Network Setup Advice

[Christiaan Punter]

RJ45 port LED Indicators - Ethernet Speed


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

For detailed instructions on how to check the Ethernet speed on the Taiko Music Server, see the following documents in the Downloads section of the Taiko Audio Website.

Taiko Audio Downloads Section

Look for the latest versions of the following documents:
- How to check Network Connection Status and Extreme Switch and Network Card Status
- How to check the network connection speed

 

[Christiaan Punter]

1Gbit Network Requirement

SFP modules and -ports are designed for a single speed and do not exist in a dual-speed configuration. The SFP modules and ports that we use in our Taiko Audio products are specified to work only at 1Gb.

As a result, the following Taiko Audio products will not work with 100mb connections, only with 1Gb connections:

• Extreme Switch
• Extreme Network Card

Conversely, RJ45 ports can work in 100Mb and 1Gb mode. As a result, the Taiko Audio Extreme Router will be partially compatible with 100Mb and 1Gb connections:

• Extreme Router RJ45 ports: 100Mb and 1Gb
• Extreme Router SFP/DAC port: 1Gb only

What this means is that any network interfaces upstream of the Taiko Audio Extreme Switch or Network Card, such as generic routers or switches, must be 1 Gb. For the Taiko Audio Extreme Router, the same holds true when it concerns devices connected to its SFP/DAC port.

For the upstream network that feeds the Router via RJ45, there is no 1Gb requirement, and the network may be 100Mb or 1Gb. This is also true for a MESH router with a (lower than 1Gb-) Wi-Fi source.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Extreme Switch - Power and connection indicator LED

The Switch does not have an external LED indicator for Sound Quality reasons. However, it does have internal LEDs next to each SFP port to indicate that the port is connected and active. You can see the internal LED by looking through the side of the SFP connector and into the Switch if the surrounding is not too brightly lit.

This indicator LED will be on no matter if the associated port is connected with a DAC cable or an SFP/RJ45 Adaptor with a regular Ethernet cable connected.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

How to connect the Extreme Switch

The Switch is powered by any normal 12-19V DC power supply. A standard wall-wart power supply is included. Please see the following image for reference.



The Extreme Switch has an SFP+ input port and an SFP+ output port. These ports can accept a DAC cable or an SFP Adapter Module, such as RJ45, for the input. With this adaptor, the input can be used with any normal RJ45-equipped Ethernet cable.

The power supply may be the supplied Wall-Wart Power Adapter or an audiophile switched or linear power supply. A better power supply does provide even better sound quality.

Optionally, the Router and Switch may also be powered by our new to-be-released Taiko Audio BPS (Battery Power Supply).

The ultimate current solution would be to add the Extreme DC Power Distributor. This allows you to power both the Extreme Switch and Router from a single power supply while offering improved performance over 2 separate power supplies, especially when using a DAC cable to connect the Extreme Router to the Extreme Switch.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

How to connect the Extreme Router

The Router is powered by any normal 12-19V DC power supply. A standard wall-wart power supply is included. Please see the following image for reference.



The power supply may be the supplied Wall-Wart Power Adapter or an audiophile switched or linear power supply. A better power supply does provide even better sound quality.

Optionally, the Router and Switch may also be powered by our new to-be-released Taiko Audio BPS (Battery Power Supply).

The ultimate current solution would be to add the Extreme DC Power Distributor. This allows you to power both the Extreme Switch and Router from a single power supply while offering improved performance over 2 separate power supplies, especially when using a DAC cable to connect the Extreme Router to the Extreme Switch.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

How to connect the DC Power Distributor

Please see the following image for how to connect the Router and Switch via the DC Power Distributor.


You can use the Wall-Wart Power Supply that was included with the Extreme Switch or Extreme Router and this will yield great results. However, higher-end power supplies will yield further increases in Sound Quality.

You can use any of the available outputs as desired. We recommend starting with the Switch and Router connected to the Default filter outputs. These are balanced such that they inhabit a neutral position between two extremes. Then, you may change the Switch to Alt1 and Alt2. After establishing a preference, you can try swapping Router and Switch to see which way you prefer. Don’t worry about it too much – there is no right or wrong. If it sounds good, it is good! The Unfiltered Outputs are provided for experimental use. They do not normally come into play.

- Input: Connect your power supply of choice, maximum input voltage is 25V (voltage in = voltage out)

- Unfiltered: Direct-coupled to the input

- Unfiltered: Direct-coupled to the input

- Default: Neutral Filter Output, our recommended starting point

- Default: Neutral Filter Output, our recommended starting point

- Alt1: More “analytical”: Brightly-lit, crisp, articulate, explicit, rhythmic, and exciting.

- Alt2: More “natural”: Sonorous, tonally saturated, well-textured, and harmonically rich.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme DC Power Distributor Product Page (Bundle Page, separate DCD Page to follow)
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Extreme Router Wi-Fi Connectivity Diagrams

Diagram illustrating the two individual Wi-Fi Zones:




Diagram illustrating how IP Addresses are assigned:




More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Extreme Music Server Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

The difference between a Router and a Switch

In essence, a Switch is used to connect devices to each other within a network, while a Router allows networks to communicate with each other. In general, Routers operate on a software level based on IP addresses while a switch works on a hardware level based on MAC addresses.

A Switch can reduce traffic to a device by learning and storing which MAC address is connected to which port so it can send data to that device specifically addressed to it, while sending data for other devices over its other ports, reducing the amount of traffic on the port your device uses. This does not do anything to reduce broadcast traffic, which is sent to all devices on the network.

A Router can control the traffic sent and broadcast on your network.

