Sencore VB440 User manual

VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer
User’s Manual
Applies to software release v6.0
April 2021

VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual
Revision 87ab646 (2021-04-28)
Copyright
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About Sencore
Sencore is an engineering leader in the development of high-quality signal transmission solutions for the
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includes video delivery products, system monitoring and analysis solutions, and test and measurement
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Contents
Contents 3
1 Introduction 4
1.1 About the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer ....................... 4
1.2 How to Use This Manual ............................... 4
2 SAFETY 5
3 Installation and initial setup 6
3.1 Prerequisite ...................................... 6
3.2 Quick Installation Guide ............................... 6
3.3 Accessing the User Interface ............................ 7
3.4 Graphical User Interface ............................... 8
3.5 Configuring Ethernet settings ............................ 9
4 The VB440 Graphical User Interface 10
5 The VB440 expert user interface 47
5.0.1 Monitoring/configuration – Summary .................... 48
5.0.2 Multicasts — Streams ............................ 50
5.1 Data .......................................... 54
5.1.1 Data — Configuration ............................ 54
5.1.2 Data — OS Update ............................. 55
5.1.3 Data — Eii .................................. 56
A Appendix: PTP and BMCA 57
B Appendix: 2110 Timing model 60
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 3

1 Introduction
1.1 About the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer
The VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer performs monitoring and analytics in real-time for high bitrate
streams typically seen in studios. It supports RTP streams carrying SMPTE 2022-6 and 2110 streams,
optionally protected by SMPTE 2022-7.
The VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer enables operators to inspect the individual streams and to verify
that they are compliant.
The VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer comes with dual 100Gbps network ports, making it a future proof
solution. Each VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer runs an HTTP server with the client as a web browser,
so there is no need to install custom software on computers needing access to the measurement data.
1.2 How to Use This Manual
This User’s Manual is valid for software version 6.0 of the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer.
Throughout this manual the term stream is often used rather than unicast or multicast. One stream
may consist of one or more services, and refers to one IP uni- or multicast.
Chapter 2 SAFETY lists safety precautions, and this chapter should be read prior to equipment
installation.
Chapter 3 Installation and initial setup explains how to install the equipment and also how to
perform the necessary initial configuration of the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer management IP
address. A step-by-step quick installation guide is found in section 3.2.
Chapter 4 The VB440 Graphical User Interface describes the graphical user interface (GUI) as
seen when pointing a web browser to the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer’s IP address.
5.1.2 Data — OS Update explains how to upgrade the software on the VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer.
Note that current version of the User’s Manual can be obtained from Sencore ProCare support by
emailing [email protected].
4VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

2 SAFETY
Read the installation instructions before connecting the chassis unit to the power source. Do
not install the chassis unit with power on.
The chassis or the portable unit is intended for installation in restricted access areas. A re-
stricted access area can be accessed only through the use of a special tool, lock and key, or
other means of security.
Blank face plates and cover panels serve three important functions: they prevent exposure to
hazardous voltages and currents inside the chassis, they provide electromagnetic interference
shielding and they direct the flow of cooling air through the chassis. Do not operate the chassis
unit unless all modules, face plates, front covers and rear covers are in place.
Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install, replace or service this equip-
ment.
This equipment must be installed and maintained by service personnel as defined by AS/NZS
3260. Incorrectly connecting this equipment to a general-purpose outlet could be hazardous.
If SFP modules are used ensure proper precautions are taken to protect eyes against harmful
infrared radiation. Do not look straight into the SFP module or fibers connected to the SFP
module. The SFP modules employed are certified in Laser Class 1.
Ultimate disposal of this product should be handled according to all national laws and regu-
lations.
To prevent the system from overheating, do not operate it in an area that exceeds the maxi-
mum ambient temperature of 45 degrees Celsius.
Do not work on the system or connect or disconnect cables during periods of lightning activity.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 5

3 Installation and initial setup
3.1 Prerequisite
To connect the appliance you need the following:
• Two power cables for the redundant PSU
• 1 or 2 RJ45 1 Gbps Ethernet ports for management
• QSFP28 connectors for the data ports, or a QSFP cage + supported SFP module
Supported QSFP28 protocols:
• 100GBASE-CR4
• 100GBASE-KR4
• 100GBASE-SR4
• 56GBASE-R4
• 50G Ethernet Consortium
• 40GBASE-CR4
• 40GBASE-SR4
• 40GBASEL-R4
• 40GBASE-ER4
• 25GBASE-CR/CR-S
• 25GBASE-SR
• 25GBASE-LR
• 25G Ethernet Consortium
• 10GBASE-SR
• 10GBASE-LR
• 10GBASE-ER
• 10GBASE-CX4
• SGMII
• 1000BASE-X
3.2 Quick Installation Guide
6VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

