AIMS IP Oktoberfest: How to Plan and Deploy a SMPTE ST 2110 Network

 To move forward with the design and deployment of a SMPTE ST 2110 network, Robert Welch, technical solutions lead at Arista, has a simple piece of advice: work backwards.

“Try to figure out what you are trying to do with it [the network], and then go in reverse,” said Welch during his “Proper Network Design and Considerations for entry level computer science jobs ST 2110” presentation, the final session at the virtual AIMS (Alliance for IP Media Solutions) IP Oktoberfest 2020.

Asking questions up front is the key to succeeding. “I want to understand what’s going on because I am building the network based on the end nodes, not the other way around,” he said. “You don’t decide the network first and then figure out what to do with it.”

During his 30-minute presentation, Welch examined a variety of questions that must be answered. The first set of questions pertained to determining the connectivity requirements of end nodes, including whether there is an out-of-band management interface, whether there is a specific interface for control or multiple interfaces—if the latter, do they share the same IP address, and which interface or interfaces is PTP (Precision Time Protocol) on?