Ok making some more test bring me to think that the problem come from the network flow.

The activity monitor indicate precisely the drop of sound by a drop in the network flow...

That doesn't meen that FW 400 port insn't slowing down because if it does i guess that might cause the network to stop transfering information...?

I'm not technical enough to tell you more...but i'm shure that someone here at VSL will answer us about that and also if other user are experimeting the same problem/limitation.

stephane 

FW400 has a theoretical throughput of ~ 40 MB/s, which will in fact give you ~ 30 MB/s (equals ~ 170 streams of 44,1 16bit stereo samples) adding about 10% CPU load ... so we shouldn't see any bottleneck here

more probable is a load coming from the GUI, especially if you have a large screen ... we noticed already several times (especially on PPC macs) that GUI ressources are forcing a lot from the CPU .... try to minimize interfaces to see if we are on the right trace ...

network and firewire shouldn't collide (unless you are using TCP/IP over firewire) and you don't put more load eg. on a 100 Mbit network as it can handle

you should also avoid to have a FW audio device and disk on the same controller .... this will most probably produce dropouts

christian

Hi Christian,

I tried to minimize the GUI window in my slave but that doesn't change the drop out isue.

I also change the sample freq from 48khtz to 44,1 Khtz to see if that influence the drops but no.

CPU charge doesn't got up to 20% on the MacBook (slave), but i have to say that the drop occur only on the sounds comming from VE3 slave (so ethernet network)  machine, it apparently doesn't cut my Master Mac sound.

No FW audio device on the slave machine, Motu 828 MKII on the master Mac has it's own FW port.

Is there different kinds of Ethernet network ? like Giga### or anything like this ? i ear about that but doesnt' really know about it...might be that we need a faster Ethernet Hub or something ? 

now this might be where we could find a reason ... your both macs have gigabit network, yes? and does the status also indicate they are using gigabit - or do you have a 100 Mbit switch or hub between? then everything would slow down to 100 Mbit, in case of a hub instead of a switch actually to half duplex (what's the device model?)

christian

 this is where you'll have to help me because i'm not expert...

1-How can i check if both my mac have gigabit network ? 

2- the device model is D-Link DIR 100 (it says Broadband)

I don't know how to check if this is Gigabit or anything else, but i'm afraid that this is the problem...can you point me where to look to be shure about that ?

thanks. 

the general speed of your network interface cards should be viewable in network preferences and system information,

for the actual speed you need not to look: the D-Link DIR 100 is a router (device connecting a local network to the internet) with a bult-in100 Mbit switch, so your used speed is limited to 100 Mbit.

i'd assume your macs are set to *use DHCP* - this means they might possibly receive a different IP address over the time ....

check with your network utility to what IP range it is set (i'd assume 192.168.0.x where x can be any number between 1 and 254)

to make a long story short: to have a working gigabit connection all involved devices need to be gigabit ...

christian

 ok this is what i find for the Mac :

Ethernet :
  MAC Address :    XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
  Options Média :    Duplex intégral, flow-control
  Sous-type Média :    100baseTX

And for the D-Link it is a 100Mbit i checked

so if i get your point i have to buy a new one that is Gigabit to use VE3 full power ? or is it a matter of settings ? you are right about the DHCP etc...that's how it is set.

in case your main mac has 2 network ports and you have a spare cable and you can leave your macBook without internet for a while i would know a quick solution (until you get a gegibit switch or to check it out)

christian

ok thank you Christian i'll chek on that !

stephane 

Hi Christian,

Just on more question about the Ethernet conexion.

If I connect my two Mac directly without going through the Hub it will automatically be in Gigabit or is there anything i should do to set up the Mac ?

I'd like to make the test before investing into the new Ethernet Gigabit Hub ;-) 

 If both of your macs have Gigabit interfaces, then you can connect them with a normal ethernet cable and get full speed. You need to configure the network settings manually however.

Martin 

 Thanks Martin ;-)

Apparently both my Mac give me the option for 1000BaseT Ethernet connexion so i guess they are ok for Gigabit Network...then a friend told me i just have to buy a switch and not a router as my freebox is allready a router...so 'ill try that and keep you posted !

thanks for the helps and tips.

stephane 

Hi Stéphane,

A 1gb switch connected to the freebox is a good solution, and be sure to disable airport on your macbook, it lowers the low latency performance.

It's true what your friend says: most routers are 10 or 100 base, not 1000 (ie gigabit).

However, Apples latest Airport (not the express) offers a couple of ethernet ports at 1000 base, as well as being a router. However, it does not route from ADSL, only DSL which is the standard in the US. A cheaper solution would be a gigabit switch, offering you the same result. This does not route, but optimises network flow - you have your router already.

