What do you all Run your Sound Effects From?

[techwiz24]

Can I use it too it sounds interesting
I am a aspiring coder to so I could give you tips if you want

Feel free! Maybe I'll consider creating a thread so we don't hijack this one...

 

[Davetp]

What language is it based with

 

[techwiz24]

What language is it based with

Python 3, the ui uses GtK+ 3

 

[Davetp]

Thanks

 

[AlexDonkle]

How would it make troubleshooting more complicated? After setup is complete, it makes troubleshooting quicker, if you are getting something on the redundant loop but not on the main you know exactly what section of cable the error is in. In the dozen Dante systems I have put together in the last year, a redundant network has saved me a handful of times, and if I had a single network system in those times the show would have come to a halt or curtain would have been delayed a bit.

tldr:
Use redundant systems. A 24 port Dante switch is $150 for a cheap one, a 5 port is $35, and the copper is pennies per foot. That money is money well spent to ensure continuity of service to the clients and audience we service.

The redundant computer makes complete sense for pro-level performances, and like you said, switches are cheap compared to the rest of the system. The troubleshooting issue I've seen is where someone pulls a network cable, reconnects it into the wrong switch, and then has no idea what happened and needs to call someone (i.e. they don't understand how network switches work at all). This more typical at the HS level, where everyone is still learning.

As a curiosity, redundant switches compared to running network cables from both playback computers into 1 network switch, the 2 points of failure you're concerned about are (1) the network switch itself goes down mid-show or (2) only 1 of the ports on a Yamaha Dante card fails, but not the other port remains working. Those are the general concerns?

 

[themuzicman]

The redundant computer makes complete sense for pro-level performances, and like you said, switches are cheap compared to the rest of the system. The troubleshooting issue I've seen is where someone pulls a network cable, reconnects it into the wrong switch, and then has no idea what happened and needs to call someone (i.e. they don't understand how network switches work at all). This more typical at the HS level, where everyone is still learning.

A little education on network topology goes a long way. Color coded cat5 cables are a cheap way to fix this, E-Tape around your regular cables in different colors (I use Red for Main, Blue for Backup, and Black for the control network) is a cheaper solution. At the pro-level we are using programs like Show Tracker and Show Builder to generate labels for every piece of cable in the system so there is absolutely no confusion. A little labelling goes a long way as well.

As a curiosity, redundant switches compared to running network cables from both playback computers into 1 network switch, the 2 points of failure you're concerned about are (1) the network switch itself goes down mid-show or (2) only 1 of the ports on a Yamaha Dante card fails, but not the other port remains working. Those are the general concerns?

I run 3 full networks on a typical Dante system with 3 full closed loops on their own switches -- A. Main Dante Audio Network B. Backup Dante Audio Network C. Control Network with Network B on a battery backup, possibly Network C as well if the control network needs to be regularly accessed after tech.

This setup provides redundancy a. in case power goes down, reducing powerup times when power is returned to the system b. physical network redundancy in case a switch goes down c. redundancy in case something in the audio network starts arbitrarily dropping samples from the audio stream and d. redundancy in case there is a bad port on any I/O card not necessarily in that order of importance.

 

[rphilip]

I run 2 Mac Mini's for QLab, one connected to a Main Network and one connected to the Redundant network.

How are you getting Dante audio from the Mac Mini into the secondary network? Last I looked Dante Virtual sound card only supports operation on the primary network. (I'd love to be proved wrong however).

Philip

 

[themuzicman]

How are you getting Dante audio from the Mac Mini into the secondary network? Last I looked Dante Virtual sound card only supports operation on the primary network. (I'd love to be proved wrong however).

Philip

You are correct. I have seen a few different ways of ensuring redundancy -- A. is to patch both computers into the main network, the redundant network functions for everything else on the Dante networks, and then a mute group and MIDI mute toggles between Main and Backup computers to ensure you aren't outputting both computers all the time from both an audio and MIDI standpoint. B. is to patch Computer 1 to Main and Control and Computer 2 to Backup and Control and to crosspatch in Dante Controller - this will show crosspatch errors, but as long as you sync wordclock to network and ignore the warnings it works well and gives you full redundancy of both network and computer.