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Pathport OCTO
User Guide
May 2019
© 2019 Pathway Connectivity
A Division of Acuity Brands Canada
1439 17 Ave SE Calgary AB T2G 1J9
403-243-8110
www.pathwayconnect.com
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Table of Contents
About Pathport OCTO ........................................................................................... 3
Installation Instructions ......................................................................................... 3
Protocols Supported ............................................................................................. 5
Front Panel ........................................................................................................... 7
Rear Panel ............................................................................................................ 7
Front Panel Display ............................................................................................... 8
Setting Gateway Properties .................................................................................. 9
Note Regarding ArtNet, Shownet and Subnet Mask ....................................... 11
Setting Port Properties ........................................................................................ 12
Contact Closure Input (CC1) ............................................................................... 13
Advanced Configuration ...................................................................................... 13
Appendix ............................................................................................................. 14
Electrical information ....................................................................................... 14
Compliance ..................................................................................................... 14
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About Pathport OCTO
Pathway Connectivity’s Pathport® OCTO is a four-port DMX-over-Ethernet
gateway intended for use primarily in entertainment lighting systems. The OCTO
provides transparent transmission and receipt of the DMX512 lighting control
standard, using a number of widely accepted protocols, across a standard Ethernet
data network.
The OCTO may be used alone, networked with other OCTOs and Pathport
gateways, as well as with a number of other Ethernet-aware lighting control
products, such as consoles and controllers.
The OCTO, like all Pathports, is a routing device and does not provide control over
the protocols or the data being passed. It only provides control over the path the
data takes, how multiple DMX sources are treated (merged or prioritized), and
certain other routing characteristics including DMX transmission speed and signal
loss behavior.
Installation Instructions
The Pathport OCTO is intended for desktop use, or for mounting in a standard 19”
equipment rack, using the included rack ears.
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Wall-mount kits (#9002) and truss-mount adaptors (#9003) are also available.
#9002 Wall-mount kit
#9003 Truss-mount kit
The Pathport OCTO is intended for installation in a dry, indoor location. Operating
conditions: 14°F to 104°F (-10°C to 40°C); 10-90% relative humidity, noncondensing.
Warning: The AC socket outlet shall be installed near the equipment and shall be
easily accessible.
Warning: This equipment relies on building installation primary overcurrent
protection.
Warning: Except for the IEC chassis plug marked for AC input, all ports on the
Pathport OCTO are intended for low voltage data lines only. Attaching anything
other than low voltage sources to the data ports may result in severe equipment
damage, and personal injury or death.
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Protocols Supported
DMX512
The most widely used digital multiplex protocol for controlling entertainment
lighting and effects equipment. The DMX signal consists of 512 8-bit control
packets sent asynchronously over a two-pair shielded cable at 250K Baud. The
standard connector type is 5 pin XLR. The standard has been revised several
times over the years, with the latest being ANSI E1.11 DMX512-A (2005). The
Pathport OCTO is designed to work seamlessly with all variants of the protocol.
DMX is a last mile protocol, daisy-chained between end fixtures.
Ethernet Protocols
Ethernet protocols are used to multiplex DMX data over Ethernet networks, largely
to circumvent control channel limitations inherent in the DMX standard. The
Pathport OCTO supports the most widely accepted.
Pathport Protocol: A broadcast protocol developed by Pathway Connectivity and
implemented by a variety of console manufacturers.
ArtNet: A broadcast protocol developed by Artistic Licence. Its free distribution has
made in popular with media server manufacturers. Because this is not a standard,
some implementations may not work with others.
Strand Shownet: A proprietary broadcast protocol developed by Strand Lighting
and used exclusively in Strand lighting consoles.
ANSI E1.31 streaming ACN (sACN): A multicast industry standard developed and
maintained by the Technical Standards Program of the Entertainment Services
and Technology Association (ESTA). The standard is available for a nominal cost
from ESTA. This standard provides the DMX512 data transport for the separate
ANSI E1.17 ACN (Architecture for Control Networks) industry standard.
sACN is the DMX transport used by ETC Net3. The OCTO is fully compliant with
Net3, and will seamlessly receive either Final Draft 20, or the ANSI approved
versions of sACN.
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Remote Device Management (RDM)
ANSI E1.20 Remote Device Management (RDM) is an industry standard, also
published by ESTA, which allows remote configuration of last-mile DMX devices,
using the same wire pair that carries the DMX signal. Like DMX, RDM requires a
separate dedicated controller to generate the signal packets the OCTO will route.
The freely available Pathscape software is required to use the OCTO as an RDM
gateway to configure DMX-based equipment.
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Front Panel
Model 6423 shown
Depending on the model number ordered, the DMX ports are: 5-pin XLR, 3-pin
XLR or RJ45 Ethercon connectors, mounted front or rear, or terminals strip
connectors, rear only.
Rear Panel
The RJ45 Ethercon network connection is located on the rear panel and cannot be
front mounted. The 2-pole Contact Closure/Expansion port, along with the AC
input, are located here also.
Model 6422 shown
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Front Panel Display
The front panel controls of the OCTO allow the user to configure properties of the
gateway. Current settings are displayed on the LCD screen.
The rotary knob will scroll the screen between base gateway information and
properties of each port. When pushed, the knob acts as a selector.
By default, the LCD display shows the gateway name, or soft label, its IP address
and subnet class. At the bottom of the display, a flashing “N” will appear when the
OCTO detects it is connected to a network via the rear-panel Ethercon® port.
