360 Systems DigiCart/E - Manual (Page 20)

18
• Installing an Ethernet Audio Network
Optional PC or Workstation
Additional computers can be connected to the Ethernet Audio network. These machines might be PCs or
Macs running digital audio workstation (DAW) software programs. DAWs can write stereo WAV files to
network servers that can be played by DigiCart/E machines. Further, DigiCart/E can be used to make high
quality recordings that can be edited on the DAW workstation.
DAWs can also use the Ethernet Audio network for central file storage of any file that they use, such as SDII,
Session, or MP3. However, DigiCart/E will not be able to use other file types.
The optional workstation also provides a way to manage the network and server when the server is a
“headless” type, or when the server is locked in a secure location.
Optional workstations can be added or removed from the Ethernet Audio network at any time.
Network Configuration
There are innumerable ways in which an Ethernet Audio network can be configured. Any number of
DigiCart/E recorders, servers and routing switches can be arranged to each organization’s needs. This manual
is focused on conveying the basics of Ethernet Audio configurations. Most larger systems are simply an
extension of these concepts.
Connecting Your System
The following schematic figure illustrates a very basic system interconnection. Each DigiCart/E unit in this
system can record new files to the server and play files from the server. The optional computer (shown here
as a laptop) can perform read and write operations with the server.
DigiCart/E DigiCart/E
Server
w/ DHCP
Laptop
-
PC or Mac
(Optional)
SWITCH
Neither the server nor laptop can read the contents of the DigiCart/E local disk. DigiCart/E units cannot
directly exchange files with the laptop, but all devices on the network can communicate with the server and
thus share data through it. The laptop can be set to receive its IP address automatically from DHCP.
Connecting more DigiCart/E units to the switch can easily expand this basic configuration. Systems requiring
more DigiCarts than the number of available connections will use multiple switches. Systems with multiple
switches require the server to have multiple network interface cards (NICs).