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The computer must have a 10/100 BaseT network card (NIC) installed. When connecting directly to the Ethernet port on a single Audia® or Nexia® unit, a 'cross-over' CAT5 cable is used. When connecting to a network (or system) of multiple Audia or Nexia units, a 'straight-through' CAT5 cable is used (via an Ethernet switch). If Ethernet switches are 'managed', be careful to assign all connections to 10 BaseT.
Ethernet has a cable length limitation of 100 meters, between the Ethernet switch and an Audia or Nexia device. However, fiber-optic cable may be used to extend this distance limitation to 2 km. Fiber-optic cable can be used with switches that have fiber-optic ports, or media converters can be used to interface fiber-optic cable with standard RJ-45 ports.
The computer must be assigned an IP address (under Network Card Settings>Properties). Most computers set TCP/IP address automatically, but Audia and Nexia devices require manual assignment. During the Audia or Nexia system design, each unit will have been set to a unique IP address (example: 192.168.1.101 and 192.168.1.102). This information must be available from the system design file. The computer must then be assigned to that same network, but also with a unique IP address (example: 192.168.1.200).
Many system designs require only a single Audia or Nexia device. These are systems where the number of inputs/outputs, and the amount of DSP processing, does not exceed that of a standard configuration. When a single unit is used, network considerations are simplified. The only Ethernet connection is that between the computer and the Audia or Nexia device ('cross-over' CAT5 cable). A 'cross-over' cable is included with each device. NOTE: Audia systems may include similar (but separate) network connections for CobraNet ®. Nexia systems may include separate connections for NexLink, which utilize 'straight-through' CAT5 cables only. |