Pathway Pathport Installers Guide - Manual

Installer’s Guide
NETWORK REQUIREMENTS - ETHERNET SWITCHES
PRE-CONFIGURATION
This installation guide describes the requirements
for and the steps involved in the permanent
installation of Pathway C-series, D-series and R-
series two-port Pathport
® nodes, and Uno single-port
nodes. Some familiarity with DMX512 and Ethernet
lighting networks is assumed.
Pathport  nodes hold their IP and patch configuration in
non-volatile memory. Significant on-site time savings can
be attained by configuring the node name and network
information in the shop. To do so, use the network re-
quirements below to create a mock-up installation. Con-
figure the nodes using Pathport Manager software. Put
temporary labels on the nodes showing their fit-up loca-
tion, then repackage them for shipping.
NETWORK REQUIREMENTS - POE
Pathport nodes are designed to take advantage of the
IEEE 802.3af standard, commonly called Power-over-
Ethernet (PoE). PoE-enabled switches are readily avail-
able, and their use is strongly recommended to simplify
installation and prevent the need for separate power ca-
bling. Please note that the Pathport Uno can only by
powered using PoE and cannot be hooked up to an auxil-
iary supply.
ON-SITE CONFIGURATION
If nodes are not pre-configured, configuration can done
after installation, on-site. The configuration process will
involve recording the IP address of each node, and then
using Pathport Manager software.
NETWORK REQUIREMENTS - WIRING & LAYOUT
All network wiring should follow standard Ethernet wir-
ing rules and be installed by a qualified person. Category
5 wiring or better is required. Pathway recommends fol-
lowing the Entertainment Services and Technology Asso-
ciation (ESTA) publication Recommended Practice for
Ethernet Cabling Systems in Entertainment Lighting Ap-
plications and its supplement. Both documents are avail-
able on-line at
www.esta.org .
As part of the installation, all Ethernet wiring should be
certified under the TIA/EIA-568 standard. Pathway may
limit the technical support provided to nodes installed on
non-certified systems.
Good wiring practice does not allow terminating building
wire with a male RJ45 plug or the hard-wiring of data lines
to end devices. To facilitate proper practice, Pathport 2-
port nodes ship with an in-line female RJ45 mini-jack,
similar to a punchdown connector, as well as a short
male-to-male RJ45 jumper to connect the jack to the
node. The in-line jack can be installed by finger-pressure
alone, although pliers are recommended. A crimping tool
is not needed. The jumper and jack are available as an
accessory package for the Pathport Uno.
To install the in-line connector, first determine if the in-
stallation is using TIA568A or TIA568B wiring scheme.
Strip back the outer insulation jacket no more than ¾”.
Untwist the pairs, trim them to the same length but do not
remove insulation from the individual wire. Following the
applicable color coding scheme on the sticker, slip the
individual wires into the clear plastic guide piece. Position
the guide piece onto the connector half of the jack, and
press down or gently apply pressure with a pair of pliers
until the two pieces click together. The mini-inline con-
nector is removable, if necessary.
For entertainment lighting networks, unmanaged or
plug-and-play switches are preferable to managed or en-
terprise switches. However with larger networks, some-
times the only switches available with the number of ports
required will be managed. There are two issues com-
monly encountered with managed switches. First is
broadcast storm control.
DMX-over-Ethernet protocols are multi-cast or broad-
cast protocols where one source (the console) sends all
the information to all the nodes and each node deter-
mines what part of the data stream to use. However the
management features of most switches are intended for
the unicast or one-to-one environment of an office. A
continual broadcast transmission looks like an error – a
broadcast storm – which the switch will try to block. In a
show situation, this would be disastrous. Broadcast storm
features must be disabled.
The other issue is multi-cast filtering. Managed
switches attempt to direct traffic in an intelligent manner
by learning what devices are on what port. Although use-
ful in the unicast environment of an office, this feature can
bog down the lighting network and lead to lost packets.
The ‘snooping’ done to facilitate multi-cast filtering is
known to cause issues with broadcast protocols and so