Internet Protocol (IP)

Internet Protocol (IP) governs how data is addressed and sent within and between networks.

Eos settings related to these concepts can generally be accessed on Eos devices via Setup > Device > Network (see Network Configuration in Eos) or ECU > Settings > Network (see Network Configuration in the ECU).

Overview

IP defines virtual addressing and delivery methods for devices in a network, using a specific structure to route data from source to destination by subdividing it into packets, a unit of data for transmission in an IP network, often dividing a longer message into formatted pieces. Packets are comprised of two components:

• Header - identifies the source and destination IP addresses of the packet, along with any additional necessary metadata (i.e. the envelope a letter is sent in).
• Payload - the data being transported (i.e. the letter itself).

In an IP network utilizing Ethernet, IP packet data is typically transported inside Ethernet frames.

IP can be understood as a "best effort" delivery mechanism where establishing a connection with receiving devices is not required. While this makes IP flexible and fast, it can often be unreliable, as packets can be delivered out of order, and delivery is not confirmed at the destination. Therefore, IP is often combined with Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which ensures reliable communication at the expense of speed. As part of the Internet protocol suite, the two are often referred to in conjunction as TCP/IP.

Versions

There are two IP versions currently in use:

• IPv4 - uses 32-bit addressing (e.g. 10.101.98.101), providing up to 4,294,967,296 potential addresses in a network.
• IPv6 - uses 64-bit addressing (e.g. 2001:0DB8:0000:0042:0000:8A2E:0370:7334), providing up to 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 (3.4e38) potential addresses in a network.

IPv4 is preferred for entertainment control networks, as it is more easily read and understood by humans than IPv6, and many protocols are not IPv6-compatible. Unless otherwise noted, any IP information for entertainment control refers to IPv4-based networks and conventions.

IP Addresses

An IP address can be thought of as the unique virtual location of a device within an IP-based network. While a Media Access Control (MAC) Address is a generally permanent identifier of a physical or wireless network port that cannot be altered in the field, IP addresses are not permanently tied to specific devices and can be reused. For example, imagine a scenario in which you are sending Open Sound Control (OSC) messages to a device's IP address, and that device fails. You can assign the same IP address to the replacement device, avoiding any reconfiguration to the sending system and retaining communication.

Each device in a network should be given a unique IP address. If running multiple devices of the same type, you must alter the default static IP addresses to ensure proper functionality. Two devices in a network sharing the same address will create a conflict that can kick one or both devices off the network, as well as locking up switch ports or the entire switch.

Address Structure

An IP address is structured as four 8-bit numbers between 0 and 255, known as octets, separated by periods; for example, 10.101.98.101.

Each octet denotes a different aspect of the device's virtual location in the network, moving in order from general to specific.

IP Address Component	Postal Address Component
10	Wisconsin
101	Middleton
98	Pleasant View Rd
101	3031

If the IP address as a whole is a postal address, the octets can be thought of as a region, a city within that region, a street within that city, and a building on that street.

The four octets are divided into the network ID and the node ID.

• Network ID - between one and three of the octets, depending on the subnet mask, identifying which part of the network the device communicates in. Also called the network prefix.
• Node ID - the remaining one to three octets, specific to the device itself. Also called the host ID.

For devices to communicate in the same subnet, they must have matching network IDs. The remaining octets can be used to assign unique addresses to each device.

Address Ranges

IP addresses ending in 0 or 255 are often reserved as the network and broadcast addresses for a particular network range, and should not be used for individual devices.

The IP address range from 224.0.0.0 through 239.255.255.255 are reserved by the IEEE for multicast addresses, and cannot be used when assigning IP addresses to nodes. A subset from 239.255.0.1 (universe 1) through 239.255.249.255 (universe 63,999) are reserved specifically for use with sACN universe data.

Subnet Mask

A subnet logically subdivides an IP network, limiting which nodes can communicate with each other. A subnet mask identifies which subnet an IP-addressed device belongs in.

Default subnet masks can be divided into three classes, based on the number of nodes that could communicate in that subnet (i.e. that portion of the network).

