Gramin Radio Inter Networking System v0.3
Installation Guide


This page will guide you through the installation procedure. Since GRINS can be installed in different ways, your first step will be choosing a setup that suits your requirements. To understand different configurations in which GRINS can be installed please see this page. As described on there, you may choose to do a demo installation also, that will allow you to get comfortable with the software before you install GRINS at your station. Below, we will guide you through the download and installation process for different setups. Depending on the setup of your choice follow appropriate instructions. We first provide links to all the downloads. Note you will have to download only some of these files depending on your setup. The exact files to download is specified in the setup-wise download and installation instructions.

Please note that current installer for GRINS has been designed for Ubuntu 10.04 and Windows XP. Please make sure to install GRINS on one of these operating systems.

Table 1. Download links for GRINS installer

Windows Installer for installation on a Windows machineDownload (162 MB)
Offline Linux Installer for Linux installation without InternetDownload (112 MB)
Online Linux Installer for Linux installation with InternetDownload (48 MB)

1. Demo Installation

Demo installation is the easiest and does not require any special hardware. Any regular computer will do. Below we describe steps for installation in three different scenarios separately: Windows installation without Internet connection, Linux installation without Internet connection, and Linux installation with Internet connection.

1.1. Demo Installation on Windows without Internet connection

For demo installation on Windows download Windows Installer. Next, simply execute the installer and follow the instructions. Be sure to choose "Demo Installation" during the setup process. The installation process takes some time to complete depending on the capability of the installation machine. Please be patient. Finally, when the installation completes, reboot the computer and then click on the GRINS icon present on the desktop to start GRINS. Please note that, as mentioned earlier, Linux is required to use the telephony component of GRINS. So you will not be able to try out GRINS telephony in Windows demo installation.

1.2. Demo Installation on Linux without Internet connection (Offline)

Use this procedure for demo installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS does not have Internet connection. Download Offline Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_offline.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --offline

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Demo Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Once the installation is completed, click on the GRINS icon on your desktop to start GRINS

1.3. Demo Installation on Linux with Internet connection (Online)

Use this procedure for demo installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS has Internet connection. Download Online Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_online.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --online

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Demo Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Once the installation is completed, click on the GRINS icon on your desktop to start GRINS

2. Single Machine Installation

Single machine installation of GRINS is currently supported only in Linux. You will need three soundcards for successful installation. You can choose to install GRINS with or without Internet connection as described below.

2.1. Single Machine Installation on Linux without Internet connection (Offline)

Use this procedure for single machine installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS does not have Internet connection. Download Offline Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_offline.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --offline

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Single Machine Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Next you will be asked to choose the soundcards for playout, preview, and monitor purposes. Please choose them carefully. Once the installation is completed, click on the GRINS icon on your desktop to start GRINS

2.2. Single Machine Installation on Linux with Internet connection (Online)

Use this procedure for demo installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS has Internet connection. Download Online Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_online.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --online

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Single Machine Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Next, you will be asked to choose the soundcards for playout, preview, and monitor purposes. Please choose them carefully. Once the installation is completed, click on the GRINS icon on your desktop to start GRINS

3. Two Machine Installation

Two machine installation allows you to use a Windows machine for broadcasting and for accessing GRINS user interface. All the other activities are carried out by a second Linux machine. This is particularly useful when your station staff is comfortable with Windows or when you have a high-end soundcard for broadcast that does not work on Linux. The disadvantage of using a two machine setup is that it will occupy and extra machine during broadcast, thus reducing the number of machines available for editing. Note that two machine installation requires that you have two computers, one running Windows and another running Linux. In addition, both these computers must be connected to each other over LAN. This can be done either through a cross-over LAN cable or an Ethernet switch. Once the two computers are connected, you will need to assign IP addresses to the two computers. GRINS uses these IP addresses to enable communication between the two computers. You need to provide these IP addresses to GRINS during the installation process. Once assigned these IP addresses should not be changed, else GRINS will not be able to function properly. Next, we provide guidelines for two machine installation of GRINS on Linux (with and without Internet Connection) and Windows (without Internet connection). For Linux installation you can choose one of the two methods.

3.1. Two Machine Installation on Linux without Internet connection (Offline)

Use this procedure for single machine installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS does not have Internet connection. Download Offline Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_offline.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --offline

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Two Machine Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Next, you will be asked to provide IP address of local machine. At this point, enter the IP address of the Linux machine. Then the installer will ask for IP address of the remote machine. Here, enter the IP address of the Windows machine. Finally, you will be asked to choose soundcards for playout, preview, and monitor purposes. Please choose them carefully.

3.2. Two Machine Installation on Linux with Internet connection (Online)

Use this procedure for demo installation when the machine on which you want to install GRINS has Internet connection. Download Online Linux Installer mentioned in the table above. Extract the downloaded file. Assuming the file was downloaded to your desktop, open a terminal and type as below.

cd ~/Desktop; tar -zxf grins_0.3.0_online.tgz

A directory names grins_0.3.0 will be created as a result of the above command. Next, type the following in the terminal:

cd grins_0.3.0; sudo bash installGRINS.sh --online

This will start installation of GRINS. Follow the instructions and be sure to choose "Single Machine Installation" when the installer asks for setup type. Next, you will be asked to provide IP address of local machine. At this point, enter the IP address of the Linux machine. Then the installer will ask for IP address of the remote machine. Here, enter the IP address of the Windows machine. Finally, you will be asked to choose soundcards for playout, preview, and monitor purposes. Please choose them carefully.

3.3. Two Machine Installation on Windows

For two machine installation on Windows download Windows Installer shown in the table above. Next, simply execute the installer and follow the instructions. Be sure to choose "Two Machine Installation" during the setup process. During the installation, you will be asked to provide the IP address of the local machine i.e. the Windows machine on which you are installing GRINS. Enter the IP address of the Windows machine. Next, the installer will ask you for the IP address of the remove machine. At this point enter the IP address of the Linux machine. The installation process takes some time to complete, so please be patient. Finally, when the installation completes, reboot the computer.

Once you have installed GRINS on both Linux and Windows machines, click on the GRINS icon present on the desktop of the Windows machine. Now, you are ready to go!!