IT For AVs^® Online course

The openness and compatibility of IEEE Ethernet is often propagated, but in practice this healthy world of compatibility quickly reaches its limits. Limits, which the participant of the seminar learns as well as to build functional solutions for mixed production networks. Various trades are to be separated via VLANs and transported via common and redundant backbone lines in various topologies. The choice of the right cables plays a special role in the rough everyday life of the event industry, the differences between copper and optical fibers and their construction forms are extensively discussed.

The participants understand why there are drastic performance differences in cables and why network cables are basically always partially defective, but this is no problem thanks to merciless over-dimensioning to securely transmit the required bandwidths. To increase the bandwidth between the different network positions, link aggregation groups are set up and data of varying importance is prioritized using Quality of Service. Typical bandwidths of audio, light and video signals in an IP world are discussed, as well as an outlook on the changing requirements with Video over IP.

Participants learn about different basic protocols such as TCP, UDP and AVB. In addition to the different data transmission types unicast, multicast and broadcast, the multicast management with IGMP is also discussed in detail.

In order to transport production-relevant media signals over shared Ethernet networks, the most important hardware and software tools are shown, which are useful for time-critical success in error or status analysis. In order to make purchase or deployment decisions of switches, the different requirements of media networks are conveyed, and an overview of the different switch device classes is given. Reconciling the requirements with budgeting and conception is also a part of the seminar.

The theoretically conveyed content is always supplemented by practical presentations by the trainers. ‘what's happening there’ a ‘How to do this’ set aside. However, the participants also apply their acquired knowledge in practice. For the online version of the training, participants must meet the technical requirements for participation, which include basic IT equipment. This transforms the theoretical knowledge directly into practical skills and, through experience, acquires probably the most important building block in one's own portfolio, IT competence!

Participants design and configure a Layer-3 switch for mixed operation of Dante Audio, Art-Net lighting and production networks. You will learn to understand a switch using a web interface and to keep the focus in complex menu structures. With practical exercises on the devices, dual redundant networks are put into operation, errors are searched for and provoked in order to get to know their effects. 

The many valuable practical tips for configuration are supplemented by the topic of documentation, because at the end of the day it is not enough to understand the technology and to have created a working setup for yourself. On productions, colleagues must also be able to understand what they are currently finding in order to ensure safe commissioning and fault identification.

A functioning media network is the prerequisite for a successful live production. But what is actually transported under the hood? Who do I share the network with? What requirements do my colleagues from other trades have and what key facts should I know about them? Answers to these questions will be discussed in detail in the seminar.

The focus is on the practical relevance for all seminar participants. The real-time protocols of lighting technology include an overview of Art-Net, sACN and ACN, a further training for lighting operators and illuminators with a focus on ‘DMX over Ethernet’ is an optional module and not part of this training day.

With the audio protocols Dante, Ravenna, AES67 and AVB/TSN are at a glance and are supplemented by the most important key facts about Dante, AVB, TSN and Milan. A user training for sound engineers is an optional module and, as with light, not part of this training day. The local video protocols are SDVoE, SMPTE2010 and NDI at a glance and also do not have the claim to meet a comprehensive user training. Almost all real-time protocols must establish a synchronization of the media network. The function of the underlying IEEE1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTPv1/PTPv2) is taught to the seminar participants.

The global coronavirus pandemic 2020 was an evolutionary accelerator for digital and hybrid events. What IT technology has enabled for the local transport of media networks to physical events over the past 10 years is comparable to what now enables live streaming for scaling the number of attendees of each event. Internet streaming, like local IT, is not a trend that disappears again, but is now part of the daily work of event technicians and media professionals.

The seminar participants get to know the necessary basics and terms. This includes IPv6-based Internet access with the pitfalls of network expansion status, as well as the necessary access to existing routers or firewalls. The signal flow from the local event technology direction to the spectator is also part of the training. For this purpose, the participants get to know the Egress data protocols RTMP and SRT as well as the delivery protocols HLS and MPEG DASH at a glance.

In addition, it is taught what role a CDN plays and which cost factors must be taken into account when negotiating prices with customers and suppliers. The topic block is rounded off by an explanation of the terms encoding, decoding, data compression, containers, recoding and transcoding.

In addition to planning bandwidths, network monitoring is also a separate topic block. Participants will learn how SNMP works and how to use it in practice using PRTG software. The live monitoring of the IT status of switches, ports, cable redundancies and bandwidth monitoring is comprehensibly developed from the ground up in PRTG. The participant is then able to set up his own PRTG maps for visualized monitoring of the event IT.