Architecture for Control Networks: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:46, 5 October 2011

Revision as of 17:56, 5 January 2012

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'''Architecture for Control Networks''' ('''ACN''') is a suite of [[network protocol]]s for theatrical control being developed by [[Entertainment Services and Technology Association]] (ESTA). The first official release is formally referred to as ANSI E1.17 - 2006 - Entertainment Technology - Architecture for Control Networks.

It maywas replacedesigned as a replacement for [[DMX (lighting)|DMX]] as the control protocol for lighting systems and willcan be used for controlling more complex devices like video playback servers (media servers) and [[audio mixer]]s and has been proposed as the sole or primary transport for [[Midi#HD Protocol|HD-MIDI]]. The protocol is designed to be layered on top of [[User Datagram Protocol|UDP/IP]] and therefore will run over standard, inexpensive [[Ethernet]] and [[802.11]] (Wi-Fi) network links.

ACN relies on [[User Datagram Protocol|UDP]] in order to pass its messages. Where reliability is required, the Session Data Transport sub protocol allows semi-reliability of only the latest value for a particular "channel".

==In practice==

ACN will require a number of new technologies in order to implement it compared to the [[DMX512]] standard. ACN requires the use of [[multicast]] Ethernet, so in larger networks, a switch that is [[Internet Group Management Protocol|IGMP]] snooping compatible will greatly improve performance.

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==Protocol architecture==

ACN defines a number of sub protocols. These protocols all follow the [[Type-length-value|TLV]] style '''Protocol Data Units''' ('''PDU'''). These can be nested in predefined hierarchy.

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==Interoperability profiles==

The ACN is not closed in application. The protocol may be further defined via interoperability profiles which will extend various layers of the ACN stack, or define how elements of the ACN architecture must be used in a particular situation to achieve interoperability. For example, by providing specific values for timing parameters to be used in a particular network environment.

==Implementations==

E1.31 (Streaming DMX over ACN) is supported on [[Linux]] ([[ARM architecture|ARM]]; [[Intel 80386|i386]], [[x86-64]]), and [[Macintosh]] ([[PowerPC]]; i386, x86-64) by the [Open Lighting Architecture.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://opendmx.net/index.php/OLA |title=Open Lighting Architecture]. |accessdate=2012-01-05}}</ref>

There is currently an OpenACN implementation project in progress which is hosted by SourceForge. This will provide open source library implementation which is intended to be portable to a variety of platforms from small embedded devices, to Windows and [[POSIX]] conformant operating systems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/projects/openacn/ |title=OpenACN |accessdate=2011-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.openacn.org/ |title=OpenACN home page |accessdate=2011-08-25}}</ref>

There is yet another open source ACN project on [http://acn.codeplex.com/ [Codeplex]] which is implemented in C# and aims to provide a full managed code implementation of the standard and many of the sub protocols associated with ACN.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://acn.codeplex.com/|title=Architecture for Control Networks project home page|accessdate=5 October 2011}}</ref>

== See also ==

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* [[Lighting control console]]s for stage lighting and other DMX-512 devices

* [[Art-Net]], a proprietary protocol for transmitting DMX-512 over UDP/IP

* [[Protocol for Stage Illumination]] (PSI), an open protocol for native communication over IP networks

==References==

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==External links==

* [http://opendmx.net/index.php/OLA Open Lighting Architecture]

* [http://engarts.com/acn/ ACN information]

* [http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/CP/projs.html ESTA's Technical Standards Program]

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[[Category:Stage lighting]]

[[Category:Internet protocols]]