Yep. We have a four-port network at home, and my laptop uses a wireless connection to it.

So, does that mean that to work on that network, my laptop already has, was it an IP address ?? (the aaa.bbb.x.y mentioned above) to connect to that network? And that if we make a network at my place of work, that address will somehow have to be similar to all the computers at work? And if I decide to use this method to send and receive information on a client's computer (where there is no network) that I will have to CHANGE that address on his computer, perhaps locking him out of his network?

avdude, there are no stupid threads, only stupid quantities of possibly interlocking protocols.

I have been milling over teaching a course at CEDIA called basic field integration.

This course would bore every student at some point and lose them at others as I conceive it as a basic installatrion primer. If you understand RF then that section would bore you. But IT guys might not know RF. My section on networking would bore the IT guys to death but might be useful to A/V folks for whom the REG-32 folder is frightening ( and well it should be as any modifications here to the wrong file can cause your compuer to stop working ).

Nonetheless, I see a need to teach folks how to read serial protocols, make relays to control devices that also interlock the coils, and provide the requisite field knowledge ( as opposed to theory ) to control HVAC system with April Aire or Crestron themostats--or anyone elses. When I began I had no idea--as may most of you-that a themostat was basicly a relay who passed either a dry contract or 24 volts.

Back to networking.

I am hardly trying to impress anyone with anything. If you are going to do anything with networking at some point you will confront this. It is more basic than TCP/IP addressing as every computing device has such a number but not every device will require a TCP/IP address. The basic indentifier on a computer is its MAC addresss. This has nothing to do with whether you have a PC or an Apple computer and I have no idea if Apple came up with this numberic scheme. All compuer devices, including your Crestron processors, have some MAC nummber. I could tell you how to find out what that MAC address is on your processor but not on an open forum. The Yahoo site is best for that or privately. When you go on the internet your computer's MAC address is part of the information sent. In essence it is the name of the computer, sought of like a serial number.

IP addresses. IP stands for internet protocol and part of that protocol or set of rules says that if you wish to pass information via TCP/IP then that information shall contain a TCP/IP addresss and port. Let's forget I mentioned ports for the moment. The address 192.168.x.y is not allowed to exist on the internet. It is therefore commonly used by most folks setting up local networks. Like physics, you cannot have 2 of the same IP addresses on a network. Each must be unique. So you will commonly have an address like 192.168.1.x. While it is possible to have any network address available the 192.168.x.y is the most commonly used as it is not permitted to exist on the Internet. The third grouping of numbers, in the example it is a 1, is called your subnet. If you want to talk to a Lutron processor with the IP address of 192.168.250.1 ( default setting out of the box ) you will need to be on the subnet 250. ( I am simplifiying here so IT guys go easy. Obviously if you had an IP address of 10.1.10.x you could not communciate. )

On sophisticated corporate LANs and Intranets the IT departement will create all sorts of subnets and permit or not permit access to certain files or Internet access. That third set of numbers in therefore very crucial when setting up a network.

DHCP is a program that dynamically assigns IP addresses to computers that appear on the network. Turn you computer on a network with DHCP and your computer will randomly be assigned an IP address. No problem except if any number of computers ( or control systems ) what to access that device. Let us take the example of a printer. We might not care --as would an IT department-- what IP address a router assigns. But if we had to communicate with a printer and the router changed its IP address because it was turned off then we would lose our ability to communicate with it. In this case we would want to assign it a static or unchangable address. Routers have default settings for their DHCP. This changes according to brand but to take Linksys as our example it assigns IP address to 49 clients ( 100 to 149 ). You can in the router's setup configure this for more or fewer clients. Typically it does not matter in residiental applications so we often leave this number unmodified.