Connect one or both of the management cables. Please note that with the default configuration
MGMT 1 (Orange) is configured with a static IP, and MGMT 2 (Green) is configured using DHCP.
If you choose to use the static port, the pre-configured address will be 10.0.20.101/24.
The server also has an IPMI port that can be connected if wanted. It is configured to use DHCP and
the username ADMIN and the password is either written on a pull-out tab in front of the machine, or
on the IPMI-port inside the chassis. On older versions of the hardware, the password was ADMIN .
Insert the QSFPs into the Primary (Blue) and Secondary (Red) ports, choosing a supported QSFP-
type from the list above.
You can then connect the two power cables and power the server on.
3.3 Accessing the User Interface
Once the server has been connected to the network, you can use a browser to connect to the user
interface.
Please note that, for optimum results, Chrome is recommended to manage the VB440.
To connect to the VB440, you will either have to have mDNS and IPv6 working (typically only on
Mac OS) or know the IP. If you have connected to the static management port, the default address
should be 10.0.20.101. Your machine will have to be on the same network in order to reach it
through that address. If you have connected it to the DHCP management port, you will either have
to get the IP from your DHCP server, or from the printout in the console.
Depending on if the product is enabled and is properly licensed you either get the enable / license
UI or the main UI up.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 7

If you get a HTTPS certificate warning, just accept it.
If you get a login page as seen above, the product has not yet been activated. If you do not get a
login page, go straight to section 3.4
Log in using the username root and the password elvis.
On the Software activation screen, expand the IP-Probe menu and input both the software license,
and the software maintenance license, pressing Add license after each license. When all the licenses
have been accepted, press the Activate button. You can now access the regular probe UI by going
straight to the IP again.
To get back into the system admin dashboard, go to http://IP/admin/.
3.4 Graphical User Interface
The default GUI should look similar to the following picture. For more information, refer to
chapter 4.
8VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

3.5 Configuring Ethernet settings
The VB440 comes with built in support for editing the network interface settings. To access the
system admin interface, point your browser to http://IP/admin/ and log in using the default system
username root and the password elvis.
This is described in more detail in the System Administration part of the manual.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 9

Navigation Menu
The navigation menu is located in the top left corner and can be made visible or
hidden by clicking the navigation menu button. The navigation menu is marked
with three horizontal lines, and is accessible from any page.
The navigation menu consists of four different icons that will help you navigate to
the preferred view. The icon shaped like a tv screen leads to the Services View.
Next there is a signal symbol that takes you to the Flow View. The clock indicates
the Status View. Note that Status view also is the landing page when you first
open the probe in a browser. The last symbol illustrates a tool box which opens
the Expert view.
Status View
Displays a generalized overview of the probe, divided into four sections:
●Network Status
●PTP Clocks
●Video Engine Statistics
●Video Streaming Statistics
Note that the page uses responsive design. If the viewport is small, some of the sections
seen in the screenshots below will not be visible.
Network Status
4 The VB440 Graphical User Interface
10 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

Network Status shows a quick presentation of key information about each network interface
on the probe. The different sections are elaborated in the following table.
Status
Indicates if the network interface is connected.
Network interface
The name of the network interface.
Speed
Physical link speed if the network interface is connected.
Receive Bitrate
The traffic received on the interface measured per second. The bar
represents the amount of network traffic compared to the theoretical max
based on link speed.
Neighbor Name
Shows the name of the neighboring device retrieved through Link Layer
Discovery Protocol (LLDP), if available.
Neighbor Port
Displays the name of the port of the neighboring device if it is reported by
LLDP.
PTP State
Shows the current state of the PTP clock on this interface, one of:
●Slave – PTP clock is slaved and synchronized
●Uncalibrated – PTP clock is slaved, but not synchronized
●Listening – Listening for eligible PTP master clocks
●Faulty – Failed to synchronize local PTP clock against master clock
●Disabled – PTP synchronization on this interface has been disabled
manually in Expert View Setup. When disabled, the PTP clock will be
synchronized against the less accurate system clock internal to the
probe. The system clock might be free-running, or synchronized to
NTP servers or a PTP clock on another interface.
Time
Shows the current date and time of the PTP clock on this interface, using
your browser’s local time zone. On networks deriving PTP time from a
traceable time source like GPS, this should match your local wall clock.
For more detailed information, click the Details button to the right and a drop-down menu
will appear as shown in the screenshot below.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 11

In this detailed view you see information regarding the Transceiver and extended LLDP
information.
LLDP (Link Layer discovery protocol) is used by devices to advertise their identity to other
devices connected to the same network, also called neighbors. The devices identify
themselves by periodically sending out packets to its neighbouring devices. The packets
typically contain information such as, port name, capabilities, IP management addresses
etc. The Information gathered with the help of LLDP can be useful for troubleshooting
configuration problems within the network, or locate connected devices.
PTP Clocks
This section gives an overview of all PTP clocks that announce themselves on the network.
The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is used to precisely synchronize all clocks in a computer
network. Time is exchanged between the master and slave clocks, with intermediate
transparent- or boundary clocks which maintain the timing accuracy.
12 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

