Audio-Visual Profile Support for an ICX Switch

An Audio-Visual (AV) profile manages and optimizes audio and video signals over an IP network, such as a local area network (LAN) or the internet, to provide scalable, flexible, and reliable audio-visual delivery systems.

Overview

The AV profile is designed to deliver audio-visual applications using IP network infrastructure. With an AV profile created from the RUCKUS Unleashed web interface, a RUCKUS AP can transmit configuration settings to an ICX AV switch, enabling the switch to effectively handle audio-visual traffic. An ICX AV switch can also be configured from the ICX CLI interface. Based on the AV template, the configuration is pushed to an ICX AV switch.

Requirements

  • Supported only on the following ICX AV switches:
    • Software: FastIron release 10.0.20a and later, or 10.0.10d and later.
    • Hardware: ICX8100-24P-V, ICX8100-48P-V, ICX8100-C08PF-V, ICX8200-24PV, ICX8200-24ZP-V, ICX8200-48P, ICX8200-48P-V, ICX8200-48PF, ICX8200-48PF-V, ICX8200-48PF2, ICX8200-48PF2-V, ICX8200-48ZP2-V, ICX8200-C08PFV, ICX8200-C08ZP-V.
      200.19 MR - UN-15411
  • Maximum number of ICX switches and AV profiles supported in RUCKUS Unleashed:
    • Maximum of eight ICX switches for Unleashed bridge mode.
    • Maximum of 16 ICX switches for Unleashed Dedicated mode.
    • Maximum of eight AV profiles supported for one ICX switch.
  • 10G uplink port and Ethernet cable (CAT 5, CAT 6, or CAT 7) with a cable length of less than 125 meters.
  • VLAN tagging:
    • Each AV profile belongs to a unique VLAN, two different profiles cannot share the same VLAN.
  • Set PTP Transparent Clock (TC) per interface.
  • Disable EEE.
  • Disable MTU, the value is set to 1500 by default.
  • Disable jumbo frame and storm control.

Considerations

Consider the following when configuring and using this feature:

  • Reconfiguring a switch: The switch needs to be reconfigured whenever it is reconnected.
  • Replacing a switch: If a new switch replaces an old one, you must reconfigure and delete the old entry from the RUCKUS Unleashed web interface to keep your network configurations up-to-date.
  • Updating stack unit ID: If a stack reboots, the stack unit ID in the XML ports-list nodes may vary and need to be updated.
  • Stack unit limit: ICX 8200 AV switches support stacking up to 12 units.
  • Overriding conflicting QoS settings: Conflicting QoS settings will be overridden when pushing the configuration, and the old configuration setting will not work. A warning message is displayed in the RUCKUS Unleashed web interface.
  • VLAN range: The valid VLAN range is 1 through 4086.
  • Template limit: Six default templates are provided, and an additional eight custom templates can be created.
  • AV profile limit: A maximum of eight AV profiles per ICX switch can be created, and a port can only be bound to one AV profile.
  • 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: By default, the ICX switch applies symmetrical flow control to queues 0 through 4.

Limitations

Note the following limitations regarding this feature:

  • An AV profile for an ICX switch can be configured from the RUCKUS Unleashed web interface and the ICX CLI interface, but the configuration of other switch settings must be carried out directly on the switch. Therefore, potential configuration conflicts may arise, such as the possibility of AV profile settings being overridden later within the switch itself.
  • By default, the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size is set to 1500 bytes for Ethernet II encapsulation.
  • When enabled, Strict mode is applied to all queues and cannot be set on specific queues.
  • Use the broadcast limit, multicast limit, and unknown-unicast limit FastIron commands to manage traffic limits on broadcast, multicast, and unknown-unicast traffic, respectively.
  • The Quality of Service (QoS) setting is global, and a profile created by the user 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.
  • A stack port cannot be bound to an AV profile.
  • ICX 8100 AV switches do not support stacking.
  • Cannot configure Class of Service (CoS)-related QoS settings from an AV profile.

Best Practices

This feature has no special recommendations for feature enablement or usage.

Prerequisites

Beginning with RUCKUS Unleashed 200.16, AV profile support is available on specific models of RUCKUS Unleashed-managed ICX switches. Ensure that the ICX switch is managed by an Unleashed AP.

In this section:

  1. AV Profile Overview
    AV profiles are configurations associated with switch ports and AV traffic on ICX switches. You can view and manage AV profiles configured on ICX switches, including profile details, associated templates, and port-level assignments.
  2. Creating an AV Profile on an ICX Switch
    You can use an AV profile created in the RUCKUS Unleashed web interface to enable the ICX AV switch to effectively handle audio‑visual traffic by prioritizing latency‑sensitive traffic, enabling time synchronization, and optimizing multicast delivery.
Parent topic: ICX Switch Management