Introducing the masterETH Controller — one URL for your whole node fleet
If you've installed more than two dualETH-PixelControl nodes on the same show — or in the same venue — you've already noticed the problem the per-node web UI doesn't solve. Each box has a beautiful single-page app that's perfect when you're configuring one box. Three boxes in, the workflow is:
- Type IP into URL bar.
- Wait, that's the upstage box, not the downstage one.
- Type other IP into URL bar.
- Forget which port mode you set on the first one. Go back.
- Multiply by four if it's an LX-pixel-heavy show.
We built the masterETH Controller for that exact tax. It's a small Ethernet-only management box that lives on your lighting LAN, auto-discovers every expanseElectronics node within range, and presents one URL for the whole fleet: status, configuration, firmware updates, locate, bulk operations, configuration backup. Everything you'd want to do across ten boxes, from one tab.
What it is
A pocket-sized device — slightly smaller than a dualETH — that runs the discovery-and-orchestration layer for the rest of the product family:
- Discovery. Broadcasts an Art-Net
ArtPollevery 5 seconds. Every node that responds gets identified viaHTTP GET /api/identify; if it's an expanseElectronics box it joins the fleet view automatically. - Edit-in-place. Click into any node and you get the same SPA as that node's own web UI — but served from masterETH, so you keep your URL, your filter state, your "where am I" context.
- Bulk operations. Reboot every node, push the same firmware version across the fleet, save a snapshot of every node's config to one JSON file you can stash in the production folder.
- Compatibility view. A row per node showing firmware version, last-seen, port mode, IP. Lets you spot the one box on the old firmware before it bites you mid-show.
The hardware is the same family as the dualETH: USB-C powered, single RJ45, the same orange-accent web UI design. It's built to disappear into a flight case alongside the rest of the network kit.
The bits we sweated
"What if a node is on a slightly older firmware?"
Three classes of node, three behaviours:
| Firmware | masterETH sees it as | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| v7.4+ | Compatible | Full edit access — config, reboot, locate, firmware push. |
| v7.3 | Read-only | Can view but not edit. v7.3 doesn't ship CORS, so writes are blocked by the browser. We tell you on the row how to update. |
| v7.2 or older | Unknown | We can see the box exists but can't read its identify endpoint. Update the node directly with the firmware updater and it'll appear properly. |
You can flash a node from masterETH itself once it's at v7.4 or newer — so the typical "I've inherited a venue with mixed firmware" path is: one direct firmware update on each node, then everything else from masterETH afterwards.
"What if the LAN has no DHCP?"
Drop the unit on an empty network and after two failed DHCP attempts it switches on its own fallback DHCP server, handing out leases in 10.10.1.10–99 so your nodes (and the laptop you're configuring from) can get addresses. The status LED pulses amber in that mode — a useful "the venue's DHCP server is missing, talk to IT" signal that you'll see from across the room.
This is the same trick the cueServer uses, and it makes pop-up installs genuinely plug-and-go.
"What if I have ten nodes and they're all alike?"
The fleet view's bulk-config feature is the thing we use ourselves. Select all rows that match a filter ("all dualETH on v7.5.2, USB-C-only, port A = WS2812 / port B = DMX"), edit any one of them, and apply to the lot. It posts the diff to each node in parallel and reports any failures. Took out about an hour per show from our own commissioning workflow.
What it costs
| Price | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| masterETH Controller | £49.99 | Pre-order, ships mid Q3 2026 |
The pre-order pricing is locked in until release. As with everything we sell, your statutory right to cancel as a UK consumer runs from the day the goods arrive, not the day you order — see Terms section 7 for the details.
Where it sits in the family
This is the second product in what we're now calling the fleet line — dualETH-PixelControl ships today as the per-node box; masterETH is its complement when you have more than a couple. Down the line quadETH (early Q1 2027) joins as the four-port version of the dualETH; masterETH already supports it in firmware, so the same fleet view will manage a mixed dualETH + quadETH installation without any upgrade.
If you want the technical overview, the masterETH wiki covers the discovery protocol, the LED reference, and the DHCP-fallback specifics. If you just want to be notified when it ships, there's a sign-up form on the homepage's Coming soon section — we won't email you about anything else.
Bug us on support@expanseelectronics.com with questions, edge cases, or "I've got 14 dualETHs and a budget of £700" sizing chats.