the arrow keys
After configuring the IP, NETMASK, and GATEWAY settings, select DONE then press ENTER
Repeat this process for the Office interface and the DNS configuration (DNS may be required for email configuration)
Once all configurations are complete, navigate to Reboot and Apply Settings and press ENTER; confirm any request; the system will reboot to the new network configuration.
You may now move on to the Discovery section of this guide.
Attach the left NIC of Pathfinder Core PRO to a network switch
Attach a computer to the same switch and configure the computer’s IP address to be within the 192.168.2.xx range, but avoid using 192.168.2.100
Using a web browser, browse to 192.168.2.100
Log in using the default Username and Password: Username = Admin Password = Admin
Click on the Configuration link
Use the Configure buttons to change the IP address, Netmask, and Gateway for both the Livewire and Office network interfaces
Click the Reboot button to restart with the new IP addresses
You may now move on to the Discovery section of this guide.
Pathfinder Core PRO—either Appliance or VM—is a toolbox with powerful features that create efficient workflows and facility management.
Warning: 1.7.x.xx represents a beta track of software. The quick start guide and manual will be identical to 1.6. To see the new beta feature documentation refer to the Beta Documentation section of this document.
The next step requires a web browser on a PC connected to either the office or Livewire network.
If your computer is connected to the office network, open your browser and enter the IP address you assigned to the WAN port into the URL bar
If your PC is connected to the Livewire network, open your browser and enter the IP you assigned to the Livewire port into the URL bar.
An authentication window will appear. Type the following values: Username = Admin Password = Admin
Select Sign In to load the Pathfinder Core PRO control panel
From the links in the left-hand navigation bar, click Configuration under the System heading
Next to Livewire Endpoint Discovery, click Start
Now would be a good time to grab a cup of coffee while the system evaluates the network, discovers devices, and builds your primary audio and GPIO routers.
While the Discovery is running, the system will continue to look for new devices. There is no message indicating completion, but if you click the Devices link in the navigation bar, you should see Devices populating the Devices list.
Congratulations! Your Pathfinder Core PRO is now configured and ready to start controlling your broadcasting world.
When you first log in to the Pathfinder Core PRO web page, you will be presented with the System Status page. This is the same web page displayed when clicking the System link in the navigation bar.
This screen is primarily informational outside of the licensing configuration fields. There are four sections:
This shows which of the two Firmware Banks is currently active and the version of software running in that Bank.
This shows the current license in the system and its capabilities.
This shows graphs representing the current CPU, memory, Ethernet utilization, and available disk space. The graphs are updated automatically every two seconds.
This section provides download links to the online documentation.
Under the System heading in the navigation bar is a Configuration link. If you've already referenced the Quick Start Guide, you will have already been introduced to this page.
Access the web interface by typing in the IP address configured earlier in a web browser; an authentication window will appear; type the following values: Username = Admin Password = Admin
Select Sign In to load the Pathfinder Core PRO control panel
From the links in the left-hand navigation bar, click Configuration under the System heading
Next to Livewire Endpoint Discovery, click Start
When a new device is discovered, the system will add it to its device list and add any route points provided by the device into the audio and GPIO router. This is one of the first options you will use when configuring a new system as it is how you will discover the equipment that Pathfinder Core PRO can control.
When discovery is enabled, the button will say Stop instead of Start; clicking the button will stop any additional automatic discovery.
Important Note: Pathfinder Core PRO uses the IP address of a device as the unique identifier of that device within the system. If you change the IP address of a device, Pathfinder Core PRO will treat it as a new device. This is why we recommend setting up your basic Axia infrastructure first before introducing Pathfinder Core PRO to the mix.
Current IP address information is visible in the Network Configuration section of the System > Configuration page.
System IP options can be edited using the front panel display or through the web GUI.
Click the Configure button to open the network interface’s Edit screen
Type the IP Address, Netmask, and Gateway values and click OK, or click Cancel to leave this dialog without making any changes
Important Note: Network interface changes will not take effect until you reboot the system. Therefore, after changing the IP options, you will notice that Network Configuration screen will show the changes in parenthesis and will sport a shiny new Reboot button.
