Setting IP4 Adresses under Windows
Setting IP4 Adresses under MAC

Network


In order for devices to communicate via network, each device needs a unique address within the network. In network technology there are currently two different ways of addressing devices, the IP4 protocol and the IP6 protocol. The IP4 protocol is an older protocol and IP6 was introduced because the IP4 addresses could no longer be sufficient to uniquely address all computers/devices worldwide.

Since the ArtNet and sACN DMX protocols were designed for IP4, IP4 is used in the following explanations.

In advance, we would like to point out a few pitfalls, even if you have not yet understood the network settings:

Pitfall 1: If two devices connect to each other using the IP6 protocol, it will be difficult to get data exchange over IP4.
For example, if your computer connects to a WLAN router over IP6, ArtNet or sACN will most likely not work.
It is important to make sure that the network devices connect via IP4.

Pitfall 2: With WLAN there are two transmission frequencies 2.4 GH and 5 GH. Some older devices are not yet capable of 5 GH.
It is safest to use 2.4 GH.

Pitfall 3: Since Artnet uses IP4 addresses in the range 2.x.y.z or 10.x.y.z (with SubNetMask 255.0.0.0) by default, it is best that none of the devices in the network have an Internet connection.

Pitfall 4: The devices are set to DHCP, but there is no DHCP router in the network that could distribute the IP addresses.

How to configure network settings (IP4) so that the connected devices can communicate:

Usually you have several devices (computers, routers, printers, ArtNet devices, ...) which are connected in a network.
The devices are connected either with a network cable or via a WLAN radio link.
If a device wants to send a message to another device, the individual devices must be identifiable or addressable. This can be compared to sending a letter. If you want to send a letter to someone, you have to know their address.
Normally, when you send a letter, you give the name, street/house number and the city. In network technology there is almost analog addressing:

Letter Network
City Connection via cable or WLAN - Network card
Street/house number The IP address in combination with the subnet mask
Name Port number, this plays no further role in the explanation, since it is set by the respective software.
 

The network cards/adapters (cities)

Several network types/adapters can be installed in one computer. In a laptop there is usually a LAN card (cable connection) and a WLAN card (wireless connection). However, several LAN cards can also be installed or several WLAN adapters can be connected.
Each of these network cards stands for itself. This means that each network card can establish a connection to another city.

For computers, printers, etc. to be able to communicate across these city boundaries, bridges are needed between the cities (e.g. routers that bridge a WLAN radio link with a LAN cable link).

A separate IP4 address must be assigned to each of these network adapters.

The IP4 address (street and house number)

The IP4 address consists of 4 numbers separated by a dot (e.g.: 192.16.0.1). The numbers may be in the range 0-255.
Each IP4 address has a subnet mask, which in turn consists of 4 numbers separated by a dot (e.g.: 255.255.255.0). The numbers are either 255 or 0 (theoretically they could be between 0 and 255, but this is rare and gets too complicated).
Behind the IP4 address the street and the house number are hidden, street and house number are separated by the SubNet mask. Wherever there is a 255 in the SubNet mask, the corresponding part of the IP4 address is used as the street. Where there is a 0 in the Subnet mask, the corresponding part of the IP4 address is used as the house number.

IP4
192.168.0.1
SubNet Mask
255.255.255.0		 Street: 192.168.0 house number: 1
IP4
2.0.0.10
SubNet Mask
255.0.0.0.		 Street: 2 house number 0.0.10
IP4
235.200.1.55
SubNet Mask
255.255.0.0		 Street: 255.200 house number: 1.55

Unlike letter correspondence, devices can only communicate in a network if they live in the same street. So that two devices can exchange data, the IP4 address of the devices must be the same at all places where the SubNet mask contains a 255. The SubNet mask must be the same for all devices.

Device 1 Device 2 Data exchange
192.168.0.1 (255.255.255.0) 192.168.0.2 (255.255.255.0) Data exchange works
192.168.2.1 (255.255.255.0) 192.168.0.2 (255.255.255.0) Data exchange does NOT work
Because the third digit of the IP4 addresses does not match.
192.168.2.1 (255.255.0.0) 192.168.0.2 (255.255.0.0) Data exchange works,
because here only the first two places are interpreted as streets

So that the devices within a street can now differ, the house number must be different for each device.

