User guide

Chapter 2 - RATC
16 Version 1.7.2.0 March 27, 2015
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Introduction
RATC is compatible with both local area networks and the Internet. Any number of RATC
clients may connect simultaneously to any MediaMatrix node in the project. The RATC1 or
RATC2 service is configured and enabled through the node device properties in NWare.
Controls are made available to RATC1, RATC2 and/or PASHA using control
aliases. PASHA only supports 3 character and 4 numeral aliases, but RATC1 and RATC2
support aliases of several dozen characters, including spaces.
Note: When you specify an alias, NWare will check to see if that alias is already in use by
another control. If it is, a warning will be displayed. If you click Yes, the control alias will be
moved over from the old control to the new control. If you click No, the alias will not be
moved. If you want to control multiple controls using the same alias, assign the alias to one of
the controls and then use control wiring to connect them together in the project.
You can enable RATC communications for a project on a per-user basis, via the user account
properties. The user account properties can be displayed by clicking User Accounts on the
File menu, selecting a user, then clicking Edit. The Network Control Access setting must be
set to Allowed for RATC to be enabled.
RATC versions
Classic MediaMatrix supported RATC v0.9 on TCP/IP connections. NION and nControl
support the newer and more flexible protocol, RATC v2, which can run on either a TCP/IP
connection or a serial connection. We refer to the two versions of RATC as RATC1 and
RATC2.
For backward compatibility, NION and nControl support RATC v1, which is compatible with
MediaMatrix's RATC v0.9. NION also features a version of PASHA that is compatible with
the service of the same name on Classic MediaMatrix.
Note: PASHA is not currently available on nControl units.
It is recommended that RATC v2 over TCP/IP be used whenever possible.
One difference between NION and nControl external control and Classic MediaMatrix
external control is that in NION and nControl systems, the external control services only run
while the NWare project is running. This is a little different than Classic MediaMatrix, where
the control services run whenever the MWare application is running, independent of whether a
View file is compiled and running.
Using telnet with RATC
RATC1 can function as a telnet server. This means that any standard telnet client program may
be used to manipulate and monitor control group values for MediaMatrix products. This is
useful for verifying that the configuration will allow a successful RATC connection to the
MediaMatrix device.
To connect a telnet terminal to RATC1, specify to the telnet client program the MediaMatrix
device name or IP address and the RATC port number (usually 1632).