Not able to use the Link button on the VPage Plugin in QSYS Designer either because your QSYS Core is not around, or your network is blocking broadcast messages? Fear not! This is a workaround to completely setup your VPage stations without ever touching a QSYS Core.
1) Pull together you computer, a switch with PoE, and a VPage station. To make sure your computer is not blocking broadcast packets, we're going to isolate the system from any unknown variables.
2) Set your computer's IP address to be on the same network as what your QSYS Core would be on.
3) Open the BootP program. BootP is a DHCP server that will listen for DHCP/BootP requests from devices on a network. https://alcornmcbride.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360006437774/BootpServer.zip
4) Plug in your VPage Station. After it powers up, flip dipswitch 2 on and off to set it back to factory settings. When the Vpage station boots up from factory settings (before any IP address in configured), it will be begin broadcasting a request for IP. BootP will be able to see this - and you will then be able to select it (be sure to select the control MAC address, not the audio MAC address). Note: the audio mac address always begins with 00:1D...
Once you've double clicked on the control mac address, you can then give it your own control IP. You will see it added to the Relation List, and then if you clear history, you will no longer see it on the request history list.
5) Open VPVCUtility found on the software page of our website. In the upper left broadcast mask box, enter 0.0.0.0. By entering 0.0.0.0, the program allows your computer to see the broadcast message of the stations. You should see your station appear in the left hand side.
At this point, you will see your station's IP, model, and the firmware. Take this time to update the stations firmware if you need to It is recommended to have all stations running on the same . Do this by clicking "Admin" and "Enter Firmware Update Mode".
6) Select your station again on the left hand side, click Admin, then Manual Link (unicast). Here you will fill all of the details about your station - like you would normally do on the QSYS side. After you fill out all of the boxes, send the values to the station. The VPage station will reboot, and will now be configured properly.
7) Lastly, you will need to go into Dante Controller to enable AES67 and create your AES67 Flow.
You now should be set, in that you can install the VPage back into the attraction. QSYS will recognize the station, and everything should be working.
Here's a list of the potential issues you might see and what could cause them:
- Nothing pops up on BootP software. This means that antivirus or firewall is blocking broadcast packets at your computer level and/or your computer is listing to a different network adapter. Try disabling all other network adapters if you think this might be the case.
-Station doesn't show up on VPVCUtilities. This means that the discovery broadcast is being blocked somewhere along the path from the VPage to your computer. If that is the case, you should ask your network person what the difference is between the standalone system you first tried, and what is happening on your attraction's network.