# FenixServer — User Guide

**FenixServer** is the server edition of Fenix. It runs in the background, communicates with your industrial devices, and exposes all data through a built-in REST API. Use it as a gateway between your PLCs and any HTTP-based system — web dashboards, mobile apps, cloud services, or SCADA software.

---

## 1. Starting the Server

FenixServer can run in three modes:

### Manual Mode (default)

Double-click `FenixServer.exe`. The window opens and waits — you load a project and control everything manually.

### Auto-Run Mode

```
FenixServer.exe -r
```

Loads the last project automatically and starts all drivers without any user interaction. Perfect for unattended servers that need to resume after a reboot.

### Simulation Mode

```
FenixServer.exe -s
```

Runs without hardware. All drivers pretend to work — great for testing your REST API client or web dashboard before deploying to production.

> Only one instance can run at a time. Trying to start a second one shows a warning.

---

## 2. The Server Window

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Open Project]  [▶ Start]  [■ Stop]  [🌐 Browser]  Status  │
├──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┤
│  Connections                 │  Selected Connection         │
│  Type | Name | Status | ...  │  Properties                  │
├──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┤
│  Events Log — time-stamped messages                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Status bar: alarm count | last message                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

![FenixServer main window](lib/fenix-server-overview.png)

---

## 3. Loading a Project

1. Click **Open Project**.
2. Choose a `.pse` file (created in Fenix).
3. All connections from the project appear in the Connections grid.

> Projects are configured in **Fenix** — see the [Fenix User Guide](Fenix.md).

---

## 4. Controlling Communication

| Button | What It Does |
|--------|-------------|
| ▶ **Start** | Activates all drivers. Devices are polled, tags update, and the REST API starts serving live data. |
| ■ **Stop** | Gracefully stops all drivers. Communication pauses but the web API stays online. |

The **Status** indicator shows whether communication is Running or Stopped.

---

## 5. Monitoring Connections

The left side of the window shows all active connections:

| Column | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| **Kind** | Protocol — "Modbus TCP", "S7-300/400", etc. |
| **Name** | Connection name from your project. |
| **Protocol** | Technical protocol identifier. |
| **Status** | *Running*, *Stopped*, or *Error*. |
| **Sent** | Total requests sent to the device. |
| **Received** | Total responses received from the device. |

![Connections grid](lib/fenix-server-connections.png)

Click any row to see its full details — IP address, port, timeout, retries — in the **Properties** panel on the right.

---

## 6. Events and Alarms

The **Events** panel at the bottom logs everything that happens:

- Driver started / stopped
- Connection errors and timeouts
- Device communication failures

The status bar shows the total alarm count and the most recent message.

---

## 7. Accessing the REST API

Click the **🌐 Browser** button to open the API in your web browser. Call any endpoint directly:

```
http://localhost:80/api/tags
http://localhost:80/health
```

For a complete walkthrough with code examples, see **[FenixServer.Api — User Guide](FenixServerApi.md)**.

---

## 8. Web Dashboard

If your project includes web files (in the `Http/` folder), they are served automatically:

```
http://localhost:80/
```

This means you can view a browser-based monitoring dashboard without installing anything extra.

![Browser view — light mode](lib/fenix-web-browser-light.png)

![Browser view — dark mode](lib/fenix-web-browser-dark.png)

---

## 9. Shutting Down

Close the window. The server will:

1. Stop all drivers gracefully.
2. Shut down the web API.
3. Release all resources.

For auto-run mode (`-r`), use **Windows Task Scheduler** to restart the app automatically after system reboots.

---

## How It Works (Briefly)

Under the hood, FenixServer does three things simultaneously:

1. **Drivers** — the same Modbus and S7 communication engines from Fenix run in the background, polling your devices.
2. **Web Host** — an ASP.NET Core server is embedded directly in the application, no IIS required. It listens on port 80 (configurable) and serves both the REST API and static dashboard files.
3. **UI** — the WPF window gives you visibility into what's happening: connection status, sent/received counters, and an event log.

All three components start and stop together. When you close the window, everything shuts down cleanly.