The following section provides an overview of Tesira control network configurations.
It is common practice for IT administrators to place related devices within a segregated Virtual LAN (VLAN) that will share the same network hardware with other VLANs. If the Tesira devices are assigned a VLAN by the site IT administrator, the computer running Tesira software will need to have its network interface tagged with the same VLAN ID. Consult the site IT administrator if a VLAN is being used.
Devices in a single system may be connected to a control network comprised of multiple IP subnets. This means Tesira devices with IP addresses in different subnets may be part of the same Tesira system, i.e. configured using the same Tesira file.
Although it is fairly common for all devices in a networked A/V system to have IP addresses in a single subnet, in larger and more complex systems this may not be desirable or even possible. For example, if an A/V system shares the building’s network infrastructure, the IT administrator may not be in a position to provide the A/V integrator with a single subnet spanning the entire building.
A Tesira system can accommodate this sort of network architecture by allowing the devices within it to discover and communicate with each other using network routers.
| Note |
It is assumed that a router(s) will have been installed on the network to facilitate TCP/IP communication between subnets. |
Tesira Server-class devices on a single subnet will discover each other automatically using Biamp’s proprietary discovery protocol. The discovery process begins immediately after boot up, whether or not a device is configured.
Biamp’s proprietary discovery protocol is not routable, so Tesira Server-class devices residing in different subnets discover each other using another method. Each Tesira device must first receive instructions on which other devices it should attempt to discover. And because these instructions are derived from the configuration file’s Equipment Table, a Tesira device will attempt to discover devices on other subnets only after it has been configured, i.e. received the configuration file.
In summary:
When working with multiple subnets, additional configuration of the Tesira devices’ IP setting is required beyond the minimum needed for single-subnet systems.
There are also some simple but important rules to remember.
Tesira devices must be configured with the IP address of the default gateway, either statically or via DHCP.
Tesira devices must perform hostname resolution to identify other devices, using either a DNS server or their user-editable internal hosts table.
If a DNS server is used, Tesira devices must be configured with its IP address, either statically or via DHCP.
If host tables are used, each device must be configured with the hostname/IP address pairs of all other Tesira server-class device devices in the system.
| Note |
If host tables are used, the Tesira devices listed in it must either be configured with static IP addresses, or if DHCP is used, the IP address being served must not change. |
The DNS server address is a device-wide setting, i.e. there can be only one DNS server for a Tesira device.
If a user specified static DNS server address is provided, then it will be used.
If no static DNS server address is specified and auto IP addressing is enabled, then the DNS server address will be taken from the DHCP response.
If multiple DHCP responses are received, then the DNS server address will be taken from the DHCP response received on the control network first, then from other control-enabled media networks in order of decreasing backplane slot number.
The Default Gateway address is a device-wide setting, i.e. there can be only one Default Gateway for a Tesira device.
If a user specified static Default Gateway address is provided, then it will be used.
If no static Default Gateway address is specified and auto IP addressing is enabled, then the Default Gateway address will be taken from the DHCP response.
If multiple DHCP responses are received, then the Default Gateway address will be taken from the DHCP response received on the control network first, then from other control-enabled media networks in order of decreasing backplane slot number.
If no DHCP response is received, the control network interface will enter Link Local mode and self-assign an IP address in the range of 169.254.x.x with a subnet of 255.255.0.0. The control computer running Tesira software must have its subnet set to match for Link Local connection
Tesira servers discover expanders and control devices using Biamp’s proprietary discovery protocol. Because this protocol is not routable, servers-class devices cannot discover expanders and control devices on distant subnets.
An audio expander must be on the same subnet as the server which is its proxy host.
Remote control devices, such as the TEC-1, HD-1, TEC-X 1000, TEC-X 2000 must be in the same subnet as the server-class device to which they have been assigned in DSP properties.