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[Dan Richardson]

In the case with an LS9, an Airport Express, with default security configuration, and an iPad 2, it would not hold a stable connection to the board for more than a couple minutes.

Just as another data point, that's not my experience at all.

[David Parker]

this is all very confusing. Seems everyone has a different experience. I'm running a netgear router now, it has 2ghz and 5ghz options, WEP, etc. I have a lot of dropouts. I switch it back and forth between 5g and 2g depending on which one works best wherever I am. I've also tried having the WEP on and off. I just went out and bought an Airport Express. Hopefully I can get something more stable going. This MAC address seems promising. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to get that going. What exactly is MAC address?

[Mark McFarlane]

.... This MAC address seems promising. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to get that going. What exactly is MAC address?

Every ethernet networkable device has a unique ID number called its MAC address.  Think of it as your social security number (for US citizens).  Manufacturers apply for sets of MAC addresses.

One way to set up a network is to tell the access point/rouer/switch/... to only allow connections of devices with specific MAC addresses.  This combined with hiding the existence of your wireless network (hidden SSID) makes it fairly difficult for someone to casually tap into your network.

MAC addresses can be spoofed, but the likelihood of this happening today in a live sound setup are pretty remote.

[Tim McCulloch]

this is all very confusing. Seems everyone has a different experience. I'm running a netgear router now, it has 2ghz and 5ghz options, WEP, etc. I have a lot of dropouts. I switch it back and forth between 5g and 2g depending on which one works best wherever I am. I've also tried having the WEP on and off. I just went out and bought an Airport Express. Hopefully I can get something more stable going. This MAC address seems promising. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to get that going. What exactly is MAC address?

MAC is Media Access Controller.  It's a permanent, imbedded hex address that is assigned at the time a network-enabled product is manufactured.  The network card on your computer, the WiFi card... each has its own MAC address... and no other device has the same address.

[Mark McFarlane]

A quick note on WEP encryption.  Encryption requires modifying (encrypting) the wifi stream before it is sent, then decoding it, then re-encrypting any return packets (e.g. console meters moving in a tablet remote control app) and then decrypting them in your tablet/PC. 

The encrypt/decrypt computations aren't free, they take some amount of time. Newer Intel chips have hardware support for encryption/decryption but there is still an overhead (latency).  Whether the latency is an issue is going to depend on the capability (compute power) of the devices on each end of the transmit/receive and the sensitivity of the software to the latency.  For a web browser its not an issue but for realtime control and monitoring a console it is possible that the latency would impact the 'realtime feel' of the software, i.e. fader and meter moves may seem to lag.

I've never measured the encryption induced latency so I can't say if it is actually significant or not. It will introduce some additional latency that may or may not be negligible.

[Mark McFarlane]

MAC is Media Access Controller.  It's a permanent, imbedded hex address that is assigned at the time a network-enabled product is manufactured.  The network card on your computer, the WiFi card... each has its own MAC address... and no other device has the same address.

No other device has the same address at the time of manufacture, but MAC addresses can be spoofed. We do it at work for some mission-critical backup systems.  If you need two systems to appear  identical they need the same MAC address. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_spoofing

However, for someone to crack your live sound network that is secured by filtered MAC address they'd have to know a valid address that is allowed to connect to your network, which is a little harder to come by, and not for the casual club goer with an iPhone.

I would consider MAC address filtering, hidden SSID, and static IP addresses adequate security for typical concert, but probably not secure enough for the presidential inauguration, nor for the SXSW festival where 1/4 of your audience will be programmers.

[Luke Geis]

I feel security is important. This is especially because most of us don't spend the time to create truly unique networks for our stuff. My bet is most all of us are still using the stock .128 address for the LS9/M7? I am...... My second bet is that most peeps are also running standard router set ups. using 168.192.0.XXX as the addressing, with minimal security using WEP, in either 5-10 key passwords? Perhaps not? Some form of security is needed. Hiding the ssid is not a bad way to start. You at least need to know what to look for first. Having at least some form of encryption is the only other defense. Not that any really sensitive data is moving through the network, but a true hacker will get in and get what they want. Beyond that there are always free loaders trying to get a free ride on the internet. Any visible network becomes a target for WIFI hunters. You don't want them slowing you down.

