The standard device configuration file is /usr/aw/userconfig/devices. This file is automatically created (if it does not already exist) when you install your Alias|Wavefront software. It is a template file only, and you will probably need to modify it to support the devices in your facility, using a text editor such as jot or vi. This configuration file is intended to be shared by all users in your facility, but Alias|Wavefront software can access your personal configuration file if you define the environment variable WF_DEVICES to be the name of that file.
A unique name is given to each device that you define, and only those devices defined in the configuration file may be used by Alias|Wavefront software. In the Composer and Advanced Visualizer recording tools, names of video controller and frame buffer devices are displayed in pull-down menus. Only those devices defined in the configuration file will appear in these menus.
All devices are implemented using the client-server metaphor. Each video device communicates with a unique UNIX server process through a socket to serve the needs of the Alias|Wavefront application (the client). You will notice that the application spawns multiple processes automatically when recording or grabbing video sequences. This mechanism allows video devices to be distributed among multiple workstations. The server and its corresponding device can be on one workstation while the application runs on another workstation. See Common Connection Diagrams for more information on network video architecture.