Overview
VLAN Switching is the most powerful implementation method that sets Just Add Power apart from all other manufactures of Video-over-IP products. VLAN Switching is our unique, out-of-the-box approach of using port-based VLANs to dynamically manage traffic flow on a network. By using a unique VLAN to keep each video stream isolated on a network, the heavy lifting of sifting through packets and managing IGMP membership is removed from the equation, and the switch is able to perform its most basic function: forwarding packets. JADConfig programs a switch for VLAN Switching.
In some installations, creating a parallel or dedicated network to take full advantage of VLAN Switching - such as integrating on top of an existing data network at an educational institution - is not a realistic or desirable approach. It makes more sense to have all Just Add Power devices in a single dedicated VLAN to keep them from interfering with the rest of the data network. With all devices in a single VLAN, switching sources involves modifying the Multicast IP of the Decoder rather than actively manipulating the VLAN configuration of the managed switch.
Multicast Switching describes a system where all Just Add Power devices are in a single VLAN and switching is performed by modifying the Multicast IP of individual units. Each Encoder is given a unique Multicast IP - referred to as a Channel - and a Decoder is assigned the Channel of the Encoder it is meant to watch. The Channel is assigned to the Encoder and Decoder via a TELNET command. When using Multicast Switching, switching speeds will not be instant and seamless like they are with VLAN Switching, but the results should be satisfactory given the more strict requirements of the specific project.
Limitations
- Relies on switch CPU resources
- Manual configuration of switch is required
- Manual configuration of each Just Add Power device is required
Benefits
+ Maximum of 10000 sources
+ No access to switch CLI required
+ Can be implemented on almost any managed network
+ Syntax for writing a custom TCP/Telnet driver is simple
Requirements
- 3G or MaxColor Just Add Power devices
- Layer-3 Managed Network
- One Dedicated VLAN for ALL Just Add Power devices
- No other network appliances in the Just Add Power VLAN
- Not the same as an existing "Multicast VLAN"
- Unique subnet
- No other network appliances in the Just Add Power subnet
- IP Address of the dedicated VLAN will be set as the default gateway of all Just Add Power devices
- Jumbo Frame support with MTU size greater than 9000
- One Dedicated VLAN for ALL Just Add Power devices
- 950Mbps dedicated/guaranteed bandwidth per MaxColor Encoder (500Mbps per 3G Encoder)
- IGMP Snooping Support
- justOS B2.1.0 firmware or later
Switch Setup
Configure the network switch to meet the following criteria (your switch configuration will vary, and while we can provide general guidance, it is the responsibility of the network administrator at the job-site to perform the correct configuration for their network)
- Dedicated, unused VLAN for ALL Just Add Power Devices (J+P VLAN)
- Subnet the J+P VLAN with the VLAN's IP address as the default gateway for ALL Just Add Power Devices
- Assign ALL Just Add Power device ports to the newly created J+P VLAN
- Allow traffic in the Multicast IP range: 239.92.0.0 - 239.92.99.99
- Enable IGMP Snooping on that VLAN
- Enable IGMP Immediate-Leave (or Fast-Leave) on the J+P VLAN
- Enable Inter-VLAN Routing to and from that VLAN
- Allow access to TCP:80 and TCP:23 from the data VLAN (if a firewall is in place)
- Enable Jumbo-Frames on all ports Just Add Power devices are connected and on any trunk connections between switches
- Disable Multicast Flooding / Enable Multicast Filtering
- Add a Static Route to your LAN router to direct traffic from the data VLAN to the Just Add Power subnet
- Destination Network: [Just Add Power Network IP]
- Netmask: [Just Add Power Subnet Mask]
- Gateway: [LAN IP Address of the InterVLAN router or Layer-3 switch]
- The gateway should be in the same subnet as your data network to allow control system devices to connect to the Just Add Power units via InterVLAN Routing
Just Add Power Setup
Setup Just Add Power devices with AMP Software!
To configure devices manually, continue reading below.
- Confirm that the firmware on all Just Add Power devices is justOS B1.0.0 or later
- Assign a Static IP Address to each Just Add Power Encoder and Decoder
- Manual IP Addressing Instructions
- Give all devices the same subnet
- Set the default gateway on all devices to be the IP address of the switch VLAN
- Assign a unique Channel number
X(0-9999) to each Encoder via TELNET.
channel X\r - Assign a default Channel number
Y(0-9999) to each Decoder via TELNET. The default Channel should match a Channel for an active Encoder.
channel Y\r
Control
-
- Telnet to port 23 of the target Decoder's IP address
- Send the command below, where X is the channel of the Encoder to watch (0-9999)
channel X\r
