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## Chapter 2

### Installing and Configuring the Tuner

Last chapter, you learned that the Castanet framework has two parts: the tuner, to receive software on your desktop, and the transmitter, to make software available on the Internet to tuners. For the next couple of chapters we'll focus on how to install and use the Castanet Tuner, and how to use it to download, run, and update software channels available all over the Internet.

Before you can use the tuner, you have to install it. That's what this chapter is for: getting the tuner installed and configured on your system so you can start exploring channels.

#### Before You Start

Before you install the tuner, there are several other things you will need to have ready, or information you should have available. Make sure you can answer all these questions before going on:

- Do you have a working connection to the Internet? This can be a simple modem dial-up connection, or a direct connection through work or school. You should already be able to run Internet programs such as Netscape or FTP.
- Do you have the right kind of computer and operating system? The Castanet Tuner system requires a Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 system with at least 8MB of RAM, or a Solaris 2.4 or higher system with at least 16MB of RAM.

> ####

> Note:

> By the time you read this, a version of the Castanet software for the Macintosh might be available. (It was not available when we went to press.) Check with Marimba's home page (`http://www.marimba.com/`) if you're interested.

> Several other unsupported ports of the Marimba software are also available for other UNIX systems such as Linux and FreeBSD. See `http://www.marimba.com/products/unsupported.html` for more details.

> The Castanet Tuner does not currently on Windows 3.1.

- Do you have enough free disk space? Marimba recommends that on all systems you have at least 10MB of free disk space for the Castanet Tuner; this includes space for the software itself and for subscriptions to an average number of channels. If you subscribe to a large number of channels, you'll most likely need more disk space available.
- Do you know where on your local system you're going to install the software? For Windows 95 or Windows NT, the default location for all the Marimba software is `C:\Marimba`. For UNIX, you can install the Castanet Tuner anywhere on your disk you want to.
- Do you have a Web browser available? The Marimba documentation and help files are available as Web pages (and as a channel from Marimba's transmitter). You will need a Web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer to view these pages.
- Are you accessing the Internet from behind a firewall? (Many companies and organizations have their Internet connection set up in this sort of configuration.) If so, you will need to contact your system administrator or support organization for the host name and port number of your Web server (HTTP) proxy.

> ####

> Note:

> If you're behind a firewall and Netscape or Explorer works just fine, this information might also be available to you in the configuration menus for your browser. See Options | Network-Proxies | View in Netscape or View | Options | Connection | Settings in Internet Explorer for this information.

> ####

> Note:

> The Castanet Tuner does not support firewalls that use the SOCKS proxy. Future versions of the tuner will include SOCKS support.

- Is your organization running a Castanet proxy? If so, you will need the host name and port number of that proxy (which might or might not be the same as the host name and port number of the HTTP proxy). Ask your system administrator for details.
- Are you upgrading from a previous version? If you've been using a beta version of the tuner, you don't have to go through this installation process. You can simply update the tuner software using the Tuner | Update Tuner menu item.

If you must reinstall the software from scratch, make sure you've removed the old versions of the tuner software before installing the new one. In Windows, choose Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel, choose Castanet Tuner from the list, and click Remove. On Solaris, simply delete the old tuner directory. See the section titled "Uninstalling (Removing) the Tuner" at the end of this chapter for more details.

### Installing the Software

Next, install the software from the tuner installer. There are two places you can get the installer software:

- On the CD-ROM that comes with this book.
- From Marimba's site at `http://www.marimba.com/`.

You'll need to download the installer software for your system and put it somewhere on your local disk so you can run it.

For Windows, the installer is an executable archive called `Tuner1_0.EXE`. On UNIX, the installer is a compressed tar archive called `tuner1_0_tar.Z`.

Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0

To install the Castanet Tuner on Windows 95 or NT 4.0, first quit all running Windows programs and double-click the installer file. Windows will load the installer wizard for Castanet.

> ####

> Note:

> If you're installing the software from the CD-ROM that came with this book, you can find the tuner installer in the directory `Marimba` and then in the subdirectory for your platform (`Win95`, `WinNT`, or `Solaris`), for example, `Marimba\Win95\Tuner1_0.EXE`.

The Castanet Tuner wizard will lead you through the process of installing the tuner software, including letting you read and agree to the license agreement. The first step is to choose a directory to install the software into. (The default is `C:\Marimba`, as shown in Figure 2.1.)

Figure 2.1. Choosing an installation directory.