I have an Ipad 3 and run the latest IOS. I was having really bad stability issues with it and my LS9. Even after all the updates and creating a new connection every time, I still lost connection. It seems that as long as the Ipad never went to sleep, or I never closed the flap ( that makes the Ipad go to sleep ) I could have worry free Ipad operation. As soon as the Ipad went to sleep in any way, or I closed out the SM app, I would be back to square one. To me the issue was within the network setup? The Ipad would go to sleep and it would drop the network. For whatever reason, once the network was dropped, it would keep doing something that would cause loss of connectivity with the SM app. I did Yamaha's second ( and easiest ) solution for the issue, but it was still an issue. I finally implemented their first solution ( DHCP server ) and the problem is non existent! The biggest issue is that for a novice IP guy, or somebody with little networking experience, the Yamaha instructions are vague at best. Here is my set of instructions to set up a DHCP server on your router. This has solved all my instability issues!

The new thing for running the LS9 and M7's is to set up your router as a DHCP server. This allows easy network setup that requires no static addresses and no need to change network settings in the computer or network devise when switching between networks! I don't see a need to control the desk via MIDI, especially if I could use the desk to control something else with MIDI. Again keeping things simple, nothing more than a host computer, router and network devise is needed. I like having the laptop located at the desk ( for having control over alternate view ) and the desk can be set for sends on faders. I can then use VNC to control the computer with my ipad ( or iphone : ) ) and do what needs to be done. This is the most stable of connections I have found. The SM app can be made to be stable, but it requires the setup of DHCP server on your router.

A how to on setting up DHCP server on your router:

1. log into your router by connecting to it directly via a cat5 cable. Change the network settings in your LAN properties to be in the same range as your router. Usually 192.168.0.2 / 192.168.2.2, or check the user manual to see and follow the instructions. After getting the LAN setting in the proper range open a web browser and type in the correct router address. I.E. 192.168.0.1, or whatever is appropriate for your router. Enter your routers username and password ( usually admin / 1234 when stock) to get into it's settings.

2. Once in the router settings you will be looking through the menus for an option to enable a DHCP server. It should be in a settings option field. Once you find the option enable it.

3. The information given by Yamaha for setting the DHCP server is vague. I hope mine is more useful. You need to set the range and other pertinent information for the server to work. You have to set the routers log in address ( The one used to log into the router ) to be inside the range that you desire the DHCP network to work. So if it's 192.168.2.1 it won't work with the range the desk is located. You either have to change the desk, or the routers log in address. It's easier to set the routers address at this point. Most routers are set for 192.168.0.1, but your may differ. I set mine to be 192.168.0.1 and it works fine.

4. You then need to set the gateway address and dns server addresses. I set them to be the same as the gateway address located in the desk. I.E. 192.168.0.1   you also need to set the subnet mask. 255.255.255.0 is standard and you shouldn't need to change it. If it's not entered in that field enter 255.255.255.0 for the subnet mask.

5. You should also name the server if there is an option. In the domain name / client id field I enter the same name as my network name. It could be PRO SOUND for example.

6. Then you need to set the server range. You only need a range large enough to accommodate the desk and all connected devices plus a few extra. I set mine to accommodate 100 addresses. It's overkill, but I'm not worried about others getting on my network ( it's a hidden SSID and a 10 digit password ) and I wanted to make it easy to remember if I need another network setup. If you have your desk at the stock address of 192.168.0.128, you will want to set the range around that. So for example 192.168.0.100 will be your start address and 192.168.0.200 as your end address. you can set your network to be whatever range you desire. Just remember it all has to be in the same range. I.E. if you decide to go with 192.168.2.128 for your desk you will need to set the rest of the range around 192.168.2.100 - 192.168.2.200 for example.