The DNS section lists the currently defined DNS servers.
With correctly configured DNS settings, the system can send emails to administrators and employees alerting them to network changes requiring attention. For example, you can send emails when critical sources or destinations such as air chains become silent. To do this, the system needs to be able to resolve email server names with the correct IP addresses to send the email through. The DNS entries can also be used when entering NTP server information. Talk to your network administrator if you are unsure of which DNS servers to use.
Click the DNS Server Configure button to open the Dns Entries dialog, allowing you to add, remove, and reorder DNS server entries
Click Add to add a new DNS server to the list and Remove to remove a DNS server entry
To move a DNS Server up or down in the priority list, select a DNS server entry and click the << or >> buttons
Click OK to save your changes or Cancel to leave the dialog without making any changes
Important Note: DNS changes do not require a reboot to become active.
Each Pathfinder Core PRO system includes a base license allowing a 1000 license point pool to be allocated between both Axia Audio Sources and Logic Flow endpoints.
Important Note: The licensing model changed with version 1.6 of Pathfinder Core PRO. In previous versions, the base license provided only 500 Axia Audio Sources and 500 Logic Flow endpoints, and add-on licenses would have to be applied to one or the other. Many customers found they needed more Axia Audio Source points but did not need as many Logic Flow points, resulting in the new licensing model defining the shared license point pool. We also added the new license types described below.
If you purchased a hardware-based Pathfinder Core PRO, the base license is pre‑installed. If you purchased a virtual machine license, there are three possible license types:
Additional licenses to add functionality may be purchased through your Axia distributer, with each additional licenses providing either an additional 500 (the Pathfinder Core PRO Add-On 500) or 100 (the Pathfinder Core PRO Add-On 100) license points.
Add-on licenses are shared between the Pathfinder Core PRO units that are participating in a clustered system. This means that if you need a redundant Pathfinder Core PRO system that supports 1400 license points, you will need to purchase two Pathfinder Core PRO systems (each of which comes with a base license or backup license) and a single add-on license to add the additional 500 sources. The add-on license allows both systems in the cluster to mirror and synchronize the full 1400 license point functionality.
Important Note: Virtual sources and GPIO sources do not count against the license. Only Axia Audio Sources with enabled streams and Logic Flow endpoints are counted in the licensing. Additionally, Logic Flows which are dynamically created by the system during HTML5 panel binding and/or hardware mapping do not count against your licensing. If you have questions regarding the licensing model, please contact Axia support or your Axia distributor.
To view or add additional licenses, click the System heading on the navigation bar and then click the Edit Licenses link
The licensing page will display your base license information; it will also provide a list of your additional licenses
Click the New License line then type the new Request Code and License Key to add a new license
Finally, click Submit Changes to add the license to the system; license changes may require a reboot to become effective; click the Configuration link under System to find the reboot button
The Backup/Restore page presents a list of all backups in the system. If this is the first time using this page, there will probably not be any backups present in the system.
To take a new backup, or to upload a backup from your local computer back into the system, click the plus icon.
To create a new backup, type a name for the backup, select whether you want logs and/or the IP address to be included in the backup, and then click Take. Click Cancel to exit the dialog without making any changes.
The backup will include any configuration files needed to return your system to its current state.
If logs are included, the backup will also include all system and application logs currently on the system. The log information can be very useful to Axia support if they are trying to assist in troubleshooting an issue, and it is likely they will ask you to take a backup including log files and send it to them.
If you intend to restore the backup on a different Pathfinder Core PRO, you may not wish to include IP addresses so the restore process does not overwrite the IP addresses of the other unit.
Important Note: After taking a new backup it is highly recommended that you click on the link to the backup file and download it to your local computer to store it in a safe location. Backups that live on the Pathfinder Core PRO system are not true backups because if the system or storage medium were to fail, both the system and the backups could be lost. Downloading a backup to your local system will also allow you to send the backup to support if necessary.
