The myServer control system relies upon IP networking for the devices to talk to each other.

This subject is the most misunderstood topic for installations and the most common area for control system problems.

It is this articles persuit to simplify the subject to help ensure a succesful installation of the control system.

 

Each device on the ethernet / wifi network needs to have an IP address.  Comonly, this looks like "192.168.0.100"  Or "192.168.1.100"

The requirements are simple:

  • All devices must be on the same subnet so they are able to communicate to each other. 
  • The IP addresses must never change - even if the devices are rebooted. 
  • Each IP address must be unique on the network.
  • It is very common that at least the myServer controller is connected to the Internet.  This is so Allonis can provide Remote Assistance and for myServer to get weather data, TVGuide data, etc.  The core capabilities of myServer can work without any Internet, if security rules require that.
  • There is no need for an External IP address (an address that is viewed from the Internet).

It is highly recommended that all IP addresses for all devices are managed on a spreadsheet.  If Allonis is doing the myServer configuration for the project, these addresses must be managed on Allonis's spreadsheet for consistency and to ensure that all information is maintained by the installer / integrator.

The most misunderstood is that you don't need any hardware on the network to plan your devices IP addresses.  You should never rely on the address that the DHCP server provides...because these addresses will change if the device is rebooted...and then myServer won't be able to communicate with the device.

So...the IP address can be static configured.  This is where the device has it's address configured right in the devices network settings.  This is typically the most reliable.

The network administrator can also decide to reserve DHCP addresses based on the devices MAC address.  The DHCP server gives out a configured IP address whenever that device appears on the network requesting an address.

Basic of setting up the network

  • You will need the user id / password / IP address for the router
  • Login to the Router, and within the router's settings determine what the established Subnet is (like: 255.255.255.0 which supports 254 IP addresses)
  • So, if the Router has an internal IP address of: "192.168.0.1" then all devices need to be "0.X" addresses.
  • Determine what address range is dedicated for DHCP addresses.  This will be a subset of the "192.168.0.X" range like: 192.168.0.2 ....50
  • All Static assigned addresses should be made outside of this DHCP address range like: "192.168.0.51....254"
  •  Depending on the router, the Reserved DHCP addresses might be within the DHCP range, or outside of it.  Reserve the devices MAC address to a Reserved DHCP address if you choose to not address the device staticly (on the device itself).
  • Ensure each device is assigned an address that is not in current use.  From a laptop that is on the network, PING the IP address ("ping 192.168.0.100") to ensure no device is currently on that IP address.

So the above are the basics.  If the concepts are foreign, then ensure you secure the experience of a network administrator that can configure your network properly for both reliability and security.  Every business should have an available network administrator to help fix the network if problems arise.