If your idea of managing IP addresses in your audio network is to reach for the GPS, we have two words for you: network tools.
(Actually, if you’re still manually setting IP addresses every time you change things up, we need to talk. Seriously.)
These are the tools our guys in support and in the field suggest you keep on hand to navigate, and troubleshoot when necessary, the studio network.
A network sniffer/analyzer for capturing data packets and analyzing them. Our systems engineer Kelly Parker uses Wireshark as does our support tech Dick Webb, who says this tool also comes in handy for viewing ACI text messages – the messages that are exchanged between a WheatNet-IP routing system and the automation system, for example.
A network scanner such as Angry IP Scan for a quick view of IP addresses and for pinging them in sequence to determine which ones are active.
An FTP file manager for not only getting across the usual files, but also for changing control surface options. Free FTP file managers like FileZilla are helpful for FTPing changes and options into the Flash memory of a Wheatstone control surface.
A telnet application such as PuTTY or Tera Term opens up a telnet session between network clients and servers for collecting and analyzing data on how devices are receiving and sending network commands. Used with Wheatstone’s built-in debugging tools, a telnet tool can gather lots of good information about what is going on in your system.
A switch utility for connecting to your switches and managing them. These applications allow you to configure, manage, and troubleshoot switches with ease. Cisco’s Network Assistant is a popular one for Cisco switches.
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) applications, if you have a WheatNet-IP system. We have enhanced our WheatNet-IP audio network with SNMP to interface to third-party software such as SolarWinds or Nagios for reporting purposes. Through these apps, you can capture packet counts, uptimes, temperature readings and other critical data for troubleshooting and monitoring network switches, BLADEs, PCs and other devices.