The venue PC

The venue PC runs the venue server: the money, the machines, the registers, the back office, the reports and the backups. It works without Internet; it only uses Internet to talk to the platform and to receive its updates.

Two PCs not to confuse

The venue PC (the server, on Ubuntu) and the register PC (Windows or Linux, where the cashier works) are two different machines. The register PC only runs the register application; it is installed separately (Install a register).

What it needs

	Required	Why
System	Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 (LTS), desktop or server	Only these two systems are supported. On another one, the installation command warns you: the installation may fail and updates are not guaranteed.
Processor	64-bit (Intel or AMD, or 64-bit ARM)	Others are refused before any installation.
Disk	at least 10 GB free	The database, the server versions and the backups live there. Plan for more if the venue keeps many photos (proofs, players): full backups contain them.
Clock	correct, set automatically	A PC with the wrong time refuses secure connections and dates operations wrongly. The installation stops if the gap is too large.
Internet	outgoing only	No port forwarding, nothing opened on the router.
Network	the same network as the devices and registers	Devices and registers find the server on their own on this network. See Venue network.

To switch the clock back to automatic setting:

📍 Type on: Venue PC (Ubuntu)

sudo timedatectl set-ntp true

Wait one minute: timedatectl should show “System clock synchronized: yes”.

A stable address: the DHCP reservation

You have no address to enter anywhere. But if the router gives the venue PC a different address after a restart, devices and registers find it again on their own in about thirty seconds: a short interruption. To avoid it, reserve the venue PC’s address in the router (DHCP reservation). This is recommended, not required.

What not to install alongside it

The venue PC is dedicated. The installation command checks that nothing gets in the server’s way and, if something does, names the program and the command that stops it. Avoid from the start:

• another web server (Apache, Nginx, Lighttpd, Tomcat…);
• a system database (MySQL, MariaDB);
• another MQTT server;
• another Lucky Touch server on the same network (a test PC, an old server): new devices could connect to it. One server per venue.

Old system in the venue?

If the venue had another system before (old server, router configured for it), read Venue network before connecting the devices: a router that redirects some connections to an old server stops the devices from reaching yours.

It stays on

The server also works at night, on the venue’s time:

• the automatic backup, every day at 3 a.m. by default (adjustable); a PC that is off at that time makes one backup when it wakes up;
• updates requested “tonight”, in the 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. window by default (adjustable).

Leave it on all the time, and avoid switching it off during these hours.

Ubuntu and its own updates

Ubuntu sometimes installs its updates in the background. During the Lucky Touch installation, the command waits for it to finish (“Ubuntu installe ses mises à jour, patientez” — Ubuntu is installing its updates, please wait): let it run, up to about ten minutes.

The backup USB sticks

The PC takes one or two USB sticks for backups (FAT32, exFAT, ext4 or NTFS). On Ubuntu desktop with a session open, the stick is mounted by the desktop: eject it from the desktop before removing it. Without a session, the server mounts it itself and the Sauvegardes (Backups) screen tells you when you can remove it. See Back up and restore.

The installation folder

By default, Lucky Touch is installed in /opt/lucky-touch. Do not move or delete anything in this folder: updates and backups take care of it.