FAQ and Knowledge Base

VVEngine

01. What is VVEngine?  02. What Are the Requirements to Run VVEngine?  03. Which Browsers are Supported by VVEngine?  04. How Do I Install VVEngine?  05. Does VVEngine Start Automatically Every Time I Start Windows?  06. What Ports and Protocols Does VVEngine Use?  07. Can I Connect to VVEngine from a Remote Computer?  08. Can I Use VVEngine to Run Profiles Manually?  09: How Do I Use VVEngine to Run a ViceVersa Profile As Soon As a USB Drive Is Inserted?  10. How Do I Use VVEngine to Run a ViceVersa Profile As Soon As the Network Is Accessible?  11. How Do I Run One Profile After Another?  12: What Are the Advantages of Running VVEngine as a Windows Service?  13. How Do I Setup VVEngine as a Windows Service?  14. How Do I Uninstall VVEngine?  15. How Do I Run a Profile Once a Week, on Monday at 2 PM?  16. How Does VVEngine Compare with the Other Scheduling Tools Available for ViceVersa PRO?  17. VVEngine and Firewalls  18. Can I Restrict Access to VVEngine with a Password?  19. Can I Change the HTTP Port Used by VVEngine?  20. RSS Feeds

VVEngine is a new add-on for ViceVersa PRO.

VVEngine is an advanced scheduler that lets you schedule all your ViceVersa profiles.

VVEngine lets you create profile chains and categories to run sequentially.

With VVEngine you can:

• Setup multiple profiles and profile groups
• Run profiles every X minutes, every X hours, every X days
• Exclude specific days from the schedule
• Setup profiles to run as soon as file changes are detected
• Setup profiles to run when USB drives are detected
• Setup profiles to run when a network connection is detected
• Automatically re-run profiles if an error occurs
• Run one ViceVersa profile after another (sequentially)
• View profile history and results for the last 15 runs
• Control VVEngine with a browser, also from a different computer or remotely over the Internet
• Setup VVEngine to run as a service

Download VVEngine from the VVEngine Home Page

See the extra features VVEngine offers VV PRO users in the Scheduling Comparison Chart

To run VVEngine you need ViceVersa PRO 2 installed (VVEngine is a ViceVersa PRO 2 add-on).

VVEngine runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 (all editions of these operative systems). VVEngine does not run on Windows 98, Me or 95. VVEngine is a 32-bit application, compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows.

To control VVEngine you need an Internet browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (or later), FireFox 1.5 (or later) or Opera 9 (or later).

Internet Explorer 5.5 (or later) or FireFox 1.5 (or later).
VVEngine also requires Javascript to be enabled. Usually Javascript is enabled by default.

1. VVEngine requires ViceVersa PRO 2 to run. If you do not already have ViceVersa PRO installed, you can download it at www.tgrmn.com 
    
2. After installing ViceVersa PRO 2, download the VVEngine installer from http://www.tgrmn.com/web/vvengine/vvengine.htm 
    
3. If you have a previous version of VVEngine already installed please see: http://www.tgrmn.com/web/forum/viewtopict1417.htm
    
4. Start the installation process by running the downloaded file (vvengine.exe)
    
5. At the end of installation, VVEngine will start.
    

You connect to VVEngine with your Internet Browser. Start the browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or FireFox) and type http://127.0.0.1:8001 in the address bar. This unique address opens the VVEngine interface.
When you open VVEngine for the first time there will be no ViceVersa profiles scheduled. You can add a new profile by clicking on "Add Profile" on the main VVEngine page.

Notes:

• After installation, VVEngine will automatically run in the background each time you start Windows.
• VVEngine is installed for the current user. If you wish to install VVEngine as a service see the related article http://www.tgrmn.com/web/kb/item48.htm

Yes. Once VVEngine is installed, it will automatically start when you start Windows.
If you uninstall VVEngine, VVEngine will be removed and will no longer start when you start Windows.

By default, VVEngine uses port 8001 and the HTTP protocol to communicate with your web browser. To connect to VVEngine, type http://127.0.0.1:8001 into your web browser address bar.

