System and Network Configuration

System Menu Overview

The System Menu is home to the System status screen. It also contains the menus and controls for configuring the Control and AES67 Ethernet ports, entering SNMP server information, and setting up Sync and QoS when using a PTP clock.

System Screen

The main system screen contains a wealth of technical status information about the device hardware and software (1A). Some of it relates to the overall health of the unit (such as Power Supply status and unit uptime) but most information will only be required during the course of troubleshooting an issue with our support team or performing software updates.

The Unit Name and Location (1B) are entered on this screen. These are “friendly” fields to be used in any way that makes sense for your particular operation. Click inside each field to make it editable, enter the information, then click on the green checkmark to save.

The LA-5291 has two software banks (1H). Both can be populated with different software versions, but only one version can be active at any given time. The active bank is indicated in red. Instructions for uploading and selecting different software versions is provided along with the software when you either download it from the customer portal or website or it is provided by our customer support team.

Clicking on the Master Unit Bypass button (1C) engages a hard relay bypass that removes all internal circuits and processes from the signal path and connects each SDI and AES input directly to its corresponding output. This button will turn red when the LA-5291 is in bypass mode. Note that this same hard relay bypass automatically engages when the unit is powered down.

Clicking on the Locate Unit button (1D) will cause the front panel of this particular LA-5291 to change color, making it easy to identify it amongst the dozens of them we hope will populate your racks. A second click will return the display to normal. Note that enabling Locate Mode will not affect the audio.

Figure 1 = System screen

Figure 1 - System screen

Clicking on the Reboot Unit button (1E) – wait for it – reboots the LA-5291 and engages the hard relay bypass for the duration of the reboot process.

Important! During the reboot process – which typically takes less the one minute – no transcoding will take place. Depending upon your I/O configuration, a complete loss of audio may occur

Clicking on the Reset Unit to Factory Defaults button (1G) resets all parameters to the factory default state with the exception of IP settings, which will be retained so that you can remotely connect to the LA-5291 even after performing a reset.

If you wish to reset IP settings as well, enable the Include IP Settings in Reset button (1F) prior to the reset.

Important! Performing a factory reset will erase all I/O routing as well as any other custom settings you may have saved. This information cannot be reclaimed once you reset the LA-5291, even by contacting customer support or feeling genuine remorse for your decision. We strongly recommend backing up your configuration to a computer before performing a factory reset to avoid re-setter’s remorse. You have been warned!

IP Configuration

Clicking on the IP Menu (2A) reveals the controls for DHCP settings plus fields for entering static IP addresses, subnets, and gateways for both the Control and AES67 Ethernet ports as well as network activity and status. It also contains the control and server address information required for SNMP.

Important! The Control and AES67 Ethernet connections both require 1000BASE-T (Gigabit) switch ports in order to work properly.

If both the Control and AES67 ports will be used, they must be in different subnets. In-band control is available using the AES67 port.

If only one port will be used, set the unused port to “Static IP” with an IP Address of 0.0.0.0, a Subnet Mask of 0.0.0.1, and a Gateway of 0.0.0.0.

Figure 2- IP configuration menu

Figure 2- IP configuration menu

By default, LA-5291 is set up with DHCP enabled and will automatically receive an IP address when its Control Ethernet port is connected to a network with a DHCP server.

To use a fixed IP address, first click the Edit button (2D) for the appropriate port which unlocks the settings. (Please note the Edit button of the AES67 port is used for illustration in Figure 2 as the it is replaced by the Cancel and Apply buttons once you click on it).

Click on the Use DHCP button (6-2B) to disable DHCP. The text of the NET Address, Net Mask, and Gateway fields, which is grayed out when DHCP is enabled, will turn white and become editable. Once the information is entered, click on the Apply button (2H) to save the information or the Cancel button (2G) to back out without saving any changes. Verify that you have a good network connection by looking for a green dot and the word Active in the status window (2C).

Setup is identical for both the Control and AES67 ports.

When connecting to an SNMP server, click on the SNMP enable button (2F) and enter the IP address of at least one SNMP server in the SNMP Server Address fields (2E).