Dante Setup Notes
Capital City Christian Church
Updated: 03.23.2021 18:41:26

Ben, you need to walk through this and detangle some to the sections and match them up with actual task performance.

General Points

Dante replaces all of those connections with a computer network, effortlessly sending video or hundreds of channels of audio over slender Ethernet cables with perfect digital fidelity. All connections are now managed with software, making routes fast, readable and reliable. Because all devices share the same network, signals can be sent between any devices no matter where they are located on a site, with no change to the wiring at all. Dante systems are easily expanded, exactly as one might add a printer to a network. Just connect additional devices to any available network jack and start using it. (https://www.audinate.com/meet-dante/what-is-dante)

CCCC Uses Dante pervasivly in the Tech Booth and we expect it to expand into other areas also.

The problem is that the network switches that carry Dante traffic must be managed (some currently are not) and must be specifically configured for Dante. Dante uses IGMP, PTP, and QoS (and other things) to create the environment necessary for it to function.

Dante began being implemented before we were aware of the switch requirements, and one of the problems was that the Dante enabled devices were spewing multicast packets to the point they were using upto 97% of the LAN bandwidth.

After a bunch of research I have collected the steps necessary for the Cisco SG300 switch, and will implemented them shortly. These same steps may be necessary for the Engenius switch in the tech booth, and anywhere else Dante devices will be used.

Be sure to refer to the Dante Reference Material page for protocol and other details.



Steps to configure the Cisco SG300 Switch

One problem with configuring for Dante is that there are several examples on the Internet, but they are not all exactly alike, and at times are contradictory. Some change a particular setting and others do not, or the suggested settings are different. By the end of this page, this should be a clear checklist for setting up Dante in our environment.

This is why it turned out that taking the entire Dante Certification Course was so helpful. It filled in many gaps and provided a clear understanding of how Dante works.



Questions to be answered


Switches that do NOT work with Dante

We strongly recommend using Gigabit Ethernet Managed Switches. For example: Cisco SG250/350 series

Netgear

All ProSafe unmanaged switches, including but not limited to:



Checklist

Initially, I collected several recent articles on how to configure a switch (specifically a Cisco SG-300) for a Dante network. I went through these articles and created a checklist of settings that were necessary or recommended. But implementing those settings on that one switch did not 'stabilize' Dante's operation.

So on Steve's recommendation I took the Dante Certification course (3 levels). (https://www.audinate.com/learning/training-certification/dante-certification-program). This proved invaluable in explaining how Dante works and many details of the switch configuration, usually in more depth than any of the articles I read.

This following is an aggregate of several pages.

Sections displayed in green, as is this section, are instructional while all other sections are informational.

Step Item Action
1 Configuration

Critical! Log into the switch and make a backup of the current configuration. Save the configuration to external media and eventually to the switch configuration backup directory. Name this configuration backup file to include the IP and datetime of the backup.
2 Firmware

Critical! Log into the switch and update its firmware if there is an update available. Make sure you have a copy of the firmware currently running so that you can reinstall it if necessary.

Then reboot (cold, hard, IML...) the switch so that the firmware takes effect. Check the switch for proper operation. If the new firmware creates any problems decide to either;

  • Continue and ignore the new problems
  • Fix the new problems
  • Reinstall the previous firmware and skip the firmware update
  • something else...
3 WiFi Avoid having WiFi on a Dante Network if at all possible. To connect a wireless router to your Dante network, you will need to purchase a managed switch and dive into its configuration settings. Select the port to which you've connected your wireless router and set Multicast Filtering to 'On.'
4 Mixing 100 MB and 1 GB devices on a Dante network Because we have a mixture of 1 GB and 100 MB devices, we need multicasting enabled. Which then requires managed switches.
5 Cabling For all Dante devices be sure that you are using only CAT5e, CAT6, or a higher cabling standard
6 Master Clock - Timing

You do not need to set the master clock. It is better to let the Dante election process select the best device for that job. If you decided to make a specific device the clock master, do so in the Dante Controller.

However, you do need to configure the System time for the switch

Time settings -> System Time enable the Main Clock Source (SNTP Servers) and set also the correct time zone. time-b.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov - 10.

Enable afterwards the SNTP Client Unicast in Administration -> Time settings -> SNTP Unicast and add at lest two time sources

IPv4 Source Interface = VLAN1
IPv6 Source Interface = Auto

If the config is correct the status is up and the Last Response is accurate (still on the same screen)

EDT
EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
UTC - 4
time.google.com
time-a-g.nist.gov
7 EEE (IEEE 802.3az) Disable EEE on all switches. It can interfere with timing.
8 IGMP

Make sure the Display Mode of the Cisco Administration page is set to Advanced

Multicast / Properties: Enable 'Bridge Multicast Filtering Status'. The forwarding method should be IP Group Address.

