Applicable to AIXpressor and flexAIserver
The AoIP implementation supports Livewire (including Livewire Clock and Livewire Routing Protocol), SMPTE ST 2110-30 / -31 Level A, and AES67. It is capable of generating multicast streams with between 1 - 8 audio channels per stream. Support for up to 64 audio channels per stream is planned for a future release.
Note - This chapter assumes familiarity with AoIP technology, including RTP transport, PTP synchronization, QoS (DSCP settings), applicable standards (including SMPTE ST 2110, SMPTE 2022-7, N-MOS, IEEE1588), and general terminology (such as multicast, unicast, VLAN, IMGP, etc.).
Important - The current UI shows some parameters that are not currently supported by the hardware, and are noted accordingly in the documentation below. They are greyed out and can't be set (at least for now).
Expand the Senders (TX) (A) portion of the AoIP menu, revealing the ADD/DEL buttons (B). Clicking ADD generates a new stream with the default settings and name. Clicking DEL deletes the selected individual stream. Each Sender (C) has its own configuration and status page.
Selects the type of AoIP stream. Choices include Livewire, AES67, and ST2110.
Session Status - Displays the status of the current session.
RTP Status - Displays the status of the Real-time Transport Protocol.
SDP - Shows the Session Description Protocol (AES67 and ST2110 only).
Provisional Stream Status - Displays live status information for the stream.
Reset Sender Status - Resets the live status information shown in the Provisional Stream Status window.
Interface 1 and Interface 2 - Displays the RTP status of the individual interfaces.
Note - The fields displayed will vary depending upon which protocol is selected. For example, AES67 and ST2110 will show SDP information, which is not applicable to Livewire. AES67 is shown in Figure 1.
Enable - Enables or disables the stream.
Stream Name - Allows for a unique name for the stream.
Channel Count - Displays the number of enabled audio channels present in the stream.
Packet Time - Selects the packet time; options vary depending upon the selected protocol.
Seamless Protection Switching - When enabled, specifies the reconstruction of the original stream in case packets are lost in any path per SMPTE 2022-7.
Note - If Seamless Protection Switching is enabled, the Destination IP Address field of Interface 2 cannot be left empty.
Codec - Selects the desired codec (AES67 and ST2110 only).
DSCP - Selects the Differential Code Service Point.
Auto RTP Payload Type - When enabled, automatically selects the RTP payload type regardless of what is specified in the RTP Payload Type field.
RTP Payload Type - Allows the RTP payload type to be specified (AES67 and ST2100 only)
RTP Port - Specifies the port used for RTP.
TTL - Sets the Time to Live (packet lifetime) value.
Media Interface 1 / Media Interface 2 - Enter the multicast destination address of the sender in the Destination IP Address field. When the Livewire protocol has been selected, an additional field for the Livewire Channel number appears.
Note - When connected to Dante-enabled devices operating in AES67 mode, be sure to use the default Audinate prefix of 239.69.*.*
When setting up a large number of receivers and senders, entering the information once in the New Stream Defaults section pre-populates the most common fields and eliminates the need to repeatedly enter the information with each new addition.
Selects the type of AoIP stream. Choices include Livewire, AES67, and ST2110.
Some values may ybe pre-selected based on the protocol, while others are initially blank to allow for a customized value. When you anble the settings they will appear in the Receivers and Senders stream setups in the following chapters. To ease the assignmment of multicast addresses for receiving streams you can set a Start Destination Address Prefix.
If Seamless Protection Switching is used you can set this address for streams for Media Interface 2 as well.
Seamless Protection Switching - ON/OFF
Codec - Select the type of codec for 2110 / AES67 streams
Auto RTP Payload Type - the paylaod type will b eautomatically set depending on the selected protocol
Start Destination Address Prefix
Note - The fields displayed in the Receiver and Sender sections will vary depending upon which protocol is selected; SMPTE 2110 is shown in Figure 1. It is important to mention again that setting these paramters requires a deep knowlege about AoIP, so pls. consult therespective IETF, AES, SMPTE, AMWA knowlege base if you have questions. At Telos we have the AoIP "Bible" that digs deeper into details:
<Link>
Expand the AoIP portion of the Interfaces menu, then select Setup.
Important: The screenshots here show the available controls with Show Expert Settings (H) enabled, and require a solid understanding of AoIP to avoid situations that may cause issues that are not immediately apparent.
Enable - Enables or disables the AoIP interface.
Sync Source (B) - Displays the sync source and indicates if the clock is locked (green dot) and shows the name of the interface where PTP is received.
Leader ID (C) - shows the MAC address of the current PTP leader
All three interfaces work identically.
Interface - Selects the respective LAN interface by its system name.
Link State - Indicates the status of the selected LAN interface (green = Up).
IP Address - Displays the IP4 address of the selected LAN interface.
LWRP (Livewire Routing Protocol) Password Status - Indicates whether or not a Livewire password has been set or not set.
LWRP Password - The field in which a password may be entered. Toggling the "eye" symbol to the right of the text field allows the password to be visible. Click <APPLY> to save the password. If done the Apply button changes to <CLEAR PASSWORD>.
256 Ch Extension License (I) The flexAI core license limits the number of audio channels to 256 for the receivers and the transmitters. If you must use more that this number you must acquire another such license. The field Claimed Extensions below shows the respective number.