N.B.: By default, VVEngine only allows connections from the local computer (127.0.0.1). To allow connections from other computers, see: http://www.tgrmn.com/web/kb/item54.htm

*** Requires VVEngine 1.1 or any later version ***

Yes, you can connect to VVEngine from a remote computer. You will need to change the default VVEngine settings in order to do this, because, by default, VVEngine only allows web browser connections from the local computer (IP 127.0.0.1).

• Select "Start" > "All Programs" > "VVEngine for ViceVersa PRO" > "VVEngine Settings".
• In the VVEngine Settings dialog box, enter the IPs that will be allowed to connect to VVEngine in the "Allowed IPs" field.
• Click on "Apply Changes". VVEngine will restart with the new settings.
• Click on "Close".

After this change, to connect from a remote computer, type http://<ip>:<port> into the web browser address bar on the remote computer.
<ip> is the IP of the computer where VVEngine is running.
<port> is the VVEngine HTTP port, usually 8001.
For example http://192.168.1.100:8001

Some 'Allowed IPs' examples

To allow only the local computer to connect to VVEngine (default):
Allowed IPs = 127.0.0.1

To allow the local computer to connect to VVEngine and the IP 192.168.1.1:
Allowed IPs = 127.0.0.1|192.168.1.1

To allow the local computer to connect to VVEngine and all IPs starting with 192.168:
Allowed IPs = 127.0.0.1|192.168.*

To allow the local computer to connect to VVEngine, all IPs starting with 192.168 and IP 10.10.10.10:
Allowed IPs = 127.0.0.1|192.168.*|10.10.10.10

To allow all IPs to connect to VVEngine:
Allowed IPs = *

Yes, you can add profiles to VVEngine without them being part of a schedule and run them manually. You do this  by clicking on 'Run Profile'.

Profiles without a schedule have the text 'Manually' written in the 'Next Run' field.

This allows you to organize your profiles into categories and see the profile history for the last 15 runs.

1. Start VVEngine. Click on 'Add Profile'
2. Select the ViceVersa profile you want to run when the USB drive is inserted
3. Activate the option 'Run Immediately As Soon As Source and Target are Accessible'
4. Click 'OK'

Your profile has now been added to the VVEngine list. As soon as all the sources and targets in the profile are accessible VVEngine starts the profile to synchronize, replicate or backup your files.

1. Start VVEngine. Click 'Add Profile'
2. Select the ViceVersa profile you want to run when the network is accessible 
3. Activate the option 'Run Immediately As Soon As Source and Target are Accessible'
4. Click 'OK'

Your profile is added to the VVEngine list. As soon as all the sources and targets in the profile are accessible, VVEngine starts the profile to synchronize, replicate or backup your files.

Note: network detection can take a couple of minutes.

If you want to start the profile only once an hour, once a day or once a week (i.e. you disconnect and reconnect to the network multiple times but only want the profile to start every hour, day or week) select 'Hourly', 'Daily' or 'Weekly' instead of 'Immediately'.

With VVEngine you can run multiple ViceVersa profiles sequentially.
You can do this in 2 ways:

Manual Runs: Add the ViceVersa profiles to VVEngine with no scheduling options set and make all of them part of the same category. When you want to run all the profiles in the category, select the category and click on "Run All" in VVEngine. "Run All" runs all the profiles in the current category.

Scheduled: Add the ViceVersa profiles to VVEngine. For the first profile, change the schedule and set the "After this profile, run ..." to the profile name of the second profile. Then open the second profile's schedule and set the "After this profile, run ..."  to the profile name of the third profile and so on. Note that only the first profile needs to have a schedule set, because the second, third, etc. will run sequentially after the first one.

Running VVEngine on a Windows Server as a Windows Service allows you to keep VVEngine running even when no one is logged onto the server. It also allows you to run VVEngine under a different account from the current logged-in account.
When VVEngine is installed as a Windows Service, you are still able to control it with a web browser and from a remote machine.

