How to

Questions about deployment and use of Air Manager Instruments

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arochadj1@gmail.com
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How to

#1 Post by arochadj1@gmail.com »

Hi everyone hope you are having a good day!


I am just making a sim, almost ready,

I have 2 computers one i should use to the sim (MSFS 2020) and one to the monitor where the instrument will be,

The pc wont have internet connection where the simulator will be so my question are:

¿Should i need Air mangar only or i need to buy Air player too?

¿Can i connect two pc via lan to synchronize the sim info?


Thanks for your time.

JackZ
Posts: 2262
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2016 1:02 pm

Re: How to

#2 Post by JackZ »

Hi.

As long as the two PCs are on the same network, the MSFS PC has the plug-in installed correctly, and Air Manager is setup on the Target PC, both computers will be able to communicate with each other, and Air Manager will interact with the Sim.

The LAN part can be done via Wifi or even better with 2 Ethernet cables and a router (or if you can get a grab on it, a special twisted Ethernet cable made for direct point to point connections without router (aka crossover cable) will do).

Air player in your case is not required.
No internet connection is required for Air manager to run, but I am afraid that without an Internet access for MSFS, you will loose the photorealistic tiles real time download feature that MSFS provides.

Jacques
My YouTube Chanel on the A320 (Real SOPs by an Airline Pilot IRL):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 0Q6SBASRqJ

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jph
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Location: Somewhere over the rainbow..

Re: How to

#3 Post by jph »

Hi
It would be highly unusual these days to need a cross-over cable due to the auto-sensing (MDI--(X)) nature of the network adapters. This has been the case for probably the last 10 years at least.
A cross-over can be a useful cable to have in the 'bit box' though.
I would definitely agree that using a direct cable to a Network Switch is FAR better - or, direct cable to the built in Switch on almost all routers - if within reach.....
Joe. CISSP, MSc.

arochadj1@gmail.com
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:54 pm

Re: How to

#4 Post by arochadj1@gmail.com »

JackZ wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:13 am Hi.

As long as the two PCs are on the same network, the MSFS PC has the plug-in installed correctly, and Air Manager is setup on the Target PC, both computers will be able to communicate with each other, and Air Manager will interact with the Sim.

The LAN part can be done via Wifi or even better with 2 Ethernet cables and a router (or if you can get a grab on it, a special twisted Ethernet cable made for direct point to point connections without router (aka crossover cable) will do).

Air player in your case is not required.
No internet connection is required for Air manager to run, but I am afraid that without an Internet access for MSFS, you will loose the photorealistic tiles real time download feature that MSFS provides.

Jacques
Hi Jacques!

Thanks for your response,

I am currently on venezuela, where i am building the sim i have good internet, but where i will place permanently the internet its very very bad, so i don't count on it, i already download the terrain where i will use the sim mostly,

So, if i use a router to connect 2 pc i can make then connect via lan? i am no gonna have internet in that router, with Air manager will be enough?

Thanks!!

arochadj1@gmail.com
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:54 pm

Re: How to

#5 Post by arochadj1@gmail.com »

jph wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:56 am Hi
It would be highly unusual these days to need a cross-over cable due to the auto-sensing (MDI--(X)) nature of the network adapters. This has been the case for probably the last 10 years at least.
A cross-over can be a useful cable to have in the 'bit box' though.
I would definitely agree that using a direct cable to a Network Switch is FAR better - or, direct cable to the built in Switch on almost all routers - if within reach.....
Hi JPH!!!

Can i use a router (Without internet) as a bridge to use 2 lans?

JackZ
Posts: 2262
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2016 1:02 pm

Re: How to

#6 Post by JackZ »

Technically, the device you will be looking after is called a switch. Usually it has 4 or more ports and it’s purpose is to connect two or more computers on the same LAN creating a small network. The way it works is simply to « copy » whatever data it receives on one port onto all the others ports of the switch, so the others computers will read the data if deemed relevant for them (this is a very simplistic explanation).

If you want then to connect this network to the internet, either you use an external modem (fiber optics, cable, ADSL, satellite, whatever) which is in turn plugged into the switch, OR use a direct connection of the modem to a PC and have this PC share its connection through the LAN.

Some internet modem are also having a few Ethernet ports, and can also act like a switch. The combination Internet Modem+switch is often called a router, and it offers an interface for administering it. Think of a router as a « switch with intelligence », as data routing can be precisely controlled via the interface and plenty of features added, among them Wifi, firewall capabilities, precise data control (and overall speed) and much more flexibility than a simple switch.

