There are separate installers for the M5 Monitor Service and M5 Control Panel components of M5. Links to download the installers are available on the PTAGIS website. The M5 Control Panel can only be installed on a Windows-based computer. The M5 Monitor Service can be installed either on Windows or Linux-based computer. The system requirements are described in the related installation topics for each type of computer platforms

Linux vs Windows

M5 Monitor Service will operate similarly on Windows and Linux and choosing between the two platforms is often a personal preference. However, there are a few points to consider before making a choice.

Advantages of a Linux-based platform:

1.Less expensive compared to a Windows equivalent.

2.Smaller and more efficient OS requires less hardware and power requirements.

 

Disadvantages of a Linux-based platform:

1.Requires advanced technical skills for administration.

2.Limited platform evaluation compared to Windows during M5 testing (only Raspberry Pi 4 was evaluated by PTAGIS).

3.Limited technical support from PTAGIS because our expertise is built upon decades of working with Windows computers.

4.Standalone system (Figure 1) is not supported as M5 Control Panel component can only run on Windows.

 

System Folders Created During Installation

The M5 Monitor Service installation process will create a series of folders to store data files, configuration and various system related files. The specific locations of these folders are noted in the related installation topics for each type of computer platform. Typically, it is unnecessary for users to directly access these folders, however, here is a general description of each:

 

Archive folder contains copies of all data files successfully submitted to PTAGIS (or files that were not submitted but only archived instead). Data files are compressed and combined into a ZIP file, one for each month and year.

Cache folder holds application settings and other data needed to be cached between service startups and machine reboots. The Cache folder is also created when M5 Control Panel is installed and shared with M5 Monitor Service if installed on the same machine.

Config folder holds a configuration file used by M5 Monitor Service to perform data collection and other features. The configuration file is machine dependent and uses the machine name as part of the unique file name.

Data folder contains the current interrogation data file created and used by the M5 Monitor Service. When a new data file is created, the previous file is closed, uploaded (optionally), and moved to the Archive folder. Any data file currently opened by the M5 Monitor Service is marked with a Hidden file property attribute; the Hidden attribute is cleared when the file is closed for data collection. CAUTION: deleting or moving a currently open data file will cause loss of data.

Log folder contains daily log files from both M5 Monitor Service and M5 Control Panel. Logs are typically used for troubleshooting. Refer to the System Logs section under Troubleshooting topic.

The next two subtopics provide specific instructions for installing M5 components on a Windows or Linux-based PC.