====== Communication with the program ======

The **ibmanager** program provides a communication interface on a socket in the form of [[en:ibprotocol:start|ibprotocol]]. This is an unencrypted connection. The interface is set up on a TCP port defined in the configuration file (element [[en:ibmanager:ibmanager-config#<IbProtocol>|<IbProtocol>]]). For communication purposes, the following commands are processed:

  * **set**
  * **get**
  * **get_all**
  * **describe**
  * **describe_all**
  * **credentials**

With this interface, it is possible to read and set process variables of logics, remote variables shared by remote servers, and other configuration variables.

===== Communication with Remote Variable Servers =====

The **ibmanager** program initiates communication with remote variable servers that are defined in the configuration file ([[en:ibmanager:ibmanager-config#<RemoteServers>|<RemoteServers>]]). It uses a TCP network connection, on which the [[en:ibprotocol:start|ibprotocol]] is defined.

The **ibmanager** program can handle any number of remote variable servers. The handling of each server begins with issuing the "describe_all" command. This is intended to create variables of the appropriate types. Subsequently, "get_all" commands are sent, interspersed with "set" commands, if there has been a modification of a variable value belonging to a given server either in one of the logics or at the communication interface level.