Advance is the first application which utilises the Software Protection Scheme (SPS) which has been developed by Acorn. It is available for use by any software developer who wishes to discourage the use of unauthorised copies of a particular software title.
The underlying mechanisms used by the SPS are, by necessity, complex, but Acorn has made every effort to ensure that the installation procedure is as simple as possible.
In order to achieve this Acorn has striven to present the user with a simple, prompted, installation procedure. This has proved unobtrusive when coupled with a single user licence. Problems have occurred with multi-user site licence packs, particularly when linked to filing systems which can be configured, by whatever means, to be a read only media. Typically problems have manifested themselves as either continual requests for Program disc 1 or the appearance of an unauthorised use warning message on the client station(s).
This application note will provide guidence on installing Advance on network based filing systems including installation on read only filing systems. It will also offer a simplified description of the operation of the SPS for the more inquisitive reader.
The Advance software; an overview
In order to provide a large degree of flexibility, both in terms of multi-user functionality and filing system support Advance was designed so that it could appear as a single application or as a series of discrete applications. This was deliberate so that individual user configuration and efficient use of the storage media could be achieved irrespective of the chosen filing system. It is hoped that other software packages which utilise the SPS will adopt similar practices. As a consequence Advance can be separated into 5 component parts or "sub-tasks":
**** Graphics 1 **** The Advance 'Shell'
**** Graphics 2 **** The Advance Graph
**** Graphics 3 **** The Advance Spreadsheet
**** Graphics 4 **** The Advance Wordprocessor
The Advance shell contains the encoded information used by the SPS. This
information cannot be written without the original Advance Program disc 1
being present in the floppy disc drive of the installing machine. Other
applications within the Advance suite cannot be used without first seeing
the shell. The shell holds vital information, without which the remaining
applications will not function.
The Advance shell is used to store information about the single machine or
network fileserver on which it has just been installed. (Note: Once
installed the software always contains information about the first machine
to install it.) This information may take the following form:
In the case of a single machine fitted with an ID chip the unique code
contained in the ID chip will be encoded into the shell and used to identify
the machine each time the copy is run. Single machines without an ID chip
will be allocated an alternative code by the SPS.
In the case of a network installation the filing system name and the name
of the specific device upon which it has been installed are encoded. The SPS
only recognises filing systems whose path begins with Net or NFS.
The type of licence which has been issued will determine whether the shell
will have "space" for information about the stand alone machine and/or the
fileserver on which it has been installed for use. Each part of this
information can only be written to the copy once, and then, only in the
presence of the original disc. Once these "spaces" have been filled the
shell must be deleted and re-installed from the original program disc. This
would only be of any significance if the name of the fileserver, on which
Advance has been installed, were to change for some reason. Thus, unlimited
copies can be created on fileservers, hard discs, floppies etc from a single
original site licence disc.
Installing Advance on a network.
The first thing that must be decided before installing !Advance onto a
network is how you want to store it on the fileserver. There are two
options; a) Install !Advance in each users own private directory.
b)Install the !Advance shell in each users private directory and
the Advance 'sub-tasks' i.e. Database, Word Processor, Spread Sheet and
Advance GR in a public location which can be read by all users on the
network.
Although the first of these options offers the most straight forward
installation procedure, it is very inefficient in terms of space used on the
hard disk.
The second option is always to be preferred. The idea of this system is,
when a user logs on, their !ArmBoot file will inform the !Advance shell of
the location of the 'sub-tasks' on the network. This will allow !Advance to
function normally when run. The advantages of this system are that it is
much more efficient on disk space and it will allow each user on the network
to save their own configuration choices as opposed to using a common set
which would apply to everybody on the network. This will allow !Advance to
be configured for each individuals personal needs.
If you have decided to follow the first option then follow the steps below;
a1.Run !Advance from Program disc 1. This will enable you to register the
disc for your site.
a2.Logon from a client station on the network as a System Privileged user
and copy the !Advance application into a users directory on the fileserver.
a3.Whilst holding down the SHIFT key, double-click on the !Advance
application. This should open the !Advance window and display the
applications files. Copy !AdvanceWP from the second floppy disc into this
window.
