Welcome to
Basic Networking
Control4
© 2007 Control4
April 6, 2015
Agenda
Why even worry about networking?
The Basics
– Definitions of common networking terms
– Components in a typical home network
• What they do
• How they work together
Recommendations and Setup scenarios
Security concerns
Test 1 of 2
WiFi
– Terminology
– Considerations
– Recommendations
General Gear and Design Recommendations
Additional Resources
Best Practices/System Design Guidelines
Test 2 of 2
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Why worry about networking?
Customers may want to access all their
media from anywhere in the house.
If the network goes down, the automation
system won’t do much.
Do you want your 10K, 20K or 100K
automation system relying on a $30.00 or
free after rebate router?
3
A Typical Home Network Setup
Cable or
DSL
Broadband
Modem
Optional VoIP
Adapter
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Router
Devices on
the
network
(like
computers)
are called
Clients
Networking Terms Review
Protocol
– The language devices use to talk to each other
IP
– Internet Protocol
– The language of the internet and home networks
TCP
– Transmission Control Protocol
– Like signing receipt for data delivery – guaranteed
delivery
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Networking Terms Review
UDP
– User Datagram Protocol
– Example: Streaming media
– No acknowledgement on receipt of data
HTTP
– Hypertext Transfer Protocol
– Used to make displayable web page requests and
download web pages over TCP/IP
FTP
– File Transfer Protocol
– Used to transfer files between computers on the internet
or within a network over TCP/IP
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Networking Terms Review
LAN
– Local Area Network (i.e. the Home’s network)
WAN
– Wide Area Network (i.e. the Internet – groups of
networks connected together over long distances)
Subnet
– Portion of a network that has been segmented off
through software or hardware
IP address
– Identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP
network (Example: 192.168.0.12 – a 32 bit
number)
• Like a mailing address
– Four sets of numbers divided by a period with
up to three numbers in each set.
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Networking Basics Review
Ethernet
– Communications protocol allowing multiple devices to
–
share a common transport mechanism. Example:
Category 5e cable.
Common are 10/100/1000Base-TX networks
UTP
– Unshielded Twisted Pair wire
– 4 pairs of twisted wire
– Cat 5e and Cat 6 are capable of 1 Gigabit transfer
speeds
– 100 Meters (330 feet) single cable run length
Modem
– Modulator/Demodulator
– Device used to convert one form of a signal to another
– Needed to bring broadband into the home from the
cable or phone company
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Networking Basics Review
Router/Switch/Hub
– Router: Move data packets between different subnets
(WAN  LAN) or (LAN  LAN)
– Switch: Makes point-to-point connections between MAC
(Media Access Control) addresses on a LAN. Each
connection can be 10/100/1000 Mbps depending on the
speed of the switch and the devices connected to it.
• MAC address = hardware address of a device on a network
– Hub: Total of 10/100 Mbps for all connections.
No data
routing or filtering. All devices see all communications.
Hubs are Not Recommended for use in most home
network situations.
Gateway
– The device that packets must be sent to in order to leave
the LAN. Router typically functions as the gateway in
smaller installations.
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Router connections
Optional
USB Port
WAN Port
- usually
Modem
plugs in
here
RJ-45
Connector
on UTP
cable
10
LAN Ports
– for
devices on
the home
network
Network Addressing – how it works
Private IP addresses assigned for
internal use (automatically by the
DHCP server or configured
manually by the user)
Public IP address assigned by the
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
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Networking Terms Review
DHCP
– Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
– DHCP Server (usually in the router) used to automatically
–
assign devices on the network IP addresses. DHCP clients
ask the DHCP server for an address.
Only one DHCP server per subnet – otherwise
big problems!
NAT
– Network Address Translation
– Translate an IP address in one subnet to another IP
–
address to be used outside the subnet (192.168.1.10 in
your home = 201.152.1.67 on the internet)
Used because there are limited IP addresses on the
internet
• Allows you to have one outside IP address for your house
that all the internal, private IP addresses use
– First line of defense (basic firewall) for most routers
12
A Typical Home Network Setup
Modem
Router
VoIP Adapter
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Wiring Recommendations
14
330 feet (100 meters) is the recommended maximum
distance for a single Cat5 cable run.
– Use a switch where cable run ends to run an additional
cable another 100 meters
Use quality components and tools to construct cables.
Cat 5e cable – keep to the bend radius recommendations of
the manufacturer. Generic Cat5 allows for a bend radius of 4
times its diameter (= 1 inch bend radius for a ¼” cable) but
check with the manufacturer!
When bundling groups of cables together with cable ties (zip
ties), keep the ties snug but not excessively so. Do not
over-cinch them. Don't tighten them so much that any of
the cables deform.
