Cat5/6 cable is the cranberry of the A/V world. It's in everything now; you can run data, video, audio, and lighting all off those tiny magical twisted pair wires. The ability to pull relatively inexpensive Ethernet cable that can then provide a multitude of production options is a game-changer --- especially in churches where savings on infrastructure can be substantial. While Cat 5 cable has been around since the early 1970's, and audio-over-Ethernet has been used since the 1990's, more recent developments have dramatically increased the opportunities delivered by digital audio networking.
Dante is one of those industry-changing technologies that utilize a simple category network cable to transmit audio. While this feature in and of itself is not new, I consider Dante to be a game-changer because it has been so widely accepted as a staple in the audio industry. In a nutshell, the Dante protocol will coexist on existing network topography along with your computer, printers, and other devices. And with so many manufacturers getting on board, the product options available to churches and their audio system designers are growing exponentially. Plus, the cost and labor of installing expensive copper snakes and dedicated audio input panels are simply gone. You can add audio inputs or outputs anywhere in your building as long as there is a network jack close by.
This may sound like something out of a futuristic TV show. I love TV, especially watching crime dramas, but I always get annoyed when with a few keyboard taps the grainy, unintelligible security camera footage of the bad guy is zoomed in and cleaned up to the point of identifying them. We all know it doesn't happen like that. Well, Dante was like that for me too. I wasn't onboard at first, figuring that sending up to 128 channel inputs and 128 channels of output over a Cat6 cable was too futuristic for my horse-and-buggy thinking. However, after using it, I found it is easy to setup and capable of handling the load. That all being said, there are a few considerations to take into account and get your Dante Network up and running and keeping it properly maintained.
Your Network Backbone
I am sure you've heard the saying that a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. In a Dante network those links need to be strong and that is why some investment is needed on the network side. Buying that $49.00 five-port network switch from Walmart isn't going to cut it. You will need to invest some money into business-class switches that have some more brains in them and can handle the large amounts of data. Dante recommends a Layer 2, “non-green” switch. The Layer 2 is the protocol for how it manages the data and “non-green” simply means that, for this application we are not necessarily interested in energy efficiency. A “green” switch may lower throughput or turn off certain ports that is doesn't think it needs. This can cause unwanted problems for the Dante audio network.
I prefer using a managed switch. This allows for more control and the ability to give precedence to the audio traffic over other things. This is not required though. To give you an idea of cost, I like to use the Cisco SG-300-10 managed switch and it currently is $178 on Amazon. So it's not cheap but it's worth the cost to help ensure a strong network.
Firmware
It's important to keep your firmware up to date. So many companies in our industry have adopted Dante, which is great because the interoperability is amazing. But to keep them all talking and playing nice you have keep the drivers current. I recently learned this lesson the hard way. Trying to operate a console and its input/stage box on two different versions of Dante created some crazy sounding issues in the PA. While we're confessing here, I also learned on the same rig that there may be two different sets of firmware to keep track of: the Dante firmware and the company firmware for whatever device you're using it with. Let's say it's a Yamaha CL series console with a Yamaha Rio input/stage box. Each has Yamaha firmware and Dante firmware that both need to be updated at the same time and all devices need to be on the same version. In short, all the increased benefits, features and capabilities of using Dante come with some management tasks that we didn't have with analog.
Use Your Computer
I think one of the best features of Dante is that it works over standard network protocols. This means your laptop can be an interface. Audinate, the company that invented and licenses Dante has a virtual sound card application. With that installed (Mac or PC), your computer can record or playback multi-track over the network. Many console manufactures are also bundling software that easily allows you to record your services right off the network as well. So once you grasp all the opportunities presented by easily distributing, as well as recording high-quality audio over your existing Cat 5/6 networks by using Dante, you'll understand the game-changer comment I made earlier.
These are just a few tips and features to consider when you start walking into the world of digital audio networking with Dante. I have partaken of the Kool-Aid and have become a fan of what it can do. If you're planning an audio overhaul, a discussion about Dante networking may very well be in your future and that is something you should be excited about. You can start small. Since it's scaleable and so widely used, you can easily add devices as needed to help the budget.
