CHAPTER 8: Operation
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8.7 Broadcast Mode
Using “Broadcast Mode,” each user on a ServSwitch Multi system can send commands to multiple computers in
the system at the same time. By creating your own customized “broadcast group,” you can designate which
computers you want to broadcast to. Once you enter Broadcast Mode, whatever you type is sent to all of the
computers in your group regardless of which channel is active. If you just want to quickly include a range of
channels in a broadcast group, it will not hurt anything to include other types of installed modules or Cards in
the group, but broadcasting only affects CPU-Interface Cards. Each CPU-Interface Card can belong to only one
console’s broadcast group at a time.
You can control Broadcast Mode with these keystroke-sequence commands:
• Issue the Broadcast Add command (“<CM>T+<channel list>[Enter]”) to add the channel(s) in <channel list>
to a broadcast group. <channel list> can be either a single channel address or a range of channel addresses,
entered in low-address-dash-high-address format (for example, “A-D” to indicate ports A through D of the
local unit or “4C-5F” to indicate channels C and higher of unit 4 and channels A through F of unit 5). If you
are in Broadcast Mode when you issue the command, the change in the broadcast group will not take effect
until you exit and re-enter Broadcast Mode.
• Issue the Broadcast Remove command (“<CM>T–<channel list>[Enter]”) to remove the channel(s) in
<channel list> (see above) from a broadcast group. If you are in Broadcast Mode when you issue the
command, the change in the broadcast group will not take effect until you exit and re-enter Broadcast
Mode. Any time you’re not sure which channels are currently in your console’s broadcast group, you should
issue a global Broadcast Remove command whose channel list includes every address in your system and
rebuild your broadcast group from scratch.
• Issue the Broadcast Go command (“<CM>TG[Enter]”) to enter Broadcast Mode; until you exit it, the
ServSwitch Multi will send everything you type to all of the computer channels in the broadcast group, even
if none of them are currently selected.
• Issue the Broadcast Halt command (“<CM>TH[Enter]”) to exit Broadcast Mode.
Here’s a typical broadcast session, with an accompanying explanation for each step:
1. Type in “<CM>T-A-L[Enter]” to remove channels A through L on the local unit from any broadcast group
you had previously established.
2. Type in “<CM>T+A-B[Enter]” to add channels A and B on the local unit to your new broadcast group.
3. Type in “<CM>TG[Enter]” to enter Broadcast Mode.
4. Type in the first message or data that you want both channels A and B on the local unit to receive.
5.
Type in “<CM>T-A[Enter]” to remove channel A on the local unit from the broadcast group; it will continue
to receive broadcast data for now, but will not be part of the group the next time you enter Broadcast Mode.
6. Type in “<CM>T+3F[Enter]” to add channel F on unit 3 to the broadcast group; it won’t receive any
broadcast data until the next time you enter Broadcast Mode.
7. Type in any other message or data that you want both channels A and B on the local unit to receive.
8.
Type in “<CM>TH[Enter]” to exit Broadcast Mode and stop broadcasting data to local-unit channels A andB.
9. Type in “<CM>TG[Enter]” to re-enter Broadcast Mode and start broadcasting to channel B on the local
unit and channel F on unit 3.