**** Grahpics 5 ****
Figure 2: The complete !Advance application (including all sub-tasks).
a4.Run the copy of !Advance which you have just created.
a5.Follow the installation instructions which appear on the screen.
a6.Once the installation is complete, it will be possible to duplicate this
fully installed version of !Advance from the directory in which it was
installed into every users private directory.
If you have decided to impliment the second option then follow these steps;
b1.As (a1) above.
b2.As (a2) above.
b3.As (a3) above.
b4.Move the following files into a publicly accessible area on the
fileserver. !AdvanceDB
!AdvanceGR
!AdvanceSH
!AdvanceWP
The remainder of this section will assume that they have been placed in
Net:$.Apps.Advance. The !Advance directory should now look like this;
**** Graphics 6 ****
Figure 3: The !Advance shell.
b5.We need to inform the shell about the whereabouts of the main
applications which it needs. There are two ways of doing this and you
should select the one most appropriate to your working practices.
Method 1.
Shift-double click on the working copy of the !Advance application. Load the
file called !Boot into !Edit. Amend the file to read as follows:
IconSprites <Obey$Dir>.!Sprites
Set File$Type_dfe CSV
Set Advance$Dir <Obey$Dir>
|
Set Advance$Apps Net:$.Apps.Advance
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceDB
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceGR
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceSH
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceWP
Method 2.
Insert the following lines into the main client boot sequence if you have
one, or alternatively into each users boot sequence:
Set Advance$Apps Net:$.Apps.Advance
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceDB
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceGR
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceSH
Filer_Boot <Advance$Apps>.!AdvanceWP
Using either of these two methods will ensure that whenever !Advance is seen
by the filer it will automatically know where to find its remaining
resources.
b6.From the client machine ensure that you are still logged on as a System
Privileged user and run the copy of !Advance you have created.
b7.Follow the installation instructions which appear on the screen.
b8.Once the installation is complete, it will be possible to duplicate the
installed version of the !Advance shell from the directory in which it was
installed into every users private directory as shown below.
**** Graphics 7 ****
Figure 4: Overview of the directory structure after installation of
!Advance. Notes: In both these examples the path Net::$.Apps.Advance has
been assumed. If you use a different directory structure or change the
structure after installation then you will have to alter this reference
accordingly.
Management of multiple copies of the Advance shell can be difficult.
Utilities such as NetManage from Suitable Software can assist in this
respect when the copies are stored on Acorn fileservers. Contact Suitable
Software on (0638) 720171 for more information.
AppFS
When installing Advance on any application server the !Advance shell must
be separated from the main sub-tasks. The following steps illustrate the
procedure:
1.Run !Advance from Program disc 1. This will enable you to register the
disc for your site.
2.Decide which filing system is to hold the !Advance shell. It may be placed
on one of the following filing systems:
on a fileserver whose path begins Net or NFS
on a local dedicated writable media connected to the Archimedes eg. an ADFS
hard disc an ADFS floppy disc etc, etc
If you decide to install the !Advance shell on a local media then each copy
of !Advance will have to be individually installed for each machine. In the
case of floppy disc based media, each disc will need to be uniquely
identified to the machine on which it was installed. However, as most
application servers utilise the network cable infra-structure it is likely
that there will also be a fileserver present. In these circumstances it is
recommended that the !Advance shell is placed on the fileserver. (See:
Installing Advance on a network.)
3.As (b4) except that the files must be moved into an area of the AppFS
filing system. The remainder of this section will assume that they have been
placed in AppFS:$.Apps.Advance.
4.Make a copy of the !Advance shell on a floppy disc. Do not install this
shell yet. The shell should contain the following files:
**** Graphics 8 ****
Figure 5: The Advance shell.
5.Taking the floppy disc copy, modify it as described in (b5) above. Ensure
that all filing system references are to AppFS. eg:
Set Advance$Apps AppFS:$.Apps.Advance
Mark this disc as Modified Advance Shell Master Disc.
