Art-Net Nodes

Discover Art-Net nodes on the network, fill per-fixture Target IP fields, and write node configuration remotely

The Art-Net Nodes panel lists every Art-Net node the engine has heard on the local network. Spectralite broadcasts an ArtPoll roughly every 2.75 seconds, sending it out each configured Art-Net output's network interface, then collects the ArtPollReply each node sends back, so a node is discovered on whichever interface its Art-Net output is bound to, including a non-default NIC. Each row carries the node's IP address, its short and long names, the universes it accepts on its Art-Net output ports, its ESTA manufacturer id, and the age of the last reply.

Related concept: Output.

Discovery is inform-only. It tells you which nodes are on the wire and which universes they accept; it does not change where Spectralite sends Art-Net. Output routing stays governed entirely by each fixture's Target IP and the output's network mode. Discovery on its own subscribes nothing and alters no traffic. Writing a node's own configuration is a separate, deliberate action, described under Configuring a node below.

The panel is not part of a default workspace preset. To add it, use Window > Add panel > Art-Net Nodes.

Enable toggle

The Art-Net discovery toggle at the top of the panel turns discovery on or off for the whole application. It is on by default. Polling runs continuously while it is on: Spectralite keeps broadcasting ArtPoll and updating the table as replies arrive.

Turn it off when you run on a locked-down show network that forbids unsolicited broadcast traffic, or where another controller owns the discovery role. With discovery off, Spectralite sends no ArtPoll, the table clears, and the Target IP picker reports that discovery is disabled. Output is unaffected either way, since discovery and routing are separate.

RDM discovery builds on this list. The RDM Devices panel asks each discovered node that advertises RDM to scan the universes it exposes, so this toggle must stay on for RDM to find fixtures.

Node columns

IP: the source address the node replied from. This is the value the Target IP picker copies into a fixture. A node that answers on more than one bind index shows one row per bind, with the extra binds suffixed #2, #3, and so on.
Name: the node's short name field from its ArtPollReply. While a configuration write to this node is in flight a spinner sits beside the name, and if a write fails a warning icon takes its place until a later write succeeds.
Description: the node's longer descriptive name.
Universes: the universes the node accepts on its Art-Net output ports, that is, the universes it converts to DMX.
Mfr: the node's ESTA manufacturer id, shown as a hex code.
Last seen: age of the most recent ArtPollReply from this node.

A search field in the toolbar filters the table by IP, name, description, or manufacturer id.

A node that stops replying for about eight seconds is considered stale and drops off the list. When it starts answering again, it reappears on the next poll.

Configuring a node

Selecting a row opens a configuration editor below the table for that node bind. The editor writes to the node itself over Art-Net, so nothing applies while you type: you edit a value, apply it explicitly, and the panel reports back when the node acknowledges it.

Every editable field follows the same lifecycle. Editing it shows an apply (check) and a discard (cross) button; Enter applies and Escape discards. Applying shows a spinner while the write is in flight. The write counts as confirmed only when the node itself reports the new value back, in its next ArtPollReply for names and ports or its ArtIpProgReply for network changes, and a brief check mark flags the confirmation. Spectralite sends a follow-up poll right after the write, so a live node confirms within a couple of seconds. If no confirmation arrives in about two seconds the field marks the write as failed and falls back to the value the node last reported.

A confirmed write means the node acknowledged the change, not merely that the packet was sent. If a node accepts a value but reports something else back, the field shows what the node actually stored.

When a selected node stops replying for more than about six seconds, the editor disables every control and notes that the node is not responding, since a write to a silent node can never confirm. Editing resumes automatically once the node answers a poll again.

Names

Sets the node's Short name and Long name, each applied on its own. Art-Net caps the short name at 17 bytes and the long name at 63 bytes of UTF-8, so the fields stop accepting input at that budget; plain ASCII is one byte per character, while accented or non-Latin characters use more.

Ports

Sets the universe each output port converts to DMX. Output ports are editable; input-only ports are listed with their universe but cannot be changed from here. Universes range from 0 to 32767.

Port universes apply as a group with the Apply port addressing button rather than one at a time. A single Art-Net address command programs one net and subnet across the whole node bind, so all of a bind's ports must live in the same block of sixteen universes and differ only in the low four bits. If the universes you enter fall in different blocks, the editor refuses the write and says so, rather than silently dragging the other ports along. Each port row shows its own spinner or failure icon while the write settles.

Network

Shows the node's current IP (tagged DHCP when the node got it from a DHCP server) and lets you write a Static IP and Subnet mask. On nodes that report DHCP capability, a DHCP switch requests an address from a DHCP server instead; to leave DHCP again, write a static IP.

Because changing a node's address can drop it off the network, these writes go through a confirmation dialog first. For a static IP the dialog shows the current and new address side by side before you commit; for DHCP it warns that the node will leave its current address and may become unreachable if no DHCP server answers.

A static IP on a different subnet than the host can make the node unreachable until you move it back from its own front panel or a machine on that subnet. Double-check the address in the dialog before committing.

Commands

One-shot actions that need no field editing. Locate flashes the node's identify LED so you can find it in a rig; LED normal and LED mute return the LED to its usual behavior or turn it off. Cancel merge ends an active merge on the node. These four send immediately.

Two more sit behind the same confirmation dialog as network changes, since they interrupt output or move the node. Clear output, offered per output port, zeroes that port's DMX buffer until the next frame arrives, so attached fixtures go dark momentarily. Reset network to defaults reverts the node to its factory IP configuration; it drops off the network and may reappear on a different address.

Filling a fixture's Target IP

The fixture editor's Target IP field, used for unicast output, has an inline picker beside it. The button opens a popover listing the nodes discovered here; choosing one writes its IP into the Target IP field. Typing an address by hand still works, and the picker is only a shortcut for finding a node's address without copying it from elsewhere.

The picker draws from the same live list as this panel. If discovery is disabled or no nodes have replied, the popover says so and the field stays manual.

Confirm the enable toggle at the top of the panel is on.
Check that the node sits on the same subnet as an Art-Net output's configured network interface. The ArtPoll goes out each configured output interface as a broadcast, and most setups do not forward that broadcast across subnets, so a node reached only through an unconfigured interface stays hidden.
Confirm the node is powered and cabled to the same physical network as the host.
Give it a poll cycle. The table updates roughly every 2.75 seconds, and a node that just powered on may take a reply or two to show.

If the node still does not appear but you know its address, type the Target IP by hand. Discovery is a convenience for finding nodes, not a requirement for sending to them.

A write keeps failing

Check the node is still replying: a fresh Last seen age means the node is alive and simply rejecting or ignoring the change.
Some nodes ignore remote configuration entirely, or lock it behind a setting on the node itself. Check the node's own front panel or web page for a remote-config or lock option.
For port universes, make sure every output universe sits in the same block of sixteen; the editor rejects mixed blocks before sending.
After an IP change, the node re-keys to its new address and briefly drops off the table. Wait a poll cycle and select the new row.

RDM Devices: discover and configure E1.20 responders behind an Art-Net node.
Fixtures: set a fixture's Target IP for unicast output.
Address Space: see which universes each fixture occupies.