Do not stretch UTP cables when pulling cable. The maximum
force on a cable should be 25 lbs or less.
Do not have more than ½” of untwisted UTP wire. Keep the
twists in the wire as close to the jack or patch panel as
possible. (see How To Terminate a Cat5 Cable.doc in the
download tab to the left)
Wiring Recommendations
Keep cables away from devices that can introduce EMI noise. These
include: copy machines, computer monitors, power supplies, UPS
units, electric heaters, speakers, printers, TV sets, fluorescent lights,
AC power cables, RF antennas or transmission lines, copiers, welding
machines, radio transmitters, X-Ray Machines, un-shielded
transformers, refrigerator compressor motors, dishwashing machine
motors, microwave ovens, telephones, fans, electric garage door
openers, elevator motors, electric ovens, dryers, washing machines,
and shop equipment.
Power cables and Ethernet twisted pair cables don't co-exist
well. Do not run Ethernet cables parallel to power cables. This is a
repeat of number 4 but it is worth repeating... DO NOT RUN
ETHERNET CABLES PARALLEL TO POWER CABLES! If you must do
this, make the parallel path as short as possible and cross the power
cable at a 90 degree angle.
Do not use metal staples or insulated metal U shaped cable clips to
secure UTP cables. Use telephone wire hangers, preferably ones
with plastic hangers for the wire.
Never run UTP cable outside a building. It presents a very attractive
lightning rod and will prove dangerous to you and your network's
health!
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(credit goes to bluemax.net for many of these recommendations)
Networking: Recommendation
Test all cables and termination points, even brand
new pre-terminated cables
Label all cables
Document Everything!
– Passwords, gear model(s), how it is all connected
– Grab screenshots of router config pages
• Alt + PrintScreen then paste into a document
16
Networking: Recommendation
Standardize on 2-3 Routers and Access Points
– Get familiar with how they work
– Spend more than $100 on a piece of gear
– For more expensive automation systems, consider
commercial grade networking gear ($500-$1000+)
• Examples: Cisco ASA 5500 Series (Firewall/Router),
Catalyst (Switch), Aironet (WAP) or similar offerings from
other manufacturers
• Visit the Control4 dealer forum to see what other commercial
gear some Control4 dealers are currently using
• Commercial grade setups usually require medium to
advanced networking experience/background
– Insist that the customer use the gear you are familiar
with and that you know works
17
Networking: Recommendation
Update firmware on the Routers and Access Points
– Usually done through the configuration webpage
• Open internet browser and type in 192.168.1.1 or
192.168.0.1 (check documentation with Router/AP)
• Some may have you type in routerlogin.net or other address
upon initial setup – check manufacturer documentation
• Verify the router address using the command prompt or
network connections in Control Panel
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Why Update the Firmware?
Why should you update firmware on the
routers and access points?
– Low margin/High volume products
– Can reach market before fully baked
– Firmware patches address bugs that could
interfere with the network
19
Networking – Common Issue
IP address conflicts
IP address conflict:
Two devices have the
same IP address on the
same subnet
192.168.1.5
192.168.1.4
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192.168.1.3
192.168.1.5
Networking – IP Conflicts
More than one device on the network has
the same address
– Possible Symptom: You connect to the
device and then lose connection shortly
after connecting to it
• Computers can tell you if they have an IP
conflict with another device on the network
but not which device has the issue
• Automation gear won’t tell you if there is an
IP conflict
21
Networking – Common Issue
How IP address conflicts can happen
Router power cycles and when system comes
back up, some devices remember their old
address but router has re-issued that same
address to a new device
Two DHCP servers on the same subnet
Two devices have been assigned the same static
IP address
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Networking: Recommendation
When possible, setting static IP addresses
can yield more stable running, easier to
manage systems
Helps avoid IP address conflicts
– Record addresses you assigned so you
don’t assign duplicate IP addresses
Can make network management easier
Set all possible devices to a static IP
address OUTSIDE of the DHCP-issued
range
If your DHCP range is:
–
192.168.1.100 through 192.168.1.150
then a safe static IP address would be
192.168.1.151 or greater
Please note: Some IP addresses are not
valid static IP addresses (examples:
x.x.x.0 or x.x.x.255)
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Networking: Recommendation
Recommendation: make sure the
DCHP issued IP address range is
large enough to accommodate all
the current devices using DHCP on
the network and include some
room for growth.
Recommendation: Standardize on
assigning addresses to a certain
range based on the type of device
it is
• Example: Printers 80-89, IP
Cameras 90-99, Home
Automation Gear 100-120,
etc.
