Network Setup

A Spectralite Node advertises itself on the lighting network as soon as it finishes booting. Studio finds and configures the Node by broadcast. As a result, a Node shows up and accepts new settings even when a previous job left its IP on a different subnet. You configure it from the Spectralite Controllers panel in Studio, because the Node has no web interface and no physical buttons.

Opening the panelCopy Anchor Link

To add the panel to a workspace, choose Window > Add panel > Spectralite Controllers. If you already have the panel list open, you can also drag the panel in from there. Within about five seconds of the panel opening, every online Node on the lighting network appears as a row in the table, whatever subnet its IP is on.

Reading the tableCopy Anchor Link

Each discovered Node shows its identity, its firmware version, its status, and a pair of row actions.

The firmware version is the only telemetry column. Hover the Status badge to read the Node's full telemetry in a tooltip. The Edit dialog shows the same figures as a live block. Each figure shows a dash when the Node's firmware does not report it:

• Firmware version. Firmware that predates version reporting shows a dash.
• Temperature, uptime, free heap, and DMX FPS. Each comes from the Node's discovery broadcast. FPS counts one frame for each content frame that the Node receives, no matter how many Art-Net universes that frame spans. This way, a multi-universe fixture reads its true frame rate.
• Mode: what the Node currently renders. In normal use it shows dmx or idle. It shows a highlighted test or identify when the Node paints its test pattern or locate blink in place of live DMX.
• Dropped: how many output frames the Node dropped because it could not push them in time, with its effective output rate. A highlighted value means that the strip is likely too long for the configured frame rate.

The Status badge tells you how recently the panel heard from the Node. Nodes broadcast a discovery packet every five seconds, and the states follow that cadence.

• Online (green): the panel received a packet in the last fifteen seconds.
• Missed (outline): the panel saw nothing for more than fifteen seconds. It still tracks the Node.
• Offline (red): the panel saw nothing for more than twenty seconds.
• Rebooting (outline): the Node flagged itself as rebooting. This usually follows a saved setting that requires a restart.

Each row ends with a set of actions. The pencil icon opens the configuration dialog. The plus icon is Quick add fixture. It creates one multi-part Fixture (a generic-led-bar with one part per Node output) and addresses it from the Node's own start universe. Then it packs the parts in output order and links the fixture to this Node. Use it after you plug in a fresh Node, when you want a complete patch without building it by hand.

Firmware updates and factory reset are in the Edit dialog. Update firmware… opens the firmware dialog, which the panel reference describes. Factory reset asks for confirmation. Then it wipes the Node's saved configuration and reboots the Node to firmware defaults. The reset leaves the Node's provisioning credential and its anti-rollback floor for the firmware version intact. As a result, the Node keeps its identity, and it cannot be rolled back to older firmware.

Editing configurationCopy Anchor Link

Click the pencil icon on a row to open the Edit Controller dialog. The dialog groups its fields into identity, output, and network.

Device ID and Device TypeCopy Anchor Link

Both are read-only. The Device ID is the hardware serial that the factory assigned. The Device Type identifies the build that the device runs (the Node reports spectralite-node).

NameCopy Anchor Link

The name can have one to sixty-three characters, and the panel rejects an empty name. Names matter when several Nodes share a network, because the table sorts by name and fixtures address the Node by its network address.

Start universeCopy Anchor Link

A 1-based universe number that matches the patch panel, with a minimum of 1. Studio converts it to the correct Art-Net or sACN wire universe for the Node's protocol. LED count and color mode set how many universes the Node consumes. With the default of 144 LEDs per strip on eight RGBW strips, the pixel data fills nine consecutive universes. Choose start values that leave space between devices.

LEDs per stripCopy Anchor Link

An integer from 1 to 1000. It must match the physical length of the strips connected to the Node. If you set a higher value than the strips have, the Node discards the trailing portion of each universe. If you set a lower value, the last pixels on every strip stay dark regardless of incoming data. A change to this value reboots the device, and the panel shows the Rebooting status.

If the strips are not all the same length, enable Set per output. You can then enter a separate count for each of the eight outputs. The line under the field shows the total pixel count. It also shows how many universes the Node consumes with the selected color order, so you can plan the spacing of start universes. Per-output counts require recent firmware. On older firmware, the save fails with a message that asks you to update first.

Color orderCopy Anchor Link

A dropdown with thirty options that cover every permutation of R, G, B, and W byte positions in commercially available strips. The list splits into two groups:

• Three-channel orders (index 0 to 5): RGB, RBG, GRB, GBR, BRG, BGR. Use these for RGB-only strips such as WS2812B.
• Four-channel orders (index 6 to 29): all twenty-four permutations of R, G, B, and W. Use these for RGBW strips such as SK6812 RGBW.