• Class A - 255.0.0.0. One octet of a device's IP address must match. Three octets are available, providing up to 16,777,216 (256 x 256 x 256) unique node IDs.
• Class B - 255.255.0.0. Two octets of a device's IP address must match. Two octets are available, providing up to 65,536 (256 x 256) unique node IDs.
• Class C - 255.255.255.0. Three octets of a device's IP address must match. One octet is available, providing up to 256 unique node IDs.

ETC devices typically default to the Class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. This means the network ID for devices in this subnet is the first two octets, which must match in order for them to communicate. ETC devices typically default to a network ID of 10.101, leaving two octets available for unique node IDs.

Associated IP address and subnet ranges can be expressed together as the IP range that subnet devices must be addressed in, and the number of bits of the address that must match, separated by a forward slash. For example, the ETC default address range (10.101) and subnet (255.255.0.0) could also be written as 10.101.0.0/16, indicating the first 16 bits (two octets) of the address must be 10.101. This notation is part of the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) standard (IETF RFC 4632).

It is generally best to keep all devices in an entertainment control network in the same subnet. Devices in different subnets can only communicate via Routers, which are not recommended in entertainment control networks.

Default Eos IP Addresses

All Eos Family consoles ship with the following default IP addresses configured for each network port.

Device	NIC 1	NIC 2	NIC 3	NIC 4	SFP 1	SFP 2
Apex 5	10.101.191.101	192.168.191.101	172.16.191.101	10.0.191.101	10.201.191.101	172.31.191.101
Apex 10	10.101.192.101	192.168.192.101	172.16.192.101	10.0.192.101	10.201.192.101	172.31.192.101
Apex 20	10.101.190.101	192.168.190.101	172.16.190.101	10.0.190.101	10.201.193.101	173.31.193.101
Apex Processor	10.101.193.101	192.168.193.101	172.16.193.101	10.0.193.101	10.201.193.101	172.31.193.101
Apex FP	10.101.194.101	192.168.194.101	172.16.194.101	10.0.194.101	10.201.194.101	172.31.194.101
Expansion Processor	10.101.195.101	192.168.195.101

Device	NIC 1	NIC 2
Eos Ti	10.101.92.101	192.168.92.101
Gio	10.101.91.101	192.168.91.101
Gio @ 5	10.101.98.101	192.168.98.101
Ion Xe	10.101.100.20	192.168.100.20
Ion Xe 20	10.101.100.30	192.168.100.30
Ion Xe RPU	10.101.96.201	192.168.96.201
Element 2	10.101.99.101	192.168.99.101
ETC Puck	10.101.185.101	192.168.185.101
RPU3	10.101.93.101	192.168.93.101
RVI3	10.101.86.101	192.168.86.101
Ion Classic	10.101.100.101
Ion RPU	10.101.96.101
Element Classic	10.101.97.101
Eos Classic	10.101.90.101
Eos Classic RPU	10.101.95.101
RVI	10.101.85.101

Default Gateway

The default gateway is the IP address of a network device where data is sent if it cannot be delivered to its intended destination. This data is typically directed to Routers to be passed into other networks, although this is generally not recommended for entertainment control networks.

It is generally best to assign all devices in an entertainment control network the same default gateway. In ETC devices, this is typically 10.101.1.1.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) a method to automatically assign addresses to devices in a network. It is often referred to as a service, and a device providing a DHCP service for a network is often referred to as a DHCP server.

A DHCP server exists to distribute available IP addresses to devices joining a network, storing a table of which addresses have been assigned to which MAC addresses. DHCP provides a mechanism for devices to join a network without individual configuration, and can be useful in any scenario where manually addressing every node would be impractical, such as in larger networks.

While any device can be addressed via DHCP, you should decide which devices in your network are permanent and less likely to be regularly joining and leaving the network. It is generally best practice to statically address installed devices like consoles and architectural systems, letting DHCP handle movable devices like gateways and remotes.

The configurable amount of time a device can have a DHCP-assigned address before needing to request a new one and reconnect is called the DHCP lease. In ETC devices, the DHCP lease is locked to 99 years.

Eos consoles are among many devices capable of acting as a DHCP server. DHCP is configured in the Eos Configuration Utility under Settings > Network > DHCP Service.