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Networking / AV-ITGLOSSARY

Dante

Definition

Dante is an audio-over-IP protocol developed by Audinate. It carries uncompressed multichannel digital audio over standard Ethernet networks with very low latency. Hardware devices offer latency presets of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 ms, with 1 ms as the default. Some high-performance devices also offer 0.15 ms, while Ultimo-based devices and 100 Mbit/s ports cannot go below 1 ms. According to Audinate, 1 ms is sufficient for a very large network with a gigabit core and up to 10 hops between edge switches, and smaller gigabit-only networks can use lower values. Dante Virtual Soundcard, the software version for computers, uses higher settings of 4, 6 or 10 ms, and DVS Pro adds 20 and 40 ms. Clock synchronisation relies on the Precision Time Protocol: IEEE 1588-2002 (PTPv1) in native Dante mode, with IEEE 1588-2008 (PTPv2) added in AES67 mode. Every compatible device contains a Dante chip or a software licence.

In the field

The lower the latency setting, the less network jitter Dante tolerates: a packet that arrives after the configured latency is lost and produces an audible click. Audinate recommends quality of service (QoS) on every Dante network and requires it on 100 Mbit/s or mixed 100 Mbit/s and gigabit networks. Switches are set to trust DSCP markings with strict priority queues, giving time-critical PTP clock events (CS7, 56) the highest priority and audio (EF, 46) medium priority, while the value CS1 (8) is reserved with low priority. Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) is disabled on the ports that carry Dante.

Related lessons

IP Addressing and Subnets→Network Hardware→Dante Fundamentals→Dante Routing and Clocking→

Sources

  • Audinate, Dante Controller User Guide, Latency : 1 ms par défaut, suffisant jusqu'à 10 sauts avec un cœur gigabit, valeurs plus basses sur les petits réseaux gigabit ; 1 ms minimum en 100 Mbit/s et sur Ultimo · dev.audinate.com
  • Audinate FAQ, Dante Virtual Soundcard : 4, 6 ou 10 ms ; DVS Pro ajoute 20 et 40 ms · audinate.com
  • Audinate, Dante Controller User Guide : synchronisation IEEE 1588 PTP (v1 ; v2 en mode AES67) · dev.audinate.com
  • Audinate FAQ, How does Dante use DSCP / Diffserv priority values when configuring QoS? CS7 (56) événements PTP critiques en priorité haute, EF (46) audio en priorité moyenne, CS1 (8) réservé en priorité basse · getdante.com
  • Audinate FAQ, Networks and Switches : QoS obligatoire en 100 Mbit/s, recommandée partout ; EEE à désactiver · support.getdante.com