Backups are stored in the software Bank. When you move to a new software Bank, you will not be able to directly access the backups from the previous Bank. However, if the backup is saved to your local computer, you can easily upload it back into a new Bank if desired.
To restore your configuration to a new system, a factory default system, or a system that has had the desired backup removed from the system, click Choose File.
Select a System Backup file on your local system, then click Upload. After the upload is complete, the backup will be available in the Backup/Restore list.
The minus icon will delete a backup from the system.
Since there is limited space on the storage medium it is recommended to keep only a few backups on the system at a time.
Click the Restore link next to a stored backup. The system will request confirmation that you really wish to restore the system to that state.
After confirming the operation, the system will shut down active services, restore the configuration files to the state of that backup, and reboot.
Important Note: The restore function typically happens quickly, but keep in mind that the system will not be operational during the restore and reboot process.
One of the Pathfinder Core PRO Administrator’s most important tasks is periodic firmware updates. This project is undergoing a very active development lifecycle with many new features planned for future versions. That, in addition to fixes for any bugs reported to us by our users, will make occasional updates of the firmware in your Pathfinder Core PRO system necessary.
The system has two software Banks so that if there is a need to return to an earlier version, it will live in the preceding Bank. To upgrade your system:
Take a backup of your system as explained in the Taking Backups section above; we always recommend backing up your system before making any major change just to be safe; the backup process generates its own backup as well, but it never hurts to have another copy stored on your local computer
Download the new firmware version from the Axia Audio web site to your local computer; the file name extension will be .pfc_upd which stands for Pathfinder Core PRO update package; it is also a good idea to take a moment to scan the release notes to understand the changes between the version you are currently running and the version to which you will be upgrading
Select the Upload Update link under the System heading in the navigation bar; this page will display the Bank on which you are not currently running, as the update will always load to the inactive bank
Click Browse and select the file you downloaded from the Axia web site
The File Upload bar will change to the name of the file which you have selected to upload and a status bar will appear with the Begin button; if the file is not correct for the type of system you have (for example, you attempt to install VM software to a Fanless Engine platform) a warning will appear
Click Begin to begin the updating process
A new page will appear with a progress bar that presents stages along with some additional information regarding what is taking place at that point of the update process; the update may take several minutes to complete
Important Note: It is important to understand the status of the configuration files during an upgrade process. The configuration files for the system reside within the currently executing Bank. During the upgrade process, a backup of the configuration from the currently running Bank is automatically made. After the new software is written into the new Bank, the configuration is then restored into the new Bank so that when you boot into the new Bank it has the same configuration that is in the currently executing Bank. However, if you then boot into the new Bank and make changes to the configuration in the new Bank, those changes will not reside in the old Bank. If you wish to return to the old Bank and you have made changes to the configuration, you should back up the configuration on the new Bank, boot into the old Bank, and then restore the backup. This process is outlined in the section on Backup and Restore.
Once the update is complete, you should receive a Processing Succeeded message; because you are updating the Bank which is currently active, the system should continue to run even if there was an error with the update
If you receive an error message instead of Processing Succeeded, please contact Axia support
To boot into the updated Bank and start using the new software, click the Bank Control link in the navigation bar
Bank Control displays the software versions in both Banks of the system and offers control over the currently executing software revision Bank. Click the Bank Control link under the System heading in the navigation bar to view this page.
The Bank button can be used to select which Bank will be used on the next reboot. It also displays the currently selected Bank as the next Bank that will be active at reboot.
After changing the Bank that will be used on the next reboot, a Reboot button will appear on the page.
Clicking Reboot will reboot into the newly selected Bank.
The information tables display the software version in each Bank. An asterisk will be present next to the Bank that is currently executing.
Important Note: When you select a new Bank, the system creates a temporary mark in the system to boot into that Bank. After the system boots into the new Bank, that temporary mark is turned into a normal reboot setting so the newly selected Bank will be used on subsequent reboots. This is called "cementing the Bank". If something goes wrong with the upgrade and the Bank is unusable, the Bank does not get cemented and rebooting the system either automatically or by disconnecting power will cause the system to boot into the previously working Bank. The new Bank will only get cemented for future boots if it boots successfully.
