This article details how to establish a connection to a console or device outputting EDMX, the proprietary DMX-over-Ethernet protocol used by ETC consoles such as Eos, Ion, or Congo, or by ETC devices such as Net2 Nodes.
Overview
Unlike when connecting to any other consoles, devices or protocols, wysiwyg connects to an EDMX stream ‘natively’, not via Live mode’s Device Manager. In order to do this, wysiwyg must be configured to look for an EDMX network, which is done by enabling EDMX reception. If that network is available, wysiwyg connects to it automatically on startup and begins receiving EDMX data packets (and therefore begins visualizing the console’s output) as soon as a file is open. In order to achieve correct visualization, fixtures in the .wyg file must be patched to the EDMX universe, not to individual DMX universes (as they would be when connecting to any other console/device/protocol) and the patch in the .wyg file must match the patch on the console, else the visualization will be incorrect.
Enabling EDMX Reception
The first step in establishing the connection to an EDMX network is to enable EDMX reception. Next, the application which allows wysiwyg to connect to an EDMX network must be configured correctly, and it must be allowed through any firewalls running, or the EDMX stream will likely not reach wysiwyg.
To configure wysiwyg for EDMX reception:
- Run wysiwyg.
- Without opening a file, click the Options menu and select Application Options.
- Click the Additional Interfaces tab.
- In the ETC Interface section, click the Allow EDMX reception checkbox.
- If needed, change the ETCNet 2 Version as required, although in most cases you will be using V4.
- Click OK to save this setting.
- Click OK to close the message that you must restart wysiwyg in order for the new settings to take effect.
- Click the File menu and select Exit to close wysiwyg.
In order to receive the EDMX stream, wysiwyg must run an EDMX “listener” app called AppMux. AppMux is always installed together with wysiwyg, does not have a user interface (one is not required, as its sole purpose is to pick up EDMX data packets off the network, and stream them into wysiwyg) and is started automatically by wysiwyg when EDMX reception is enabled as described above. AppMux runs in the background and does not require any user interaction.
Before starting wysiwyg once again, there is one additional step you must take in order to ensure that EDMX data packets are actually received by wysiwyg: ensure that AppMux runs in Windows XP Service Pack 2 Compatibility Mode and as Administrator.
To configure AppMux to run correctly:
- Navigate to the Bin folder within the wysiwyg installation folder, typically C:\Program Files\WYSIWYG Release XX\Bin or C:\Program Files (x86)\WYSIWYG Release XX\Bin on 64bit operating systems, where XX is the Release/”version” number
- Right-click on the file AppMux.exe and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
- In the window that appears, click the Compatibility tab.
- Click the Run this program in compatibility mode for checkbox.
- From the drop-down under this checkbox, select Windows XP (Service Pack 2).
- Click the Run this program as an administrator checkbox.
- Click OK to save these settings and close the Properties window for AppMux.exe.
- Close the Bin folder.
Disabling Firewalls
Any firewall software that may be running on the computer running wysiwyg, including the Windows Firewall, will most likely block the EDMX stream from reaching the AppMux app. As such, firewalls must either be disabled, or the AppMux app must be whitelisted (added as an “exception”) in the firewall software. The Windows Firewall and its exceptions are managed via the Windows Control Panel; please consult Windows Help for information on using it. If you use another firewall software, perhaps one that is part of a “security suite”, please consult the documentation/help that came with the software for instructions on how to disable it/add exceptions to it.
The EDMX Universe
There is one more very important thing to remember: again unlike when connecting to any other consoles or devices, in order for wysiwyg to be able to visualize the incoming EDMX stream fixtures must be patched to the “EDMX” universe and not to a regular DMX universe. This is the only universe to which AppMux can stream the EDMX data packets, and if fixtures are not patched here, they will not be able to interpret the console’s output.
To add the EDMX universe:
- Switch to DATA mode.
- Click the Patch view tab.
- Click the Patch shortcuts tab.
- Right-click in the Patch shortcuts area and select New Patch.
- In the window that appears select the EDMX Universe Type and click OK.
Patching Fixtures
As for all other console/device connections, it is important to remember that the patch in your .wyg file must match the patch on the console. Unlike for other consoles/devices, which use multiple DMX universes of 512 channels each, EDMX is a single universe (“limited” to 32,768 channels). Patch your fixtures in WYSIWYG the same as you patched them on the console (or vice-versa).
