Networking Sonar 3D-15
The Sonar 3D-15 has several services available over ethernet:
- Multicast DNS (mDNS) for easy discovery
- Web GUI, providing a visualization of the data collected by the Sonar 3D-15, as well as configuration, updating of software and more.
- UDP Multicast and Unicast data stream
- Software updates
Network configuration
Multicast DNS (mDNS)
The Sonar 3D-15 runs a DHCP client which will attempt to obtain an IP address from a DHCP server (e.g. in a router) on the same network, and supports mDNS: the mDNS name of the Sonar 3D-15 is waterlinked-sonar
. On a computer which supports mDNS, one can then simply access the web GUI at http://waterlinked-sonar.
Note
If no DHCP server is available on the network, it is recommended to use the fallback IP or configure a static IP address, as the Sonar 3D-15 can spend up to 5 minutes searching for a DHCP server.
Fallback IP
The Sonar 3D-15 will always be available with the static IP address: 192.168.194.96. To be able to connect to the Sonar 3D-15 using it:
- Connect an ethernet cable directly from the Sonar 3D-15 to your computer.
- For an/the ethernet interface of your computer, configure it to have a static IP address in the same subnet as 192.168.194.96, (e.g. 192.168.194.90) or anything else of the form 192.168.194.xxx if using a subnet of the form 255.255.255.0 (aka 192.168.194.0/24).
- Activate the ethernet interface of your computer which you configured in the previous step.
- In a web browser, open http://192.168.194.96 to access the web GUI.
User set IP
The IP address of the Sonar 3D-15 can be configured in two ways via the web GUI:
- DCHP client: An IP address is obtained from a DHCP server (e.g. in a router) on the same network, as mentioned above in mDNS.
- Static: Configure the Sonar 3D-15 to use static IP address of your choice.
After the IP configuration of the Sonar 3D-15 is modified, the Sonar 3D-15 needs to be rebooted for the settings take effect.
Note
The boot time, i.e. the time it takes from the Sonar 3D-15 receives power until it starts operating normally, will depend upon the IP configuration. Using the fallback IP, the boot time can be as much as 1 min 30 sec, whilst it can be as low as 20 sec with a static IP.
UDP multicast and unicast
By default, the Sonar 3D-15 uses UDP Multicast (224.0.0.96:4747
), so any device on the local network can receive data without knowing the sonar’s IP. You can also configure UDP Unicast to send data to a specific IP/port, allowing routing outside the local network (but losing multicast discoverability). Please see API for more information on the data on the UDP multi/unicast.