Applies to: RedNet PCIeNX
PCIeNX is in Redundant mode but I can't select it as the Secondary Network interface in Dante Controller or RedNet Control
The PCIeNX is only a single NIC (Network Interface Card) which means it can only appear as 1 network port for the Dante network, the redundant mode will still function as expected if no Secondary Network is selected however if any unit in your network drops from the Primary network the dropped unit will not appear in Dante Controller but should still pass audio over the Redundant/Secondary network if setup correctly.
To add select a secondary network interface the redundant network needs to connect to another network port on your computer either directly or via an adapter.
RedNet PCIeNX is in Redundant mode but only appears as one Network port on my computer.
This is normal as the PCIeNX is only a single NIC (Network Interface Card) which means it can only appear as 1 network port on a computer
RedNet PCIeNX won't change from Switched mode into Redundant mode when I press reboot in Dante Controller.
The PCIeNX will need to be power cycled (turned off/on) for the reboot to happen, if the PCIeNX is installed in your computer do a restart of the computer, if the PCIeNX is in a Thunderbolt chassis then power cycle the Thunderbolt chassis.
Setting Up a Redundant/Secondary Network with the PCIeNX card
The RedNet PCIeNX features an inbuilt NIC (Network Interface Card) as well as 2 Dante Ports which can be used in switched mode or for Dante Redundancy.
The PCIeNX NIC port will appear as your computer's Network port for connection to the Dante network. On Windows, this appears in the Windows Network Connections (Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network Connections). On Mac this appears in Network (System Settings > Network)
The NIC on the PCIeNX is the port that should be selected as Dante Controller and RedNet Controls Primary Network Interface on the computer the card is connected to/installed in.
Dante Controller > File > Interfaces
Mac: RedNet Control > Preferences
Windows: RedNet Control > File > Preferences
The NIC on the PCIeNX is not the IP address of the Dante port for the card but it will be in the same IP address range as the Primary port on the PCIeNX.
You can use the PCIeNX in redundant mode over the NIC however you can not select the PCIeNX port as the Primary and Secondary Dante network port on your computer. To select a Secondary Network interface on your PC you will need to connect an ethernet cable from the Redundant network to another ethernet port on the computer, either directly or via an ethernet adapter, this can then be selected as the Secondary Network interface in Dante Controller.
In the below example, the PCIeNX is set up in redundant mode along with a RedNet D16R Mk2.
The NIC on the PCIeNX is selected as the Primary Network interface and the 2 IP addresses for the PCIeNX primary and secondary/redundant networks are self-assigned.
PCIeNX IP Addresses:
NIC (Ethernet2) = 192.168.2.16
Primary Dante Address = 192.168.2.38
Secondary Address = 172.31.204.198
To select a Secondary Interface for the redundant network I need to route my redundant network to another connection on the PC. This setup is shown below.
Now that there is a separate PC connection to the secondary network I can select this as the Secondary Network interface in Dante Controller.
The Secondary interface in Dante Controller does not pass audio and all audio still passes through the PCIeNX even using the redundant/secondary port. Having a Secondary Interface selected in Dante Controller and RedNet Control allows the redundant network to be seen by Dante Controller and Rednet Control and allows both pieces of software to have control over units on the Secondary network in cases where the Primary network fails or drops out.