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The D2-Rack is the latest addition to the range of high sample rate racks. The compact 9U D2 rack has a fixed format 48 inputs with 16 outputs fitted as standard. The output count can be increased to 32 by populating the 2 spare 8 channel output slots with one or more of the 3 option modules – Line out, AES out or Aviom out. (uses both slots).
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The SWP1 from Yamaha is a purpose-built switch for professional audio applications with enterprise-grade, locking connectors, redundant power supplies, rugged chassis, and is Dante-aware and Dante-ready.
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Dante equipped Extron DMP 128 Plus AT models provide scalability with a built-in four-port Gigabit switch for creating larger audio matrixes over a local area network.
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A mainstay in many critical broadcastapplications, the Lawo mc²36 digital mixing console connects to other networked devices via the AES67/Ravenna protocols.
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BSS London line of DSP processors employs its own proprietary BLU link nework for connecting to other processors and selected Crown amplifiers, but also offers options for external connections via Dante, CobraNet and AVB networks.
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Reidel supplies interface cards for many popular mixing consoles for connecting to its RockNet 300 digital audio network. Designed specifically for demanding audio production use, RockNet 300 utilizes Ethernet cabling and connectors but in a redundant ring topology that does not include switches.
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The Symetrix Prism line of digital signal processing equipment is fully networkable using the ubiquitous Dante protocols.
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RedNet is Focusrite’s flagship range of modular Ethernet-networked audio interfaces that harnesses the power of Audinate’s Dante digital audio networking system to bring studio quality sound to modern audio applications.
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QSC’s Q-Sys Core 110f is a core component in the company’s proprietary Q-LAN switched audio networks, popular in many installed sound applications.
There’s no turning back. Audio, video and lighting systems for worship are migrating onto network connections with accelerating speed. In many cases the functions are isolated on separate networks—either a hardware network (LAN) or a virtual network (VLAN).
Increasingly, however, all functions are converging into a single network, with audio and video signals along with control data for audio, video and lighting systems all pulsing through the same “backbone” of cables and switches.In many ways, your church’s networking infrastructure is becoming as critical to AV ministries as the AC power system. However, electrical power systems have been fundamentally unchanged for nearly a century whereas networking technology continues to develop at a dizzying pace. The question: How can you equip a network infrastructure to support current demands and also be ready to take on the challenges of the future? We’ll start with the basics.
Two Core Components
On one level, the infrastructure of your church LAN is fairly simple, with two components:Cables – These carry the digitized information and can be either copper (e.g. Cat-6) or fiber optic.Switches – These devices sort out all the Ethernet data packets and make sure each gets to its proper destination, preferably in its designated time window.In media systems, the network connects other devices—called endpoints—that produce or use the network traffic: audio and video signals and control data. Examples include everything from computers, mixing consoles and wireless microphone systems to video streaming devices and lighting controllers.In converged networks, the same switches and cables also can handle Internet connectivity, security systems, HVAC controls, telephone systems—you name it. How do you make sure that your network will handle it all, glitch-free, for a decade or more?For pertinent advice, Church Production queried four industry experts, to be introduced as each joins the conversation.
The Heart of the Matter: Switches
Basic “plug-and-play” eight-port switches for Gigabit Ethernet—the speed required for AV applications—are available for under $25. However, our panel unanimously agrees that critical media systems require something considerably better.“Do not get an unmanaged switch,” warns Patrick Killianey, network systems applications engineer for Yamaha Professional Audio Systems. “It’s fine for your home studio, but not if your worship service is relying on it. Also, by the time you get into managed switches it so happens that the manufacturers are spending more money on the basic internal structure for faster speed and lower latency.”Matt Larson, vice president of digital audio at Group One/Digico, concurs. “It rings true that if you spend more money on a proper switch, you will have a more robust and reliable system.
Though a cheaper switch may work for a while, sooner or later most will learn their lesson and not think of a switch as a throwaway expenditure.”A good managed switch is necessary to allow configuration for the needs of real-time production AV systems, according to Focusrite RedNet Technical Sales Engineer Matt Pliskin. “If you are putting mixed traffic on your network, then a switch must offer a QoS—quality of service—to make sure all the clocking data for digital audio is getting through with top priority. Also, you need to be able to turn off Energy Efficient Ethernet as in some cases it can cause synchronization issues. These managed features make sure everything plays together nicely.”
“Our consoles can talk with other gear over Dante and SoundGrid switched networks, but we don’t depend on them. So the primary audio connections cannot go down regardless of what may happen on the wider church networks.”
Matt Larson, Vice President of Digital Audio, Group One/Digico, NY
Killianey reminds us that low latency—getting the digital packets to their assigned endpoints as quickly as possible—is critical in live AV applications. “Latency can be a tough thing to measure,” he notes. “A manufacturer doesn’t like to say how long it takes to get through the switch because they don’t know how you will configure it. It’s not easy to figure out from specifications, so it’s best to consult with those that have used the switch.”Extron makes a variety of devices that send control data, audio and video over the network, among them several popular video streaming systems. Joe da Silva, the company’s director of product marketing, evaluates switches from the video delivery perspective. “First, you need to decide what is an acceptable level of image quality. If you have high motion content and high detail, you will need more bandwidth than for a talking head with a static background. A video stream can range from a couple megabits per second up to five or 10 gigabits. That’s relatively lightweight in the grand scheme of things, so it comes down to making sure your networking infrastructure is solid.”