Note that if you already patched fixtures in WYSIWYG to individual DMX universes, there is no way to automatically “transfer” the patch to the EDMX universe, so this must be done manually; since most consoles that support EDMX also support the sACN protocol, if you have a lot of fixtures in your file and if, therefore, it would take a long time to transfer the patch, you may wish to consider connecting via sACN (as described in Appendix C of the WYSIWYG Reference Guide and in the following thread on our Forum: http://forums.cast-soft.com/index.php?threads/connecting-to-art-net-and-sacn-streams.674/.)
Visualization
To visualize the console’s output once you’ve opened a correctly-patched file, simply switch to Live mode. As a simple test, bring up some dimmer channels, and beams of conventional fixtures which are patched to those channels will appear. If they do not, see the troubleshooting section below.
Troubleshooting the Connection
Unfortunately, in some cases, establishing the connection is not as easy as described above. Let us remember though, that EDMX and the related technologies and software are quite old (at least in computing terms), and sometimes it is simply impossible to keep things compatible with newer operating systems. Below are a few troubleshooting tips which should help you establish the connection if simply doing the above does not work.
Dealing with Multiple Network Cards
The majority of modern/current computers feature multiple network interfaces. This is especially true of laptops powerful enough to properly run wysiwyg Perform: most such laptops feature one wired and one wireless (Wi-Fi) connection. Since AppMux is not able to auto-detect which network connection the EDMX data packets are streaming through, this information must be supplied by the user.
This is accomplished via a simple utility called NICPicker. NICPicker is part of ETC’s Network Configuration Editor (NCE) software suite; NCE is available for free from the ETC website—simply go to http://www.etcconnect.com/Search-Documentation.aspx?DocType=138 and search for the word once. Once you’ve downloaded and installed NCE (use the ‘Typical Installation’ option), you will find NICPicker.exe in the C:\Program Files\ETC\NICPicker folder (or the C:\Program Files (x86)\ETC\NICPicker folder, if running a 64bit operating system).
IMPORTANT NOTE: Just like AppMux, NICPicker must also be run in Windows XP Service Pack 2 Compatibility Mode and As Administrator. Please follow the instructions above to configure NICPicker to run correctly.
NICPicker is very simple to use: run it, click the checkbox for the network interface that is connected to your EDMX network/source, and save the configuration.
Note that extremely rare cases exist, where NICPicker fails to correctly select the network interface. In such situations, your only option is to disable the network interface that is not being used for EDMX. On a laptop computer, this is typically the Wi-Fi interface; most laptops feature a physical switch or a keyboard key combination by which Wi-Fi can be enabled or disabled—use this to disable the WiFi interface. On a desktop machine, access the Network and Sharing Center control panel and click the Change adapter settings link on the right. The window that opens displays all the available network interfaces. Right-click on the one that is not connected to the EDMX network/source, and select Disable from the pop-up menu; repeat this if you have more than two active network interfaces.
Once you’ve disabled all the unnecessary network interfaces, restart your computer.
Using Net2Util to Diagnose Network Problems
If even after following the tips above regarding multiple network cards, you still cannot visualize your console’s output in wysiwyg, the problem is likely in your network configuration. ETC’s Net2Util software, available by request only from ETC Technical Support, is great for diagnosing problems you may have with your network configuration. Here are some basic tips on how to use it:
- Click the Start button to list all the available EDMX-capable devices/consoles on your network. If you do not see your console or device in this list, check your IP addressing. Remember that your console/device must be on the same subnet as the computer running wysiwyg, otherwise, EDMX data packets will not reach the computer.
- To ensure that EDMX data is actually being received by your computer, click the EDMX button. In the window that appears, set the EDMX Start address and the number of EDMX channels to “listen” for (top-left corner of the window), and then click the Live EDMX button: the grid below will fill up with numbers (0 through 255) indicating the level of each channel. If no numbers appear, your console/device may not be outputting EDMX packets correctly, so check it’s settings.
NOTE: More information about Net2Util and setting the IP address for the console is available from ETC technical support at 1.800.688.4116. For information on how to set/change the IP address for your computer, please consult Windows Help.