7. Then you need to set how long the lease will be good for. I set mine to be forever. If you set it for 5 min. that would mean that every five min it would update the lease. This may not be good in the middle of the show when it goes to update and something goes wrong with the lease update. Loss of connection is the result. If you do loose connection from going out of wireless range it doesn't hurt to go into the wireless settings and renew the lease to be sure that a new secure connection has been made.

8. Save/apply all the settings and restart the router. Disconnect from the router and test  the new network.

9. This describes the setup for an ipad type devise. Go to other network ( if yours is hidden.....it should be!!! ) and enter in the network name and password. Once connected enter into the search damians and client id if not already filled in the name of your domain name or client id. If you named it the same as your network simply enter that name. when done all fields should be filled with information from the router. The ip address will be the one that was assigned to the ipad by the router. The subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0 the router will be the 192.168.0.1 address you assigned it and DNS will be the same.

10. for a computer it's even easier! Simply search for your network by going to " search for a network or connection " and again fill in the network name and password. Be sure to set the priority of the network so that it will connect whenever the network is in range. As well as what order the computer will connect to networks when they are in range. All of this is located in network and sharing center when you click on your wireless icon. Once your connected and you have the appropriate priorities set for the network you should never have to touch anything again. at this point all you will need to do is switch between the desired wireless networks. You don't have to add or adjust any info in the network properties.

Most routers will also do MAC filtering. I haven't done this approach yet, but it seems to be working for others. If this is a simpler task a how to on it would be nice. My How to is not the best but should get you there. Feel free to update mine if things are wrong. But I can say that the DHCP server setting has the same latency as any other way I have ran the desk ( remotely ) and it is stable!

[Bob Charest]

this is all very confusing. Seems everyone has a different experience. I'm running a netgear router now, it has 2ghz and 5ghz options, WEP, etc. I have a lot of dropouts. I switch it back and forth between 5g and 2g depending on which one works best wherever I am. I've also tried having the WEP on and off. I just went out and bought an Airport Express. Hopefully I can get something more stable going. This MAC address seems promising. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to get that going. What exactly is MAC address?

Hi David,

We did a few things to assure a stable wireless connection. We have a PC connected via ethernet to the router. The LS9 is connected to the router. We then connect a Ubiquiti Bullet Access Point (running at 5GHz) with a beefy Qualcom antenna to the router. We connect to the PC via VNC on an iPad that connects to our network via the Ubiquiti AP at 5GHz using the Qualcom antenna.

At an outdoor fair we tested distance connectivity (line of sight.) we were still connected with no lag at 1000 + feet away. We use WEP. All IP addresses are hard coded, as the only delays inside our network  have been DHCP timeouts. There are not that many addresses to administer: The Ubiquit AP, the laptop, the LS9, both Sennheiser NET1 units, and a spare laptop. Having a static IP on the PC connected to the LS9 also simplifies VNC connection. The iPad is the only device that is assigned an IP via DHCP. This setup has worked very well for us.

One thing you might want to consider: In highly congested 2.4GHz environments, your router's CPU  may be getting overwhelmed if there are many 2.4 Access Points and wireless phones in the space. We had this unhappy experience twice. Both times the venues had many (12 to 14) AP's and once the people arrived with their phones, we couldn't maintain a connection. Shutting off the 2.4GHz radio in the router solved that problem (the second time it happened!) We only keep 2.4GHz on now so band members can adjust their IEM mixes with their 2.4GHz Android phones/tablets (we are using Air Fader Server on the ethernet attached PC.) Once Adam Ellsworth brings out an iOS enabled client for Air Fader the 2.4 radio will be shut off for good. All band members are using iPads for their scores, so they will be able to connect to Air Fader Server using the 5GHz path. This will be good until 5GHz phones/tablets become the norm...  If you have line of sight, try shutting off the 2.4GHz radio in the router and use only5GHz.

