If you are scared about hearing the word "server" because it sounds complex and something only big businesses uses, don't be alarmed. A server is nothing more than a program that recieves requests from another program (the client) and responds to those requests by performing some operation, often returning information as well. The Quiz Manager and Quiz Player programs operate as "clients", asking the Quiz Server for the information they need, or telling the Quiz Server to store information.
What You NEED To Know
There are just a couple of things everyone should know about the Quiz Server:- It automatically runs in the background so most people will never need to be concerned with it.
- When you uninstall Quiz Extreme (i.e. before installing a major upgrade), it does NOT remove your quiz database. This means that you can safely uninstall Quiz Extreme without losing your data.
Geeks Only
For those who need some additional technical information (or you are just curious):- The Quiz Server runs as a windows service called Quiz Extreme Database.
- It runs a broadcast server on port 13132. If you are running Windows Firewall, the installer will give you the option of allowing the installer to automatically open this port so other computers can connect to the server. If you are running a firewall other than the Windows Firewall, you will need to open a UDP port on 13132 in your firewall to allow connections from other machines.
- It listens for connections from Quiz Managers and Quiz Players on port 13579. If you are running Windows Firewall, the installer will give you the option of allowing the installer to automatically open this port so other computers can connect to the server. If you are running a firewall other than the Windows Firewall, you will need to open a TCP port on 13579 in your firewall to allow connections from other machines.
- The database used is the Apache Derby database. The database server runs on port 1527. If you are running Windows Firewall, the installer will give you the option of allowing the installer to automatically open this port so other computers can connect to the server. If you are running a firewall other than the Windows Firewall, you will need to open a TCP port on 1527 in your firewall to allow connections from other machines. If you intend on using the Quiz Manager ONLY from the server machine, you do not need to open this port. However, if you plan to allow connections from the Quiz Manager to the Quiz Server from other machines, this port needs to be open. The Quiz Manager reporting engine (BIRT) makes connections directly to the Derby database server. DO NOT EVER ATTEMPT TO MODIFY THE DATABASE OUTSIDE OF THE QUIZ MANAGER. DOING SO WILL CORRUPT THE DATABASE MAKING IT UNUSABLE WITH QUIZ EXTREME.
Advanced Server Configuration
There are several advanced server configuration settings that can be made to the Quiz Server including configuration of outgoing email, optional use of LDAP / Active Directory for user authentication, and the ability to automatically submit user results to an Online QX Repository. For more details read the Advanced Server Configuration article.
