If you have a relatively small network that features only Dante devices (no other network traffic) the default settings on your switch will likely be okay, and no additional setup is needed.
If you're running a large network that's likely to be using more than 50% of the bandwidth available across some links and/or your network includes a mixture of Dante and non-Dante traffic, we advise configuring your switch as per the instructions below.
How To Set Up Your Switch
The simplest way to configure a switch is to access its properties from your web browser. Start your web browser, and enter the IP address of the switch. Switches come set to a default IP address, and instructions for accessing the associated web control panel should be indicated in the user guide for the switch.
Setting up QoS/DSCP
Example Switch Setup: Cisco SG200 Series
Quality of Service (QoS) allows you to prioritise some types of network traffic over other types. Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) is a Quality of Service method that can be employed in Dante networks.
When setting up a Dante system, you want to prioritise types of network traffic that are important for Dante audio transmission, as per the table below:
|
DSCP Value |
Priority |
Usage |
|
CS7 |
High |
Time-critical PTP events |
|
EF |
Medium |
Audio, PTP |
|
CS1 |
Low |
(reserved) |
|
BestEffort |
None |
Other traffic |
The method for configuring QoS settings differs between switches, please check the user guide for the switch you're using.
For the Cisco SG200 series, click Quality of Service in the left sidebar:
On the following screen, ensure that QoS is enabled and that Trust Mode is set to DSCP:
Next, click on DSCP to Queue. Note that this switch uses a scale of 1-4 where 4 is the highest priority and 1 is the lowest. Set the priorities properly by clicking on the drop-down menu and selecting the corresponding numbers:
|
DSCP Value |
Priority |
Usage |
|
CS7 |
High |
Time-critical PTP events |
|
EF |
Medium |
Audio, PTP |
|
CS1 |
Low |
(reserved) |
|
BestEffort |
None |
Other traffic |
Next, click apply.
For the Cisco switch in question there is one final step– click save at the top right of the screen and on the following page, ensure that Running Configuration and Startup Configuration are selected. After clicking OK, reboot the switch.
If you turn off the power without saving the switch settings, all the settings you changed will return to their previous values. Since we changed the IP address, let’s save the switch settings.
Administration > Management Interface > IPv4 Interface
When you change the settings, the word “Save” will blink at the top of the screen. Click “Save” to open the following page. Make sure the Source File Name is set to “Running configuration” and the Destination File Name is set to “Startup configuration”, and click “Apply”.