But if you have only two PCs with no need to connect to Internet the easiest (and by far cheapest) way would be to have a direct point to point connection between them using a simple Ethernet cable. Thought that a crossover cable was necessary, but apparently with modern Ethernet interfaces these special cables are no longer required.

These cables can be more than 5m long and have more speed capability when compared to Wifi

Jacques
My YouTube Chanel on the A320 (Real SOPs by an Airline Pilot IRL):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 0Q6SBASRqJ

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jph
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Re: How to

#7 Post by jph »

arochadj1@gmail.com wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:39 pm Hi JPH!!!

Can i use a router (Without internet) as a bridge to use 2 lans?
Hi,
Your question is a little vague as it could mean - can I use a single router to connect 2 LANS where I dont use the internet capabilities of the router, used in the connection or, can I do the same, but, one of the LANS has an additional router which already connects to the internet and I just want to use another router to link the LANS but without internet on the second LAN.
I am presuming 2 LANS - each with different IP ranges / subnet ? . However, If they are simply 2 sets of devices - EACH set with exactly the same IP range and subnetwork then as Jacques says it is a job for a network Switch , or Switch port on a router within the same limitations as he describes.

However, If, as I think you are asking that you mean 2 LANS - each with different IP ranges / subnetting, then, then the answer depends on if you also need an internet connection (however sporadic, but for the times you may have a connection) available to one or both of of the LANS.
If you have or need the possibility of a shared internet connection at a point on either network (LAN) then you would actually need 3 routers. and possibly additional Switches if the routers do not have built in Switches (but most tend to have a 4 port rudimentary switch built in but can be often 100Mb as opposed to 1 Gb so it is worth noting the routers built in switch speed if you need > 100Mb. - Most times you actually don't need >100Mb!

If you didn't need internet on EITHER LAN - ie - no internet at all on either, but you still need two individual networks ... then you can use potentially one or two routers. Using one router only would also need an additional switch as well as the router as otherwise only one PC would be available on one of the LANS which kind of rules out a NETWORK - this is due to the single WAN PORT.
In this case a two router solution may be possible without an additional switch providing the number of LAN ports available are enough for your requirements.

If you have internet on an existing LAN and want to add another independent LAN via a router, and, NOT have the internet available to the second LAN then a single additional router would probably work. ! (that may be what you require ??)

Routers are - relatively - dirt cheap and readily available new or second hand - it is amazing what a really cheap wifi type router can do and it isn't too much of an issue, but perhaps can be difficult to set up if you are unsure about IP ranges and Subnetting and DHCP etc, and especially how easy the router's management interface is. You can also use WIFI on each LAN router as well hence having 2 independent WIFI networks - one for each LAN. They can happily work together. Give me an idea of what you are actually trying to do ? what I have written may seem very complicated, but with modern routers and interfaces it is actually really simple as you can ignore 90% of the 'setup' interface and treat each router just as you would with a normal home router but with setting a manual IP / Subnet for the WAN ports. DHCP etc will still work as needed on each LAN.
If you can manually setup a normal home router then you can almost certainly setup a cheap triple router system for 2 independent LANS with Internet access for none, either or BOTH.

Joe.

-------------------------------------------------

Ignore below if not a nerd . ;)
For any techies who may be interested...... Using the term 'bridge' in networking, in basic terms, is a device to change media types working within the same network address range at the MAC level at 'Layer 2' (OSI model) whereas a 'ROUTER' is a device to change from one IP address / subnet range to another working at 'layer 3' (OSI model). However, that is purely for information only.

This takes me back to the early days of Win NT 3.5 and 4 and the exams for the MCSE certification and qualification where TCP/IP was a necessary part of the 6 MCP sub exams. :lol: Deep joy.
------------------------------------------------

Just to add, there are some amazing quality ADSL modem / routers available as ADSL is phased out. DON'T miss these are they are often absolutely amazing !.You can ignore the ADSL modem on most types as they also have a standard WAN port - it is usually one specific dual function port on the 4 port Gb switch that can be used for either function. After that - it is exactly the same as a standard quality NON ADSL router yet they are virtually given away due to people not realising that the ADSL part can be ignored.. Most have wireless ac and dual channel 2.4 / 5GHz wifi also. I actually use my old TP link dual channel 802.11AC ADSL router as a second router to give me wireless AC as my primary (company supplied 4G router) does not have the features. It also has a 4 port gigabit switch (only 3 usable as one is for the WAN). It is connected to the primary and simply uses a second network/ subnet address and that is the wifi and router I connect my network to. As it features dual NAT PAT by the nature of the 2 routers in series, the need for a firewall is virtually negated. If they get past that, then good luck to them . :) :lol:
Joe. CISSP, MSc.

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