Device  1 Device  2
192.168.0.1 (255.255.255.0) 192.168.0.2 (255.255.255.0) Hausnummer von Gerät 1: 1
Hausnummer von Gerät 2: 2
Die Geräte haben eine unterschiedliche Hausnummer und sind somit eindeutig adressierbar.
192.168.0.1 (255.255.255.0) 192.168.0.1 (255.255.255.0) Hausnummer von Gerät 1: 1
Hausnummer von Gerät 2: 1
Die Geräte besitzen dieselbe Hausnummer, dies ergibt einen Netzwerkkonflikt.

Note: There are certain house numbers that should not be assigned to a device because they have a specific meaning in network traffic:
All house number numbers are 255: If a message is sent to such a house number, this message reaches all devices on the same street (serial letter. Broadcast)
E.g. 192.168.0.255 (255.255.255.0) is sent to all devices in the street  (192.168.0.x)  -  2.255.255.255 (255.0.0.0.) is sent to all devices in street 2.x.y.z.
All house number numbers are 0: This corresponds to a wildcard, a random house number is used, excample: 192.168.0.0 (255.255.255.0), for house number 0, any house number between 1 and 254 is automatically set.

Connection over several streets

It is of course possible that two devices are connected via LAN cable, but they have been assigned IP4 addresses with different streets.

Device 1: Computer Device 2 Printer or ArtNet Device or ..
IP4 192.0.0.100 SubNet Mask 255.255.255.0 IP4 2.0.0.99 SubNet Mask 255.0.0.0

These devices cannot talk because they live in different streets, e.g. the IP4 address of device 1 would have to be changed. But if device 1 should still be able to communicate with devices on street 19.16.0.x, the IP4 address would have to be changed constantly.
But there is the possibility to add another IP4 address and subnet mask to the LAN adapter of device 1!
 
Device 1: Computer Device 2 Printer or ArtNet Device or ..
IP4 192.0.0.100 SubNet Mask 255.255.255.0 IP4 2.0.0.99 SubNet Mask 255.0.0.0
IP4 2.0.0.100 SubNet Mask 255.0.0.0 (additional IP address)

Now device 1 can communicate with device 2 and with all other devices that live in 192.168.0 x or 2.x.y.z streets.

The automatic setting of the IP address: DHCP

To avoid users being constantly burdened with IP settings, the DCHP protocol (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) has been introduced.
Using DHCP, IP addresses can be assigned automatically.
Prerequisites for this are:
a) all devices understand the DHCP protocol
b) There is exactly one device (DHCP server) in the network that can assign IP addresses to the other devices. This is usually the router or WLAN access point in the network.

In the letter example, the DHCP server could be a city planner that uses a special language to assign a street/house number to all residents.
If this city planner is missing or if there are several city planners, problems are inevitable, because either no street/house number is assigned or it is not clear who is allowed to make the assignment.

With ArtNet or sACN the use of DHCP is not recommended. If ArtNet or sACN is used in different network environments, it is not always guaranteed that there is a DHCP server in the network.
If ArtNet or sACN is used, it is safer to use static IP addresses, even if the IP addresses may have to be adapted in a new network environment.
If a Windows computer is used and you want to assign several IP addresses per network adapter, they must be static!

Setting the IP4 addresses under Windows 10

Step 1: Right-click on the network icon in the taskbar and select 'Open Network and Internet Settings'.


A 'Network Status' window opens

Step 2: Click on the network (WLAN or Ethernet) you want to change and then click 'Change adapter options

A window 'Network Connections' opens

Step 3: Right click on the network adapter you want to change and select 'Properties'.

A 'Ethernet Properties' window opens

Step 4: Left-click on 'Internet Protocol 4 (TCP/Ip v4)' and select Properties.

The IP4 settings window opens

Step 5: Enter a static IP address

To add another IP4 address / SubNet mask click on 'Advanced'

Optional Step 6: Add another IP4 address / subnet mask


Step 7: Close all windows with OK to accept the changes.

Tip: At step 4 click on 'Configure' , a window opens, there click on 'Power management', then uncheck 'Computer can turn off the device to save power'. This prevents the network adapter from disconnecting the LAN connection when nothing is happening on the network or the computer goes into standby mode.

Setting the IP4 addresses under MAC OS

Step 1: Open the system settings and select 'Network'


Step 2: Select the network to be changed and enter the IP4 address / subnet mask.

Confirm this with 'Apply'.

Optional Step 3: To add another IP4 address to a network adapter click on the '+' symbol in the lower left corner
In the new window, select the network adapter (e.g. Ethernet or WLAN) to which a new IP4 address is to be added and assign a name (e.g. Ethernet 2).



Now select the new entry and enter the desired IP4 address and SubNet mask.



Step 4: Confirm your entries with 'Apply'