Backdrop Validator Tool

The Backdrop Validator tool is designed to help you know if your devices and network setup will allow Backdrop to function correctly.

The tool runs a series of checks to help you understand if you are meeting the minimum requirements and if network traffic can communicate between your users and the product.

This article covers the tool, its usage, and the report it creates.

(This tool should only be used in conjunction with Impero staff is a reference to the need to understand the results of the Validator tool which Impero staff can provide. This guide has been designed to also provide that guidance.)

 

Backdrop Validator Tool Download (Windows only)

The Validator Tool is a win32 standalone application (no installation required) and requires a Windows device to run.

Run the tool once downloaded.

 

System Check

System Check runs on launch and provides the minimum requirements to run the product on Windows devices. These specifications cover the student-installed device client application and the web-based Backdrop application used by staff.

This check only covers Windows-based devices.

All other device client types do not conform to the concept of specific minimum requirements, opting for minimum support versions of the operating system.

Current requirements for all operating systems can be found here

We will cover the System Check results in more detail in the Download Report section of this article.

 

Network Check

Network Check performs a series of network requests to the various addresses and ports used by the product*. If traffic passes between both points successfully then the test will pass and the product will function.

*All device client types use the same network requests. While the tool only runs on a Windows device, running it from the same Network location as a Chromebook or iPad for example will also tell you if that device type can reach all endpoints.

Select the region in which you are located and want to perform the test. Click Go

The test will take a few moments to complete and generate the results.

The results will highlight any potential issues with failed requests to any of the endpoints it tried to communicate with during the test.

We will cover the results of the Network Check in more detail in the Download Report section of this article.

 

Download Report

Download Report will save the results of both the System Check and Network Check to a text file.

You will be asked where to save the report on your device.

We will now break down the report results in more detail.

 

Backdrop System Information

Default Network:

Displays the network IP address, subnet, and internet gateway address for this device on the local network.

Version date:

The date this version of the validator was created. The tool is updated periodically to support changes so check you are running the most up-to-date version available above.

Region:

The target infrastructure location was selected when the Network Check was run. This will want to match your geographical location.

Timestamp:

The time and date the report was generated.

 

Backdrop System Requirements Check

 

Operating System newer than Windows 8.1:

Checks the locally installed operating system is Windows 8.1 or higher which is required to run the client. 

Installed Windows operating system version:

Reports the actual version of Windows running on the local device.

2.0 GHz + Single Core Processor:

This checks your CPU specification to ensure it meets our minimum requirement. Modern CPU's favor more cores over higher clock speeds. Additional cores offset the need for high CPU speeds. Failing to meet this requirement will not prevent installation but will impact performance.

.NET Framework Installed:

The Windows client requires .NET framework installed to run correctly. Newer devices may have this already installed but older hardware might require updates. Depending on the version of Windows, these updates may not be installed automatically and may require manual installation.

4 GB RAM installed:

This checks your system memory to ensure it meets our minimum requirement. Most modern systems have 4GB or higher. Failing to meet this requirement will not prevent installation but will impact performance.

Default browser Google Chrome*:

Check to see if the local system default web browser is set to Google Chrome. Certain features (Open Website, Broadcast Screen, Google Meets) will launch a browser tab on the target device in the system-configured default browser. It is recommended this default browser has the Backdrop extension installed so these tabs are created in a browser that can be monitored. Avoid unsupported browsers such as Opera.
*The tool does not currently report on Edge. If the default browser is set to Microsoft Edge and our Edge extension is installed this is also a recommended setup.

Visual C++ run time installed:

A required component for the Windows client to function. If this reports a fail then a link to where this update can be downloaded is provided.

.NET core runtime 6.0 or above installed:

A required component for the Windows client to function. If this reports a fail then a link to where this update can be downloaded is provided.

5 GB free disk space C:\:

This is the recommended minimum storage space on the device to run the client and covers the space needed for installation. It also covers space required to store captures offline, In the event the client has triggered captures but cannot establish a connection to Backdrop to send them.

Is connected to Active Directory:

This check relates to using AD accounts with automatic login (email address) during integration setup. A Pass is only required if you are using email addresses for automatic login.

Backdrop Network Requirements Check

Can download network check rules:

Ensures the Validator tool is using the latest endpoints and information when running the network checks tests.

Can connect to specified addresses and ports:

These tests ensure the client can communicate to all the required endpoints needed for the product to function. These results are specific to the region you selected before running the test. Fails here are normally related to Firewall restrictions.

Can connect to web socket ports:

Web socket tests ensure that the connected device can show live screen data with Backdrop.

Is able to use webrtc for ports:

This will attempt to use webRTC ports in the same way the clients perform the Single Device View in Backdrop.

Can connect to Xirsys WhiteList IpAddresses:

This test checks a large pool of servers globally provided by Xirsys. For your client to function, it will only be required to make a connection to one of these servers. The test will query multiple servers in a given region, and it is common to see a few fails as servers exist as redundancy backups, coming online as needed.

Our results here can be misleading. We only show the servers that failed in our reports. 

These results don't show that we connected successfully to servers in each of these regions. This can be seen in the results displayed in the Validator tool.