The Avolites Discussion Forum

Hi,
I was wondering if it is possible to create a data folder in a closed local network where different consoles can store and load showfiles from/to.
The case study is that we have two Arena consoles (for different positions in the hall, and some mediumterm redundancy), both have to be placed and moved depending on the event and don't necessarily run simultaneous or in backup/titannet. However, it would be useful if both can reach the same set of showfiles without having to move around usb sticks/drives, so I was wondering if it were possible to create small data drive on the network (with a nuc or similar) and have both consoles see it as a drive from within titan (so, in the list of "internal drive" and "usb drive" when loading or saving a showfile). I don't want our various operators to have to do stuff in the windows explorer folders after I've set it up so the drive would have to be reachable from within the titan software as a regular drive.
I cant really find anything about this in any manual or online so I thought i'd ask here, because if it is not possible within the software I wont have to bother with creating a network drive just to test this.
Thanks in advance,
Fon

I believe that in principle the Titan software will treat a network share mapped to a drive letter in a similar fashion to a removable USB drive. However Windows networking components including file shares are not enabled on consoles, in part this is because they are not required but also this can be a potential vector for spreading viruses. This is not a supported or tested configuration so I don't think it can be recommended.

Thanks for the reply, I guess I wouldn't do it then.
I am wondering though: A closed local network drive (no internet connection whatsoever) wouldn't really be much more prone to virus spreading than using the same usb stick on two consoles or connecting for a titan net session right? Or do those connections have extra protections against virusses?

There have been vulnerabilities found with SMB file shares in the past that could potentially allow viruses to gain access to other computers on the network. We will try to to keep the OS reasonably up-to-date to avoid this but users may not need or want to update their consoles. Although it would be hoped that the network used for lighting would only have safe devices connected to it, it might only require someone plugging in a laptop without realising that it is infected. The chances of virus targeting the Titan software directly are remote but it could perhaps reduce performance if they were running in the background and we wouldn't want to the console to spread viruses to USB sticks or other computers on the network. Regarding USB sticks, auto-run functionality is disabled and the Titan software is generally looking for Titan specific files, e.g. the show files, and ignoring everything else on the stick.