I have a few questions about a network configuration I set up today. For our theatre, we need an additional switch. I added one with the same settings and the same device (Cisco SG250 26 ports) as the previous one. A backbone link connects the two switches via an SFP+ fibre optic cable and a LAG trunk. You will find a diagram in the message!
The audio devices are connected to switch 1 and the computers to switch 2. The connection between the card and the computer (DVS) is working correctly. When I use Wireless Workbench to monitor the microphones, it also works. The connection between the two switches therefore seems to be working correctly.
I am having difficulty connecting the iPad with the Live MixPad and dLive Director apps. I thought I would ask for your help in clarifying this issue. Perhaps I have missed something after spending several hours configuring this network.
The fact is that I can control the console with the iPad, but dLive Director does not work on the computer. I tried configuring the WLAN as an access point only (and not in router mode), but this caused problems with the MixPad amplifier, which automatically detected the console, so I switched back to router mode. Now, when I ping the console from the computer, it cannot be found on the network. However, the IP addresses are correct (192.168.1.y) and I can control the microphones.
You should not be connecting your switch to the WLAN port on the wireless access point. The connection between the wireless access point and the switch should be made using one of the LAN port on the wireless access point. If there is more than one LAN port, it doesn’t matter which one it is plugged into. The only time you should use a WLAN port is to connect your router/firewall device to your internet service provider’s equipment. In other words, the WLAN port is supposed to be used with an external network, not for internal network connections.
What device is acting as your router? Is it the wireless access point? Is there another device that is acting as the router/firewall? If there is another device, then the wireless AP should be set up in wireless AP mode only (ie the DHCP service should be turned off).
That’s true. The Wireless Access Point is connected to the switch via the LAN ports (not the WLAN Port). Sorry it’s a misunderstanding in my previous message.
The router is the Wireless Access Point. I set it up juste as an Access Point but the process for the iPad MixPad app to recognize the S5000 desk was blocked so I set it up again as a router. All the IP Adresses on the Control Vlan are fixed (Manual, 192.168.1.x).
A DHCP service doesn’t give out addresses in the 169.254.x.x subnet. That subnet is a special subnet (Automatic Private IP Addressing) that is used when there is no DHCP server and yet devices are asking for addresses from the missing DHCP service. After a period of waiting, the devices trying to get an address from the DHCP service will eventually self assign an address in the 169.254.x.x range.
If your iPad is set up for DHCP and not getting an address from a valid DHCP service, then it will self assign an address in the 169.254.x.x range. If the Mixrack has a static address (192.168.1.x), it isn’t going to be in the same subnet as the iPad (169.254.x.x) and this subnet mismatch is what is causing your connection issues.
Long story short, you need to double check what IP address your iPad is assigned when it connects to the wireless network. (Check this in the device’s network settings). If it is in the 169.254.x.x subnet, you need to find out why there is no router/DHCP service on the network and “fix” that omission. Once there is a DHCP service assigning addresses in the 192.168.1.x subnet, I think you will find that everything connects as expected.
Alternatively, you could assign the iPad a static address in the 192.168.1.x subnet and see if it will connect after that change. I suspect it will, but that is only fixing the issue for that one device. Correcting the missing DHCP service is the actual solution that will fix the network for all devices.
OK, thanks for your message and for pointing out the procedure for auto-assigning an IP address.
There is no DHCP server, so the way addresses are assigned in the Vlan Dante is automatically done by the devices themselves, in the form of 169.254.x.y.
In the Control network, the addresses are manual in the form 192.168.1.x. I have no problems with the iPad detecting the console. I can control the console with the iPad and the connection works fine between the two.
My problem is that the computer with dLive Director can’t see the console on the network even though the IP address is manual and in the same form.
However, using the Wireless Workbench, I can detect the ULX microphones connected to switch 1 with the Theater computer connected to switch 2.
I’m not an Apple expert (I use Android products). That being said, I would suggest that you check the app permissions - specifically that it has permission to use the network connection. I think this is an option and obviously if the app doesn’t have permission to use the network, you aren’t going to be able to connect to anything.
Again I’m no iOS expert, but yes I’m confident that is the setting I was referring to. It’s possible that an app would have that turned off which means it would silently refuse to use the local network for anything (which would cripple an app like this whose sole purpose is to communicate with another device over the network).
Certainly seems to be the case that the default setting is “OFF”.
Like yourself I’m an Android/Windows user, so the first time I was setting up an iPad (first time using one too) to run the software for our new dLive, I was tearing my hair out because I couldn’t connect. Took a few phone calls to figure it out!
Actually I re-read the OPs post and I had it backwards. He cannot connect using the Director software but CAN connect using the iPad. So my suggestion about iPad permissions is clearly not the problem!
That being said, I believe that the MacOS as a similar permission setting. If the Director software is running on a Mac, I would still suggest checking the network permissions to make sure the Director software is allowed to use the network.
It took me several days to respond because I was on holiday and I went back to work at the theatre this week. I tested the configuration again and it is working properly.
On the day I configured it, I didn’t turn the system off and on again, and restarting the entire setup allowed the network to establish itself correctly.
The problem was that I couldn’t control the desk via the MixPad app and control the desk via a computer and the dLive Director app at the same time. Now everything is working again as before.
Thank you for your quick responses and suggestions. I was very helpful to me. Wish you a great day!