The next step is to choose a directory for channels. (See Figure 2.2). This is the directory in which downloaded channels will be stored; the default is `C:\Windows\` for Windows 95 or `C:\WinNT\` for Windows NT. Your channels directory should be local to your system (don't install it on a network disk) and should not be shared by other people.

Figure 2.2. Choosing a channel directory.

After the Castanet files have been installed, you are asked if you want to have the tuner start automatically when you reboot. This will guarantee that the tuner software is available whenever your computer is running. Choose Yes to have the setup program modify your system to start the tuner on reboot.

Finally, you'll be asked if you want finish the installation. If you choose Yes, continue on to the section on "Configuring the Tuner." You can also choose No, in which case the setup program will exit. (If you do choose No, when you start the tuner for the first time you'll be asked to configure it, so there's no penalty for waiting until later.)

Solaris

To install the Castanet Tuner on a Solaris system, use the following steps:

> 1. The Castanet Tuner installer will put the tuner files into a directory called `castanet`. You'll want to copy the tuner installer file to the location where you want your `castanet` directory to exist (for example, `/usr/local` or `/home`).

Note that the tuner software might update itself from time to time, so the directory partition you install it into should be writeable and, preferably, a partition on the local disk (as opposed to a mounted partition).

> ####

> Note:

> At this time, the Castanet Tuner is designed to be run by a single user on a single machine. You should install the tuner software as the same user who will be running the tuner software, and the partition you install the software on should be accessible by that user. This means you should not install the tuner software as root if you are not going to run it as root. Future versions will work better on multiuser systems.

> 2. Copy the compressed installer file to your chosen location and decompress it:

> `cp tuner1_0_tar.Z /usr/local/
> cd /usr/local/
> uncompress tuner1_0_tar.Z
> ` 3. Finally, use the `tar` command to extract all the tuner files into that directory.

> `tar xvf tuner1_0_tar`

> The actual tuner executable is contained in the directory `castanet/tuner/bin/`. You might want to put that directory into your execution path so that you can easily start the tuner. If, for example, you were using the C Shell, this command would put the tuner directory into your execution path:

> `set path=($path /usr/local/castanet/tuner/bin)`

> You can delete the tuner installer file when you're finished with the installation.

> `rm tuner1_0_tar`

###
Configuring the Software

After the tuner is installed, you'll have to configure it before you can use it. The tuner will lead you through the configuration process the first time you start it.

If you're using Windows, the tuner was launched as part of the initial installation process. If you didn't start it at that time, you can start it now via the Start menu. (See Figure 2.3.)

Figure 2.3. Starting the tuner.

If you're using Solaris, start the tuner with the `tuner` command from any prompt, like this:

`/usr/local/bin/marimba.tuner/tuner.solaris/bin/tuner`

If you've put the tuner directory into your execution path, you should just be able to type `tuner` to start it.

On both Windows and Solaris, the tuner will start and display an opening screen. From here, most of the steps are the same on Windows and on Solaris.

The first step in the configuration is to personalize your tuner. The User Information window is shown in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4. The User Information window.

User information is entirely optional; the only thing its used for is to identify you to Marimba. Channels will not be able to extract this information. If you don't want to reveal any of this information, you don't have to enter it.

If you're on Solaris, the next window, shown in Figure 2.5, is the Update Mailcap File window. The `.mailcap` file, stored in your home directory, is used to configure applications that use MIME to understand how to process different kinds of files. In this case, it's used by your Web browser so that you can launch channels from inside a browser. Choose the Update button to update the Mailcap file.

Figure 2.5. The Update Mailcap File window.

If you're in Windows, the next window (shown in Figure 2.6) is the Internet Connection window. This window allows you to specify your network connection, which determines how often the tuner will attempt to update channels. (It'll try less often on slower connections.) A direct connection is the sort of connection you have through work or school; it includes a T1, T2, ISDN, frame-relay, or other high-speed connection. A modem connection is exactly what it sounds like; you get your Internet connection through a 14.4Kbps or 28.8Kbps modem by dialing up to your ISP (Internet service provider). Choose the button that best describes your Internet connection.

The No Internet Connection option is a red herring; you won't be able to proceed with the configuration if you choose this option. (In future versions, this might result in something useful.) If you're trying to install and run a tuner locally (for example, trying to run a tuner and a transmitter on the same machine for testing), use Direct Connection instead.

Figure 2.6. Internet connection information.