6.Now copy the contents of the Modified Advance Shell Master Disc onto your
chosen filing system as defined in 2 above.
If the !Advance shell is to be placed on a Network then follow steps (b5),
(b6) and (b7) above.
If it is to be placed onto a media local to each machine then copy the
contents of the Modified Advance Shell Master Disc onto the media and
install each individual shell in turn, using the appropriate guidelines
provided in the Advance User Guide and/or Release note.
The following diagram illustrates the completed directory structure for an
AppFS/fileserver combination.
**** Graphics 9 ****
Figure 6: The AppFS and fileserver directory structures after installation.
NetGain
The method employed when using NetGain is identical to that used for AppFS
installations. The differences are that the four shell dependant
applications must be placed in the area reserved for use by the NetGain
filing system and that the filing system name specified in the variable
Advance$Apps is amended to specify NetGain.
Nexus
Again the mechanism employed is similar to that used for AppFS, but the
file transfer speed and flexibility offered by the Nexus disc sharer enable
the system manager to maintain the individual copies of the !Advance shell
far more easily. A recommended installation method for the Nexus disc sharer
is illustrated below. Changes which are required to enable this to function
for Nexus Networking are also included at the appropriate stages.
1.Run !Advance from Program disc 1. This will enable you to register the
disc for your site.
2.Decide which filing system is to hold the !Advance shell. It is normal to
place it on the Nexus drive 5 but it may be placed on one of the following
filing systems:
on a fileserver whose path begins Net or NFS
on a local dedicated writable media connected to the Archimedes
eg. an ADFS hard disc
an ADFS floppy disc a SCSI hard disc etc, etc
If you decide to install the !Advance shell on Nexus drive 5 then each
copy of !Advance will have to be individually installed for each machine.
In the case of floppy disc based media then each disc will need to be
uniquely identified to the machine on which it was installed. However, as
most application servers utilise the network cable infra-structure it is
likely that there will also be a fileserver present. If user specific
configuration of numerous !Advance shells is required it is recommended that
these are placed on the fileserver. (See: Installing Advance on a network.)
3.As (b4) except that the files must be moved into an area of the shared
Nexus drive 4 filing system. The remainder of this section will assume that
they have been placed in Nexus::4.$.Apps.Advance.
4.Make a copy of the Advance shell on a floppy disc. Do not install this
shell yet. The shell should contain the following files:
**** Graphics 10 ****
Figure 7: The !Advance shell.
5.Taking the floppy disc copy modify it as described in (b5) above. Ensure
that all filing system references are to Nexus drive 4. eg:
Set Advance$Apps Nexus::4.$.Apps.Advance
Mark this disc as Modified Advance Shell Master Disc.
6.Now copy the contents of the Modified Advance Shell Master Disc onto each
Nexus drive 5 or your chosen filing system as defined in 2 above.
Install each individual shell in turn, using the appropriate guidelines
provided in the Advance User Guide and/or Release note.
7.Nexus disc sharer:
Take an 800K formatted floppy disc and create on it a directory called
Port_n where n is the number of the port to which the machine is connected.
The port number can be obtained by pressing f12 and typing:
*Show Nexus$Portnumber
At the command line prompt. Copy into this directory the newly installed
!Advance shell from the private partition. Repeat this for all the machines
connected to the Nexus unit.
Nexus networking:
Take an 800K formatted floppy disc and create on it a directory called
Stn<stationnumber> where <stationnumber> is the station number allocated to
the machine. The machines station number can be obtained by pressing f12 and
typing:
*help stataion
at the command line prompt. Copy into this directory the newly installed
!Advance shell from the private partition. Repeat this for all the machines
connected to the Nexus unit.
When you have finished you will have a floppy disc with a maximum of 12
appropriately named directories, each containing a unique, identifiable,
installed copy of the !Advance shell for each machine connected to the Nexus
unit.
8.If you are using the !Boot application supplied on the shared Nexus drive
simply SHIFT double click on the !Boot application and copy the contents of
the floppy disc which contains the directories into it.
Now amend the boot sequence with the following line:
