Setting Up Your RASTRAC Software


You have just finished installation and you are ready to start tracking vehicles...

If you performed a typical install, RASTRAC will be installed to your Program Files folder (e.g. C:\Rtmx or C:\Program Files\RASTRAC). Within that folder, there are several programs and sub-folders. These programs and subfolders can be viewed by using Windows Explorer and selecting the RASTRAC folder. The most significant items are:

rtmx.exe - This is RASTRAC, one of the programs that started when you double-clicked the RASTRAC icon on your desktop. RASTRAC is a full featured viewer. This program accepts vehicle information messages from one or more I/O processors and displays this information on maps for you. RASTRAC also allows you to create advisories, record and play back vehicle data, and much, much more.

iop.exe - This program is in the "Iop" sub-folder. Iop.exe is the RASTRAC I/O Processor program. When you start RASTRAC, the RASTRAC I/O Processor will also automatically start up. The RASTRAC I/O Processor is the interface between the viewer software (RASTRAC) and the base station modem that you have connected to your computer. The RASTRAC I/O Processor must be running for you to monitor your fleet. By separating RASTRAC and the I/O Processor, you have many more options and configurations available to you than you would with one program. For example, you can have one I/O Processor at your office, and one on another computer on the other side of the globe; both connected simultaneously over the Internet!

Note: The RASTRAC I/O Processor communicates with RASTRAC via a computer protocol called TCP/IP. Your Windows system must be configured to support TCP/IP before your system will work! See also... Network Setup on your Computer.


Also, in the C:\Rtmx or C:\Program Files\RASTRAC folder there are several sub-folders.

C:\Rtmx\Iop - This folder contains the iop.exe program and its support files (Iop is not installed for Server Clients).
C:\Rtmx\Legend - This folder contains the legend files for the maps installed in the map folder.
C:\Rtmx\Map - This folder contains all the maps that were installed by the installer program.
C:\Rtmx\Plugins - This folder contains all installed plugins (e.g. Report.dll, RtSMTP.dll).
C:\Rtmx\Users - This folder contains the user configuration folders for each of your unique user profiles (e.g. C:\Rtmx\Users\Default).
C:\Rtmx\Icons - This folder contains the vehicle icons (bitmaps) for display on the map.
C:\Rtmx\Sounds - This folder contains sample sound files.
C:\Rtmx\Wizard - This folder contains image files of hardware supported by the IOP.

To set up your software, you MUST perform the following steps:

  1. Set up the RASTRAC I/O Processor (IOP) to support your hardware

First, you must configure the I/O Processor (or verify that it was delivered properly configured). Select the RASTRAC I/O Processor from the Windows task bar, and set up the ‘Edit... Configuration...’ control panel to match the hardware interface (e.g. TCP/IP, UDP, E-Mail, etc...) and AVL protocols that you are using (e.g. Enfora, TAIP, NMEA, etc...). See also... Configuration.

  1. Set up RASTRAC to listen to the RASTRAC I/O Processor

Next, select ‘Tools... Options... Network...’ from the RASTRAC menu. This is where the interface between your RASTRAC viewer and the RASTRAC I/O Processor is configured. Make sure there is an entry for at least one RASTRAC I/O Processor (e.g. Alias: Local IOP, I/P address: 192.6.1.101, Port: 24). See also... Viewer Network Options.

  1. Set up RASTRAC to accept data from your vehicles.

Select ‘Vehicles... Settings...’ from the menu. Here you must enter the identification address of each vehicle in your fleet (e.g. 123456789). If the vehicle’s ID is not in the list, RASTRAC will ignore any information about that vehicle (this is also a handy feature to help you filter your workstations when you have several vehicles). If your system is going to support vehicle polling, you must establish the polling sequence. To accomplish polling, each vehicle you enter in the settings list must also have a selected IOP and/or Server selected in the ‘IOP and Server List…’. Most of the time, you will just select the one configured in Step 2 above. See also... Vehicle... Setting.... You must also select a ‘Talk Mode:’ (e.g. Parallel), if you want to send commands to the vehicle.

  1. Verify you’re connected

Within 20 seconds after both RASTRAC and RASTRAC I/O Processor have started, RASTRAC will establish a TCP/IP connection to the RASTRAC I/O Processor. You can verify this by selecting the ‘Tools... Options... Network...’ in the RASTRAC menu. You should now see the ‘Connected’ selection with a dot filled in for the RASTRAC I/O Processor you are connected to.

  1. Observe incoming data

Whenever a message comes into the I/O Processor from a vehicle, you should see it scroll by in the lower status bar of the RASTRAC I/O Processor window. This allows you to verify that data messages are coming from your modem into your I/O Processor.

After you have configured your RASTRAC the first time, you are ready to operate. These settings will remain in effect each time you restart the program.