Network Terms

In the documentation of the DHD systems you can find different network terms. These terms are synonyms for specific networks or network segments.

The Ethernet network named office network includes the PCs, that are not exclusively used for maintenance or operation of DHD devices or that can not be connected to the DHD network directly, but that should communicate with the DHD devices. For instance workstations in studios to control DSP parameters (EQs, Dynamics, etc.) of a mixer or in the editorial office to monitor signals. Therefore on the PCs in the office network the DHD Operation Manager software is required. A connection to the office network is only needed if it should be possible to control DHD devices with PCs that are not located in the DHD network.

A server PC is needed to interconnect the office network and the DHD network. This server PC must have two network cards to not only connect the office network and the DHD network, but also to keep away undesirable data from the DHD network.

Use appropriate software to protect your PC against viruses coming from the office network. While viruses cannot infect DHD systems directly, they can cause heavy network traffic in all networks connected to the PC! On this server PC the DHD Operation Server software can be operated, that establishes the connection between the control PCs in the office network and the DHD devices in the DHD network, depending on the number of available licenses.

Furthermore, this server mostly is also used as configuration/service PC to configure and maintain the connected DHD systems with the Toolbox software.

The Ethernet network between the server/service PCs (please see the description of the office network for the meaning of these PCs) and the connected DHD systems is named DHD network. If the DHD system should not communicate with other DHD devices during operation and/or should not be controlled or maintained by one or several PCs, it is not necessary to build up a DHD network. Besides the service PCs, the server PC and maybe further redundant server PCs, only DHD systems are allowed to be connect to this network. You must not integrate other PCs or networks directly in this network. Because of the increasing data traffic the communication between the DHD systems will be slowed or disturbed.

The communication of the devices within a DHD system is handled via the controller network. This could be an Ethernet or CAN bus connection. An example is the connection between a DSP core and a mixing console. If the device is controlled via software solely and without a physical DHD control surface (e.g. router, On-Air switches, etc.), the controller network is not required. In comparison to the office network and the DHD network, you are not allowed to change IP addresses in the controller network! The IP addresses in this network are preset by DHD and refer to the individual MAC addresses in the devices.

The following example shows a server PC with two network adapters that interconnects the office network and the DHD network. Beside the operation of the DHD Operation Server software, this PC can also be used for logging and maintenance purposes. A Series 52/XC Core is connected to the DHD network. The 52/XC Core and the 52/MX control surface communicate with each other via the controller network.