Load to all servers via CMA

We may want to start a new thread for connection issues I didn't mean to hijack Marty's content enhancement thread.

The IP networking cases involved with the Axon/DL.2 is actually pretty complicated I will explain it as best I can. If you boot a fixture without a network cable plugged in the network adapter will be in a limbo state. It is basically waiting for a network cable to be plugged in. In this case on an Axon if you launch the CMA on the Axon you should see the “Client IP” in the lower right corner showing 0.0.0.0. On the DL.2 this is located on the Info->Version tab under the IP Address field. Pretty soon after booting the fixture will obtain an IP address in the range 169.254.X.X. This address range is what is known as Auto IP. This is a networking scheme that most operating systems can put themselves into if they are setup to receive DHCP addresses but cannot contact a DHCP server. Without a network cable plugged in the Auto IP address is assigned fairly quickly usually within a few seconds you may not be able to catch it in the 0.0.0.0 state. If you plug in a crossover cable and a laptop when the fixture is in this state you need to be sure that your laptop’s network adapter get’s an IP address in this same address range. On a laptop running Windows you can open a command prompt (CMD) “start->run” then type cmd and run the Windows command “ipconfig”. If you have multiple Ethernet adapters listed in the output you will need to disable one in Windows->Control Panel->Network Connections (I’ll discuss multiple adapters later). If the ipconfig command shows you an IP address that is not in the Auto IP range try to release and then renew the network adapter using “ipconfig /release” followed by “ipconfig /renew” then run “ipconfig” again. When you run “ipconfig” the last time the network adapter’s IP address should be in the Auto IP range (169.254.X.X). If you don’t do all of this on the laptop it will figure out that it is plugged into an Auto IP network but it may take quite a while to assign itself an IP address in the Auto IP range. 1 or 2 minutes is not uncommon. You may find that you are causing yourself more pain than necessary by shutting down and starting up the fixture a lot. Once you have verified that the laptop and fixture have an acceptable IP address you should be able to start the CMA and have the CMA discover the fixture your laptop is connected to. This won’t be instantaneous. It may take 20 or 30 seconds for the fixture to show up in the all servers list in the CMA. It is usually pretty fast but don’t be surprised if the fixtures don’t show up as soon as you launch the CMA. If it takes longer than 30 seconds something else is probably wrong. If you are connecting a laptop directly to a fixture make sure to use a crossover cable. Some newer PCs have Ethernet adapters that can auto sense and correct for not having a crossover cable but it is not something to count on.

If your fixtures are connected to an Ethernet switch when you boot them they go through logic similar to what I described above except it may take longer. In this case you may actually be able to see the fixtures in the 0.0.0.0 state. The reason for this is due to the fixtures attempting to make sure they don’t assign themselves the same IP address in the Auto IP range as another fixture connected to the switch. The CMA will not discover fixtures when they are in the 0.0.0.0 state. Just like I described above make sure the fixtures have an IP address in the 169.254.X.X range. If you then plug your laptop into a port on the switch you will need to go through the method I described above to ensure that the laptop has a valid IP address in the Auto IP range. With that said there is nothing wrong with just plugging your laptop into the switch and firing up the CMA it just may take a lot longer than you expect for the CMA to discover the fixtures. If you are using a switch it is important to understand that not all Ethernet switches are created equally. A CMA will discover an Axon or DL.2 by seeing certain multicast packets sent by the fixture. If the multicast packets don’t reach the CMA the fixture will never show up in the CMA. Some switches have trouble with the concept of aggregating these multicast packets across its physical network ports (usually known as IGMP snooping). I’ve used the normal switches available at retail electronics stores from manufactures like Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, etc. without a problem. But keep in mind that if you are having an impossible time getting things to work it could be the switch. It could also easily be poor network cabling.

If a router is used instead of a switch and the router is configured to hand out DHCP addresses the issues with IP addresses from the above two cases will be simplified. Routers however are not trivial to configure.

On laptops with multiple network adapters it is currently necessary to disable the network adapters which are not being used to connect to fixtures in order for the CMA to discover the fixtures. If for example a laptop has a wireless network adapter and a wired network adapter and the wired adapter is connected to the fixture it is necessary to disable the wireless adapter in Windows Control Panel. In this scenario the CMA can incorrectly use the wireless adapter and never look for the multicast traffic from the fixtures on the wired adapter. This will be fixed soon but for the time being it is necessary to disable the other adapters. The adapters should be disabled before the CMA is launched. Some laptops come with blue tooth and fire wire adapters that may need to be disabled as well. If it shows up in “Network Connections” in Windows Control Panel and it is not the adapter used to connect to the fixture it probably needs to be disabled. You should probably enable it once you are done with the CMA. As Cormac mentioned he had an issue with the loopback adapter that is necessary for Hog 3PC.

It is no doubt frustrating to have these connection issues but we try to make the best trade offs for flexibility and usability that we can and as always we are improving usability with each release.

