Appendix A - DMX, Ethernet and Art-Net
DMX
DMX data is transmitted in a serial form. This means that there is one cable carrying the data, which is sent bit by bit (a bit is a 1 or 0), one after another. The entire transmission of DMX data for a DMX universe is known as a DMX Packet. The DMX Packet consists of a start code and 512 channel levels.
The start code for DMX is generally 0. The channel section contains the level for that channel.
Ethernet
Ethernet is the technology used to connect computers on a network. Most computers use a protocol called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol Over Internet Protocol) to communicate over an Ethernet network. Ethernet transmits the IP address (address of a computer on the network) of the sending computer, followed by the IP address of the receiving computer, followed by the data. The IP addresses allow the data to be routed to the correct computer.
On a typical office network, computers will have an IP address of 192.168.1.x, where x is between 0 and 254 (255 is a reserved address). These IP addresses are generally assigned dynamically by the Router on the network using a protocol called DHCP.
The computers use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. This specifies which range of IP addresses are on the local network. In the example above 255.255.255.0 specifies a range of from 192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255 which is a total of 256 addresses.
ArtNet
ArtNet is a royalty-free communication protocol (language), developed by Artistic License used to transmit DMX information over a network. An ArtNet network typically uses the 2.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x IP Address scheme using a subnet of 255.0.0.0. It is important to ensure that Art-net data using the Class A IP address scheme is not routed onto the internet.
Ideally a separate lighting network should setup between your MagicQ console and node(s).
Unlike normal office networks, the IP address must be in the range 2.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x, where x is between 0 and 255. The subnet mask must be set to 255.0.0.0. This means configuring the address of each piece of equipment on the network manually. MagicQ products are typically set to 10.x.x.x. from the factory.