Where the Airport is located (in the doghouse or not...) might affect how well wireless is received/transmitted, especially at 5GHz. That's why we went with an external AP with an antenna rated for campgrounds.

Best regards,.
Bob Charest

[David Parker]

Hi David,

We did a few things to assure a stable wireless connection. We have a PC connected via ethernet to the router. The LS9 is connected to the router. We then connect a Ubiquiti Bullet Access Point (running at 5GHz) with a beefy Qualcom antenna to the router. We connect to the PC via VNC on an iPad that connects to our network via the Ubiquiti AP at 5GHz using the Qualcom antenna.

At an outdoor fair we tested distance connectivity (line of sight.) we were still connected with no lag at 1000 + feet away. We use WEP. All IP addresses are hard coded, as the only delays inside our network  have been DHCP timeouts. There are not that many addresses to administer: The Ubiquit AP, the laptop, the LS9, both Sennheiser NET1 units, and a spare laptop. Having a static IP on the PC connected to the LS9 also simplifies VNC connection. The iPad is the only device that is assigned an IP via DHCP. This setup has worked very well for us.

One thing you might want to consider: In highly congested 2.4GHz environments, your router's CPU  may be getting overwhelmed if there are many 2.4 Access Points and wireless phones in the space. We had this unhappy experience twice. Both times the venues had many (12 to 14) AP's and once the people arrived with their phones, we couldn't maintain a connection. Shutting off the 2.4GHz radio in the router solved that problem (the second time it happened!) We only keep 2.4GHz on now so band members can adjust their IEM mixes with their 2.4GHz Android phones/tablets (we are using Air Fader Server on the ethernet attached PC.) Once Adam Ellsworth brings out an iOS enabled client for Air Fader the 2.4 radio will be shut off for good. All band members are using iPads for their scores, so they will be able to connect to Air Fader Server using the 5GHz path. This will be good until 5GHz phones/tablets become the norm...  If you have line of sight, try shutting off the 2.4GHz radio in the router and use only5GHz.

Where the Airport is located (in the doghouse or not...) might affect how well wireless is received/transmitted, especially at 5GHz. That's why we went with an external AP with an antenna rated for campgrounds.

Best regards,.
Bob Charest

This is a lot to digest. I work very small venues, and I have very limited space, hence the need for the ipad, so having a computer connected to the mixer in addition to the ipad is out of the question. I work alone and have an hour to load out everything. Turning off the 2.4ghz is an option that might help out. I've gotten the best results from just mixing on headphones after the initial soundcheck when the mixer cannot be in a good location. When the ipad is working, it's awesome, actually easier to mix on than the mixer itself.

[Luke Geis]

David, Bob is talking basically of running the system via VNC, instead of the SM app. He went to extremes to get range and reliability. Most of the time I would bet that you would never need to have the ipad more than 100' away from the mixer. Which if that is where your router is located you should have no issues. Using the Yamaha recommended DHCP server will get the stability you desire with the functionality. I like having some form of redundancy, so I always have the PC sitting next to the desk. If I lose the SM I can get into my PC via VNC and take control again. Also I can do this to adjust dynamics and effects without having to walk back to the desk. That being said, I have my desk set up side/back stage a lot these days. I like being the non existent sound guy sitting at his post with nothing but a PC/Ipad. Where's the mixer : )

The connection with SM on a laptop over wireless has never once given me an issue. It is as solid as it comes. The only thing that seems to be dodgy is the Ipad SM APP. Since going to a DHCP server set up I have not had an issue with the Ipad no matter what I do. As I mentioned the SM app on the Ipad only seemed to drop connection when you let it go to sleep, or you kill the app and then open it back up again. After re-establishing a new connection with the router ( from the Ipad ), if you never allow the Ipad to go to sleep, or close the app, you should never have an issue. That is not a fun way to run your show though. The other cool thing about running the router as a DHCP server is that you no longer have to go into network setting and re-configure again. The connection is automatic and all you would need to do to switch the network is to simply pick the new network and connect.

[ProSoundWeb Community]