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Verify Static IP addresses outside DHCP Range
25
Static IP addresses and Control4 gear
Use Network Configuration Wizard in the
System Manager to set up Controllers,
Speaker Points and Touch Panels with Static
IP addresses
Use the front panel of the device to configure
static addresses for the Amplifier and
Matrix Switch
–
Refer to documentation with these devices on
how to specifically configure their addresses
Use an IP scanner software like Angry IP
Scanner to scan all the IP addresses in a
designated range so you don’t assign the
same address to multiple devices
–
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http://www.angryziber.com/ipscan/download.php
Networking Troubleshooting - If your computer
can’t see other devices on the network
– 1. Make sure your computer has an IP address
• You can do this a couple of ways
• If using Windows XP, click on Start, then Control
Panel, then click Network and Internet Connections,
then click Network Connections
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Networking Troubleshooting - If your computer
can’t see other devices on the network
– 1, Continued
- For Windows Vista
• Click on Control Panel
• Then choose the Network & Sharing Center
• Then Manage Connections to see your available
network devices
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Networking Troubleshooting - If your computer
can’t see other devices on the network
– 2. Make sure your computer has an IP address
• Double click on the Local Area Connection (typically
your Ethernet connection) or your Wireless Network
Connection depending on how you are connecting to
the router
• Make sure your wireless connection or wired
connection indicates you are actually connected
• If connection says Disabled, right click on it to Enable
the connection
29
Networking Troubleshooting - If your computer
can’t see other devices on the network
– 3. Make sure your computer
has an IP address
• Click on the Support tab and
you’ll see your IP address as
well as the address of the
gateway (router) you are
connected to
• If you do not see that you
have an IP address, click on
Repair and your computer
will attempt to reacquire an
IP address
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Networking Troubleshooting - If your computer
can’t see other devices on the network
– 1. Make sure your computer has an IP address
• OR Click on Start/Run (for Win XP) and type cmd,
then press enter
• For Vista, click on Start/Search and type cmd
• Type ipconfig at the command prompt and press enter
• Verify you have an IP address
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Networking - If your computer can’t see other
devices on the network
–
Other commands to use at the command prompt
• ipconfig /all
• ipconfig /release
• ipconfig /renew
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Networking - If you can’t see another device on
the network
–
“Ping” the device to make sure your computer can see it on the network
• Type ping 127.0.0.1 at the prompt and press enter to verify TCP/IP is installed
• Type ping 192.168.x.x (substitute the IP address of the controller for x.x) at
the command prompt
• If computer can successfully see the device, you will get replies with “TTL” in
the Reply line
• If computer can not see the device (you get no reply or unreachable
messages), your computer or the device may not have an IP address
• Try releasing and renewing IP addresses on both devices
• May need to power cycle the device and/or router
33
Networking - If you can’t see another device on
the network
–Other things to check
• IP conflicts
• Reboot DHCP client gear that may be
conflicting to force it to reconnect to the
DHCP server to get a non-conflicting
address
• Assign non-conflicting static IP addresses
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• Make sure the other device is on the
same subnet as your computer
• Use Angry IP Scanner or other IP
scanner to see what IP addresses have
been assigned within a designated
range
More Networking Definitions
Subnet mask
– A mask or filter used to determine what subnet
an IP address belongs to
– Filter separates portions of the IP address that
belong to the network vs. the host (device)
part of the address
– For most installations the subnet mask will be
255.255.255.0
• Additional info here:
http://www.joshgentry.com/networking/subn
et.htm
• http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_does_a_
subnet_work.html
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More Networking Definitions
Gateway
– A network point that acts as an entrance to another
network
– Typically the router – connects home network to the
internet
– Default Gateway is usually the router’s address
(192.168.0.1, or 1.1, etc)
Domain Name System (Server): DNS
– Translates domain names into IP addresses
• www.yahoo.com = 209.191.93.52
– Usually the DNS server address is supplied by the ISP and
the router gets it from the ISP through the cable/DSL
modem
– For networking gear, you typically enter the router address
as the DNS Server and let the router do the name/address
translation for the device
36
Networking: Static IP addressing
IMPORTANT! If devices are assigned static IP addresses,
make sure the subnet mask, default gateway and DNS
Servers are set correctly
– For most installations, the subnet mask will be
255.255.255.0
– If the subnet mask is wrong, you may be able to
communicate on the subnet but routing outside the
subnet or mounting network shares will likely not work
– Gateway and DNS server entries
• Typically the IP address of the router (192.168.1.1 or .0.1,
etc).
