Managing Rallypoints
Rallypoints are fast packet routers with a small footprint designed to securely forward packets between clients. Rallypoints are deployed and configured using ICE Agent. To create a Rallypoint, you will download the software, unzip the files to a folder on the host machine, and open a terminal window to that folder. After running the appropriate commands, ICE Agent will start and appear in a new Group or a Group of your selection. Admins can then manage the Rallypoint from the ICE Server via the ICE Desktop.
This section provides configuration instructions for Rallypoints that have already been deployed and are ready for configuration on the ICE Server.
Rallypoints Functions in ICE
The following list outlines the primary functions served by Rallypoints in an ICE Deployment.
Important: If Rallypoints does not appear in Settings, then you may be using an older version of ICE Desktop with a newer ICE Server. See Version Compatibility. If you need immediate access to the Rallypoint settings, use the web version of the ICE Desktop. Rallypoints do not appear in Settings for user accounts.
Client Communication
When a channel is assigned to a Rallypoint Group, all ICE clients on the channel connect to a Rallypoint defined within the Group. If the Group is meshed or federated, then the communication will be meshed or federated. Clients connected to one Rallypoint in a mesh may communicate with clients connected via a different Rallypoint in the mesh. Audio flows between all Rallypoints in the mesh.
When a channel is assigned to a Rallypoint Group, all ICE clients on the channel connect to a Rallypoint defined within the Group. If the Group is meshed or federated, then the communication will be meshed or federated. Clients connected to one Rallypoint in a mesh may communicate with clients connected via a different Rallypoint in the mesh. Audio flows between all Rallypoints in the mesh.
Tactical Internet Communication
In Tactical Mode, Rallypoints connect ICE communications across the Internet. Without a Rallypoint, transmissions will be multicast, which is typically restricted by the boundary of the local area network, but varies based on your network architecture.
In Tactical Mode, Rallypoints connect ICE communications across the Internet. Without a Rallypoint, transmissions will be multicast, which is typically restricted by the boundary of the local area network, but varies based on your network architecture.
Mesh Configurations:
Rallypoints operate in mesh configurations, connecting multiple nodes and other Rallypoints to create a robust and resilient communication network. If you don't want to operate in a mesh configuration, then create each Rallypoint Group with only one active Rallypoint.
Rallypoints operate in mesh configurations, connecting multiple nodes and other Rallypoints to create a robust and resilient communication network. If you don't want to operate in a mesh configuration, then create each Rallypoint Group with only one active Rallypoint.
Federated Channels
Rallypoints can bridge communications between organizations, allowing two-way audio over channels configured for Federation. See Federating Rallypoints.
Rallypoints can bridge communications between organizations, allowing two-way audio over channels configured for Federation. See Federating Rallypoints.
Group Capacity
The Group's capacity depends on factors such as the number of peers in the mesh, the number of meshed channels assigned to the Group, the amount of audio traffic, hardware, latency, etc... It may be difficult to determine your capacity without testing it, but quality will generally degrade before communication terminates, providing a clue that you are reaching capacity and should probably add more Rallypoint Servers to your Rallypoint Group. You can also use the System Health dashboard in Grafana to monitor internal Rallypoint health.
Deletion
When a Rallypoint is deleted via ICE Desktop, whether intentionally or accidentally, it will reappear after ~30 seconds. During a fresh installation, Rallypoints are created and registered automatically.