For 'Forwarding method for IPv6' use 'IP Group Address' For 'Forwarding method for IPv4' use 'IP Group Address'

Browse to Multicast > IP Multicast Group Address and click on Add.

Enter VLAN ID 1 (assuming you have 1 VLAN) and enter 224.0.0.230 as IP Multicast Group Address.

Then Click on Apply.

Now select the 224.0.0.230 Group and click on Details.

Set the ports connected to Dante devices to Static and click on Apply. Note that Interfaces GE1, GE2... are ports 1, 2... All other ports are set to 'None'.

Repeat the same operation for addresses 224.0.0.231, 224.0.0.232 and 224.0.0.233 along with 224.0.1.129 (PTP) and 224.0.0.251 (MDNS)

Go to the Multicast/IGMP Snooping screen

Set the following:
IGMP Snooping Status = Enabled
IGMP Snooping Operational Status = Enabled
Router IGMP Version = v3
MRouter Ports Auto Learn = Enabled
Query Robustness = 2
Query Interval (sec) = 30

Select this VLAN and click Edit button. There make these settings:

VLAN ID = 1
IGMP Snooping Status = Enabled
MRouter Ports Auto Learn = Enabled
Query Robustness = 2
Query Interval = 30
Query Max Response Interval = 10
Last Member Query Counter = Use Default
Last Member Query Interval = 1000
Immeadiate Leave = Not Enabled
IGMP Querier Status = Enabled
Administrative Querier Source IP Address = Auto
IGMP Querier Version = IGMPV3

Note - these are from former notes...
IGMP Querier Status = Enabled
MRouter Ports Auto Learn = Enabled
Query Robustness = 2
Query Interval = 30
Query Max Response Interval = 10
Last Member Query Counter = Use Default
Last Member Query Interval = 1000
Immediate leave = Disabled
Admin Querier Source IP = Auto
IGMP Querier Version = IGMP Ver. 3
select 'IP Group Address' = 'Forwarding' both IPv4 and IPv6

CRITICAL!!!

Important: If there are multiple switches in the setup only activate the IGMP Querier on one switch and configure the Multicast Router Port accordingly.

IGMP querier does only work if the switch has a IP address in the same network segment it should query (Querier Source IP Address). Take care if you have VLANS on different network segments, the switch must have a matching IP to send the query’s. Maybe Layer 3 must be activated to achieve this…More info on multi- switch IGMP config:

https://confluence.avt.tech/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=51381181. From this step on our switch auto-detects multicast ‘s and forward them to the ports needed. This auto-detect needs to be tuned a little for Dante.

9 Multicast -> IP Multicast Group Address -> (part of panel) IP Multicast Group Address Table:

You define a multicast group via an IP address. When the switch receives a multicast packet it maps the multicast packet to the IP address of the multicast group and all members of the group receive the multicast packet.

In order for IP multicast to work, bridge multicast must be enabled.

Multicast addresses allow a source device to send a packet to a group of devices. Devices that belong to a multicast group are assigned a multicast group IP address. The range of IPv4 multicast addresses is 224.0. 0.0 to 239.255.

In the IP Multicast Group Address field, enter a valid multicast IP address. For version 4 IP addresses, the range is from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255.

Make sure the two addresses 224.0.1.129 (PTP) and 224.0.0.251 (MDNS) are in this list and assigned to the ports needed (Ports that are included in the Dante VLAN) as static

Filter : Interface Type equals to 'Port'
Set all interfaces to 'Static'

Multicast / Multicast Router Port
Set all to 'Static'

FYI - For each interface, choose how the interface is associated with the IP multicast group. For each interface, click one of the following:

Static - Adds the interface to the IP multicast group as a static member.
Forbidden - Indicates that this interface is not allowed to join the IP multicast group.
None - Indicates that this interface currently does not belong to the IP multicast group.

Host Extensions for IP Multicasting [RFC1112] specifies the extensions required of a host implementation of the Internet Protocol (IP) to support multicasting. The multicast addresses are in the range 224.0. 0.0 through 239.255.255.255

Note!!!
For switch to switch interfaces, there is detailed info in https://technet.genesis-technologies.ch/setup-a-cisco-sg300-500-switch-for-dante/ about 3/4 the way down (item f.)

VLAN Management / Interface Settings screen

Interface VLAN Mode = General
Frame Type = Admit All
Ingress Filtering = Enabled

all Dante devices must be connected to a port that is set to access, all ports that are connected to other switches must be Trunk or General

http://www.tcpipguide.com/free/t_IPMulticastAddressing.htm

IP Multicast Address Ranges and Uses

Range Start Address

Range End Address

Description

224.0.0.0

224.0.0.255

Reserved for special “well-known” multicast addresses.

