We have been getting enquiries about large scale deployment of WebDT and how best to "register" all the Signage Appliances without having to hook up a mouse and keyboard to each unit once they are installed in the field. Well, WebDT actually has a tool called the "Batch Register Tool" (Simple as it is) that allows administrators or field service agents (via his/her laptop connected to the Signage network) to simply register all these appliances without going to each player individually.
Step 1: Install the WebDT Signage Tools Package (inclusive of Batch Register Tool and Offline Deployment Tool) on a notebook PC (typically this is the PC which the field service agent would be using). The WebDT Signage Tools can also be found on the local SA1000/2000/3000 DT Research folder (Start -> All Programs -> DT Research -> WebDT Signage Tools -> Batch Register)
Step 2: Once installed and running, the tool should then automatically "Scan" your primary network connection subnet (where the laptop or the Signage Appliance is connected to). Bear in mind that this tool cannot be used to register Signage Appliances that are outside of the local area network.
Step 3: Expand Publish Server and you should be able to see all the Signage Players currently running (either already registered or not). You can then click on the player to view more information about that player (see screen shot below).
Step 4: Select all the players which you would like to register to a particular server and then type in all required credentials (See picture below). Make sure the Publish Server URL is specified correctly with the full path such as http://signage.server.com:81/publish/
Step 5: Once successfully registered you should then be able to control the Signage Appliance from your WebDT Content Manager server. You can use the Batch Register Tool to change registration or even change the playername, etc.
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