The default for a stock Spectralite Node is GRBW (index 8), which matches the RGBW strips it ships with. If your own strips come from a different vendor, enable Test Mode (below) and save. Then cycle through the options until the rainbow output looks right. This is the fastest way to find the correct order.

ProtocolCopy Anchor Link

A dropdown that sets the protocol on which the Node receives pixel data: Art-Net or sACN (ANSI E1.31). Art-Net is the default. The Node applies the change live, without a reboot, and holds its last frame across the switch. Discovery, identify, and RDM keep working over Art-Net in both modes. Only the pixel data changes protocol.

A Node set to sACN needs matching sACN data from Studio. Without it, the Node holds its last frame and looks frozen. The dialog warns when no enabled sACN output covers the Node's universe span. Before you rely on the switch, add an sACN output that covers those universes in Edit > Outputs.

In sACN mode, the Node receives multicast on the standard E1.31 port and groups. A managed switch on the lighting network must run an IGMP querier or have snooping disabled. Otherwise multicast delivery can stop while the link stays up.

Test modeCopy Anchor Link

When this checkbox is on, the device ignores all incoming pixel data, Art-Net or sACN. It cycles a full-spectrum rainbow across all strips at sixty frames per second. Use it to confirm that a Node is alive. It also helps you find the physical device that matches a row in the table, especially when several Nodes share the network. Before a live show, turn Test Mode off. Otherwise the Node keeps painting its own rainbow over whatever Studio sends.

Signal lossCopy Anchor Link

A dropdown that sets what the outputs do when pixel data stops arriving. Hold last frame keeps the last received frame lit indefinitely. It suits architectural installs, where a network hiccup should stay invisible. Blackout (the default) turns all outputs off when no data arrives for the configured timeout.

The timeout is in milliseconds. A value of 0 holds forever, and any other value must lie between 500 and 3,600,000 (one hour). This setting requires recent firmware. On older firmware, the save fails with a message that asks you to update first.

Use DHCPCopy Anchor Link

A checkbox that is on by default. When it is on, the Node asks a DHCP server for an address on every boot. If no server responds within fifteen seconds, the Node falls back to a link-local AutoIP address in the 169.254.x.x range. When the checkbox is off, you must complete the three static network fields below. The Node then applies them on every boot.

Static IP, Gateway, Subnet MaskCopy Anchor Link

You can edit these fields only when Use DHCP is off. Each accepts any valid IPv4 address, and the panel checks the format before it sends them. Static IP is the address the Node binds to. Gateway is optional, but cross-subnet routing needs it (Art-Net from Studio usually does not). Subnet Mask sets the local network size. The defaults that ship on a fresh Node are 192.168.1.171, 192.168.1.1, and 255.255.255.0.

When to use DHCP vs staticCopy Anchor Link

DHCP is the right default for bench work and prototypes. It is also right for any network that already has a DHCP server. Static IPs are worth the effort for production rigs where addresses must stay stable across router swaps, switch reboots, and cable reordering. Static also avoids an AutoIP failure. If a DHCP network loses its server for a while, every Node falls back to a 169.254.x.x address. That address works in isolation but does not route back to a host that is still on a regular subnet.

Saving changesCopy Anchor Link

The Save Configuration button broadcasts the new settings to the Node by its Device ID over port 46245. The broadcast reaches the Node on any subnet. The panel then tracks delivery live, and the dialog shows the status inline as it advances:

• Configuring…: the panel sent the settings and waits for the Node to acknowledge them.
• Applying configuration…: the Node acknowledged a change that needs a reboot or network restart. The panel waits for the Node to come back.
• Configuration applied: the Node confirmed that it adopted exactly the settings you sent.

If delivery fails, the dialog shows the reason, for example a rejected value or a missing acknowledgement. A Retry button then appears next to Save, so you can resend without re-entering the form. If the dialog is closed, a toast names the controller that failed. If the panel catches a validation error before it sends, it flags the field and sends nothing.

The same live status appears in the table as a badge next to the Node's Status badge. You can watch delivery progress there without keeping the dialog open.

• Reconfiguring: the push is in flight.
• Config failed: the push failed. Click the badge to review the error.
• Applied: shows briefly when the push succeeds.

Some fields require a restart: LEDs per Strip, color order, and static network. For these fields, the Node reboots and reappears through discovery with the new configuration within roughly five seconds. That is how the panel confirms that a restart took effect.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Spectralite Controllers Panel: full panel reference
• Boot Indicators: read device state from the LEDs
• Art-Net Setup: configuring the host-side Art-Net output