Actions Relay Event Service (ARES)

• ARES Installation Locations
• Command Line Options
• Reconfiguration
• Console Output
• See Also

ARES is a cross-platform Java application that acts as an event listener which dispatches configured actions (i.e. macros) in response to events. The recommended Java version is 9.0.4 or later. ARES can dispatch replies on any event detected by your SAFR system and is normally installed as a service by either SAFR Platform or SAFR Desktop installers. It is constantly active and is automatically started by the operating system on power-up.

ARES Installation Locations

• For Windows: C:\Program Files\RealNetworks\SAFR\ares
• For macOS: /Library/RealNetworks/SAFR/ares
• For Linux: /opt/RealNetworks/SAFR/ares

Command Line Options

You can manually start your ARES service by running the following command.

java -jar Ares.jar

The command line supports the following options:

• -u <UserId>: Provides the SAFR account user ID. The user ID that is passed into ARES via the command line overrides whatever user ID is configured within SAFRActions.config.
• -p <Password>: Provides the SAFR account password. The password that is passed into ARES via the command line overrides whatever password is configured within SAFRActions.config.
• -s: Saves the user ID and/or password to SAFRActions.config. If a password is saved, it's encrypted before it's saved.
• -q: Turns on quiet mode, which suppresses most console output.

Linux users should use the -s command line option to save their password to SAFRActions.config so it will be stored encrypted. Windows users should either use the -s command line option or the SAFR Actions GUI tool to save their password to SAFRActions.config so it will be stored encrypted.

Reconfiguration

• ARES dynamically applies any changes to the SAFRActions.config file without restarting:

  • ARES examines the SAFRActions.config file every 2 seconds for any changes.

• When a change is detected, ARES reads the change and automatically reconfigures itself accordingly. (Event polling is suspended briefly and then promptly resumed after reconfiguartion is complete.)

• The reconfiguration action is indicated in the log:

  --- RECONFIGURED at <date>

Console Output

• When started, ARES displays any errors or warnings based on the contents of the SAFRActions.config file.
• ARES displays all received events, triggered actions, and replies issued unless it was given the -q (quiet) option when it was started.

Tip: In the Mac terminal or in the Windows Cygwin shell, the tail -f ares.log command is a convenient way to monitor the SAFR Action service in real time.

See Also

• Actions Overview
• SAFRActions.config
• SAFR Actions
• ARES Scripts