224.0.1.0

238.255.255.255

Globally-scoped (Internet-wide) multicast addresses.

239.0.0.0

239.255.255.255

Administratively-scoped (local) multicast addresses.

Local subnetwork

Addresses in the range of 224.0.0.0 to 224.0.0.255 are individually assigned by IANA and designated for multicasting on the local subnetwork only. For example, the Routing Information Protocol (RIPv2) uses 224.0.0.9, Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) uses 224.0.0.5 and 224.0.0.6, and Multicast DNS uses 224.0.0.251. Routers must not forward these messages outside the subnet from which they originate.

For each VLAN

First we have to enable the Bridge Multicast Filtering Status in Multicast -> Properties for the VLAN we use for Dante. As Forwarding Method select IP Group Address

Enable 'Bridge Multicast Filtering Status'

For 'Forwarding method for IPv6' use 'MAC Group Address'

For 'Forwarding method for IPv4' use 'MAC Group Address'

Configure IP Multicast Group Addresses

Click Add a Multicast Group Address

Select the VLAN

Select 'Version 4' to use version 4 multicast IP address.

For 'IP Multicast Group Address' enter the valid multicast IP address. For IPv4, the range is 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255. I suggest 224.32.10.0

If the 'Source Specific' is enabled, enter the IPv4 source IP address in the 'Source IP Address' field. (192.168.10.0 in the example)

Filter IP multicast groups,
set the VLAN ID box to 10 (the default VLAN)
Set IP version to IPv4
Set 'IP Multicast Group Address' = 224.32.10.0
Set 'Source IP Address' = 192.168.10.0

Apply these settings.

For each interface, choose how the interface is associated with the IP multicast group. For each interface, click one of the following:

  • Static - Adds the interface to the IP multicast group as a static member.
  • Forbidden - Indicates that this interface is not allowed to join the IP multicast group.
  • None - Indicates that this interface currently does not belong to the IP multicast group.
10 Multicast Filtering Enable the Bridge Multicast Filtering Status. The forwarding method should be IP Group Address.
11 PTP

The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is a protocol used to synchronize clocks throughout a computer network. On a local area network, it achieves clock accuracy in the sub-microsecond range, making it suitable for measurement and control systems. (Ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_Time_Protocol)

The ipV4 multicast address (IEEE1588-2002) is 224.0.1.129

PTP source hosts

time-a-wwv.nist.gov has address 132.163.97.1
time-a-b.nist.gov has address 132.163.96.1
ntp1.glb.nist.gov has adress 132.163.96.6
Ref https://gist.github.com/mutin-sa/eea1c396b1e610a2da1e5550d94b0453

12 QoS and DSCP

The switch must support
1. Quality of Service (QoS) with four queues
2. Diffserv (DSCP) QoS, with strict priority

Quality of Service / QoS Advanced Mode / Global Settings screen

Set the
Trust mode = 'DSCP'
Default Mode Status = Trusted
Override Ingress DSCP = Not Enable

Quality of Service -> General -> QoS Properties screen

Set QoS to 'Advanced' mode

Set the 'DSCP to Queue' to

  • 56 (CS7) -> 4
  • 46 (EF) - 3
  • 8 (CSI) - 2
  • All others -> 1

QoS - set the Trust mode to DSCP and the Default Mode Status to Trusted
13 Bonjour

Several sources mention that the Bonjour protocol needs to be enabled.

Bonjour is Apple's implementation of zero-configuration networking (zeroconf), a group of technologies that includes service discovery, address assignment, and hostname resolution. Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonjour_(software))
14 mDNS (Multicast DNS)

In computer networking, the multicast DNS (mDNS) protocol resolves hostnames to IP addresses within small networks that do not include a local name server. It is a zero-configuration service, using essentially the same programming interfaces, packet formats and operating semantics as the unicast Domain Name System (DNS). Although Stuart Cheshire designed mDNS as a stand-alone protocol, it can work in concert with standard DNS servers.[1]

The mDNS protocol is published as RFC 6762, uses IP multicast User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets, and is implemented by the Apple Bonjour and open source Avahi software packages, included in most Linux distributions. mDNS has also been implemented in Windows 10, initially limited to discovering networked printers[2], later becoming capable of resolving hostnames as well.

mDNS can work in conjunction with DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD), a companion zero-configuration networking technique specified separately in RFC 6763.[3]

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicast_DNS)
15 Save new configuration Save the configuration to RAM and then to an external file. Secure the file onto another host and eventually the configuration backup directory. Name this configuration backup file to include the IP and datetime of the backup.
16 Reboot the switch Reboot (cold, hard, IML...) the switch and check that the setting you have assigned have been retained.


Reference Pages

Below I have included links to several informative pages (local).