How to Use the Smaart Client Window

Created by Jake Bedard, Modified on Tue, 10 Sep at 9:34 AM by Jake Bedard

How to Use the Smaart Client Window

Smaart API & Client Window

Smaart features a helpful tool for viewing data on multiple devices: the Smaart API and the Client Window. Any computer running Smaart v8, Smaart v9 Suite, or Smaart RT can act as a host to any other copy of the same edition of Smaart so long as they are both on the same Local Area Network.

(This is not to be confused with using the SPL webserver, a guide for which can be found here.)

In this relationship, the Host computer performs the actual measuring and processing of measurement data, which it sends out via Smaart's API. Once the network connection is made, the Client computer is then able to remotely access and view the data through the Client Window.

Once connected, the client computer can send measurement-related commands to the host, including:

Starting/stopping the signal generator
Selecting stimulus type for the generator and adjusting its level
Activating the delay finder
Capturing data
Starting/stopping measurements
Controlling averaging/banding/smoothing (as applicable)
Setting measurement delays for transfer function measurement engines running on the host

Server Preparation

Ensure that both the host machine and client machine have matching installations of Smaart v8, Smaart Suite, or Smaart RT. Both copies of Smaart should be as up-to-date as possible.
Ensure that both machines are on the same network, whether wireless or hardwired. We recommend that at least one of the machines in a client-server relationship be hardwired to the network. If both are operating on wireless connections, performance may suffer.
Enable the API on the server copy of Smaart via checkbox in the Preferences dialog. This can be reached through Options > Preferences (or the [Alt/Opt] + [O] hotkey) and navigating to the API tab.
You may be prompted to allow Smaart through your firewall at this time, and if so, you will need to allow it. You may need to authorize access again later after installing software updates. If you experience connection issues, a good first troubleshooting step is to check your firewall settings to make sure Smaart is being let through.
In this tab, you also have the option to set a password for connection to the host. This isn't needed but highly recommended.

Note: The default port number 26000 is fine for most networks.

Only change it in the event of a conflict with some other application

using the same port address and the same Ethernet adapter.

Smaart can serve data to multiple clients simultaneously, but clients cannot detect changes to measurement settings made by the host or by other clients. For example, that change will affect the measurement data that both clients see, but only the client that modified the setting will see that it was changed. You may therefore wish to dedicate a window on the server machine to each remote client and keep those windows minimized on the server to prevent confusion. This is particularly helpful when an operator is actively using Smaart on the host machine while remote clients are connected. In cases where just one person is using both machines, such precautions may not be necessary.

Client Preparation

On the client copy of Smaart, it is a good idea to disable the network API to prevent another copy of Smaart from trying to connect while it's operating as a client. Any installation of Smaart can serve as either a client or a server, but cannot do both at the same time.
To connect a client to the server machine, select Client Window from the View menu on the client machine or use the keyboard shortcut [Alt/Option] + [R]. You will be presented with a connection dialog like the one below. Again, if you are doing this for the first time, your OS may ask you to let Smaart access the network. Be sure to say yes, if so.
If client and server machines are both connected to the same local area network (LAN), then Smaart should be able to auto-detect the server's IP address and Port number. If there are multiple Smaart servers available on the same LAN, you can click the down arrow to the right of the Server IP Address field to see a list and select the one that you want. If Smaart cannot automatically detect an available server, you may need to check your firewall settings or manually enter the IP address and port number of the server computer, separated by a colon (ex: 123.456.7.890:26000).
Once you have made your selections, click the Connect button to proceed. You will be prompted for the server's password, if applicable. When Smaart has connected successfully and the server has multiple Smaart windows open, you will see another dialog asking you to choose which window you wish to emulate. If there is only one window running on the server, Smaart will connect to that window without asking.

Using The Client Window

The client window looks very much like any other Smaart application window and operates much the same way, although with some differences and limitations. The most immediately visible difference is that the SPL Meter/Clock display is replaced with server connection info.

On the Data Bar, the Data Library pane shows the client computer's local data capture repository. Captured traces from the data library on the host machine are not available to the client. However, when you capture a trace in the client window, Smaart actually captures it on the host machine and then uploads a copy to the client. The new trace data file will then exist on both machines.

Upon first connecting, the Client Window Control Bar doesn't contain any measurement engines, even if the Host Control Bar has engines set up. You're unable to create new measurement engines from the client side, so you'll have to create any engines from the server side. Any measurement engines created on the server side are immediately viewable from the Measurement Config page, accessible by either clicking the "Hammer and Wrench" button or by using the [Alt/Opt] + [G] hotkey. From here, simply drag-and-drop them from here to the Control Bar and you're ready to measure!

If you watch both the host and client windows at the same time, you will see that some changes to measurement settings in the client window affect the corresponding settings on the server, and some do not. Averaging, for example, is done at the measurement engine level and changes made will be seen on both. Banding and Smoothing, however, are post-process display functions and are done on the client end. Therefore, the server and client can have different settings for these.

Once connected, the client computer can send measurement-related commands to the host, including:

Starting/stopping the signal generator and adjusting its level
Selecting stimulus type for the generator (File unsupported)
Activating the delay finder
Capturing data
Starting/stopping measurements
Controlling averaging/banding/smoothing (as applicable)
Setting measurement delays for transfer function measurement engines running on the host

Additional Client Window Settings

Here is an overview of the additional settings you can see in the API tab of the Preferences dialog, pictured here:

Spec/TF Stream FPS sets the frame rate for the real-time spectrum and transfer function measurements in frames per second. This is set to the maximum allowable value (23 FPS) by default. You can set it to a smaller number to slow down the client's refresh rate if you need to reduce the bandwidth requirement for your network connection.
Command Timeout is the amount of time in milliseconds before an API command is abandoned by the server. This value should not be increased from the default setting of 2000 ms unless you are experiencing problems with API commands failing.
Live IR Range sets the total time range for the transfer function Live IR display in the client window (in ms). For example, a setting of 20 ms will send Live IR data in the range of -10 to +10 ms, relative to time zero. Note that larger settings increase the bandwidth requirements for network connections.