Manual-4
Configuring the Via 10 & PC
The disks that ship with the Via 10 contain several tools:
1) The
VIACONFIG
utility for initializing the Via 10.
2) Rane ActiveX controls for the four Via 10 hardware ports
plus controls for Rane’s RW 232, SRM 66 and SR 1L
products. These ActiveX controls are registered (i.e.,
copied to your computer) during the installation process.
3) The
VIPVOP
utility for testing the VIP and VOP inter-
faces.
Example HTML (HyperText Markup Language) files to
assist system programmers are available as links from Rane’s
Via 10 web page at http://www.rane.com/via10.htm.
Three steps are required to configure the computer and
Via 10 for typical applications. Step one is to design the
network and determine its needs; for example, the number of
network devices (also called DTEs [Data Terminal Equip-
ment]). In step two you must determine the IP addresses you
want to use for each computer in the system. You’ll also need
to verify that the computer is configured properly to speak to
the Via 10 and the rest of the network. Step three is running
the Via 10 Configuration Utility (
VIACONFIG
) to set the IP
address and RS-232 and RS-485 port baud rates and parities,
among other things.
I. Network design. First design your Ethernet network. If
you only have one computer and one Via 10, you’ll need a
CAT 5 (Category 5) crossover cable, not a standard ethernet
cable…and you thought crossovers only split audio signals
into highs and lows. A crossover cable is a CAT 5 cable wired
so the transmit pair at one end is connected to the receive pair
at the other. If you have more than two Ethernet devices –
i.e., more than one computer or more than one Via 10 or other
Ethernet device – you’ll need a hub (also called a concentra-
tor or repeater) to connect them. There are many sources for
help on designing Ethernet-based networks, such as the Rane
Via 10 web page. It includes links to some very helpful web
sites with more information on Ethernet and network design
than you’d ever need to know: www.rane.com/via10.htm.
Also, see RaneNote 144, “Emerging Standards for Network
Audio System Control” for background on how all this
network talk fits into the audio industry in the first place.
II. Computer IP set up. The computer used with the Via
10 must be set for network operation to allow it to speak to
the Via 10 using TCP/IP protocol. (TCP stands for Transmis-
sion Control Protocol.) If your computer is already set up for
network operation you can skip to the next section.
Setting up a Windows 95/98 PC for network communi-
cations:
Note: As you go through the following procedure your
computer tells you on more than one occasion that it needs to
reboot before changes take effect. Just go along with it when
this happens. Yeah, it’s a big waste of time but this is an
owner’s manual, not an editorial page – so just do it, OK?
1. Insure you have a functional Ethernet adapter (NIC or
Network Interface Card) installed in the PC. If installed, its
operation may be checked by right clicking on ‘
My
Computer
’ followed by a left-click on the selection
‘
Properties
’ and again a left-click on the ‘
Device Man-
ager
’ tab of the ‘
System Properties
’ dialog box. Click on
the plus (+) sign to the left of ‘
Network Adapters
’ to view
the configured adapters. A malfunctioning adapter is
indicated by either a yellow question mark or a red ‘
X
’.
There are several troubleshooting aids available in Win-
dows Help to assist you in making the network adapter
functional.
2. Once you have a correctly operating Ethernet adapter,
TCP/IP is easy to configure. To begin, open ‘
My Com-
puter
’ or ‘
Start > Settings,
’ then ‘
Control Panel >
Network
’. The ‘
Configuration
’ tab shows a list of config-
ured devices, such as your network card and possibly dial-
up networking. Below these is a list of network protocols
previously configured for the system. If TCP/IP has been
configured and bound to the Ethernet adapter, you will see
an entry resembling ‘
TCP/IP -> NameOfAdapter Pnp
LAN Adapte
r.’ If this shows on the list, skip to step 4. If
it’s not there, go through step 3 first.
3. To add TCP/IP to the LAN Adapter, click the ‘
Add
’ button
in the Network dialog. A list of network component types
displays. Choose ‘
Protocol,
’ then ‘
Add
’. A list of manu-
facturers displays. Click on ‘
Microsoft
’, then ‘
TCP/IP
’ in
the right-hand window, then ‘
OK
’.
4. To be a part of a TCP/IP network, your computer (and each
network device including the Via 10) needs a unique IP
address of its own. If not already open, open ‘
Settings >
Control Panels > Network
.’ Highlight the ‘
TCP/IP ->
NameOfAdapter PnP LAN Adapter
’ by clicking on it.
Then choose ‘
Properties >
IP Address.
’ Click on the
‘
Specify an IP address
’ option. If your computer is part of
an existing network, you must now obtain a valid address
from the network administrator—if you have one. If not,
you may use an address out of the internationally accepted
private network block of addresses, which is
192.168.nnn.nnn where nnn represents any number
between 0 and 255. A good choice might be
192.168.100.100 just because it’s easy to remember if you
ever need to know it again. The ‘
Subnet Mask
’ should be
set to 255.255.0.0 for most installations. These two
settings allow a network with addresses in the range of
192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255. Click the ‘
OK
’
buttons as many times as they appear to extinguish all the
network setup dialog boxes.
Note: Once you’ve set networking on a Win95/98 com-
puter, you’ll notice it wants a user name and optional pass-
word each time it boots. To eliminate this nuisance, go back
in to
Control Panel > Network
and change the ‘
Primary
Network Logon
’ selection from ‘
Client for Microsoft
Networks
’ to ‘
Windows Logon
’ then click ‘
OK
’ again. Oh,
and guess what? Your computer will want to be rebooted
again for the change to take effect. Good news, though, it
won’t ask for a user name and password this time.
III. Via 10 Config Utility. The Via 10 Config Utility
(
VIACONFIG
) ships on floppy disk with each Via 10 and can
also be found at www.rane.com/via10.htm.
