Art-Route is a software application that runs on Windows. It is designed to route data between two networks using independent network connections. Art-Net DMX data received at the input network is checked to see whether a consumer for the universe exists on the output network. If it does, the data is converted to unicast and routed to the output network. If not, the data is dropped.
Art-Route will generally be connected between the network output of the lighting controller or media server and the local network containing the Art-Net receivers.
The product serves a number of purposes: The original Art-Net (Art-Net I) specification used broadcast data for all DMX over ethernet transmissions. This set a limit of around 40 universes on a network cable (irrelevant of the speed of network). Art-Net II onwards uses unicast data for most transmissions. This removes the Art-Net specific universe limit. Art-Route can therefore be considered as an Art-Net I to Art-Net 4 converter.
Art-Route is also useful when transmitting Art-Net over WiFi or via VPN. It allows you to select specific universes that will be routed over a different network. This ensures that slower media such as WiFi does not become clogged transferring redundant data.
Art-Route is bundled with our free DMX-Workshop software package.
To download the DMX-Workshop suite, please complete the brief registration form. The .exe file installs a full suite of applications including DMX-Workshop, Bandwidth-Tester, Art-Route, Multicaster, rdmInspect and ACT.