Web service for noobs like me

[torekp]

I was trying a python http communication tutorial - https://aiohttp-demos.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html#views - when I had to disable the NI Application Web Server to proceed.  And then I thought, what the **** am I doing?  Maybe I should take the free (well, prepaid) gift of a working web server.

Here's my task.  A central HQ computer will have a GUI that monitors five machine stations, each of which has its own computer.  Every approx 10 ms (negotiable), each station gives a report consisting of two arrays, the larger being 2048 data points, the other much smaller.  Whenever HQ feels like it, HQ can tell a station to start or stop (its computer stays on).  A local IP connection is used, with a router at each end.  There is also a Raspberry Pi with its own IP address at each station's router, that can send camera frames to HQ.  The station-computers use Python and C++ to do their work, not counting whatever needs to be added to communicate with HQ.

Your advice please?  Should I use Labview?  On both ends or just the HQ?  And which if any of these helpful add-ons suggested by Hooovahh should I use?

 

[ShaunR]

28 minutes ago, torekp said:

Should I use Labview?

No.

[torekp]

Thanks!  If not Labview, Python is probably my least-incompetence path forward.  Any suggestions on a good starting point - maybe a canned websocket example that I could adapt?

[ShaunR]

31 minutes ago, torekp said:

Thanks!  If not Labview, Python is probably my least-incompetence path forward.  Any suggestions on a good starting point - maybe a canned websocket example that I could adapt?

For the HQ  GUI side, use a browser and Javascript. You don't need a web server.

You don't really need a web  server on the device side either but it's useful to have a HTTP webserver to get a web page as a starting point and to configure things. Note that having a webserver is a security risk so if you are new to all this, I wouldn't suggest you have one on the devices in production but it will help you developing.

You will need a Web server on the HQ side if you are doing database stuff but I'd suggest you talk to IT to get provisioning which will probably be an Apache Server-which they will maintain.

Edited December 22, 2021 by ShaunR

[torekp]

Computers at the devices won't have any WWW connection, only local.  And the GUI computer will normally not connect more than locally either.  So I'm not too worried about security, although now you can explain why I'm an idiot as well as a noob 😬

[ShaunR]

8 minutes ago, torekp said:

Computers at the devices won't have any WWW connection, only local.  And the GUI computer will normally not connect more than locally either.  So I'm not too worried about security, although now you can explain why I'm an idiot as well as a noob 😬

I'll let your IT dept. scream every point, in exquisite detail, when you tell them what you are planning and how you are not worried about their security.