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STUDENT: And that pretty much concludes the tour of our lighting network.
Not nearly as confusing as you thought it would be, right?
Any questions?
ROY: About a thousand, but I know you don't have time for them all.
I really appreciate you going through all this networking stuff with me.
I know I should have learned it sooner, but when I've got smart students like you,
it's just too easy to let you run with it.
STUDENT: That's okay, Roy. I had fun doing it.
ROY: It's too bad you're graduating...
Oh you know what I mean.
STUDENT: Well, it gives you a good reason to finally learn it.
Now, do you think you've got all this well enough? Or, should I enroll in another semester?
ROY: No, I'll be fine. Get out of here. Thanks again. I'll see you at graduation.
STUDENT: Don't sweat the stuff, teach. You're a smart guy. You'll figure it out.
[ ♬ Dramatic music playing ♪ ]
[Magical poof]
BHF: Uh oh, what's the matter there, teach?
ROY: Feeling old, Bobblehead Fred. Feeling old.
BHF: Another graduating class got you down?
ROY: Well, sure. That's always bittersweet, but it is also all of this.
BHF: What?
ROY: This. All this networking stuff. I'll admit I should have learned it years ago,
but you know what production schedules are.
I had students who ate this network stuff up,
so it was easier to leave it in their hands while I was busy teaching, building, inventorying.
[Sigh]
Now I feel like lighting has passed me by.
BHF: Nonsense.
ROY: No, really. Ten years ago, I plugged a cable into my console and the wall, and it worked.
Lights on, lights off. Now, I've got nodes and switches and net taps and Cat5
and servers and backups and a whole bunch of acronyms I don't even understand.
I mean, do I even need all this sh--- stuff?
BHF: Need? I don't know if a lighting network is a necessity,
but it sure can help by letting you do complex things much more easily than you can without it,
and some things you can't do at all.
You know, in fact, I'm sure you've already seen its benefits in action, and there are plenty of them.
ROY: All right. Refresh me.
BHF: Glad to. For one, networking gives you more flexibility.
In a network system, you can easily use multiple control sources
from numerous locations
run by several different programmers all at once.
Your tech rehearsals go a lot faster when you've got two programmers building your cues at once, don't they?
ROY: Yeah. They really do. It saves us a lot of time, and the shows look better, too.
One board op concentrates on moving lights and the other on conventionals.
BHF: That's right, and you've hit on another great network benefit: expanding your control capability.
The network boosts the number of addresses available to you exponentially.
That gives you room for all of your LEDs, movers, and other devices
that can eat up a single DMX universe in no time.
On top of that, the network makes it possible to have a backup for your console,
ensuring redundancy of your control source during shows.
And it also lets you receive device feedback, like RDM,
which helps you manage all the technology we now regularly use in lighting.
ROY: BF. That's part of the problem. It used to be the console talked to the dimmers, bam, simple.
Now I've got all this network gear piling up in my booth, on the grid, on my tech table.
I mean, how does it all even go together?
BHF: Okay, let's bridge that gap.
We'll start with your simple DMX system.
Now like you said, a console communicated to the dimmers and lights came on.
ROY: Check.
BHF: Now, your console, your dimmers don't connect straight to each other; they connect to the network,
and we can connect other devices to it as well.
ROY: Like what sort of other devices?
BHF: Well, like another console, for instance. Or, the remote processor you have as a backup.
Or, the video interface that lets your designer watch levels down at the tech table –
– not to mention your gateways, which deliver data to all of your LEDs and movers.
Well, you can see right there how much more capability you have thanks to the network.
ROY: Sure. I see it, and it's true; the network has been a real benefit for my designers.
The shows have been looking great. But, what about reliability? Everyone knows how finicky networks can be.
I mean, isn't there a risk to trusting my lights to the flaws of networking?
BHF: Not really. Networking has come very far in terms of reliability.
The technology itself is more robust and has long been reliable enough for many industries,
from banking to sound production.
ROY: Well, part of my wariness is the whole troubleshooting thing.
I mean, when something goes wrong, I don't have a clue how to fix it.
With DMX my problems could always be solved with hardware:
termination was off, a wrong address, a broken cable.
With a network, I don't even know where to start!
BHF: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
ROY: What?
BHF: Sure, a lighting network is different from DMX. But the similarities can serve as your starting point.
ROY: All right, shorty, show me.
BHF: In our DMX system, the console called out data to your dimmers and other devices in one big pipeline.
All the data got reported to all the devices.
Every device had a unique address so it knew what data to react to, right?
ROY: That's right, easy to map.
