10
4 Network Discovery and Webserver
RB-SD1IP Network Discovery and Webserver
In addition to any physical controls the RB-SD1IP has a built in webserver
which can allow you to control and configure the unit remotely through
a web browser. The webpage interface also enables you to view status
information, alter network settings, and update product firmware.
The RB-SD1IP network interface employs Zeroconf networking, meaning
that it supports DHCP, AutoIP and MDNS-SD using Bonjour. We provide a
free application available for download from our website (www.sonifex.
co.uk/technical/software) to facilitate the discovery and use of Sonifex
network enabled hardware, see below for more information.
Connecting to the unit:
Connecting to the webpage interface is as simple as
typing the IP address of the unit into the address bar of a web browser on a
PC connected to the same network.
DHCP
The RB-SD1IP will have DHCP and AutoIP enabled by default, if your
network has a DHCP server then the unit will be assigned an IP address
which can be found easily by using the Sonifex service discovery application,
or by contacting your network administrator. The nature of DHCP means
that the unit is not guaranteed to maintain a fixed IP address each time it
is reconnected to the network. See the section on static network settings
below for information on how to fix the IP address of the unit.
AutoIP
If your network does not support DHCP or it is disabled, then with AutoIP
enabled the unit will assign itself an IP address from the AutoIP range
(169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255). Once an AutoIP address has been
assigned you will need to connect the unit directly to a PC using an Ethernet
cable. Ensure that the PC has dynamic addressing enabled and you will be
able to use the Sonifex discovery application on this mini network to access
the webpage interface.
Static Network Settings
Accessing the webpage interface allows you to configure the network
settings as you like. To give the unit a fixed network address, enter
appropriate static details and disable both DHCP and AutoIP. The unit
will now apply the static network settings whenever it is connected to a
network.
MDNS-SD and Bonjour
Bonjour is a hardware discovery service developed by Apple and as such
it is natively supported by Apple devices and operating systems. Bonjour
for Windows is available, go to our website (www.sonifex.co.uk/technical/
software) or other download stores and download the appropriate version
for your operating system.
On a Bonjour enabled device or system, you can connect to a unit using
only its hostname. By default the hostname for the RB-SD1IP will be the
hardware ID appended by the unique serial number of the unit:
[Hardware ID] – [Serial No.]
RB-SD1IP-654321
To connect to a unit using Bonjour you can simply discover and launch
the webpage interface from the Sonifex service discovery application.
Alternatively you can simply type the hostname appended by the local
domain name into the address bar of your web browser, for the example
above you would enter the following:
RB-SD1IP-654321.local.
The hostname is independent of the IP address and this means that the
unit can always be discovered and accessed in this way, regardless of which
IP address it has been assigned by a DHCP server. The hostname can be
changed to make it more memorable or descriptive of an implementation,
however, conflicting names should be avoided.
