Overview

VLAN Switching is a powerful implementation that sets Just Add Power apart from other manufacturers of Video-over-IP products. It uses port-based VLANs to dynamically manage traffic flow. By isolating each video stream in its own VLAN, the switch avoids heavy IGMP processing and simply forwards packets. Advanced Matrix Programmer programs a switch for VLAN Switching.

In some installations—such as layering onto an existing campus data network—creating a parallel/dedicated network to leverage VLAN Switching may be impractical. In these cases, it is often better to place all Just Add Power devices in a single dedicated VLAN so they do not interfere with the rest of the network. With all devices in one VLAN, switching sources is done by changing a Decoder’s Multicast IP (its Channel) rather than manipulating switch VLAN configuration.

Multicast Switching describes this single-VLAN design. Each Encoder is assigned a unique Multicast IP (the Channel), and each Decoder is set to the Channel of the Encoder it should display. Channels are assigned via Telnet. Switching will not be as instant or seamless as with VLAN Switching, but is usually satisfactory given project constraints.

Limitations

• Relies on switch CPU resources
• Manual switch configuration is required
• Manual configuration of each Just Add Power device is required

Benefits

• Supports up to 10,000 sources
• No switch CLI access required
• Works on almost any managed network
• Simple TCP/Telnet command syntax for custom drivers

Requirements

• Omega, Ultra or MaxColor Series devices
• Layer-3 Managed Network
  • One dedicated VLAN for all Just Add Power AVoIP devices
    • No other network appliances in the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN
    • Not the same as an existing “Multicast VLAN”
  • Unique subnet for the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN
    • No other network appliances in the Just Add Power AVoIP Subnet
    • The VLAN interface IP is the default gateway for all Just Add Power AVoIP devices
  • Jumbo Frames (MTU > 9000)
• Dedicated bandwidth: 950 Mbps per MaxColor Series Encoder (500 Mbps per Omega/Ultra Series Encoder)
• IGMPv2 support
  • IGMP Snooping & IGMP Querier protocols required.
• justOS B2.1.0 firmware or later

Generic Switch Setup Instructions

Configure the network switch to meet the following criteria. Actual steps vary by vendor/model and should be implemented by the site’s network administrator.

• Create a dedicated, unused VLAN for all Just Add Power devices (Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN).
• Subnet the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN; use the VLAN interface IP as the default gateway on all Just Add Power AVoIP devices.
• Assign all Just Add Power AVoIP device ports to the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN.
• Allow traffic in the multicast range 239.92.0.0 – 239.99.99.99.
• Enable IGMP Snooping on the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN.
• Enable IGMP Immediate-Leave (Fast-Leave) on the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN.
• Enable IGMP Querier on the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN.
  • For systems with multiple switches, assign ONE switch as the Querier(Mrouter).
• Enable Inter-VLAN Routing to/from the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN.
  • If a firewall is present, allow access to TCP:80 and TCP:23 from the data VLAN.
• Enable Jumbo Frames on all Just Add Power AVoIP ports and on any trunks between switches.
• Disable Multicast Flooding / enable Multicast Filtering.
• Add a static route on the LAN router to reach the Just Add Power AVoIP subnet:
  • Destination Network: [Just Add Power AVoIP Network IP]
  • Netmask: [Just Add Power AVoIP Subnet Mask]
  • Gateway: [LAN IP of the Inter-VLAN router or L3 switch]
    • The gateway should be in the data network’s subnet so control devices can reach Just Add Power AVoIP units via inter-VLAN routing.

Just Add Power Setup Instructions

Option 1 — AMP (Recommended)

Configure devices using AMP as an Alternate Configuration. Walkthrough video.

Option 2 — Manual

1. Verify that all devices run Firmware B2.1.0 or later.
2. Assign a static IP address to each Encoder and Decoder.
   • See Manual IP Addressing Instructions.
   • Use the same subnet for all devices.
   • Set the default gateway on each device to the Just Add Power AVoIP VLAN interface IP.
3. Assign a unique Channel number to each Encoder via Telnet:
   $ChannelNumber = (0–9999)

   channel $ChannelNumber\r

4. Assign a default Channel number to each Decoder via Telnet (should match an active Encoder):
   $ChannelNumber = (0–9999)

   channel $ChannelNumber\r

Control

1. Telnet to port 23 of the target Decoder’s IP address.
2. Send the command below, where $ChannelNumber is the Encoder’s Channel (0–9999):

channel $ChannelNumber\r