Audio Video Profile Overview

This feature enables configuration of AV profiles on RUCKUS AV switches through the main web management interface or the AV management interface. Use AV profiles to apply standardized network settings for audio-video deployments, ensuring consistent configuration and operational efficiency.

Feature Overview

The AV Profile configurations can be applied directly through the ICX web management interface either through the main interface or the AV management interface. The ICX web management interface provides a more accessible and user-friendly option for customers who do not utilize FastIron Command Line Interface (CLI) or the Unleashed AP interface.

The AV Profiles menu options in the main UI or the AV management interface will only be shown when connecting to AV ICX switches. No separate firmware is necessary. For non-AV switches, the AV Profiles option will not be available.

Supported AV Profile types include:

  • AES67 Audio-Video
  • Dante Audio-Video
  • NDI5-Video
  • Q_SYS-Video
  • Video
  • Voice
  • Data

Key Highlights:

  • Web Management Based Configuration: The GUI-based AV Profiles wizard simplifies configuring Pro AV switches by providing user-friendly interface options that allow you to select the desired configuration settings without having to manually enter the necessary CLI commands.
  • Available on Pro AV compatible devices: The AV Profiles menu or the AV management interface is automatically made available when the FastIron firmware detects Pro AV compatible devices.
  • Unified Experience: The AV Profiles interface and functionality are consistent across all AV switch models.
  • Ease of Access: AV profiles are accessible via a single click of the AV Profiles option on the main menu of the ICX web management interface or selecting the AV management interface when logging into the web management interface.

Default settings are automatically applied to all AV switches using CLI commands during the initial factory-fresh bootup:

  • Default global settings:
    • Set PTP Transparent Clock (TC) per interface using the ptp-clock transparent pkt-type ethernet option e2e step-type onestep command.
    • Enable symmetrical flow control using the symmetrical-flow-control enable command.
    • Configure the Quality of Service (QoS) queuing method to strict order scheduling using the qos mechanism strict command.
    • Configure the IP SSH timeout value to 30 minutes using the ip ssh timeout 30 command.
    • Set timeout for CLI session inactivity to 30 minutes using the cli timeout 30 command.
    • Configure IGMP active mode using the ip multicast active command.
    • Disable EEE using the no eee command.
  • Default VLAN settings:
    • Create a VLAN on VLAN 1.

    • Configure fast leave for multicast listening discovery using the multicast fast-leave-v2 command.

    • Configure IGMP version 2 using the multicast version 2 command.

Requirements

The following conditions are necessary for utilizing this feature:

  • Supported only on the following ICX AV switches:
    • Software: FastIron release 10.0.10h_cd1 and later
    • Hardware: ICX8100-C08PF-V, ICX8100-24P-V, ICX8100-48P-V, ICX8200-C08PFV, ICX8200-24PV, ICX8200-C08ZP-V, ICX8200-24ZP-V, ICX8200-48ZP2-V, ICX8200-48P-V, ICX8200-48PF-V, ICX8200-48PF2-V
  • 10G uplink port and Ethernet cable (CAT 5, CAT 6, or CAT 7) with a cable length of less than 125 meters.

Considerations

Consider the following when configuring and using this feature:

  • The AV profile available on the FastIron web management interface and Unleashed provides easy network configuration for Pro AV devices. However, use only one management interface at a time to configure the AV profile. If you decide to use a different management interface, reset the AV switch to factory default settings before changing the interface through which you configure the switch.
  • By default, all ports are configured with the Data type profile as the initial profile.
  • The commands or the latest settings changes will overwrite the previous commands.
  • Valid VLAN ID range is 1–4095 (except for VLANs 4087 and 4090–4094, which are reserved and cannot be configured).
  • VLAN tagging: Each AV profile belongs to a unique VLAN; two different profiles cannot share the same VLAN.
  • AV Profile and template name lengths are limited to 20 and 30 characters, respectively.
  • The system supports up to 15 AV profile templates, providing 7 predefined AV profile templates and allowing up to 8 additional user-created AV profile templates.
  • At a maximum, 8 AV profiles can be applied per switch.
  • Only one profile can be enabled on a port at any given time.
  • When a stack is comprised of both AV and non-AV model switches, the AV Profile menu will be displayed only if the AV model switch is configured as the Master of the stack. Port selection is allowed on both AV and non-AV model switches.
  • The AV profile relies solely on IGMP snooping for multicast, as most deployments involve Layer 2 edge switches without Layer 3 multicast routing.
  • Applying an AV Profile configuration through the web management interface can take up to 30 seconds and moving a port from one AV template to another template can take up to 45 seconds. This is applicable for both AV web UI and main web UI.
  • Overriding conflicting QoS settings: Conflicting QoS settings will be overridden when pushing the configuration and the old configuration setting will not work.
  • Strict priority forwarding policy: Applied on AV output queues (0-7), all other DSCP will be mapped to a forwarding queue having a priority of 5 or lower.
  • Symmetrical flow control: The ICX switch applies to 0 through 4 queues by default.

Limitations

Note the following limitations regarding this feature:

  • Due to the many CLI commands and their variations, modifying AV profile related configurations (such as VLAN, VE interface, and QoS) directly through the CLI may result in the AV profile functionality failing to work as expected.

    RUCKUS recommends using the ICX web management interface for applying/modifying/deleting any AV profile configuration in the switch.

  • Any changes made on an AV switch through CLI commands are not reflected on the web management interface. Use the web management interface to apply changes to the AV profiles.
  • AV profiles cannot be applied on stacking ports.
  • When applying multiple AV profiles through the web management interface on the same switch, global configurations like QoS, and PTP will be overwritten. This means that only the most recently applied QoS and PTP configurations will be active across the switch, regardless of preceding applications of other AV profiles.
  • MTU is 1500 bytes (by default) for Ethernet II encapsulation and cannot be changed.
  • The AV profile configuration must be manually applied to the uplink port.
  • Disabling PTP in a profile applied to a single port does not affect PTP on other ports within the same switch. However, disabling PTP at the global level will impact all profiles.
  • When enabled, Strict mode is applied to all queues and cannot be set on specific queues.
  • The Quality of Service (QoS) setting is global, and a profile created by you that includes QoS settings may potentially conflict with those in the template.
  • The ICX 8200 family of switches supports one-step PTP transparent clock mode, so FOLLOWUP messages will be discarded.
  • You cannot configure Class of Service (CoS)-related QoS settings from an AV profile.

Best Practices

RUCKUS recommends using the ICX web management interface for applying/modifying/deleting any AV profile configuration in the switch.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following prerequisites are met prior to using this feature:

  • Create the necessary number of VLANs, ensuring the following:
    • Each AV profile can be assigned to a unique VLAN (two different profiles cannot share the same VLAN).
    • Each VLAN has multicast enabled.
    • Each VLAN has a VE interface configured with an assigned IP address and an IP helper address.
    • Each VLAN has IGMP snooping enabled and configured with the query interval, the version (v2 or v3), and fast leave.
  • In global configuration mode, enable transparent clock (TC) mode for Precision Time Protocol (PTP).
  • Ensure Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) and jumbo mode are disabled, and MTU is set to the default 1500 bytes.

Parent topic: Audio Video Profile