Networking Overview

Networking is essential for Disguise systems in most productions, enabling the key benefits in scalability and redundancy of the system. By connecting multiple servers together, Disguise enables users to handle larger projects and distribute processing power, allowing for easy expansion of capabilities as production demands grow. Simultaneously, this networked approach facilitates the implementation of failover systems, ensuring show continuity and minimizing the risk failures. These networking capabilities empower Disguise to deliver robust, scalable, and fault-tolerant solutions that can adapt to the most demanding show environments.

Disguise utilizes a proprietary networking system called d3Net, which allows for Director/Actor operation. This setup enables you to sequence shows whose output requirements exceed the capabilities of a single machine. With d3Net, you can design and sequence an entire show on one machine (such as a laptop) and then run it on a network of machines for the actual performance.

d3Net consists of different machine roles:

1. Director: The main control machine that manages the show and synchronizes all other machines.
2. Actors: Output machines that follow the Director’s instructions and render content.
3. Understudies: Backup machines that can take over if any other machine fails.
4. Editors: Additional machines used for simultaneous project editing.

This networked approach offers several benefits:

• Scalability: Easily expand your setup to accommodate larger shows or more complex content.
• Redundancy: Implement backup systems to ensure show continuity in case of hardware failure.
• Collaborative workflow: Allow multiple team members to work on different aspects of the project simultaneously.
• Distributed processing: Spread the computational load across multiple machines for improved performance.

To fully leverage the power of networked Disguise servers, it’s essential to set up your network correctly. This involves proper IP configuration, subnet management, and following best practices for network security and performance.

Network Configuration Recommended Practices

When setting up a network of Disguise media servers, it’s crucial to follow recommended practices to ensure optimal performance and security. Here are the key points to consider:

1. Set individual subnets for each interface

   • Assign a unique subnet to each network interface on your media servers.
   • This helps in organising and isolating network traffic, improving overall network management.

2. Set unique IP addresses for each machine

   • Ensure that every machine in your network has a unique IP address, either via a static IP address or DHCP.
   • This prevents IP conflicts and allows for proper communication between devices.

3. Ensure all machines are on the same subnet and can communicate via UDP and TCP on that subnet

   • Ensure that all machines in your network can communicate with each other via UDP and TCP on the same subnet.

4. Isolate d3Net traffic on a separate subnet

   • If possible, isolate the d3Net traffic on a separate subnet from your other event networks.
   • This helps in preventing potential security risks and network congestion.

Network Isolation and Security:

Disguise is a media platform focussed on video playback and realtime rendering applications. If you need to use Disguise in a secure environment, please see Security, and for specific guidance on ports and firewalls, see this guide.

Note

Disguise will not provide support for, nor be liable for, any security issues arising from exposing these machines to public networks. Proceed with caution and at your own risk.

By following these guidelines, you can create a robust and secure network environment for your media servers, ensuring optimal performance while minimizing potential security risks.