Cisco Consensus
A consensus choice of at least two participants is the SG 200 and SG 300 Series switches from Cisco. “Reliability and capacity are much improved from entry-level switches,” Killianey says, “and at Yamaha we’ve developed a specific set-up guide for it. A 20-port unit should cost under $300, so this is very affordable performance.” “We only recommend the SG 200 and 300,” adds Pliskin. “Others may have similar capabilities, but it’s then up to the user to make sure their choice has all the needed features and capabilities.”Digico consoles can integrate with both Waves SoundGrid and Dante, so Larson stresses the importance of meeting the requirements for both of these network protocols. “Our engineering department has tested various switches over time and certified those that work. But one of the tough things is that the same model numbers in different parts of the world may have slightly different designs, so it’s a moving target. That’s the downside of using components from the giant computer industry, although the up side is reduced costs.”
If you are simply setting up your own audio network, you can choose your switches. But what if you are piggybacking on a converged network, one set up by the IT department? “We’ve found that, in many commercial environments, the company IT departments will have their own preferences,” says da Silva, “and this can happen in large churches as well. We use a lot of Cisco products, but others may use HP or Juniper. We didn’t want to get into a position of implying Extron systems work with only a certain manufacturer’s switches, so we’ve qualified our systems for compatibility with most of the top tier switches.”
From 1-10?
Our audio-focused participants generally agreed that Gigabit Ethernet networks will likely provide ample bandwidth for church networks well into the future, and that moving now to a 10 Gigabit infrastructure is premature. “Our Dante-based systems, which run on Gigabit networks, can give you up to 512 channels in and out at 48 kHz sampling,” says Pliskin. “That is happening now, and might expand further as switches gain more capacity, because it is all based on existing standards.”Killianey concurs: “We’re not at the point where churches have to think about investing in a 10-gigabit network. Right now we have other paths for developing in the one gigabit universe.”
In Between: Cables and Connectors
All of the newer multichannel audio and streaming video platforms require a gigabit network infrastructure, and that means all copper cabling connecting switches and endpoints must be up to gigabit spec.“Cat-5e is the minimum, but you might want to move up to Cat-6 in an environment where you expect heavy RFI or EMI interference,” cautions Pliskin. Killianey advises moving up in any case: “There isn’t a huge price difference between Cat-5e and Cat-6, so consider making that your minimum. And for conduit pulls, I’d even consider Cat-6a for any future enhancements with 10 gigabit networks.”Another point of consensus among participants is the advisability of putting fiber in your future network diet.“If you have long cable runs with high interference at the extreme ends, then fiber optic is the way to go,” says Pliskin. “It’s very easy to implement as most managed switches with more than 10 ports will have and SFP slot [also called mini-GBIC] for connecting via fiber.”Fiber optic infrastructure is also advisable if your production video is migrating onto the network, says da Silva. “When you get into video distribution, everybody is now talking about deploying 4K video, and when you look at the data rates that requires, they can get high very quickly. At that point where fiber optics is a far better approach. You can do it over copper today, particularly when using compression to reduce data rates, but these demands are really more geared toward a fiber infrastructure.”Regarding connectors, it’s important to remember that the plastic RJ45 jack was not built for, well, rock’n’roll touring. A more robust connector, namely Neutrik’s Ethercon, may be called for in some situations.“
Wherever you have networks cable on stage or at FOH, where they can get snagged or tripped over, you should have Ethercon connectors,” advises Killianey. “The RJ45 connections are fine in equipment room racks, out of harm’s way.”
Network Configuration: Isolate or Converge?
Should your main production audio (and soon video) networks be isolated islands unto themselves? Or can you safely merge them into campus-wide converged networks?The overall consensus is that the more critical the application, the better it is to maintain isolation from other network traffic. Larson points out that his company’s consoles do not use a switched network as their internal “digital backbone,” but rather rely on the MADI and Optocore platforms which use, respectively, coaxial and fiber connections.“Our consoles can talk with other gear over Dante and SoundGrid switched networks, but we don’t depend on them,” he says. “So the primary audio connections cannot go down regardless of what may happen on the wider church networks.”Killianey says that it is possible to have your cake and eat it too, enjoying the flexibility of a switched network along with fail-safe reliability. “Having dedicated network hardware reduces the chance of problems, and makes troubleshooting easier if they do crop up,” he notes. “However, integrating internet can be as simple as connecting a home router to the LAN port on your audio network, and connecting the WAN [wide area network] port to the cable modem or campus network. That way, you can have internet access for downloading software and firmware updates, and then disconnect during worship and events just to be safe.”
Plan Carefully, Invest Wisely
Summing up the consensus advice of our panel, they agree that it’s vital for church techs to learn the basics of networking, at least up to the point of being able to properly configure a managed switch. It’s also important to plan ahead and accurately forecast your future needs for network bandwidth—particularly before running cable through conduit.And finally, avoid going the lowest-budget route. Invest in appropriate professional technology. You will realize the wisdom of that decision years later when you look back and say, “Hey, that network never went down, not even for a heartbeat.”
Bruce Borgerson operates Strategic & Technical Communications and heads the tech team at the First United Methodist Church, both in Ashland, Ore.
