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Ethernet
The I/O Module has a total of four Ethernet connectors - two on the front panel and two on the rear. The Ethernet
section of the I/O Module incorporates an Ethernet switch, meaning that all four connectors to be on the same physical
Ethernet network. This means that any Ethernet data that is present on one of the connectors will also be present on all
of the other connectors.
One of the connectors on the rear of the I/O Module (typically Ethernet A) is connected to the Mac Pro computer,
allowing Ethernet to be transmitted between the front of the I/O Module and the computer. This allows control signals
such as Art-Net or sACN to be connected to the front of the I/O Module and then be passed to the computer for use by
the Mbox application. Either of the front panel connectors can be used for this purpose. The second connector can be
left without a connection or a second cable can be used to distribute that same Ethernet control signal to other devices.
Note: The second Ethernet connector on the rear of the I/O Module is typically not used but may be used if desired by
simply connecting a cable.
It is important to note that the Ethernet switch in the I/O Module is only capable of 10/100Mb speeds and is not a gigabit
switch. Additionally, the switch has no management capabilities. These limitations mean that there are some situations
where Ethernet should not be connected to the I/O Module and should be connected to one of the Ethernet connectors
on the back of the Mbox rack instead:
+
Large control networks (more than 30 universes) may be negatively affected by the slow speed of the I/O Module's
non-gigabit Ethernet speed.
+
Because it has no management capability, the switch performs no routing. This means that multicast traffic (e.g.
sACN) cannot be filtered and will be present on all the Ethernet connections to/from the I/O Module.
+
Some lighting consoles' processing networks (e.g. MA-Net) require gigabit speeds for proper function. Therefore if
the Mbox computer needs to be on the same physical network and the console, the I/O Module Ethernet connectors
should not be used.
+
Tasks such as CITP/MSEX streaming and content synchronization benefit from fast networks with enough bandwidth
for the amount of data being transmitted. Using the I/O Module's Ethernet connections for either of these purposes
is not recommended.
Each Ethernet connector on the I/O Module has three LED indicators. The indicator LEDs for the two front panel
Ethernet connectors are located adjacent to the connectors. The indicator LEDs for the two rear panel connectors are
located as a pair on the far right-hand side of the I/O module, and are labeled as "Computer". The Ethernet A connector
on the rear of the I/O Module - which is connected to the Mac Pro computer - is the I/O Module's third Ethernet
connection. Therefore its status is shown on the left-hand set of LEDs in this pair.
The LED indicators show Link status (an active electrical connection) as well as Ethernet Rx and Tx. While no data-
specific information can be taken from the state of the indicator LEDs, the illumination of the Link LED, coupled with the
illumination or flashing of the Rx and/or Tx LEDs indicates that Ethernet data is passing in and out of the I/O Module's
switch hardware.
MBOX® 2016 DUAL OUTPUT HARDWARE MANUAL
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