dSNAKE and Ethernet switch ?

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This topic contains 10 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of kmoor kmoor 10 years, 9 months ago.

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  • #23147
    Profile photo of robi
    robi
    Participant

    Hello,
    I can’t find any informations about dSNAKE protocol. Can be routed dSNAKE thru standard ethernet switches?
    Robi

    #30583
    Profile photo of Stealth
    Stealth
    Moderator

    Hi Robi

    The dSnake protocol is complient with standard Ethernet equipment, therefore you can use a switch with dSnake.

    What is the purpose you would like to use the switch for?

    if the switch is unmanaged then only 1 point to point link can be actively connected at one time.

    If you wish to have other data on the same switch as dSnake then you must put the dSnake data in its own VLAN so that it is isolated from the other data being carried through the switch. Also some protocols such as Spanning tree must be turned off.

    If it is to extend the length over 120m then this is also possible with a switch every 100meters, or media converter to fiber.

    There will be more information available about dSnake to come in the future.

    Regards
    Sam A&H

    #30584
    Profile photo of robi
    robi
    Participant

    Thanks for answer. I think about two purposes:

    1.Possibility to extend length and convert to fiber or WiFi (I know bandwidh and others WiFi limits). Now I know, this is possible.

    2.Redundant connections, something like this:
    GLD80 – short patch cable – Switch – two dSnake cables – Switch – short patch cable – AR2412
    But now I thing, this is impossible with requirements point to point, vlan, turn off spanning tree. Or has it a solution?

    Robi

    #30585
    Profile photo of byondo
    byondo
    Participant

    what an interesting thread! wifi would be sci-fi [:D]
    let’s see..

    Massimo

    #30592
    Profile photo of TJCornish
    TJCornish
    Participant

    I’m interested in this too. My main application would be sharing the show control network down the snake – DSP control, wireless mic monitoring, possibly DMX, etc. No high bandwidth stuff. Having redundant link options would be neat, too.

    #30645
    Profile photo of ahjeff
    ahjeff
    Moderator

    Hi

    dSnake is Ethernet compliant, but does not ‘play well with others’ on a network, and will only work with networking equipment in specific configurations. You can use things like media converters without issue, as long as they support 100base-TX mode. If you would like to do something more complicated, the best thing is to put the dSnake traffic into a VLAN, as Sam mentioned before. If you would like to then create a redundant link, you could use https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_aggregation or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_Spanning_Tree_Protocol, though this is not something we have tried here at A&H, and networking equipment supporting these advanced features could be expensive.

    dSnake uses almost all the available 100 megabit bandwidth in both directions, so any systems combining this with other traffic must use Gigabit or faster connections. If you would like to use a switch to extend a cable run, the switch must be ‘wire speed’ or ‘non blocking’, with the ability to prevent any other traffic (e.g. witch management traffic) getting mixed up with the dSnake traffic. For example, Spanning Tree must be off for ports that are connected directly to a GLD piece of hardware (surface, rack).

    More complicated systems like this will require testing by yourself to make sure you are happy with the system performance and reliability. Although we will try to help if you experience problems, we do not provide official support for the wide variety of networking equipment and protocols that you may try to use.

    Hope this helps

    – Jeff, A&H

    #33592
    Profile photo of nettings
    nettings
    Participant

    ahjeff, if dsnake uses 100 mbit/s ethernet, that means it uses only two pairs. which in turn means it might be possible with a single four-pair standard ethernet cable to get both the 24/12 plus extender and the “local” 8/4 extender onto the stage, with appropriate 1:2 adapters. has anybody tried this? i might give it a go the next time i get to play with a gld, which is later this month…

    #33596

    quote:


    Originally posted by nettings

    ahjeff, if dsnake uses 100 mbit/s ethernet, that means it uses only two pairs. which in turn means it might be possible with a single four-pair standard ethernet cable to get both the 24/12 plus extender and the “local” 8/4 extender onto the stage, with appropriate 1:2 adapters. has anybody tried this? i might give it a go the next time i get to play with a gld, which is later this month…


    I am a networking idiot but I would be stoked it this is true. Can we get a verification of this an the correct pinout please?

    2 X GLD80
    2 X AR2412
    1 X AR840

    #33601
    Profile photo of TJCornish
    TJCornish
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by RYAN LOUDMUSIC JENKINS

    quote:


    Originally posted by nettings

    ahjeff, if dsnake uses 100 mbit/s ethernet, that means it uses only two pairs. which in turn means it might be possible with a single four-pair standard ethernet cable to get both the 24/12 plus extender and the “local” 8/4 extender onto the stage, with appropriate 1:2 adapters. has anybody tried this? i might give it a go the next time i get to play with a gld, which is later this month…


    I am a networking idiot but I would be stoked it this is true. Can we get a verification of this an the correct pinout please?

    2 X GLD80
    2 X AR2412
    1 X AR840


    If indeed this is the case, pins 1+2 and 3+6 would be used.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_ethernet#100BASE-TX

    On a patch panel, you’d wire two of the pairs to 1+2 and 3+6 on one port, then use the other pairs as 1+2 and 3+6 for the second port.

    #33612
    Profile photo of HalfBakedPotato
    HalfBakedPotato
    Participant

    Yup – that would be great. Two costly long snakes down to one would be excellent!

    #34384
    Profile photo of kmoor
    kmoor
    Participant

    Here’s another question…

    Is there any way to use a switch to change the order of the devices on dSnake. I’d like to run the console to a switch, then split that to go to the AR2412 and a AR84. My problem is that I need both AR84 local (within 40′ of console) and the AR2412 about 200′ away. I’d rather not have to string two 200′ cat5, one to the AR2412 and one back to the AR84.

    Is it possible to use a switch to do this?

    GLD 80
    AR2412
    AR84

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