Your setup would be (to be optimised):

Your ROUTER connects to the internet in its normal way (via ADSL filter/telephone line or whatever).
You then connect an ethernet cable form this to your SWITCH.
Connect another cable from Mac A to your SWITCH.
Connect your final (3rd) cable from Mac B to the SWITCH.
Most Gb switches come with about 8 ports. They can be noisy as they are fan cooled usually. I have mine on another location.

Both macs will be on the internet (at a theoretical 100 base speed) whilst connected to EACH OTHER at 1000 base.

Gigabit routers are surprisingly tricky to get hold of - try online, that's what I did. They're not outrageously expensive and well worth it to sort out your situation. If you can get one without a fan, fantastic. Mine is a linksys.

You could of course connect the two Macs together with a single cable (no switch) but not be online on either Mac. Unless one of these macs has two Ethernet ports, one of which could connect direct to the router (ie internet).

By the way - all Macs that are younger than about  6 years have Gigabit Ethernet ports - unlike most PC's which come pre-configured as 100 base.

Clear as Mud?

attention: AFAIK the iMac G5s have 100 Mbit only ... 10 base-T (10 Mbit devices) should be no longer in use i'd suppose since about 10 years .... 100 base-T is pretty old already ... if routers have 10 Mbit ports than probably on the WAN-side (Wide Area Network = internet)

connecting 2 ethernet ports directly (using a cable) works fine if at least one of them is gigabit (these are autodecting the type of connection) - connecting 2 100 Mbit ethernet devices directly needs a *cross-over cable*

christian

 Thanks to both of you for those answer and tips !

actualy i tried to connect both my mac together but it didn't work, not shure my cable is apropriate thought, i should make some further testing !

Both my mac offer me the option to switch to 1000 base T but then it doesn't work ! again i'm not shure my cables are apropriate...

As for switch o didn't found anything interestig yet...some old 5 port Giga switch working with PCI card !! i hope they exist in Ethernet only...have to check that to ;-)

So all is not working yet for me but they are some areas i have to get some more information about (switch, cables etc...) and i'll be ready to go i guess...

i'll keep you posted as it might be usefull for other user that, like me, are not pro on the network subject :-)

stephane. 

@Another User said:

some old 5 port Giga switch working with PCI card

gigabit ports are autosensing (speed and polarity of the cable) so any good cable will do the job ...

christian

 Hi Christian,

In system pref/network/ ethernet configuration / manual advanced mode i have 3 options : 10baseT/UTP  -  100 base TX  - and 1000 base T all with different duplex semi duplex etc...options.

i tried to force to 1000 base T but then Ethernet doesn't seems to work, basicaly it works in 100 base TX when connected to my router 4 port witch is connected to the freebox (witch is like another router as i understand it)

If  follow your explanation i could leave this in automatic mode as it find the apropriate connection speed, but i thought like for manual IP adress vs DHCP i should set it up manually so it is stable...

For the cable i'll see what happens when i'll connect a Giga switch into my network and then test VE3 and see if it works fine.

As for the switch i'll have to do further research because what i found is a : TRENDNET  TEG-S80TXE (8 port around 50 euros)and it was used on Mac G4 !! and need a PCI slot available !! i'm not getting this very clear i admit but as i said, need to be looked closer...

otherwise they are plenty of 24 or 26 port switch for around 100 euros and that's probably what you think i should get...right ? (even if i don't need so many ports)

cheers

stephane 

i see - if your network port is connected to a router which can only 100Mbit, than changing manually the speed to 1 Gbit will have no effect - except that communication stops between both devices .... you need either a direct cable between 1 Gbit ethernet ports or a gigabit switch between them.

be aware of the dumping strategy of too many suppliers and don't buy switches which are too cheap .... often their backplane cannot handle the traffic appropriately - stay with trademarks a cisco, 3com, netgear (t name a few) - i had bad experience with D-Link and LinkSys lately ...

8 ports for about 100 USD/EUR should be the range of good quality devices ... same goes for additional network cards btw, use intel, broadcom, 3Com even if they cost a few bucks more ...

the PCI-based switch you are referring to probably leaves the work to the computer - so i cannot recommend such a device ...

christian

 Hi Christian,

I made the followind testing with no more succes :

Connecting directly the 2 mac together through Ethernet (not cennected to internet) with a cross-over cable and once with automatic setings (DHCP / Autoselect speed) and second with manual setings (manual IP, no DNS, no Router, forced to 1000 base-T,  the mode "command+K" working fine so the see eatch other...) and i steel get audio drop out !

so i wonder if any of this will change with a switch between them as the setings should be the same (exept DNS & router adress) ?

What am i doing wrong here ? i thought i underdstand all you tald me but eather something is not working for my setup or I missed something you explained to me...sorry for being so slow ;-)