Assigning Addresses
IP addresses are assigned manually or automatically. Automatic assignments take place through a process called "DHCP", and in the absence of a "DHCP Server" will result in self-assigned addresses, sometimes referred to as "link-local".
Manual Assignments
It is very common in live sound systems to manually assign IP addresses to system-critical devices for control purposes, such as amplifiers, DSP, and consoles. (Note that this is not necessarily the case for audio-over-IP devices, such as on a dedicated Dante network.)
Here is a basic workflow for doing so:
- Create a table for each subnet
- List out all available addresses within each table (or at least keep the list sorted numerically). This will help you to avoid assigning the same address to more than one device.
- Manually choose addresses for each device. (I like to do it like this).
(This is NOT recommended for Dante or XDIP networks.)
EXAMPLE
Subnet: 10.0.1.0/24
| Device | Address | Composite |
|---|---|---|
| RESERVED - Gateway | 1 | 10.0.1.1 |
| QLab A Mac | 11 | 10.0.1.11/24 |
| QLab B Mac | 12 | 10.0.1.12/24 |
| CL5 | 50 | 10.0.1.50/24 |
| RESERVED - Broadcast | 255 | 10.0.1.255 |
DHCP Assignments
A single "DHCP Server" assigns addresses to devices. Typically the device acting as DHCP server is a router, switch, or UniFi Cloud Gateway.
DHCP servers can typically be configured to serve addresses in a specific "DHCP Range". It is possible to have a network that uses both Manual Assignments and DHCP, but be carefully not to overlap their ranges.
Example
Subnet: 10.0.1.0/24
Gateway Address: 10.0.1.1
Manual Addresses: 10.0.1.2 - 10.0.1.199
DHCP Range: 10.0.1.200 - 10.0.1.254
Broadcast Address: 10.0.1.255
Self Assigned / Link Local Assignments
Addresses are chosen by individual devices. Set each device to "DHCP" or "Automatic" mode, on a network without a DHCP server, and they will auto-negotiate an address in the 169.254.X.X subnet.
INFO
Link Local assignments are typically used in Dante and XDIP networks.