Packet Processing With the introduction of the new High-Efficiency Audio-over-IP (XDP), the user can optimize the system's performance. In general, once the XDP mode is enabled (J), the system load reduces significantly, and packet sizes of 0,125 ms, 0,25 ms and 0,5 ms are unlocked on the transmitter end. However, as the load on an AIXpressor can still be high due to the high packet density, we have introduced a switch <Interval> that allows the user to balance the system between speed and CPU load. The decision is influenced by whether the short packet sizes are needed to optimize latency or if it's solely about transmitting a high number of channels per stream.
If the goal is a high number of channels, it may be sufficient to transmit packets every 1 ms (several packets in burst mode), significantly relieving the system. On the other hand, if low latency is crucial, the packets must be sent at the same interval as the set packet size, but this simultaneously increases the system load. Rule of thumb for Packet Sizes below 1 ms:
Small Packet Size + Small Packet Processing Interval = Low Latency + Higher System Load
Small Packet Size + Large Packet Processing Interval = Slightly Higher Latency (corresponding to interval setting) + Lower System Load. For Packet Sizes equal or above 1 ms the interval setting has no relevance.
This colume is meant to set the NMOS IS-04 Discovery Mode. I.e. how the device finds a NMOS registry in the network.
Connection - Connected (green dot) / Unconnected (red dot)
Host - IP address of the NMOS registry host
Port - of the IP connection to the host
Version - of the registry implementation
Discovery Mode - - Multicast DNS-SD (mDNS) flexAI is looking for a NMOS Registry Server by using mDNS. - Unicast DNS-SD flexAI is looking for a NMOS Registry Server by using Unicast DNS within the selected Domain - Manual You may set the host IP4 address and the port number of the Registry Server to query
Domain Domain name of the network for manually connecting to a NMOS regestry
Host IP address of the NMOS regestry for manually connecting
Port Port number of teh NMOS regetry for manually connecting
Query Registry ON / OFF
A NMOS Registry Server in turn will query the current flexAI device by using the IP4 address on port 3212 of the management interface
Remaining Licensed Channels
Remaining Licensed Streams
Will be used by the receiver when Auto Link Offset is turned on, to automaticaally deal with the network latency. Should be set in relation to the duration, in microseconds, of the latency present in the network. See AES67-2018 (page 20) that illustrates the link offset definition. Generally speaking, setting a value of three times the packet time selected in the Sender will provide more robust timing though with a small increase in overall latency. Separate fields are provided for each of the supported packet time options.
One may use the name from the sender stream or set an own stream name
Discovery Protocol Filter - The Discovery Protocol Filter can be set to either look for Livewire, SAP/AES67/ST2110, or NMOS/AES67/ST2110 when searching for streams in the network.
Default Name Filter field is provided to assign the filter a unique name to be used in the stream setup process.
Remaining Licensed Channels
Remaining Streams
Allows for selecting the appropriate QoS - Differentiated Services Code Point for each of the supported packet time options.
Expand the Receivers (RX) (A) portion of the AoIP menu, revealing the ADD/DEL buttons (B). Clicking ADD generates a new stream with the default settings and name. Clicking DEL deletes the selected individual stream. Each Receiver (C) has its own configuration and status page.
Selects the type of AoIP stream. Choices include Livewire, AES67, and ST2110.
Session Status - Displays the status of the current session.
RTP Status - Displays the status of the Real-time Transport Protocol.
Provisional Stream Status - Displays live status information for the stream.
Interface 1 and Interface 2 - Displays the RTP status of the individual interfaces.
Note - The fields displayed will vary depending upon which protocol is selected. For example, AES67 and ST2110 will show SDP information, which is not applicable to Livewire. AES67 is shown in Figure 1.
Enable - Enables or disables the stream.
Stream Name - Allows for a unique name for the stream.
Channel Count - Displays the number of enabled audio channels present in the stream.
Seamless Protection Switching - When enabled, specifies the reconstruction of the original stream in case packets are lost in any path per SMPTE 2022-7.
SDP - Allows the Session Description Protocol information to be entered (AES67 and ST2110 only). SDP information will be gathered and displayed in the Discovery section and may be copied and pasted here.
Note - For senders that do not support NMOS, you may use the Ravenna2SAP tool available at https://solutions.aimsalliance.org/product/rav2sap/.
The parameters below are available when Show Expert Settings is enabled:
Codec - Selects the desired codec (AES67 and ST2110 only).
Auto Link Offset - Enables or disables auto link offset.
Link Offset - When Auto Link Offset is disabled, allows a specific link offset value to be added to the minimum RTP offset to keep the RTP offset value positive.
Ignore RTP Payload Type - When enabled, the RTP payload type will be ignored.
RTP Port - Specifies the RTP port.
Interface 1 and Interface 2 - Enter the multicast destination address of the receiver in the Destination IP Address field. When the Livewire protocol has been selected, an additional field for the Livewire Channel number appears.
The Discovery section shows the senders available via Livewire, AES67, and ST2110. When highlighted, the details of each stream will be displayed. A Filter field provides a means of entering a stream name or keyword to minimize the amount of scrolling required on a large network. Clicking the Apply button will copy the announcement information to the current receiver.