For more information see the section about configuring PTP and BMCA in the appendix.
Domain
Which domain the clock belongs to.
Preference
Indicates in what order the BMCA would select the clock.
Grand Master
The grandmaster identity for this clock.
Clock Identity
The identity of the clock.
Vendor
The vendor of the clocks. This is deduced using the IEEE Organizationally
Unique Identifier (OUI) database.
Time Delta
The time delta between the timestamp in the announce messages and the
PTP clock on the interface, at the time of reception.
Time Source
The timing source for this clock.
Priority1
The Priority1 value for this clock. (BMCA 1st criteria.)
Clock Class
Indicates to which class the clock belongs to. (BMCA 2nd criteria.)
Accuracy
The announced accuracy. (BMCA 3rd criteria.)
Priority2
The Priority2 value for this clock. (BMCA 4th criteria.)
Network
Which network interface received announce messages from this clock.
Video Engine Statistics
Video engine statistics gives you an overview of active engines. The following information
relevant to Video Engine Statistics is displayed in the table below.
Engine
The video engine number.
Video Stream
Specifies the name of the active video flow.
Video Format
Specifies the video resolution, scan format and frame rate of the
active video flow.
Bitrate
The bitrate of traffic going out of the video engine.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 13

Throughput
The throughput speed of the video engine with this current load,
measured as number of frames per second.
Delay
Maximum processing delay per video frame.
Video Streaming Statistics
Video streaming statistics point to which devices are playing the Video flow. Information
related to Video Streaming Statistics is elaborated in the following table.
Address
The IP address of the client.
Browser
The type of browser used by the client.
OS
The operating system of the client.
Bitrate
Described in detail on the next page.
Queue Len
RTT
To view the client performance graphs, RTT (Round-trip Time), Transmit rate, Transmit queue
length and retransmission of packets click the Details> button to the right.
14 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

The detailed view is divided into four sections, listed in the table below.
RTT
Round Trip Time measures the length of time it takes to transmit
data to the client and receive acknowledgement for that data from
the client. The one-way delay (network latency from server to client)
is given approximately by RTT/2.
This value tells something about latency added due to network
propagation delay and other delays. Lower values are better.
Optimal value is physical distance × speed of light × 2.
Transmit Rate
Number of bits per second transmitted to and acknowledged by the
client. This is the network bandwidth consumed by this client.
Transmit
Queue Length
Maximum length of time packets heading towards the client were
queued (held back) by the server due to network congestion
between server and client, as to avoid stressing the network. Will
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 15

oscillate at or around zero when available bandwidth exceeds
requested bandwidth, or grow above zero otherwise.
This value tells something about latency added due to unfavourable
network conditions between server and client. Lower values are
better.
Retransmission
Number of packets retransmitted.
Values above zero indicate network problems between server and
client, possibly due to poor signal reception or network congestion.
Lower values are better.
Each flow is marked with a colour and displayed as a graph. By default all flows are turned
on. The flows can be made visible or hidden by clicking on the name of the flow, at the
bottom of this view.
16 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

Flow View
To access the flow view, click the button with the signal symbol, a list containing all
monitored flows will be displayed as shown in the screenshot below.
To easily locate a specific flow, use the search box in the top left corner.
The icons to the left illustrate the type of flow you are looking at. The video camera indicates
a video flow, the headphones Audio and the speech bubble Ancillary. Each line consists of
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 17

an icon, the flow name, how long the signal has persisted, the transport stream standard,
metadata (resolution, number of channels, etc) and IP-address.
At the bottom part of the page you see the total number of configured flows, flows
monitored and the composition of Video, Audio and Anc flows. To include all configured
flows click on the button Show Unmonitored in the upper right corner.
If you click on one of the flows a new window will open and display an IAT graph for that
flow, as shown below.
18 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0

Naming and configuration of flows
Each service consists of a bundle of flows. For the probe to recognize which flows belong
together, the flows need to be configured correctly.
Go to Expert View (displayed as a toolbox in the navigation menu), select the Multicast tab,
then the Streams tab and add a new flow or click Edit on the preferred flow. This will open
the edit multicast view where the user can define the following parameters.
In the name section you can provide both a flow name and a class label. A class will in this
context be used as a label to show which network you are receiving the stream from.
Typically used labels are Primary and Secondary or Amber and Blue. The flow class is
added as a part of the flow name by separating the flow name and class with the character
‘@’. In order to join more then one class of flows and create two identical parallel services,
it's important to be careful to not mix capitalization between the different class labels. The
Group Name also needs to be identical for all flows belonging to the specific group.
For example, in the screenshot above the video flow is labeled with the class name Amber
and assigned to the group “Camera 3”. For the remaining flows to be configured correctly,
the flows should then be named “Camera 3 Video@Amber”, “Camera 3 Anc@Amber” and
belong to the same Group Name (“Camera 3”). To add a second class, use the flow names
and Group Name together with a new class label. A completed configuration may look like
the image below.
VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0 19

If the flows are configured correctly, they should be displayed as shown below in the
screenshot of the status view.
20 VB440 SDI over IP Analyzer User’s Manual version 6.0