5.19 Worker

The Worker is only required for legacy Android application support and is not necessary with the current application. The following information is only necessary for supporting older application systems.

The Mobile worker is a special worker configuration which contacts the Retain Router with all the information it needs to function. This includes the configuration settings for the data path and connection information. In general, the Mobile Worker is configured the exact same as most workers in the Retain system, however there is one setting for the Mobile Worker which is specific to the Mobile Module; the data path. The data path is essential for the worker to function with the Mobile Module. An existing worker may be used with the Mobile Module, however, it must have the bootstrap file re-uploaded once the data path has been configured.

The mobile data is delivered to the Retain Server through a router service, which must be informed how to contact the Retain Server. While the Router is gathering information between jobs, the mobile data is stored. The stored location is specified by the data path. This is why the Router and the worker must have direct and constant access to the data path; the data path stores the message data collected by the Router and retrieved by the Worker.

To ensure connection to both the data path and the Retain Server are correct, the Connection and the Module Specific tabs must be reviewed and configured. The Connection tab holds the connection address which the Retain Worker will use to contact the Retain Server. Depending on where the Server and the Worker are located in the network, and because the Worker may be installed alongside the Router in the DMZ, the connection information must be accurate to allow a clean connection to the Retain Server. An IP Address will work, but the DNS hostname of the Retain Server is also recognized and supported.

The port and address must be open or forwarded through security and firewalls from the Worker to the Server. In addition, the Retain Server will not accept connections without the password set here. The password is randomized and doesn’t need to be changed.

Once the Mobile Worker has been configured, save the changes. Once the settings have been saved, the worker will be created, and the configuration saved to the bootstrap file. The bootstrap file must be uploaded to the Retain Worker before the Worker will function. Select the ‘Download File’ link to save the configuration file. Browse to the worker’s page, and upload the configuration file. Once uploaded, the worker automatically reads the configuration and checks with the Retain Server for jobs.