<Gateway Name>
IP: x.x.x.x/<class>
If no soft-label name has been assigned to the gateway, the IP address will be
shown on the top line as well as the middle. The subnet class, shown after the IP
on the middle line, will be “/8”, “/16” or ”24” which are, respectively, a Class A
subnet mask of 255.0.0.0, a Class B subnet mask of 255.255.0.0, and a Class C
subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
From the default display, turn the knob to scroll through the Port status screens. A
typical port status screen shows the port name or soft label, the port letter and
universe patch name, and its DMX status and port direction.
<Port Name>
Port x: <patch name>
Status:<state><direction>
If no soft-label name has been assigned, “Port <letter>” will be displayed instead.
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Setting Gateway Properties
Node Configuration
Network Setup
Device Info / Status
Protocol Support
Utilities
<Back>
Network Setup
Property
Explanation
Available Settings
Select, then turn knob to set
Select, then turn knob to set
Node Configuration
With the default display showing, press the encoder knob. The Node Configuration
menu will be shown.
Network Setup
Device Info / Status
The current menu choice will be highlighted in black. Rotate the knob to scroll
through the list. Push the knob to select the highlighted menu option. Scroll to the
bottom of the list and select “<Back>” to return to the previous menu level. The
following are the Node Configuration menu options.
IP Address Set IP address for gateway
Subnet Mask Set subnet mask for gateway
Default Gateway
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Set default gateway
(Not typically required)
each octet. Push to accept.
each octet. Push to accept.
Select, then turn knob to set
each octet. Push to accept.
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Link Max
Auto Negotiate (default)
<Back>
Returns to previous menu
Device Info / Status
Property
Explanation
Available Settings
Serial Number
Reports gateway’s serial
MAC Address
Reports gateway’s MAC
Firmware Version
Reports current firmware
<Back>
Protocol Support
Property
Explanation
Available Settings
Art-Net Rx (receive)
Set gateway to listen for
Enable (default)
sACN Rx (receive)
Set gateway to listen for
Enable (default)
Shownet Rx (receive)
Set gateway to listen for
Enable (default)
Pathport Rx (receive)
Set gateway to listen for
Enable (default)
Tx Data Protocol (send)
Choose transmit protocol
Artnet
<Back>
Set the maximum connection
speed for the Ethernet port
number
address
version
10Mb Half Duplex
10Mb Full Duplex
100Mb Half Duplex
100Mb Full Duplex
Artnet
sACN
Shownet
Pathport
Disable
Disable
Disable
Disable
sACN
Shownet
Pathport (default)
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Utilities
Property
Explanation
Available Settings
Reboot
Power cycle the gateway
Factory Default
Resets patches and all
Factory Default Including
Resets patches and all
<Back>
properties except the IP
settings to factory values.
Includes properties, such as
signal loss, that are set from
Pathscape.
Network Setup
properties including the IP
settings to factory values.
Includes properties, such as
signal loss, that are set from
Pathscape.
Note Regarding ArtNet, Shownet and Subnet Mask
The ArtNet protocol is explicitly sent to a broadcast address, typically
2.255.255.255 or 10.255.255.255. The OCTO must have its subnet mask set wide
enough to include this broadcast address. When using ArtNet, a Class A subnet
mask of 255.0.0.0 is recommended to ensure DMX output.
Shownet is explicitly sent to 192.168.1.255. On most Shownet systems, an OCTO
should use an IP of 192.168.1.x and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
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Setting Port Properties
Property
Explanation
Available Settings
Enable (default)
Input
Allows selection from a list of
Unpatched
Slow (32 packets per second)
<Back>
Returns to previous menu
Port x Configuration
From the Port Status screen of the desired port, push the button. The Port
Configuration screen will be shown.
DMX Port: Enabled
Port Direction: DMX Out
The property available for editing will be highlighted in black. Rotate the knob to
scroll through the list of properties. Push the knob to select for editing. The list of
choices will be displayed, with asterisks on either side of the current setting.
Highlight the desired new setting by rotating the knob and push to select. The
asterisks will now appear beside the new setting. Scroll to the bottom of the list
and select “<Back>” to return to the previous menu level.
The following properties are available from Port Configuration. Further options may
be added from time to time:
DMX Port Turns blue power light on/off
Disable
Port Direction Sets DMX direction for port
Output (default)
Patch
DMX Speed
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standard universe patches
Sets DMX output speed (no
effect on ports set as inputs)
Univ 1 through Univ 63999
Medium (37 pps)
Fast (40 pps)
Maximum (44 pps) (default)
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Contact Closure Input (CC1)
On the rear panel, there is a 2-pole terminal plug for dry contact closure input.
Currently, as of the publish date of this document, there is no supported feature
making use of this input; however this will be expanded in future firmware updates.
Advanced Configuration
Several gateway and port properties may only be altered using Pathscape
software, available on the Pathway website: www.pathwayconnect.com.
Please refer to the Pathscape manual for information on these values and how to
set them.
Firmware upgrades may only be done using Pathscape.
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Appendix
Electrical information
• Power input: 100-240VAC, 50/60 Hz
• Max current consumption: 0.08A
• 2000V isolation between DMX ports
• 250V protection on DMX ports
Compliance
• USITT DMX512 – 1990 / ANSI E1.11 DMX512-A R2013
• E1.20 RDM – Remote Device Management
• E1.31 sACN – Streaming ACN
• ETL
• RoHS 2011/65/EU
• CE
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