User Guide
Model 374A User Guide Issue 4, February 2021
Studio Technologies, Inc. Page 19
MODEL 374A
INTERCOM BELTPACK
is active on the LAN. Even two Dante-
enabled devices that are directly intercon-
nected using an RJ45 patch cable will,
in most cases, correctly acquire IP ad-
dresses and be able to communicate
with each other.
An exception does arise when trying to
directly interconnect two Dante-enabled
devices that use Ultimo integrated circuits
to implement Dante. The Model 374A
uses the Ultimo “chip” and, as such, a
direct one-to-one interconnection to an-
other Model 374A (or other Ultimo-based
product) is not supported. An Ethernet
switch linking the two units is required
to successfully interconnect two Ultimo-
based devices. The technical reason that
a switch is required relates to the need for
a slight latency (delay) in the data flow.
And an Ethernet switch will provide this.
While this is certainly an anomaly, since
PoE power is required for Model 374A
operation it’s highly unlikely that an ap-
plication would use two Model 374A units
without a PoE-enabled Ethernet switch
being present.
Using the Dante Controller software ap-
plication the Model 374A’s IP address and
related network parameters can be manu-
ally set for a fixed (static) configuration.
While this is a more-involved process than
simply letting DHCP or link-local “do their
thing,” if fixed addressing is necessary
then this capability is available. But in this
case it’s highly recommended that each
unit be physically marked, e.g., directly
using a permanent marker or “console
tape,” with its specific static IP address.
If knowledge of a Model 374A’s IP address
has been misplaced there is no reset
button or other method to easily restore
the unit to a default IP setting.
In the unfortunate event that a device’s IP
address is “lost,” the Address Resolution
Protocol (ARP) networking command can
be used to “probe” devices on a network
for this information. For example, in Win-
dows OS the arp –a command can be
used to display a list of LAN information
that includes MAC addresses and cor-
responding IP addresses. The simplest
means of identifying an unknown IP ad-
dress is to create a “mini” LAN with a
small PoE-enabled Ethernet switch con-
necting a personal computer to the Model
374A. Then by using the appropriate ARP
command the required “clues” can be
obtained.
Optimizing Network
Performance
For best Dante audio-over-Ethernet
performance a network that supports VoIP
Quality-of-service (QoS) capability is rec-
ommended. This can be implemented
on virtually all contemporary managed
Ethernet switches. There are even special-
ized switches that are optimized for enter-
tainment-associated applications. Refer to
the Audinate website (audinate.com) for
details on optimizing networks for Dante
applications. Also, disable Energy-Effi-
cient Ethernet (EEE) support on all Ether-
net switch ports that are associated with
Dante devices. Some implementations of
EEE can incorrectly interpret that a con-
nected device is not present and prevent
proper Dante operation.
Application Firmware Version
Display
There are two ways in which the version
number of the Model 374A’s application
firmware (embedded software) can be
identified. One requires only the Model