Vari-Lite, industry pioneers in moving head lighting control and a Signify entertainment lighting brand, today announced a software update to the Vision.Net Gateway that enables the “WAN” network port on the popular architectural lighting management device.
“In many applications, facilities want to isolate the lighting network from the larger LAN/WAN network. However, the downside of this approach is that, by definition, it makes it difficult to access the lighting network from elsewhere in the facility,” says Jon Hole, Global Product Manager, Vari-Lite Systems and Control at Signify. “The ‘WAN’ port on the Gateway connects it with the wider network, ensuring technicians can keep the lighting network separate from the rest of the facility’s IT network while still providing access via the Gateway for system monitoring or adjustments to timed events.”
The Vision.Net Gateway is an expandable DIN-rail mounted network gateway that can initiate timed events, provides expandable RS485 and DMX connectivity, and more. The new update enables the “WAN” port on the Vision.Net Gateway, a second NIC that is a physically separate interface from the “LAN” interface currently enabled for connection to the lighting network.
The “WAN” port also allows users to control the lighting without directly connecting to the lighting network. Operators can adjust lighting from a laptop or mobile device connected to the facility’s wireless network using the browser-based Gateway On-the-Go Interface or they can use a Vision.Net Touchscreen installed elsewhere in the building.
“The Vision.Net Gateway is a key component to our architectural lighting strategy,” explains Hole. “The Gateway provides a centralized point to adjust elements such as timed events—even from the facility’s LAN network—while preserving the distributed processing capabilities that makes Vision.Net so powerful and scalable.”
