In any modern AV system, it’s very likely that you’ve used Dante to connect and send audio and video between hardware and software devices. Dante has become the most widely used AV over IP platform for installed AV, studio, and live event professionals.
Built using standard networking hardware and Cat 6 cabling, Dante networks send low-latency, multi-channel audio and video signals between devices and software applications. Dante is now included in more than 4,000 products from more than 600 manufacturers, which makes it incredibly easy to connect devices across multiple manufacturers.
Start with the Basics
At the heart of all Dante systems is the free Dante Controller application. This tool enables the creation of connections between Dante devices. The devices themselves then remember where to send and receive signals after disconnecting Dante Controller from your network. This is the default configuration type of many Dante networks and is referred to as an “unmanaged” Dante network.
Dante Controller includes several troubleshooting features that allow you to probe your network to detect issues in switches, cables, clock settings, bit depth, and more. Dante Controller is actively maintained and updated to introduce new features, resolve user issues, and provide compatibility with evolving technology.
As Dante networks grow, become more complex, and require additional levels of security, administration, and control, additional software has been created to solve more complex control needs. Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager (DDM) are designed to provide administration-level oversight, organization, security, management, and control.
The first level of control provided by Dante Director and DDM is the ability to organize large networks into logical groupings. Organization can be by room, region or space, and is not dependent upon the underlying network hardware infrastructure. This provides a basis in which admins can organize devices logically, making the establishment of proper signal routes reliable.
For example, in school deployment, the auditorium system can be separated from systems running in the classrooms. This constrains the routing of signals within each “domain” and prevents any unintentional signals between unrelated areas of the network.
Step Up Security and Access
The second, and often most important facet, is the control and security of user access. In complex systems, there are likely many required users of AV systems—admins and end users at all skill levels. With a management application, admins can control who has access to each domain and require authentication to view or make any changes to the Dante network. This ensures only identified users can make subscription changes, login to the server, and ensures a consistent, predictable network configuration.
Because Dante Director is a SaaS application, an entire Dante network can be accessed from any location with internet access.
Dante Director provides a third facet of control, which is the ability to remotely access, monitor, and manage a network. Because Dante Director is a SaaS application, once configured, an entire Dante network can be accessed from any location with internet access, even on a mobile phone.
In typical unmanaged networks, Dante Controller must be connected directly to a switch on the network to manage those devices. With Director, Dante Controller can now be used from anywhere because all control signals are routed through a SaaS platform, making network management, diagnosis, and control even easier.
Finally, the Dante Managed API enables administrators to build innovative custom integrations, control surfaces, and tools. This could be the integration of Dante into third-party control and monitoring applications, the creation of simplified control surfaces, or even the integration of new bleeding-edge technology. For example, an admin may choose to build a simplified interface that enables switching between multiple devices within a room—lavalier mics to podium mics, for example—giving simple, yet powerful access to inexperienced users.
So, what does all this mean if you’re designing an entirely new AV system? Whether you’re an integrator or the end user, specifying the inclusion of servers and services that you’ll need from the outset will serve you well. For example, most large deployments will benefit significantly from including a server in original budget estimates and proposals.
Get even more insights: Download SCN's Integration Guide to Dante-Enabled AV.
