Livewire+
Updated Livewire logo
Manufacturer Info
ManufacturerAxia Audio, a brand of Telos Alliance
Development date2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Network Compatibility
SwitchableYes
RoutableYes
Ethernet data ratesFast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Audio Specifications
Minimum latency0.75 ms[1]
Maximum sampling rate48 kHz[2]
Maximum bit depth24 bits[2]

Livewire is an audio-over-IP system created by Axia Audio, a division of Telos Alliance. Its primary purpose is routing and distributing broadcast-quality audio in radio stations.

The original Livewire standard was introduced in 2003 and has since been superseded by a second version, Livewire+. Livewire+ includes compatibility with the AES67 and Ravenna standards to allow interoperability with equipment from other manufacturers. Designed as a superset of Livewire functionality utilizing common protocols and formats, Livewire+ is available as an open standard through Axia's Livewire+ Partner Program.

Livewire+ provides flexible routing and transport of audio streams using multicast networking, with the ability to connect any input to any output (known as "anywhere-to-anywhere routing").[citation needed] Distribution utilises standard IP and Ethernet over twisted pair cabling.

Protocol

The following table lists ports and protocols used in Livewire systems.[3][4][5]

Port Protocol Multicast Address Purpose Notes
67, 68 UDP BOOTP Server/Client Remote IP address assignment
93 TCP Livewire Routing Protocol Also provides transparent passing of custom messages, similar to the Ancillary Data Transmission feature of AES3
123 UDP Network Time Protocol
514 UDP Syslog Activity logging to a syslog receiver.
2055 UDP 239.192.255.4 Multicast-based GPIO (CMsg2 protocol) GPIO commands, GPIO node → console-type endpoint
2060 UDP 239.192.255.4 Multicast-based GPIO (CMsg2 protocol) GPIO commands, console-type endpoint → GPIO node
4000 UDP Livewire Advertisement and Source Allocation Protocol Verbose advertisement and source allocation requests
4001 UDP 239.192.255.3 Livewire Advertisement and Source Allocation Protocol Periodic and verbose announcements;

Source allocation state announcements and responses

4002 UDP 239.192.255.3 Engine Supervision Protocol
4010 TCP Livewire Control Protocol
4011 UDP 239.192.255.4 LWCP for Accessory Modules Module → Console
4012 UDP 239.192.255.3 LWCP for Accessory Modules Console → Module
5004 UDP 239.192.x.x RTP Livewire Audio Last two address octets pertain to Axia channel ID, e.g. 9999 = 39 15 (hex 27 0F)
7000 UDP Livewire Clock One device assigns itself as LAN-wide reference, all other devices slave to it
9997 TCP Protocol logging Debug protocol logging for Element

References

  1. ^ "Best Practices in Network Audio" (PDF). Audio Engineering Society. 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b Introduction to Livewire+ (PDF), The Telos Alliance, May 2015, retrieved 30 July 2015
  3. ^ "Configuring Windows Firewall for use with the Axia IP-Audio Driver" (PDF). The Telos Alliance. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Axia IP-Audio Driver for Windows, rev. 2.5 manual" (PDF). The Telos Alliance. August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  5. ^ Steve Church; Skip Pizzi (10 September 2012). Audio Over IP: Building Pro AoIP Systems with Livewire. CRC Press. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-1-136-03057-4.
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