See How Do I Install VVEngine as a Windows Service? and Control VVEngine From a Remote Computer

*** Requires VVEngine 1.1 or any later version ***

• After installing VVEngine (see http://www.tgrmn.com/web/kb/item47.htm) go to the installation folder (usually c:\program files\vvengine\)
   
• Open the subfolder "Serv".
   
• Double-click on the file "Service - INSTALL VVEngine as Service.bat" This script will install VVEngine as a service. You will need administrator privileges to be able to do it. Note: this script will stop any VVEngine profiles that are running before installing VVEngine as a service.
   
• Open the Windows Service Console. You should now see VVEngine in the list of installed services.
   
• Right-click on the "VVEngine service" and select "Properties" from the menu. Click on the "Log On" tab and select which account will run the VVEngine service. If you plan to schedule synchronizations or replications over the network, an account with network access needs to run the VVEngine service, e.g. Administrator
   
• After having selected the right account, click on the button "OK" and start the service by right-clicking on the service name and selecting "Start" from the menu.
    
• As a service, VVEngine will keep running even if no one is logged onto the computer.
   
• You can connect to VVEngine from any computer in the network by typing http://<ip>:8001 into the web browser address bar. <ip> is the IP address of the computer on which VVEngine is running (for example http://192.168.1.100:8001). See http://www.tgrmn.com/web/kb/item54.htm for more information.

Important Note: VVEngine saves its settings and the profile list in a file called VVEngine.xml This file is kept in the folder c:\Documents and Settings\<account>\Application Data\VVEngine (where <account> is the account name running VVEngine).
If you install VVEngine as a service under a different account and you want to maintain the profile list, you will need to copy this file from the old account location to the new account location.

From the Windows Taskbar select "Start" > "All Programs" > "VVEngine for ViceVersa PRO" > "Uninstall"

To schedule a profile to run at a specific time, for example once a week, on Monday at 2 PM, set the profile schedule as follows:

• Run Every Day
• Start Time 2:00 PM
• Don Not Run on: Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun (exclude each day but Monday)

This schedule will run the profile every Monday at 2 PM.

See the extra features VVEngine offers in the Scheduling Comparison Chart

By default VVEngine uses the HTTP protocol on port 8001 to communicate with your browser. If you are unable to access VVEngine on http://127.0.0.1:8001 with your browser, make sure your firewall is not blocking VVEngine. See also http://www.tgrmn.com/web/kb/item50.htm

*** Requires VVEngine 1.1 or any later version ***

Yes, you can restrict access to VVEngine with a password. To setup a password, follow the steps below:

• From the Windows Taskbar, select "Start" > "All Programs" > "VVEngine for ViceVersa PRO" > "VVEngine Settings".
• In the VVEngine settings dialog box, enter the access password in the "HTTP Password" field.
• Click on "Apply Changes". VVEngine will ask you to confirm the password you entered and then restart.
• Click on "Close".

VVEngine will now require a password when connecting with a web browser.

*** Requires VVEngine 1.1 or any later version ***

Yes, you can change the HTTP port used by VVEngine.
The default port is 8001. This can be changed if conflicts occur with other applications.

• From the Windows menu, select "Start" > "All Programs" > "VVEngine for ViceVersa PRO" > "VVEngine Settings".
• In the VVEngine settings dialog box, enter the new port in the "HTTP Port" field.
• Click on "Apply Changes". VVEngine will restart.
• Click on "Close".

*** Requires VVEngine 1.1 or any later version ***

VVEngine supports two special RSS feeds that can report the latest run for each enabled profile in VVEngine. The VVEngine feeds are accessible via any RSS reader. The feeds are accessible at:

http://<ip>:<port>/rss.xml (eg http://127.0.0.1:8001/rss.xml or from a remote computer http://192.168.1.1:8001/rss.xml)

and

http://<ip>:<port>/errors.xml (eg http://127.0.0.1:8001/errors.xml or from a remote computer http://192.168.1.1:8001/errors.xml, this feed only reports profiles with errors)

VVEngine RSS Examples

Google Desktop Gadget OneFeed showing VVEngine RSS feed

Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget showing VVEngine RSS feed