Specifications

2. Specication list for Yamaha System Solutions CobraNet™ designs
Based on the customer’s requirements a system
specication must be drawn up. For this white paper a
‘one size ts all’ system specication is listed intended
to cover most of ‘every day’ applications from small
touringsoundreinforcementsetstolargescaledistributed
i/o installations. Although this system specication list
will most probably produce a system design that meets
the average customer’s requirements, it might cover
more than required. To achieve efcient system designs
it is recommended to carefully go through the rst step
of the system design process of charting the customer’s
requirementsbeforedrawingup the systemspecication
list.
True Network
Thedesignconceptshouldcovervirtuallyallapplication
sizes; from simple P2P connections to large scale
installations with many locations. To allow this level
of scalability, and to keep systems manageable, a true
networkprotocolshouldbeused.Functionalconnections
mustbeseparatefromthephysicalcablinginthenetwork
assumingthenetworkofferssufcientbandwidthforthe
application.
Open system
Boththenetworkprotocolandtheaudionetworkprotocol
should be open market standards. This way the new
developments in the IT industry over the past decades
canbeutilized,andconnectivityisnotlimitedtoYamaha
components alone. The use of established standardised
technologyallowshighqualityandcost-effectivedesigns.
Cabling
Thedesignconceptshouldcoverlongdistancecablingof
upto500meters.Thenetworkdesignshouldsupportup
tovelongdistancelocations.Thelongdistancelocations
shouldofferconnectivitytoLocalnetworkstructures.
Touring
Forlivetouringapplications,touringgradecablingshould
be used. Cables should include road proof connectivity
systems.
Topology
For all designs, the network topology should offer easy
connectivity-supportingtheuseofcosteffectivecomputer
networkinghardware.
Redundancy
Alldesignsshouldfeaturefullredundancyforallnetwork
components.Asystemshouldrecoverautomaticallyfrom
anynetworkcomponentfailure.
Bandwidth
Thenetworkshouldhaveabandwidthsupportingatleast
500 audio channels.All individualaudio devicesshould
supportupto64channelbi-directionallinks.
Audio quality
The systemshould support at least24-bit 48 kHz audio
signals.
Latency
Thenetworkshouldsupportaxedlatencyof1.3msfor
midsizesystems.Forlargersystemshigherxedlatency
modes are allowed.
Acoustic noise
Apart from the star location the network devices in the
systemshouldnotmakeanysignicantaudiblenoise.
Status monitoring and control
Thedesignconceptshouldincludeacomputertocontrol
andmonitorthesystem’saudioandnetworkdevices.
Serial connectivity
Connectivity of serial standards such as RS232C and
RS422shouldbepossibleusinginexpensivehardware.
Ethernet connectivity
The system should offer a 100Mb Ethernet network for
connectionstoEthernetcompatibledevices.Thisnetwork
shouldbeseparatefromtheaudionetwork.
Costs
Thesystemshouldbecosteffective.
Options
The system should support optional video connections
using IP cameras, Uninterrupted Power Supplies and
wireless access points etc.