seen, each of these networks can contain up to 255 computers. However, a computer located at address
192.168.0.1
can not talk
directly
with another computer located at 192.168.1.1,
even if they are connected
on the same network
. The reason is that do not belong to the same network number (these are separate
networks from IP point of view. Going from one network to another would require a specific device named a router
or a gateway. We will not talk about these devices here).
As you can see, if you want computers or devices to talk to each other over a given network, the setup rules
are then extremely simple:
•
Make sure all devices on the network have the same subnet mask (255.255.255.0 for
example)
•
Make sure that all devices on the network use the same network number (192.168.0.xx for
example, for a subnet mask being 255.255.255.0)
•
Make sure that each device has a unique number number in the network (e.g. 192.168.0.0 for
one device, 192.168.0.1 for another device, etc...)
For example, if you decide to use 192.168.0.x network with subnet mask 255.255.255.0, you can have
devices (computers or KissBox or anything else) from address 192.168.0.0 to address 192.168.0.254.
Let's finish by saying that there are standard systems to assign automatically addresses to devices once they
are connected to the network (these standards are called DHCP and Zeroconf). However, we recommend you to
use static IP addresses each time you can, because you will then keep everything under control (this is called
“network administration”.
Solutions supposed to be “Auto configuration without IP addresses” are very difficult to maintain when
something goes wrong, especially with devices without any user interface... If a device stops working, there is
simply no way to locate it directly, since you do not know its number. Try to imagine what would happen in your
studio if all devices would define their MIDI channels and numbers all by themselves. If your sequencer says “I
can't communicate with device 123”, how will you find it, since everything has been configured “magically”?
1.3.3 - What is my network setup ?
Now that you know how IP addresses are working, before doing anything else, prepare a simple sketch of
your network installation, to see where you will connect what, and also to make sure that you will not disturb any
existing setup (for example, if you already have a network-connected printer)
Take the time to see where your current wired and wireless networks are going, and what is connected to
them, even if you decide to use a separate network. Write down on a sketch paper what devices are already
connected to your network, and what are the IP addresses used by them, and keep them for future reference.
And then, you can start to configure your network!
1.3.4 - A tip for the best performances
We highly recommend you to keep the network used for RTP-MIDI separate from the network used for
Internet access or office use. If possible, use two different network cards. Or use WiFi for Internet and wired
network for RTP-MIDI on laptops. This will guarantee the lowest possible latency on RTP-MIDI even if a computer
starts to use a lot of bandwidth to access Internet or access a printer for example, since it will use a different
network than the RTP-MIDI network.
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