By assigning an IP address below 100 or above 149 we can create a static IP address.
If our default network has the IP setting of 192.168.100.x then DHCP values will be between 192.168.100.100 and 149. A address of 192.168.100.21 or 192.168.100.200 could be used as static IP addresses ( for Audio Request, Crestron processors, printers, scanners, ReplayTVs, Integras, CCTV systems [ assuming they are networkable ], refrigerators [yes they are coming with NICs ] and lighting processors.) If you can access the Internet you have an IP address, in all probability assigned to you automaticly, by your router. There is a setting on your computer where you can determine how your computer obtains this IP address. Typically it is set to and should remain set to obtain IP address automatically. However, If you do not have a router in the sysetm as in the Lutron processor example - or an an ENET2 where you wanted to jump on the LANB of the ENET2-- you would have to manually set your IP to the IP address of that device. In the Lutron example, its default subnet is 250. So you would have to change your setting from obtain IP address automatically to set manually and set it to 192.168.250.y where y is some integer beteen 2 and 256 ( 1 is already taken ).


To see if a device is on your network, form the dos promt type ping the IP address of the divice to be tested and, yes, enter. Enter on your keyboard is 0Ah0Dh or carriage return/line feed. If it is there you will see ( hopefully ) 4 successful replies of it is on your network.

RC GEEK

"he's trying to impress you and it doesn't really matter for your purposes. "

I love when a**holes make assumptions about people's personalities and motivations even though they have never met that person. Nonetheless they feel qualified to make personal criticisms based upon written inferences, often unedited and quickly written. You could have no knowledge of why I thought it relevant to include a reference to a MAC address and assuming it is due some ego need is not merely arrogant on your part, but it is rude and ignorant. Information you may feel immaterial may not be so judged by me.

Although I do agree that most of us play on open forums out of some ego needs, I for one, would prefer that such editiorializing be limited to someone who, at least, knew me or had more psychological evidence to base their character attacks upon. Yes, I am not as humorous as QQQ nor as scarastic as Impaqt. I plead guilt to a penantic steak which I wish I could do something about but cannot as it is just the way my mind works. Nonetheless, impugning my motivations without any idea of who I am or what my deep psyhological needs might be is perhaps more telling of your motivations and psychological needs than my own.

Alan

This message was edited by Audible Solutionns on 12/22/04 19:14 ET.

Alan, that's gotta be the record for the longest post in this forum! Aren't you glad your computer didn't crap out two lines from the bottom?

Seriously, thanks for the detailed info!

Alan
I don't know if I learned more vocabulary or IT but thanks.
Super helpful
Steve

I hope I'm not included in this camp!

Me, too! I make completely different assumptions!

Alan,

You are totally correct in calling me on this and I humbly apologize. Incidentally - thank you for summing that up so well. You put it far better than I could have. Again - please accept my apology.

no worries, we all have bad days, I hope tomorrow is better for you. This has turned out to be one hell of a thread for just trying to get one printer to work on two PC's. Thank you to all that have contributed, I have learned a ton, and will bank it in memory (or alteast mark the thread).

Trey

Apologies accepted.

One reason for mentioning MAC Addresses is that you can limit access to a network by specifying MAC Addresses in the router setup. This is one of the best security measures you can introduce into a network, especially, Ernie, a wireless network; better then encryption and better than WEP. And if you employ WEP, additional key encryption and specify the MAC addresses of computers that can access that network you have made it vertually impervious to external hacking.

MAC addresses are sent out as part of the HTML code and TCP/IP protocol. While you do not need to know about MAC addresses to alter your computer's IP address or to know how to alter it, it can be important information and information you can and should make use of when setting up your own or a client's network.

One additional tip: If you want to know what the current IP address of a computer is or what its router setting is, at the dos prompt type, ipconfigspace/all
This will provide you with all of your information about all networking devices on that computer, including wireless, NIC or any other networking device. Physical address is an other name for the MAC Address of the device. It can be useful trick when you want to access some rounter but its IP address is not 192.168.1.1

There are some business reasons to run the MAC address through a Simpl+ module that checks the MAC address of the Crestron processor and matches it to the address in the software. I suspect, but I am very much ignorent of the AMX gear and programming, that you could do the same with it. Compiled code can be extricated from Crestron processors. While it cannot be used to rebuild the original .smw file, if you had the same processor and same equipment attached to the same ports, enterprising educational facilities have been known to use that compiled code to run additional systems in additional locations. Without paying the original contractor--let us not speculate how they obtained the additional control system hardware.

Alan