Video Transcript
Q-SYS Networking and Topologies (Part 2)
4m 6s
00:08
One common meeting room application is where each Core 110f-based room system
00:13
is isolated on an in-room network,
00:16
while LAN B is connected to the corporate infrastructure for softphone interface.
00:21
In the default configuration, these Cores would try to elect a PTPv2 grandmaster on the corporate network.
00:28
This network typically doesn’t support PTP services very well,
00:32
which can cause seemingly unexplainable problems on the audio network in each room.
00:37
Provided these Cores don’t need to share Q-LAN audio between them in the form of Core to Core streams,
00:43
the goal would then be to make each Core the PTP grandmaster of their respective networks.
00:49
There are two ways to make this so.
00:51
The first of these options is to disable PTPv2 support on LAN B.
00:56
If running Q-SYS versions 5.2-7.0, this can be done in the design properties menu under FILE in the Q-SYS design.
01:05
You simply set the parameter to ‘yes’ in the design and choose ‘save to Core and run’.
01:09
Another approach would be to put each Core on its own clock domain
01:14
by changing the PTPv2 domain parameter here.
01:17
However, this still carries some risk.
01:20
A new room could be brought online and placed on the same domain, creating the same problem all over again.
01:25
If you did have a reason to synchronize all the Cores on the common network,
01:29
a specific Core can be designated the grandmaster manually by changing the PTP priority of that Core.
01:36
A lower number makes it higher priority in the PTP election process.
01:41
In a case like this, it’s often useful to make the most mission critical
01:46
or the most central system on the network the higher priority PTP master.
01:50
Let’s say you have a large system that runs the seating area of a stadium and some other systems
01:56
in the building that provide audio to meeting rooms and other areas.
01:59
The stadium seating area is the most important system,
02:02
so it makes sense to manage any risk by making it the clock master.
02:07
In Q-SYS Designer Software v7.1 and higher,
02:10
PTPv2 and other services can be enabled and disabled on a much more granular level.
02:16
In v7.1 and 7.2, the network services configuration is available from Q-SYS Configurator.
02:22
In version 8.0 and above, this is found in the Network services tab in Q-SYS Core manager.
02:29
The network protocols can be filtered by clicking on a selection at the top.
02:34
If PTPv2 is selected, we see the view ‘Q-SYS Audio Enabled Peripherals’.
02:39
To disable PTPv2 on lan b, choose edit at the top right and de-select lan b. Save that and you’re finished.
02:48
Note that systems using Q-SYS Designer Software v8.1 and higher will not participate in a PTPv2 domain
02:56
if there are no Q-SYS peripherals in the design file.
02:59
There’s no need to disable PTPv2 explicitly in this case.
03:04
The other network services can be disabled on given ports assuming they aren’t needed for system features.
03:10
Corporate clients will often conduct security penetration testing to look for system vulnerabilities.
03:16
The ability to close these network ports and services on the NICs
03:20
connected to the corporate network makes the system more secure.
03:23
The Q-SYS hover monitor can be disabled for clients
03:27
who are concerned about the feature being used to ‘eavesdrop’ on the system.
03:31
Many governmental institutions, law firms and financial clients request this.
03:36
SNMP versions 2C and 3 can be disabled, enabled and configured
03:41
to allow Q-SYS to report to a building management system, etc.
03:45
The Q-SYS help file is a great resource for the details of how to configure network services and SNMP.
03:52
We won’t bore you with all those now.
03:54
Now that we’ve explored a few of the more straightforward topologies and configurations,
03:58
we’ll move on to more complex configurations such as Q-SYS network and Core redundancy.
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Q-SYS Networking and Topologies (Part 2)
4m 6s