This is because you have Active Clock Status Monitoring switched on, and Dante Controller has identified that the device is showing signs of significant instability. This means that the device is at risk of losing sync with the Leader Clock, at which point it will be automatically muted.To toggle Clock Health Monitoring on and off, click the Clock Status Monitoring button on the main toolbar: Usually this is the result of a network configuration or hardware issue that is causing inconsistent packet timing. For example:
- Energy Efficient Ethernet (‘Green Ethernet’) functionality is active on a switch.EEE is a power-management system for Ethernet switches, and can easily interfere with clock synchronisation. Audinate recommends that you avoid unmanaged switches with EEE functionality, and fully disable EEE on any managed switches.
- There is a 100 Mb switch or link where a Gigabit connection is required.If your devices require Gigabit connections, make sure there are no 100 Mb links or switches in the chain. Audinate recommends always using Gigabit switches for network backbones.
- One or more of your switches are incorrectly configured, or are not suitable for Dante networking.Ensure that you are using switches that support QoS, and Dante traffic is properly prioritised.
- Network stress from other sources.If you are running traffic from other sources across the network, it may be causing bandwidth issues that are interfering with Dante packet timing.
- Excessive multicast traffic.Using multicast flows where they are not actually necessary can overload a network, particularly if there are any 100 Mb switches or links present. Consider switching some subscriptions to unicast to take the pressure off the slower nodes in your network. The Dante multicast audio bandwidth for the network is displayed in the Dante Controller menu bar.
As a rule of thumb, total bandwidth utilisation (including multicast and unicast) on any given link should not exceed 70% of the supported bandwidth for that link. Utilisation above 70% of supported bandwidth can adversely impact clock synchronization (especially if there is also non-Dante traffic on the network).It is also recommended (for this particular issue, and in general) that you ensure all your Dante devices are using the latest firmware, and that you are using the latest version of Dante Controller.