If you choose Modem connection, the next window (shown in Figure 2.7) allows you to choose the dialup server you use. These servers are set up using the Dialup Networking Wizard for Windows; you should already have your modem connection configured in order to set up the Tuner. Note that for a modem connection you will have to enter the user name and password for your network connection so that the tuner can connect to your ISP without needing you to be there.

Figure 2.7. Dialup Server information.

The next window for both Solaris and Windows is the Proxy Configuration window (shown in Figure 2.8) Use this window only if you're accessing the Internet through a firewall. (You can skip this window if you have a regular Internet connection.) You should already have found out the information about your HTTP proxy server from your system administrator; enter the host name of your proxy server and the port number that proxy runs on. You can also use this window to configure your tuner for use with a Castanet proxy; contact your system administrator to see if you're running a Castanet proxy server.

Figure 2.8. Proxy configuration information.

> ####

> Note:

> If you're using Windows, note that because of restrictions in Java, you can enter only a host name here, not an IP address. On Solaris you can use either the proxy's host name or its address.

> ####

> Note:

> The screen shown in Figure 2.8 might also have fields for the user name and password. If your HTTP proxy is the sort that requires you to enter this information to access the proxy (Gauntlet is one of these), this is where you should enter this information.

After you enter data on the first four windows, the tuner will try to contact Marimba to see if there are any updates available. You can skip the update by choosing the Skip button; otherwise, choose Next.

> ####

> Note:

> If you choose Skip, you can update the tuner at any time while its running by choosing Tuner | Tuner Update (more about this in the next chapter). The tuner will also try and update itself on a regular basis.

If your configuration is correct, the tuner software will update itself. (See Figure 2.9.)

Figure 2.9. The Castanet Tuner updates itself.

When the update is complete (if any updates need to occur), you're finished installing and configuring the tuner and you can begin exploring channels. Choose the Finish button to launch the tuner itself and bring up the tuner window (shown in Figure 2.10).

Figure 2.10. The main tuner window.

###
Troubleshootin

Most problems installing the tuner result when the tuner update occurs and then usually because the tuner cannot contact Marimba's site on the Internet. Check to make sure your Internet connection is running by starting up a Web browser and seeing if you can connect to`http://www.marimba.com/`. If that site is inaccessible but you can reach other sites on the Internet, try updating the tuner again later. If you cannot access any sites on the Internet, something is wrong with your Internet connection.

If you're inside an organization with a firewall, your proxy information may be incorrect. Double-check with your system administrator (or, if your browser is running, with the configuration information there) to make sure you have the right proxy address and port. You can use the Back buttons in the installer to back up to the window for the HTTP proxy.

If starting or the tuner results in I/O errors, make sure that the directory you installed the tuner into is writeable; the tuner needs to be able to write to that directory for updates.

On Solaris, you might run into errors if you are running the tuner as a different user than installed the tuner. The tuner must be installed and run by the same userid, and that user must have write access to the tuner's directories.

For other problems, consult Marimba's list of Frequently Asked Questions at `http://www.marimba.com/developer/faq.html`. There's also a channel called Marimba Forum at `trans.marimba.com`, which contains discussion on all the Marimba software. And, finally, the page at `http://www.marimba.com/developer/support.html` contains information about getting support for all parts of the Castanet software.

### Uninstalling (Removing) the Tuner

In the unlikely case that you would want to remove the tuner software from your system, you can use these instructions to do so. One reason you might want to do this is to reinstall the software from scratch on a clean system, or to upgrade the tuner software from an earlier beta to the new 1.0 version.

On Solaris, uninstalling the software is easy. Just make sure the tuner isn't actually running and then delete the directory the software is stored in (for example, `/usr/local/castanet/tuner`). You'll also need to remove the `.marimba` directory from your home directory if you want to also delete the currently installed channels.

To remove the Castanet Tuner software on Windows, choose Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panels window and select Castanet Tuner from the list of programs. (The example in Figure 2.11 shows a beta version of the tuner; your list might have another version to uninstall.) Finally, choose Add/Remove to start the uninstall process.

Figure 2.11. Uninstalling the tuner.

> ####

> Note:

> If you're upgrading from a beta version of the tuner, the Castanet uninstall program will delete the actual tuner software but leave your downloaded channel directories intact. If you're deleting the 1.0 version of the tuner that came with this CD, the uninstall program will delete everything: the software, the channels, and any other tuner information contained on your disk.

### Summary

After finishing this chapter, you should now have the Castanet Tuner installed and running on your system, ready to start downloading and running channels. Continue on to the next two chapters to learn how to use the tuner and to explore the wide variety of channels available to you on the Internet.