37
Networking: Example configuring IP address on a
computer
38
Networking: Example configuring IP address on
Control4 gear (use System Manager in Tools Menu)
39
Networking – If a device can see other devices
but can not get on the internet
Make sure the DNS server on a device is set to the
router/gateway address or to the DNS server given to
customer by the ISP
Get the router/gateway address by clicking on Start/Run
Type cmd and press Enter
Type ipconfig and press Enter
Look for the Default Gateway – this is usually the address of
the router/DHCP server
• Ping common web address to verify if DNS server configured
correctly (www.yahoo.com – does name resolution fail?)
• Can you ping a webpage using its IP address?
•
•
•
•
40
Networking – If a device can see other devices
but can not get on the internet
Make sure the DNS server on
Control4 gear is set to the
router/gateway address or to the
DNS server given to customer by
the ISP
• Get the router/gateway address
by clicking on Start/Run
• Type cmd and press Enter
• Type ipconfig and press Enter
• Look for the Default Gateway –
this is usually the address of
the router/DHCP server
• In System Manager, connect to
the device and then start the
Network Configuration wizard to
make sure the DNS server is the
address of the Router or is a
valid DNS Server address given
to the customer by the ISP
41
Networking – Verify controller can connect to
online servers
To verify if the Controller
can see the online servers
for cover art, channels
and updates
– In Composer, click on
Tools/System Diagnostics
– Click on Controller
Networking/Test Internet
Connection
– You should see SUCCESS
for connecting to all three
servers
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Networking: Recommendation
Segregate the customer’s network from
the automation network
– Use a dedicated router for the
automation network if you do not
want to support or are unable to
support the customer’s home
network
– Useful if client is a heavy network
user or has teenagers
– Can be harder to implement if you
have to share resources across both
networks
•
43
You may have to deal with port
forwarding, port triggering, DMZs or
other methods to see resources
across the subnets
Basic Subnet
Setup
44
Network configuration – Basic Subnet Setup
The connection from the phone or cable
company (Internet) into the WAN port of the
home's DSL/Cable modem or router.
The LAN ports on the Home Router create the
Home Network. IP addresses in a configured
range are issued on all LAN ports on the Home
Router.
– Example: 192.168.0.X with a network mask of
255.255.255.0.
45
Network configuration – example (cont.)
Then use a LAN port on the Home Network Router and
connect it to the WAN port on the Home Automation Router.
All of the LAN ports on the Home Automation Router create
the Home Automation network.
– IP addresses in a configured range are issued on all of
the LAN ports on the Home Automation Router.
– Use a different range of addresses 192.168.1.X with a
network mask (255.255.255.0) than is being used by the
Home Network
Potential problems are some sort of firewall configuration or
if you have the same IP range configured for both routers
and/or routers are giving IP addresses to each other
– Note some routers will automatically change to a 10.x.x.x
addressing scheme if a 192.x.x.x addressing scheme is
detected
46
Networking: Advanced Subnet Setup
Connect the automation network first
to the modem then connect the home
network to the automation router
– Opposite of previous
recommendation
– Home computers can “see” the
automation network
– WiFi networks become more
secure in this setup (more detail
in WiFi section)
– For “all in one” router/modem
gear a customer may already
have additional configuration on
the all in one device is likely
necessary
47
Advanced
Subnet
Setup
Automation
Router
Subnet #1
192.168.0.X
scheme
Home Router
Subnet #2
192.168.1.X scheme
Modem to WAN
port on Automation
Router
Control4 recommends anytime you are
attempting network setups that you are
not familiar with to consult with a
networking professional
48
Networking: Alternative to segregating
Connect the automation
network to the home network
via a dedicated switch
–
–
–
49
All devices reside on
same subnet
You become responsible for
home network issues
May have to reset customer
router to get into router
configuration utility or replace
existing router
LAN port to
Switch
50
Security Considerations for a Wired Network
“Always on” broadband internet connections can be
taken advantage of if not secured
– Files, personal information at risk
Recommend all in one Firewall, Virus, Spyware suites
from Norton, McAffe, etc.
– We’ve seen conflicts when trying to use firewall
software from one company, virus scanner from
another company and spyware blocker from a third
company
51
Security Considerations for a Wired Network
– May have to temporarily turn off virus, firewall and
anti-spyware software you have running on
the computer used to set up the home
automation system
• Control4 Composer and System Manager programs
should be added to the “approved” list of programs
that can access the network
• Some virus/firewall software will re-start itself after a
few minutes and you may lose connection with the
automation system if this happens
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Test time (test 1 of 2)
You now have the opportunity to take a short test to
gauge your comprehension and retention of the material
we’ve just covered. You need to score 90% or better to
pass and you can only take the test once per email
address. If you need to take the test again, you will have
to use a different email address.
You can move forward to the test and look over the
questions, then go back and review material if you need
to before you submit your answers.
Feel free to download the presentation in pdf format from
the download tab at the left to refer back to while
completing the test.
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