BHF: Well, networking isn't that much different. The primary difference is that rather than
having one direct line of data transmission that everything listens to,
a network is arranged in a star pattern, centered around a network switch.
All of your devices connect to the network through that switch, or through multiple switches.
Now, with all that communication happening, each device needs to know which data is meant for them.
So, they all need a unique identifier on the network, a name, so to speak.
ROY: Kind of like an address?
BHF: Exactly like an address. In fact, the name is referred to as an Internet Protocol,
or IP, address.
ROY: Of course; I've heard of an IP address before. But, what is it exactly?
BHF: An IP address is a series of numbers broken up into four parts called octets,
and separated by periods. The numbers used in these octets establishes the scope of a given network
and the devices that are on it.
Every device on that network has to have one so it can be identified,
and no two devices can have the same one. If they do, communication problems can occur.
ROY: You said the numbers in the IP address establish the scope of the network. What you mean?
BHF: Without getting too deep into detail, devices that have the same numbers at the
start of their IP address typically will operate on a single network.
For example, all these devices start with 10.101, which in this system places them on the same network.
ROY: So how do I know what a device's IP address is, and how do I change it if I want to?
BHF: Typically the IP address can be found in the settings for the device.
Lighting consoles, dimmer racks, gateways, remote processors – all network lighting gear has settings dedicated to networking.
Usually you can find and change the IP address there.
ROY: Man, when you rattled off all that stuff, I realized just how many IP addresses I'll be dealing with.
It's going to be a lot of work keeping track of all of them and making sure they are all right.
BHF: The good news is, you don't have to.
ROY: I don't?
BHF: No! Network engineers have designed methods to automatically assign IP addresses
and make them compatible with the network.
ROY: Fantastic. How can I make my system do that?
BHF: Since there is no way to know what IP addresses will work on all networks all the time,
when new devices are connected to a network switch, their defaults would make
it impossible for any of them to function.
ROY: That looks really bad.
BHF: Yeah, it is.
So, a protocol was created to establish that when new devices appear on a network,
they essentially ask for an IP address.
They send a callout saying, "I don't have an IP address. Can anyone give me one?"
This is called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP.
ROY: Ask for an IP address? Who do they ask?
BHF: Great question. Essentially, they ask the whole network,
hoping that one of the other devices out there can answer.
ROY: So, who can do that?
BHF: Some devices can be set to be a DHCP server;
that is, a device that is able to hand out IP addresses for their network.
Lighting consoles, computers running network configuration software,
and lots of other devices can be set to be DHCP servers.
And once they receive the call, they send out an address to all those devices so they can start communicating.
ROY: That's awesome.
BHF: And it saves you a lot of time.
ROY: Okay. But, what if two of my devices are both set to be DHCP servers,
like my console and my backup processor? Won't they both try to answer a request?
BHF: Now you're thinking like a network specialist.
If two servers try to operate on the same network, problems can arise when new devices come online.
Both will get the request; both will send an address. But, the device will only accept one,
so when the other server tries to communicate with the device, it won't be able to
because it will be sending data to the wrong IP address.
ROY: I knew it!
BHF: So for the average user, it is best that only one device is set to be a DHCP server
on any given network. That way your gear won't be stuck between two servers.
ROY: How do I pick which device should be a server?
BHF: Well, that's up to you.
But you may want it to be the one piece of equipment that is sure to always be on the network,
like your primary console. Or, leave it up to a dedicated network configuration device.
At ETC, we've developed a network configuration tool, Conductor,
whose sole purpose is to manage all of the devices and their addresses and data on your lighting network.
ROY: Sounds like I need that. It will help me keep all this gear straight.
BHF: So will some review.
Remember, when it comes to networking, first consider the benefits.
A lighting network facilitates multiple control sources, allows for two-way communication,
and it expands your lighting capabilities with more addresses.
ROY: And I can vouch for all those things.
BHF: And to help demystify the process of networking, we also identified what an IP address is,
mentioned where to find and change it in your device's network settings.
ROY: And we talked about how IP addresses can be a sign from a DHCP server
so I don't have to keep them all straight.
BHF: I've got to say, you're doing a lot better than you were a few minutes ago.
ROY: Yeah. I guess I am. Once you break it down, I guess it is really not as confusing as I thought.
BHF: And, you've got a better grasp of all the ways networking has helped
your team, your designs, and your productions.
ROY: Thanks for taking the time to explain all this to me, Bobblehead Fred.
Say, since you're here, it's the end of the year. Time to clean all my Source Four® lens tubes.
Want to stick around and help?
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[Twinkle]