Where to put it, and keeping it running#

What you need

Time: 20 minutes to read, and one afternoon to do properly

• A working install, and a decision about where it lives permanently.

The software is the easy part. What decides whether your masjid still uses this in three years is duller. Where the computer sits. What happens in a power cut. Whether more than one person knows how it works.

Where the masjid computer goes#

It needs mains power, a network cable, and to be left alone. It does not need a screen, a keyboard or a desk.

Good	Why
The office, on a shelf	Dry, warm, someone notices if it beeps
A comms cupboard	Where the network already is
A locked store room	Out of the way, and it does not matter that it is out of the way

Bad	Why
On the floor	Dust, mopping, and feet
A kitchen or a wudu area	Steam and water
An unheated outbuilding	Condensation in winter
A cupboard with no airflow	It runs hot and its life shortens

Cables#

If a cable must cross a walkway, get it run properly along the wall by somebody competent, or move the equipment. A cable taped down with duct tape is not a solution; it lifts within a week.

Power cuts#

The masjid computer starts by itself when power returns, and the software starts with it. You do not have to do anything.

Two things do not recover as gracefully.

Decoder boxes at the TVs. Some models need a person with a remote to press play. This is why the screens guide says to test one by unplugging it before you buy several.

Kiosk tablets on battery. A tablet keeps running and then quietly goes flat. Check the Devices page after any power cut.

Ramadan#

Everything gets used harder for a month, by more people, at night.

Do this in the two weeks before, not the week of:

• Take a backup and test restoring it. See Backups.
• Update everything, then leave it alone. Do not update during Ramadan.
• Charge and check every kiosk, and check each reader's battery on the Devices page.
• Test each screen by unplugging its box and watching it come back.
• Check your email alerts work by sending a test, so a failure reaches a person.
• Tell a second person where the computer is and what the admin password is.

Spare hardware#

Everything here is ordinary and replaceable, which is most of the point.

If this dies	You need
The masjid computer	Any machine that meets the requirements, plus your backup
A decoder box	Another box, and the stream link from the Screens tab
A kiosk tablet	Any Android 8.0 tablet, then pair it again
A card reader	Another Stripe Reader M2

Two people, not one#

The most fragile part of a masjid's setup is usually that one volunteer understands it.

Before you consider this finished:

• Two people know the admin password, one of them a trustee. See Your admin account.
• Two people know where the computer is and that it must stay plugged in.
• The exit PIN for each kiosk is written down somewhere the committee can reach.
• Off-site backups are running, so nothing depends on one person remembering.
• The docs are bookmarked for whoever comes next.

Checkpoint

The masjid computer is somewhere dry and permanent, and no cable crosses a walkway. Backups run to somewhere off the machine. A second person can get in without you.

If something goes wrong

What you see	Why	What to do
Everything went down and came back except the screens.	The decoder boxes do not auto-play after a power cut.	Turn on auto-start in each box. Replace any model that has no such setting.
A kiosk was dead on Friday.	It was unplugged, or it was running on battery.	Check the Devices page, which flags a kiosk that is not charging. Plug it back in and label the socket.
The dashboard is unreachable and nobody knows why.	Most often the machine is unplugged or its network cable is out.	Look at the machine before you look at the software. Check its lights and both cables.
The one person who set it up has moved away.	Nothing was written down.	Reset the admin password from the machine itself. See Your admin account.