Dante runs on standard IT networks, alongside your normal data traffic, using conventional switches and cabling. This article summarises what network administrators need to know. For the full details, see Dante Information for Network Administrators (PDF).
How do Dante devices get an IP address?
- Dante devices use DHCP when it's available.
- Without DHCP, a device assigns itself an address in 169.254.0.0/16 (primary network) or 172.31.0.0/16 (secondary network), and keeps looking for a DHCP server.
- Most Dante devices also support static IP addresses.
How are Dante devices discovered?
Dante uses mDNS and DNS-SD to discover devices (multicast 224.0.0.251, UDP 5353).
How does Dante clocking (PTP) work on the network?
- Dante uses PTP version 1 (IEEE 1588-2002) by default. One Leader Clock is elected per subnet and sends multicast sync messages to the followers.
- Followers can be set to send unicast delay requests, to reduce multicast traffic.
- Dante doesn't need PTP-aware switches, and in most cases doesn't benefit from boundary clock or transparent clock features on switches.
How much bandwidth does Dante use?
| Traffic | Typical bandwidth |
|---|---|
| Unicast audio flow (up to 4 channels, 48 kHz, 24-bit) | About 6 Mbps per flow |
| Multicast audio | About 1.5 Mbps per channel |
| Dante video | Up to 950 Mbps, depending on resolution, frame rate, colour format, codec and content |
Audio is unicast by default and can be multicast for one-to-many distribution. Video sent to more than one destination must be multicast. Dante video is optimised for Gigabit Ethernet. Dante audio can't be sent over Wi-Fi.
Do I need QoS?
QoS is needed on networks shared with other traffic, including networks carrying Dante video. On audio-only networks, it's only required if you have 100 Mbps switches or devices, or a mix of 100 Mbps and Gigabit.
Dante uses DiffServ (DSCP). Configure QoS with strict priority queueing. You can re-mark DSCP values to fit your existing QoS scheme, as long as PTP packets still get high priority.
| Priority | Used for | DSCP | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Time-critical PTP events | CS7 | 56 |
| Medium | Audio, PTP v2 | EF | 46 |
| Low | Reserved | CS1 | 8 |
| None | Other traffic | Best effort | 0 |
Do I need IGMP?
IGMP is recommended on mixed networks, networks carrying IP video, or networks with a lot of multicast audio. It isn't needed for audio-only networks with few or no multicast flows. Dante supports IGMP v2 and v3. Elect one IGMP querier per VLAN, and use short query intervals with long timeouts.
Should I turn off Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)?
Yes. Turn off EEE (IEEE 802.3az, "Green Ethernet") on every switch port carrying Dante traffic. EEE can cause poor clock synchronisation and occasional audio dropouts.
Which ports and addresses does Dante use?
| Traffic | Address | Ports |
|---|---|---|
| Device discovery (mDNS) | 224.0.0.251 | UDP 5353 |
| Clocking (PTP) | 224.0.1.129–132 | UDP 319, 320 |
| PTP logging (if enabled) | 239.254.3.3 | UDP 9998 |
| Unicast audio and video | Device IP | UDP 14336–15359 |
| Multicast audio and video | 239.255.0.0/16 | UDP 4321 |
| Multicast control and monitoring | 224.0.0.230–233 | UDP 8700–8708 |
| Audio control | Device IP | UDP 4440, 4444, 4455 |
| Dante Controller metering | Device IP | UDP 8751 |
| Control and monitoring | Device IP | UDP 8800 |
For the full list, see Which network ports does Dante use?