Webpages and CrossLink Channels
Macula servers can work with several types of interactive resources - meaning that the user can not just watch and record the feed, but also control its contents from the Macula Monitor application. These resources are called CrossLink channels. CrossLinks can provide a direct interactive interface to SCADA, access and flight control, radars and lidars, other VMS software, and other applications. This means a straight-away front-end integration without any additional implementation.
CrossLinks require a special license and are represented by interactive webpages and by interactive desktop applications. Depending on the setup, these allow capturing, recording, and controlling the remote contents in an intuitive manner.
CrossLink Types
How to choose the required resource type based on your use case scenario:
webpage device: the interactive device is created on the server side (like for any camera) to allow live & recording
direct webpage: there is no device on the server side, live Web contents goes directly to Macula Monitor, allowing multiple independent sessions
remote desktop: the device is created on the server side (like for any camera) to allow live & recording
non-interactive webpage device: static video feed to the server for recording and non-interactive display (does not require CrossLink license, just a regular channel)
Basically, you need to determine whether you want to
Have a remote Web interface (website, Web server) or a workstation.
In case it is a Web application, choose if
The user should be able to control the remote contents,
It needs it to be recorded on the server side.
Below, you fill find more detailed information about each type and step-by-step configuration guidelines.
Prerequisites
For all interactive contents, you need a special license channel type called CrossLink. The required number of CrossLink channels is added to your license alongside regular channels and VA channels. There are two different types of CrossLink licences:
Basic: interactive Web with or without recording
Advanced: interactive Remote Desktop (server-side device)
Advanced CrossLink license includes Basic CrossLink options as well, meaning you can use an Advanced CL license for creating a Basic CL item (webpage). For non-interactive Web devices, a regular channel license is used, and there is no need to obtain a CL license of any kind.
Display and record live web pages without user interaction
Yes
Yes
Yes
Display interactive webpages
-
Yes
Yes
Record interactive webpages as channels
-
Yes
Yes
Display and record interactive desktop applications as channels
-
-
Yes
For every remote workstation you wish to add under CrossLink Advanced, you need to install any VNC server software on the remote side and ensure its accessibility via given IP/host and port. (For Mac computers, simply enable it in the settings.)
We strongly recommend using visual groups for CrossLink Advanced channels, so that the users can differentiate between video streams and interactive contents.
CrossLink Basic: Interactive Web Device
CrossLink Basic provides access and interaction with Web applications. These may be websites, device interfaces, or Web services, and you can stream and record any of these. Special device model, (CrossLink) Interactive URL, is reserved for this. Each device of this kind uses 1 (one) CrossLink Basic channel license.
To create an interactive web device in Macula Console, go to the Configuration section in the bottom left panel, choose Devices on the left, then click the + New device button in the upper panel to bring up the item creation dialog box.
In the model list, choose the (CrossLink) Interactive URL model. Then, switch to the Uri tab and fill in the settings:
Address*: full target URL
Username: if required
Password: if required
*Note that redirects from the specified domain are not allowed. Therefore, the specified link must not be a shortened URL (e.g., youtu.be, or goo.gl)
No redirects from the specified domain are allowed for security reasons.
Click Apply to save the settings, then switch to the corresponding channel using the Related items button in the bottom left corner or the dialog box.
Basic channel settings are the same as for the traditional channels with the following elaboration:
recording can be configured for both main and secondary streams
audio is not available
remote control permission is granted using PTZ Control permission
video parameters can be set up in the Video configuration tab:
choose between JPEG (higher quality, bigger size) and VP8 (smaller recording size at the expense of picture quality) compression
select resolution (but be careful when combining VP8 with lo-res and low bitrate, it may make the text unreadable)
set bitrate and target frame rate
Use VP8 cautiously as it may decrease image quality dramatically, and render the text unreadable on smaller resolutions. Larger resolutions will increase CPU usage on the server side and may produce sluggish image display. The main advantage of using VP8 is that it uses much less storage space thanks to compression, so the recommended usage profile would be to use one stream with VP8 for recording, and another one with JPEG for live view and interaction. You will be able to switch between streams in the Macula Monitor application.
There is also a dedicated tab with CrossLink-specific settings. The following settings are available here:
Ignore certificate errors: if enabled, invalid certificates will be ignored, and the page will be opened even if something is wrong with the site certificate (only do this if you trust the page certificate!)
