By Wally Johnson

Technical Note Summary:

This document was written to help with the installation, configuration and management of the Alexandria Web Router. Web router is typically not available at the library level; usually districts that manage multiple Alexandria Web sites use it.

Installing Web Router

Alexandria Web Router is integrated into the Alexandria application and activated by registration codes. To install Web Router, install Alexandria and then register it with your Web Router registration codes. Make sure that the machine you are installing Web Router on meets the minimum system requirements for Alexandria.

Once Web Router is installed and registered correctly, the Web Router main window will appear. Please refer to Image 1.

Image 1 – Web Router, Main Window

Configuring Web Router

To configure Web Router go to Edit-Preferences, and choose Web from the pull-down menu. The Web Router tab is selected by default. Please refer to Image 2.

Image 2 – Web Router Preference window

The Port ID (usually 80) field is used to change the port on which Web Router broadcasts. Port 80 is used by default. The ports for the individual Alexandria sites can be set on the Sites tab.

The Site List URL field allows you to enter the web address for the main site list. Leave blank to use the Web Router's IP address.

The Ping sites before allowing searches makes sure that the site is up and functioning before transferring the user to the site's page. This setting is left off by default.

The list of searchable Alexandria sites in Web Router can be modified under the Sites tab. To add a site to the list, click on Add New Site. To edit an existing site, highlight the site name, and then click on Edit Site. To remove a site from the list, highlight the site name, and then click on Delete Site. Sites that are deleted are permanently removed.

The Search Timeout (seconds) field allows you to select how long Web Router will try to access the site before giving an error message that the site is unavailable. Please refer to Image 3.

Image 3 – Site List

The following window is displayed when you choose to add or edit a site. Please refer to Image 4.

Image 4 – Editing/Adding a Site

The Name field usually contains the school name for the site being accessed. This is a user-defined field.

The Address field contains the IP address for the site's Data Station.

The Site Port field displays the port the indicated Data Station has been configured to use. This port setting can be found on their Data Station under Edit-Preferences and by choosing Web from the pull-down menu.

NOTE: THE ALEXANDRIA WEB PORT PREFERENCE IS SET TO 80 BY DEFAULT

Managing Web Router

Web Router should be placed on a machine that is always running. This ensures that people will be able to access the various sites setup in the program any time of the day. Since the only information stored on Web Router is the site list and preferences, there is no need to shut down to create a backup. Make sure that the machine running Web Router meets the system requirements for Alexandria.

A shortcut to Web Router can be placed in the system's startup folder. Placing a shortcut of Web Router in this folder will ensure that Web Router will automatically open, should the machine be restarted.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT (800) 347-4942