The WilmaServer program can be run on a machine to allow other computers access to some or all of the Wilma indexes on it. Remote access to these indexes is only possible while WilmaServer is running.

When WilmaServer is run, it will present a simple dialog window with two tabs. The first of these is the properties tab which has controls for determining which indexes will be available and who will be allowed to access them. The second tab is just a log of what connections have been made to the server and other diagnostic information.

Ports and Sockets

At the top left are four fields which will have default values filled in, but can be changed as appropriate:

IP Address Most machines will only have a single network interface and the IP address of this interface will already be filled in. However if multiple interfaces are available, you should choose the appropriate one based on the IP addresses listed in the drop down menu.
Port # The IP port on which the server will listen for connections from remote Wilma programs. This is 4386 by default, but can be changed as appropriate. The server process may need system (or root) privileges to use port numbers 0 to 1023 and firewalls on the server and clients might have to be told to permit communication on the chosen ports (often by means of a pop up request).
Min Sockets The minimum number of sockets available for connections - default 2.
Max Sockets The maximum number of sockets available for connections - default 20.

IP Addresses

At the upper left of the properties tab is a list of the indexes available on the server machine. Each of these has a check box beside it and only indexes with these boxes checked will be available to connecting machines.

At the lower left is a list of IP addresses which are allowed access to the server. These do not have to be complete addresses, but the beginning of a connecting machines IP address must completely match one of the patterns in the list before it can search any of the indexes. For example if the only IP pattern was:

192.168.0

only machines with IP addresses starting with 192.168.0 would be allowed. Thus 192.168.0.22 would be allowed, but 192.168.1.22 would not. This permits you to restrict access to machines in your local network.

Click the + button to add a new row and type the appropriate pattern in. Click the - button to delete the selected row or the Edit key to edit the selected row.

Users and Passwords

In addition to being able to restrict connections by IP address, every connection must also supply a user name and password. The list at the lower left of the properties tab allows you to define the permitted names and passwords. Click the + key to add a new user and bring up a window requesting the user name, password and password confirmation. Click the Password button to bring up the same window for the selected user, except the user name will be grayed out and you will only be allowed to enter a new password (and confirmation). Finally you can click the - button to delete the selected user.

At the bottom of the properties dialog are three buttons. The Listen will start the server listening for and serving connections. While the server is listening, the Stop button will be enabled and clicking it will stop the server listening. Finally the Save button will save any changes you made so the server remembers them the next time it is run.

NOTE if you quit the server without saving, all the changes made will be forgotten.