Grass Valley UniConfi NVISION Series v.1.3 - Manual (Page 52)

40 Rev 1.3 • 14 Dec 09
7. Managing Control Cards on a Network
Network Basics
IP addresses must be entered as fixed addresses using UniConfig. Dynamically generated IP
addresses, such as those created by a DHCP (Dynamic Host Connection Protocol), cannot be used
because DCHP servers only assign IP addresses from a pre-configured pool and the control card
software does not know how to negotiate with a DHCP server. It is unlikely the pool of addresses
matches the range chosen for your router subnet, thereby causing communication to fail because
the PC and router(s) are on different subnets.
In addition to IP addresses, many networks support the use of plain English names for devices on
the network. These are usually managed by a name server using DNS (Dynamic Name Service),
WINS (Windows Integrated Name Service), or similar. Miranda routers and UniConfig do not sup-
port any plain text naming. Any name service must be disabled or turned off on subnets used for
router communication. The router network should be a closed, private network.
IP addresses are divided into classes. Specific classes are intended for different functions. For
example, IP addresses on the 192.168.x subnet are known as class C addresses and are intended for
use in private closed networks. This range is recommended for use with all Miranda products using
a fixed IP structure.
In lieu of specific IP addresses provided by your IT administrator, Miranda suggests the following
IP address settings for the control cards:
The host PC should be set to the following IP address: 192.168.1.19.
If the host PC is already connected to a network, it may not be practical to change the assigned IP
address settings. Many facilities dedicate a PC to maintenance functions, allowing the network set-
tings to be changed as needed. If this is not practical for your setup, Miranda recommends installing
a second network card in the PC that is connected to the subnet containing the routers. This keeps
any existing network settings as configured and allows a fixed IP address, as well as any other
required network settings, to be entered on the new network interface card or NIC.
Check with your IT administrator before adding a NIC to any PC already set up with a network
connection. This new NIC may interfere with Windows bindings or other network settings if not
added correctly.
Subnet Mask
The subnet mask does exactly as its name implies — it masks off a portion of the IP address range.
Miranda recommends that the subnet mask be set to 255.255.255.0.
Devices that reside on the same subnet must be connected together in some fashion such that they
may communicate with each other. When only two devices are present (for example, the host PC
and only one router control card) an Ethernet crossover cable may be used between the devices.
Router Number Primary Control Card Secondary Control Card
1 192.168.1.5 192.168.1.6
2 192.168.1.7 192.168.1.8
3 192.168.1.9 192.168.1.10
4 192.168.1.11 192.168.1.12
and so on