We may want to start a new thread for connection issues I didn't mean to hijack Marty's content enhancement thread.

The IP networking cases involved with the Axon/DL.2 is actually pretty complicated I will explain it as best I can. If you boot a fixture without a network cable plugged in the network adapter will be in a limbo state. It is basically waiting for a network cable to be plugged in. In this case on an Axon if you launch the CMA on the Axon you should see the “Client IP” in the lower right corner showing 0.0.0.0. On the DL.2 this is located on the Info->Version tab under the IP Address field. Pretty soon after booting the fixture will obtain an IP address in the range 169.254.X.X. This address range is what is known as Auto IP. This is a networking scheme that most operating systems can put themselves into if they are setup to receive DHCP addresses but cannot contact a DHCP server. Without a network cable plugged in the Auto IP address is assigned fairly quickly usually within a few seconds you may not be able to catch it in the 0.0.0.0 state. If you plug in a crossover cable and a laptop when the fixture is in this state you need to be sure that your laptop’s network adapter get’s an IP address in this same address range. On a laptop running Windows you can open a command prompt (CMD) “start->run” then type cmd and run the Windows command “ipconfig”. If you have multiple Ethernet adapters listed in the output you will need to disable one in Windows->Control Panel->Network Connections (I’ll discuss multiple adapters later). If the ipconfig command shows you an IP address that is not in the Auto IP range try to release and then renew the network adapter using “ipconfig /release” followed by “ipconfig /renew” then run “ipconfig” again. When you run “ipconfig” the last time the network adapter’s IP address should be in the Auto IP range (169.254.X.X). If you don’t do all of this on the laptop it will figure out that it is plugged into an Auto IP network but it may take quite a while to assign itself an IP address in the Auto IP range. 1 or 2 minutes is not uncommon. You may find that you are causing yourself more pain than necessary by shutting down and starting up the fixture a lot. Once you have verified that the laptop and fixture have an acceptable IP address you should be able to start the CMA and have the CMA discover the fixture your laptop is connected to. This won’t be instantaneous. It may take 20 or 30 seconds for the fixture to show up in the all servers list in the CMA. It is usually pretty fast but don’t be surprised if the fixtures don’t show up as soon as you launch the CMA. If it takes longer than 30 seconds something else is probably wrong. If you are connecting a laptop directly to a fixture make sure to use a crossover cable. Some newer PCs have Ethernet adapters that can auto sense and correct for not having a crossover cable but it is not something to count on.

If your fixtures are connected to an Ethernet switch when you boot them they go through logic similar to what I described above except it may take longer. In this case you may actually be able to see the fixtures in the 0.0.0.0 state. The reason for this is due to the fixtures attempting to make sure they don’t assign themselves the same IP address in the Auto IP range as another fixture connected to the switch. The CMA will not discover fixtures when they are in the 0.0.0.0 state. Just like I described above make sure the fixtures have an IP address in the 169.254.X.X range. If you then plug your laptop into a port on the switch you will need to go through the method I described above to ensure that the laptop has a valid IP address in the Auto IP range. With that said there is nothing wrong with just plugging your laptop into the switch and firing up the CMA it just may take a lot longer than you expect for the CMA to discover the fixtures. If you are using a switch it is important to understand that not all Ethernet switches are created equally. A CMA will discover an Axon or DL.2 by seeing certain multicast packets sent by the fixture. If the multicast packets don’t reach the CMA the fixture will never show up in the CMA. Some switches have trouble with the concept of aggregating these multicast packets across its physical network ports (usually known as IGMP snooping). I’ve used the normal switches available at retail electronics stores from manufactures like Netgear, Linksys, D-Link, etc. without a problem. But keep in mind that if you are having an impossible time getting things to work it could be the switch. It could also easily be poor network cabling.

If a router is used instead of a switch and the router is configured to hand out DHCP addresses the issues with IP addresses from the above two cases will be simplified. Routers however are not trivial to configure.

On laptops with multiple network adapters it is currently necessary to disable the network adapters which are not being used to connect to fixtures in order for the CMA to discover the fixtures. If for example a laptop has a wireless network adapter and a wired network adapter and the wired adapter is connected to the fixture it is necessary to disable the wireless adapter in Windows Control Panel. In this scenario the CMA can incorrectly use the wireless adapter and never look for the multicast traffic from the fixtures on the wired adapter. This will be fixed soon but for the time being it is necessary to disable the other adapters. The adapters should be disabled before the CMA is launched. Some laptops come with blue tooth and fire wire adapters that may need to be disabled as well. If it shows up in “Network Connections” in Windows Control Panel and it is not the adapter used to connect to the fixture it probably needs to be disabled. You should probably enable it once you are done with the CMA. As Cormac mentioned he had an issue with the loopback adapter that is necessary for Hog 3PC.

It is no doubt frustrating to have these connection issues but we try to make the best trade offs for flexibility and usability that we can and as always we are improving usability with each release.