Network setup

The dualETH-PixelControl works on any standard Ethernet network — there's no special configuration on the switch or router required. This article covers the network defaults, when to switch to a static address, and how to test the device on a workbench without a switch.

DHCP and the static fallback

Out of the box, DHCP is enabled. If the board sees a DHCP server when it boots, it'll take whatever address is offered. If there is no DHCP server, it falls back to the static address:

The /8 mask is a deliberate choice: the Art-Net protocol's classic addressing convention puts every node somewhere in 2.0.0.0/8 or 10.0.0.0/8, and using a /8 mask means a node configured for either of those ranges can reach every other node without a router.

Setting a static IP

Open the IP & Network page in the web UI. Untick DHCP, fill in IP, subnet, and gateway, and click Save. The device commits the new settings to EEPROM immediately and applies them on next reboot.

If you change the IP and lose the page, that's normal — the device is now on the new address. Re-open the web UI at the new IP.

Multi-device installations

Every board picks its own MAC address from the processor's factory-burned identifier at boot, so plugging twenty units into the same DHCP-managed network just works — no risk of MAC collisions, no manual MAC assignment.

If you're running multiple units on static IPs, give each one a unique address in your network's subnet. Pin each MAC ↔ IP pairing in your router's DHCP reservations so the address survives any future re-cabling.

Direct-cable testing without a switch

You can talk to the board from a single computer with no switch involved:

1. Connect the board directly to your computer's Ethernet port with any standard patch cable. (Modern computers auto-detect crossover; you don't need a special cable.)
2. Power the board.
3. The board won't see a DHCP server, so after a few seconds it falls back to 10.0.0.1.
4. On your computer, set a manual IP in the same subnet — for example 10.0.0.2 / 255.0.0.0. (On macOS this is in System Settings → Network → Ethernet → Details → TCP/IP → Configure IPv4 → Manually.)
5. Open http://10.0.0.1/ in your browser.

This is the fastest way to confirm a unit is alive after first boot or after a firmware flash.

Brick-recovery factory reset

If the board has soft-reset itself more than 5 times in a row, or the watchdog has fired more than 10 times, the firmware will restore all settings to defaults on the next boot. This protects against a corrupt config bootlooping a unit forever.

In practice this means: if you've made a configuration change that crashes the device repeatedly, leave it power-cycling for a minute and it'll come back to its factory defaults — including DHCP and the 10.0.0.1 fallback. You'll then need to re-enter your network settings.

You can see the soft-reset and watchdog counters on the Status page — if either is climbing, something is bricking your unit and a settings reset may already be imminent.