This also means that after rebooting into a new Bank you should return to the Bank control web page to make sure the boot was successful and you are executing on the desired Bank. If the boot fails, it could fail back to the previous Bank and you will only know that by double-checking this page.
Important Note: We have occasionally seen some browsers try to cache the state of this page even though we have requested that it does not do so in the web page code. If you reboot and the executing asterisk does not change, try refreshing the web page. Some browsers have an extra button you can hold down while refreshing to force the web page to refresh rather than rely on the cache; for example, with Google Chrome, hold Shift+CTRL while clicking the refresh icon.
Since configuration files reside within the executing Bank, if you are switching to a different Bank the configuration may be different. It is always recommended to take a backup of your configuration before switching Banks, and then restore that configuration on the new Bank.
If you are switching Banks immediately after upgrading the firmware, then this backup and restore have been already completed as part of the upgrade process. Otherwise, it is recommended to review the backup and restore procedures earlier in this manual. Conversely, this also means if you make a mistake in the configuration in a new Bank, you can boot back into the old Bank to get to an older and successfully working configuration, though using backups and restores is a more efficient way of doing this.
Click the Services link on the navigation bar to view the Services page.
This page will only be used in conjunction with Axia tech support, but it is worth discussing what this page represents. To make Pathfinder Core PRO as robust as possible, the system has a sophisticated watchdog process. This process monitors the state of each of the services in the system and is responsible for sending ping messages to each service to make sure they are still responsive at the application layer. If a service fails to respond within a certain period of time, the watchdog will restart the service. In a rare and catastrophic situation where the watchdog is not able to achieve proper responsiveness of a service, it might also restart all services or even reboot the system after enough subsequent failures.
This screen shows each service, when it was last started, and the most recent ping and response time. If you watch this screen you should notice the pings changing at approximately 5-second intervals.
In many ways, this page is equivalent to the Services control panel in a Windows machine.
Click on the Time link under the System heading of the navigation bar to view the Time settings. The System Time configuration page allows you to define NTP servers, set the system’s time zone, and sync the current time to that of your local PC.
Use the Current Timezone drop-down to select the correct time zone for the system.
Click Set time from PC to update Pathfinder Core PRO’s current time to that of your local PC.
Defining NTP servers in the Ntp servers list is recommended so that Pathfinder Core PRO can update its time automatically and always be as accurate as possible.
There are a number of reasons why it is important to keep Pathfinder Core PRO’s time accurate. The first is that the system has the ability to define events that happen at specific dates and times. Those events will, of course, fire at incorrect times if the system’s time is not up to date. Additionally, log files use the system’s time settings to keep track of when changes happen.
Finally, proper cluster synchronization relies on date and time settings to determine whether a specific piece of information is more up-to-date on one system or another and therefore whether synchronization of that piece of information needs to take place. Talk to your network administrator if you have questions about which NTP servers to use.
In order to send emails from Logic Flows, the server parameters must first be defined in the system in order to let Pathfinder Core PRO know which email server to use to send email messages. Under the System section of the navigation bar, click the Email Settings link.
These settings are like those used by any other email client application.
Important Note: While most servers require authentication, some provide security based on the source IP address rather than user credentials. Using a blank username and password will cause Pathfinder Core PRO to skip including any credentials in the email sends. After applying a blank password, the field will most likely show a series of stars, but this does not indicate the presence of a password. In addition to masking the characters of a password, this field also masks the length of the password for security reasons. Therefore, even a blank password will display a constant number of stars in the field after the password has been applied.
Once you have the parameters configured correctly, click Apply Changes to store them to the system. This button must be clicked before Send Test Email will use the new settings.
Use the Send Test Email button to generate a test email. The page will ask for a destination email address and will then attempt to send the message. Any errors will be reported. Once you can successfully send test emails, you are ready to create messages that may be used by Pathfinder Core PRO’s event system, Logic Flows.
Go to the Email Messages section of this manual for more details about creating email messages determine when those messages are sent.
