MOTU 828es, User Manual

Page: 96 / 120

N E T W O R K I N G
96
■
Support for existing network infrastructure —
Replace your existing switches with standard
AVB-compatible switches, and your CAT-5e or
CAT-6 wired infrastructure now supports AVB.
■
Long cable runs —þa single AVB network
connection can run up to 100 meters with a
standard copper wire CAT-5e or CAT-6 cable.
Fiber-optic cable runs can be much longer. With
multiple switches, you can create a network that
covers very large distances, if necessary. You can
use up to seven “hops” (switch-to-switch
connections).
■
AVB is already shipping on current Macs —
Apple supports AVB on all current shipping Macs,
and the 828es can operate as a standard AVB audio
interface when connected to your Mac’s AVB-
equipped Ethernet port.
MOTU’S AVB IMPLEMENTATION
MOTU engineering has faithfully implemented
the IEEE 802.1 AVB standard for the MOTU AVB
products. This means that MOTU devices are fully
inter-operable with any 3rd party AVB-compatible
device. In addition, MOTU has fine-tuned AVB
operation among MOTU devices for optimum
performance, within the AVB specification. Here
is a brief summary of advantages you will enjoy
when using MOTU devices together in a network:
■
Up to 256 channels of host I/O — MOTU
interfaces (depending on the model) can support
up to 256 simultaneous channels of audio I/O (128
in, 128 out) to and from the entire network
through Thunderbolt or USB 3.0.
■
Support for multiple computer hosts — All
computers and all network devices run in sync
with each other, resolved to the network’s master
clock.
■
Gigabit Ethernet — The MOTU AVB Switch
delivers 1 Gbit Ethernet performance, which
provides substantially higher bandwidth than
100 Mbit Ethernet. This allows you to have many
more devices on the AVB network.
■
Over 500 channels of network audio —
MOTU’s AVB network can stream over 500
channels of audio throughout the network.
Depending on the model, some MOTU devices
can broadcast sixteen 8-channel network streams
and simultaneously listen to sixteen 8-channel
network streams.
■
Exceptionally low network latency — Standard
AVB network latency is 2 ms. MOTU AVB
network latency is an astonishing 0.6 ms, even
over seven “hops” (switches) and hundreds of
meters of cable. By comparison, other
commercially available, proprietary audio
network protocols have variable (unpredictable)
network latency in the range of 2-5 ms.
■
Star configuration — MOTU AVB supports a
star network configuration, which is much more
flexible than daisy-chain scenarios, which
depends on all devices in the chain.
■
Web interface — MOTU AVB devices can be
controlled from the MOTU Pro Audio Control
web app, which runs within any web browser on
any networked laptop, tablet, or smart phone.
Although the web app shares the network with
AVB, AVB audio streams are never compromised
because AVB streams over the network traffic.
■
Bridging to standard Ethernet — the MOTU
AVB Switch provides an extra standard Ethernet
port for bridging to your local Ethernet network,
Wi-Fi, etc. for command and control, internet
access, and other standard network traffic. All
ports allow connection to standard (non-AVB)
network devices, however, the “Ethernet” port is
suggested because it does not support AVB.