Auto refresh interval: enable this if the remote Web contents is dynamic and you want the page to be refreshed without user interaction
As Web contents poses certain threats, we do not recommend ignoring certificate errors unless you trust the page completely. Also, the following rules will apply to browsing:
no redirects from the specified domain (sub-domains are allowed)
no pop ups (including floating windows and new pages opened in a new tab)
no downloads or copy-paste
Keep this in mind when configuring your interactive URL device. You will get a corresponding error message in the channel's notification panel in Macula Monitor if some of these restrictions are activated.
Example: the link to youtu.be will not work as it is a shortened link and it redirects to another domain, youtube.com. Use the full URL in the device configuration.
CrossLink Basic: Interactive Web
If you do not need to record the web contents, but would rather like to access the Web page directly from Macula Monitor, you do not need to add a device: instead, simply create a Webpage in Macula Console, and it will go directly to the Macula Monitor application. This item requires one CrossLink Basic license.
You can use this type of resource for:
configuration of IP cameras
configuration of Web services
remote control of any non-integrated, or advanced setup of integrated devices
providing variety of resources while in kiosk mode (operator instructions etc.)
To create the webpage, go to the Configuration section of Macula Console, choose CrossLinks on the left, then click the + New CrossLink button on the upper panel.
Settings:
Title: webpage name that will appear in Macula Monitor
Icon: Select an icon shown in client
Address: full webpage URL (no shortened links!)
Ignore certificate errors: if enabled, invalid certificates will be ignored, and the page will be opened even if something is wrong with the site certificate
Allow file download: the webpage will accept remote file downloads and save them in the Library if the checkbox is marked.
Allow file upload: If enabled, the Crosslink will allow to upload files to the remote server.
Allow prompts: Allows pop-up dialogues inside the CrossLink tab.
Allow URL popups: Allows URL popups inside the CrossLink tab.
Show in a dedicated tab: Show in a dedicated tab: if the checkbox is marked - the webpage will disappear from the viewport, and the new item in the Main menu will appear.
Hide: To allow redirects between first level domains you may need to add both websites as a Crosslink. Then, you can hide the second Crosslink by marking corresponding checkbox.
Click OK to save and close the window. The newly created webpage will appear in the list. Your Macula Monitor application will now have an extra section in the Resources panel (on the left) containing webpages.
As Web contents poses certain threats, we do not recommend ignoring certificate errors unless you trust the page completely. Also, the following rules will apply to browsing:
no redirects from the specified domain (sub-domains are allowed)
no pop ups (including floating windows and new pages opened in a new tab)
no downloads or copy-paste
Keep this in mind when configuring your webpage. You will get a corresponding error message in the Alerts tab in Macula Monitor if some of these restrictions are activated.
Example 1: you cannot configure the webpage to google.com and let the user search: they will be unable to navigate to a specific result as it involves domain change.
Example 2: you can add a Wiki webpage and let user choose the language, as it will redirect them to the third-level domain (say, en.wikipedia.org or de.wikipedia.org), which is OK.
CrossLink Advanced: Remote Desktop
On top of the previous features, CrossLink Advanced adds the opportunity to remotely control any workstation from Macula Monitor. The target machine may run Linux or macOS, the one requirement is that the remote party must have VNC server software (any) up and running.
Using one CrossLink Advanced license, you can configure any of the interactive channels - be it a webpage, webpage channel, or a remote workstation channel.
Be careful when you grant access to this kind of device, as it gives the user full control of the remote PC. You may want to use additional security, e.g., ask user for a password on behalf of the OS.
Usage examples:
remote access to Linux workstations with non-integrated software
access to other VMS software running on an older or embedded version of Windows
recording of operator workstations running Macula Monitor or any other software
Each Remote Desktop channel will use one CrossLink Advanced license. If your license only includes Basic CrossLink channels, you will not be able to add a new device of this kind.
Add Device
To create a remote desktop controlling device in Macula Console, go to the Configuration section in the bottom left panel, choose Devices on the left, then click the + New device button in the upper panel to bring up the item creation dialog box.
In the model list, choose the (CrossLink) Remote Desktop model. Then, switch to the Network tab and fill in the settings:
Host: target machine IP or hostname
Port: the port for VNC connection (5900 by default)
Secure connection: enable to use HTTPS (must be enabled in the VNC server settings), or leave empty for insecure connection
Password: enter the password, as defined on the remote side
Use the Ping device button below to check the remote workstation availability.