Pathfinder Core PRO offers you ultimate control of your Axia network. It is a toolbox that allows you to fashion your own custom workflows for your users. At its foundation it provides router control. By communicating with Axia devices on your network, it brings the sources and destinations together into a common user interface that can then be used to make route changes anywhere in the system.
It also offers control over console parameters, metering, audio levels, and many more parameters that an Axia system provides. Plus, it allows you to design your own user interfaces to display this information and provide your users with whatever degree of control and information over the system you deem appropriate. Building on the highly successful PathfinderPro product line, Pathfinder Core PRO strives to make the information about your Axia system more dynamic, visible, and accessible than ever before.
Pathfinder Core PRO uses modern web browser tools to bring a rich and dynamic user experience to the product, including web sockets and HTML5. This comes at the expense of being unable to support older web browsers. For example, web sockets are only supported in Internet Explorer 10 and later. Most of our development work has been done using Google Chrome which should provide the most consistent and best user experience. If you find things that do not work or behave properly in a specific browser or do not update the data properly, please feel free to file a report with Axia support so that we can investigate the issue. We are always striving to improve the user experience across all browsers.
If data does not seem to display properly or if data is missing, refreshing the webpage is sometimes helpful. Many browsers also have a key combination that will force a refresh from the serving device rather than relying on cached data; for instance, holding the CTRL and SHIFT keys while clicking the refresh button in Google Chrome.
All links necessary to configure, control, and monitor your Pathfinder Core PRO system are on the left-hand side of the Pathfinder Core PRO web pages. This will be referred to throughout the manual as the Navigation Bar.
While the links on this bar are presented alphabetically for ease of use, this manual will skip from link to link as we go through a logical progression of using the system.
The right corner of each web page displays a network connection icon. In normal situations it should look like:
This icon tells you whether the underlying web socket used to obtain and set information from the web page to and from Pathfinder Core PRO is open and communicating properly. If it is not, the icon will look like this, indicating a communication problem between your browser and Pathfinder Core PRO:
Check network connectivity between your browser and Pathfinder Core PRO and verify Pathfinder Core PRO is booted and functioning properly. An additional symptom of this problem may be that configurations look as if they were blank. Before panicking and assuming that your Pathfinder Core PRO has somehow been wiped of its settings, check to see if the network icon is in an unconnected state.
Many of the configuration pages in Pathfinder Core PRO need to present lists of data. For example:
There are a few conventions that apply whenever you see a list like this in Pathfinder Core PRO. The first is the Search box in the right corner.
Typing in the search box will dynamically filter the list. These filters are also often stored by the browser, so if you return to a page and do not see the expected data in the list, check the search field to see if you have a filter on the list.
Next, notice that each column header has arrows next to the header names. Clicking on the header will sort the list according to the data in that column. The column that only has the single arrow represents the current sort column. Clicking on that column a second time will flip the arrow to the other direction and flip the sort from incrementing to decrementing and back again.
Many of the lists will have the hyphen sign in the last column of the list. Clicking this Delete icon removes the selected list item from the system.
Many of the lists will also have a plus sign at the bottom of the list. This sign indicates that items may be added to the list. Clicking the Add icon will usually open another dialog box with specifics for adding the new item.
When lists expand beyond what can be viewed on a single page, page navigation buttons will appear:
Important Note: These navigation tools are subject to the search field. In the case above for instance, if we were to type FUSION into the search field, we may get only a single returned entry and the page buttons would only show a single page.
Pathfinder Core PRO includes an event system called Logic Flows. Because Logic Flows can reach into almost every part of the system, they present a bit of a Catch 22 when it comes to introducing certain subjects in a manual.
There are certain subjects - such as Memory Slots - that are primarily useful in the context of Logic Flows, so you have to understand Logic Flows in order to make the best use of Memory Slots. However, the examples and discussions within the Logic Flow section of this manual also will refer to Memory Slots in order to present some of its examples.
Wherever possible, we have attempt to note this and refer to the relevant sections of this manual. However, as a reader, be prepared to skip around if necessary. If the manual is read from front to back, there may be points where we refer to subjects covered in a later section.