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 How do I configure a Hipponet network? 
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Post How do I configure a Hipponet network?
Actually it's very easy because most of the configuration of the network is automatic.

The most important thing to ensure is that all the Hipponet devices on the network have their network ports set to the same IP address range. For example if one machine is configured with an IP of 192.168.0.5 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 then all the other devices need to have an address that starts with 192.168.0.X where x can be any number from 0 to 255.

As long as the ip range is correct then all the Hipponet devices should find each other and configure themselves automatically.
Important info:
1. Zookeeper will not work properly on Vista. Use XP only ( new version will be updated to work with Windows7 at summer 2010)

2. The language pack on the laptop must be set to English

3. Use a Gigabyte network, remember that cat5/ cat6 cabels can not be to long with Hipponet, with fiber you will get the best performance
that you need to run a remote ZooKeeper for long distances, or problems can show up.

4. On dmx the total of output engines are 8 . dmx can only control 8 layers in any output mode.
This means you can only run 4 layers per output if you want to control 2 outputs over dmx.

5. The workgroup settings are important, check that you have ALL units are on the same workgroup.Also the ZooKeeper.

PS.Some times the ports are named wrong, this will make the Artnet loosing the IP numbers to the HippoNet instead.
How to fix this:

Because of one or the other reason, it seems like the network ports in the small HippoCritter and some HD/ Stage units can be named the wrong way.
So, your network port named HippoNet should be data and your Data port should be HippoNet.
If the ports are the wrong way, this will cause you lost network connection if running a multisetup with several systems running both HippoNet and ArtNet.

____________________extra NETWORK info_______________:

IP Address: An IP Address is a numerical identifier which is unique to a network device within a network subnet. I.e. Every device on the same network subnet needs to have a unique IP Address to communicate with other devices on that subnet.

Subnet: A Subnet is a distinct logical subsection of a computer network. Devices on the same subnet can communicate with each other without additional devices such as routers or bridges. So for two or more computers to communicate with each other they need to be on the same Subnet.

IPConfig: ipconfig in Microsoft Windows is a command application that can display all current TCP/IP network configurations. To run it, click Start, Run..., and then type ‘cmd’ and then click OK.

At the command prompt, type: ‘ipconfig /all’ and press enter. You will be presented with a list similar to the one below.

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix: WAG54GS
Description: Intel(R) PRO Connection
Physical Address: 00-0E-35-3E-80-EC
Dhcp Enabled: Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled: Yes
IP Address: 192.168.1.103
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server: 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers: 62.24.139.140 : 62.24.139.139
Lease Obtained: 16 May 2010 17:08:37
Lease Expires: 17 May 2010 17:08:37

There is also other useful information provided by ipconfig.exe for troubleshooting;

Physical Address is commonly known as the MAC address. This address is normally hardcoded to the network card and is unique to that card.
DHCP Enabled, when set to ‘Yes’ the card is configured to request an IP Address from a DHCP server on the network. A DHCP server would provide a unique IP address for that network connection avoiding any conflicts with other devices on the network. When set to ‘No’ an IP Address needs to be entered manually. Before this is done, you need to make sure that the IP address is not being used by any other devices on that network.
Autoconfiguration Enabled, if there is not a DHCP server available when set to ‘Yes’, Autoconfiguration will configure the network connection with an IP Address of 169.254.x.y (where x.y are numbers 0-255) and a subnet mask of, 255.255.0.0.

So, if you run ipconfig and the IP Address is something like 169.254.1.100 and the subnet mask is 255.255.0.0 but Dhcp Enabled is set to ‘Yes’ then windows has automatically assigned that IP address to itself as no DHCP server is available. Be aware that this setting can change if a DHCP server becomes available while the system is running or the system is rebooted.

Ping: Ping is a command application which can be used to check if a specific network device can be reached using its IP Address and also how reliable that connection is. Nearly all devices will respond to a ping request, but on some devices it can be disabled. However it’s still a useful tool to check connectivity between two devices.

To use Ping, at the command prompt type ‘ping’ and then the IP Address of the system you are trying to connect with (e.g. 192.168.1.10) and press enter.
Ping will attempt to send 4 packets of data to the specified IP address,

If all four requests are received it means that the two devices can communicate, and the devices are configured correctly.
If some packets are received, but some are lost, there could be a problem with network traffic (the network is overloaded) or the network hardware is failing (e.g. faulty or loose cable).
If all the packets are lost the other device is unreachable because it is not configured properly or there is a hardware fault

The devices connected to two Network switches, the Zookeeper and ScreenThief systems are configured with a subnet mask and IP address range to communicate the Hippotizer.

The Lighting desk and lighting fixtures are able to communicate with the ArtNet data network connection on the Hippotizer.

Note: In theory it is possible for both logical networks to be connected on the same hardware as long as the networks exist on different subnets. However, the amount of traffic from one can affect the speed and reliability of the other so this is generally not recommended.

If configured correctly, the Hippotizer, Zookeeper system and Screen thief system will be able to ping each other. If they are unable to, ScreenThief will not be able to send data to the Hippotizer, and the Zookeeper system will not be able to control the Hippotizer.

Double check the IP address settings using ipconfig, if they appear to be correct make sure the Zookeeper or ScreenThief systems have firewall software configured correctly. If this still fails to rectify the problem, Network hardware should be checked for problems.

_________________
Peppe Tannemyr
SSR Beacon DigiGobos®
Sweden retailer of Hippo systems


Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:42 pm
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Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:36 am
Posts: 10
Post Re: How do I configure a Hipponet network?
Hello

We have also during the last days realized when you have several hippos in one network it is very important that they all are in the same workgroup. Name it greenhippo or hipponet or whatever, as long as they are all in the same workgroup.

Best regards

Morgan


Sat Mar 13, 2010 1:47 pm
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