When you have finished, click OK to save and exit; the newly created device share will appear in the item list, and its channel also immediately appear in the Macula Monitor application(s) for eligible users.
If your created Remote Desktop device does not work and you think all settings are correct, install a local VNC client on the Macula server and see if you can reach the remote machine this way.
To edit any of the previously created devices, double-click it in the item list or select any with single mouse click and then hit the Edit button on the upper panel. Use the Search field in the upper-right-hand corner to quickly find the existing items, and the Disable button to disable and enable channel sharing. Use the recycle bin button in the upper-right-hand corner to remove one or multiple items: hold CTRL or Shift to select several items at once, or CTRL+A to select all.
Filters in the bottom panel allow you to load recently added/modified items.
Channel Configuration
Most of the channel settings are the same as for the traditional channels with the following elaboration:
recording can be configured for main stream only, as there is no secondary stream
audio is not available but you can combine the video with audio stream from a camera (use the External option in the Audio tab and choose the source channel)
remote control permission is granted using PTZ Control permission
video parameters can be set up in the Video configuration tab:
choose between JPEG (higher quality, bigger size) and VP8 (smaller size at the expense of picture quality) compression
select resolution (but be careful when combining VP8 with lo-res and low bitrate, it may make the text unreadable)
set bitrate and target frame rate
Frame rate will be dynamic during remote control and recording, meaning that FPS will be low while nothing happens, but it will grow if the remote user starts doing something or if there is video playback.
Output Area
CrossLink Configuration is a dedicated tab for CrossLink-specific settings. Currently available settings include cropping setup, which allows you to select the region that will be displayed in the Macula Monitor application. In other words, you can crop the whole incoming image and only show/record a specific area. This comes useful, for example, when the remote workstation has multiple displays. Cropping affects both Macula Monitor display and recording.
By default, the output area is full - X=0, Y=0, Width=Height=1. The coordinates and size are relative. Crop examples:
Full image: X=0, Y=0, Width=1, Height=1
Display 1 of 2: X=0, Y=0, Width=0.5, Height=1
Display 2 of 2: X=0.5, Y=0, Width=0.5, Height=1
Remote control does not allow to send system key combinations (e.g., CTRL+Alt+DELETE) to the remote workstation; local OS will catch these key combinations. Therefore, make sure to disable the “Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to Log on” option on remote Windows workstations.
Non-Interactive Web Device
If you want to record and use non-interactive webpages in Macula Monitor, use a special device driver type called HTML Source. These represent static webpages, which are available for recording as any other channels, and are visible in the Macula Monitor application. As this type of device is non-interactive, no CrossLink license is used: HTML source devices require a regular channel license.
Usage examples:
Display media contents for marketing purposes
Digital signage
Statistics and dashboards
To create a non-interactive page, create a new device and set its model to HTML Source (view only), then assign it to the desired server. Similarly to interactive webpage, set the target address in the Uri tab. The user will be unable to navigate away from this address, so make sure you specify the full and exact URL. If the target page requires authentication, enter the username and password in the device properties.
Next, click the Related items button and switch to the channel edit dialog box.
As the webpage contents will be static in the Macula Monitor application, you need to take care of the contents transition. To force refresh contents from the Macula side, use the auto refresh parameter in the channel properties.
In the HTML source configuration tab, you can edit the following settings:
Ignore certificate errors: if enabled, invalid certificates will be ignored, and the page will be opened even if something is wrong with the site certificate
Auto refresh interval: enable this if the remote Web contents is dynamic (e.g., graphs) and you want the page to be refreshed without user interaction (set 0 to disable auto-refresh)
There is no need to set auto-refresh for video contents; however, you may wish to enable video auto-replay.
In the example here with YouTube streaming, the video is looped by adding URL parameters; the final link will look as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEOID?autoplay=1&mute=1&loop=1&playlist=VIDEOID – video added in such a way will be played on repeat indefinitely.
This link is formed by clicking the Share button next to the YouTube video and adding the parameters. This ensures that nothing but the video is displayed in the viewport (no comments or other stuff present in the regular YouTube page). Similarly, if you wish to use video from other websites, make sure to provide the exact link to the video itself, not to the whole page containing the video.
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