Talking in reduction terms, a router can reduce the amount of traffic on the entire network, while a Switch can reduce the amount of traffic on a segment of that network. The combination of a router and a switch allows the control of traffic on a hardware and software level, which can lower traffic to a larger degree than a single switch, or even multiple daisy-chained switches, can.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Solving Switch or Router Connectivity Issues

If you run into connectivity issues, then the most likely cause is that SFP network ports don't auto-negotiate / automatically refresh like RJ45 ports do. SFP ports also do not automatically re-establish a network connection after it went down.

What this means is that when you connect the Extreme Network Switch to the Extreme Network Router, the Extreme Network Card inside the Extreme Music Server cannot see that something has changed, and it will not refresh its IP address. In other words, the Router needs to be up and running before the Switch. This can be fixed using either of the following 3 methods.


Option 1: Power cycling the Switch

Option 2: Re-plugging the DAC cable between the Server and the Switch

Option 3: Restarting the Music Server.


This is also automatically accomplished if you follow the following ‘startup’ procedure:

1) Power on the Router, and wait until the ‘ON’ LED is on and/or the network ports are blinking (which indicates that it is on).

2) Power on the Switch.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Switch Product Page
Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Extreme Router Restart Advice

When restarting the Router, please be aware that your connected tablet or phone may automatically (re-) connect with your regular home network instead of the Extreme Router's Taiko Wi-Fi.

Unless you made Taiko Wi-Fi your default (auto-connect) network, please note that the tablet, laptop, or phone may reconnect to your Home Wi-Fi when the Taiko Router’s Wi-Fi shuts down as a result of the reboot. In that case, simply re-select Taiko Wi-Fi in your device’s settings to continue.

After a restart, you will have to log back into the Router's web interface using the same credentials.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Extreme Router Firmware Update

To ensure the highest level of security, we strongly advise always keeping the router software up to date. To indicate the availability of updates in the user interface, there is a ‘FIRMWARE’ button in the upper right corner. If it is RED, then a new update is available. If it is GREY, then the system has the latest updates installed and no action is required.

The Extreme Router’s Web Interface is accessible from any device that has Wi-Fi access and an internet browser, such as an iPhone, Laptop, or iPad, or their Android counterparts. In an internet browser, type http://192.168.100.1 to log in to the Extreme Router's admin web UI.

Please note that the Router’s interface is not accessible from your regular home network.

In the screenshot below, Firmware is shown as available:



To update the firmware, click on the ‘FIRMWARE’ button or go to the ‘System’ menu, select ‘Firmware Update’ and click on the ‘Check Update’ button.



If the update is present, you can click the ‘Install’ button.

The update will auto-install, and the Router will be rebooted

Please note

Unless you made Taiko Wi-Fi your default (auto-connect) network, please note that the tablet, laptop, or phone may reconnect to your Home Wi-Fi when the Taiko Router’s Wi-Fi shuts down as a result of the reboot. In that case, simply re-select Taiko Wi-Fi in your device’s settings to continue.


For more detailed info and a step-by-step Guide, please see the separate Firmware Update document that can be found in the downloads section on the Taiko Audio website.


More info can be found on the Taiko Audio Website

Taiko Audio Extreme Extreme Router Product Page
Taiko Audio Downloads Section

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Accessing the Extreme Server’s Music Folder and creating a shortcut

The procedure works when the local computer and the Extreme Server are on the same network, whether the regular home network or the Taiko Audio network.

If you use the Taiko Audio Extreme Router, the Extreme server is on a dedicated audio network. In that case, you either need to temporarily connect a computer or laptop to one of the Extreme's network ports, or you need to temporarily connect the Extreme to the home network.

Alternatively, you can configure port forwarding in the Router, which is a bit more elaborate. For now, there are instructions for this in the Router FAQ, which can be downloaded from the Taiko Audio website.

---

Windows

If you do not know your Extreme Server’s IP address, look it up in Roon or use an IP scanner such as Fing to find it.

Once you know the Extreme Server's IP address, type it in a Windows Explorer window, prepended with two backslashes.

\\192.168.178.214 in my case.

Enter the name and password of the server.




Please note that the IP address may change when the server is shut down for a certain period, which will necessitate creating a new Shortcut.

---

MacOS

If you do not know your Extreme Server’s IP address, look it up in Roon or use an IP scanner such as Fing to find it. Once you know the Extreme Server's IP address:

• Open the Finder.
• Press Command + K. A new window pops up.
• Enter the IP address of the Extreme as follows: “smb://[IPADRESS]”, for instance: “smb://192.168.1.120”
• Click Connect.
• Enter the name and password of the server.

After you are connected to the Extreme, you can navigate to its Music Folder:


You can double-click the Music Folder to show its contents.



When connected, the Music Folder will also show as a Network Drive on your local desktop.

As long as you are connected, you can double-click that icon to access the Music Folder contents.

In order to retain access even after you have disconnected (by dragging the icon to the Trashcan), you can create an Alias. See the information on the next page for instructions.

You can create an Alias (a shortcut) by right-clicking or double-finger tapping a trackpad and selecting “Make Alias” from the popup menu.



The Alias will remain on your desktop.




Please note that the IP address may change when the server is shut down for a certain period, which will necessitate creating a new Alias (or repairing the existing one).

This information is also available as a PDF doc, which can be downloaded from the Taiko website:
https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/taiko-audio-downloads

 

[dminches]

Christiaan, I assume you are doing all this while on the Taiko network as opposed to your home network?

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Christiaan, I assume you are doing all this while on the Taiko network as opposed to your home network?

The procedure works when the local computer and the Extreme Server are on the same network, whether the regular home network or the Taiko Audio network. I will add that to the doc.

 

[dminches]

The procedure works when the local computer and the Extreme Server are on the same network, whether the regular home network or the Taiko Audio network. I will add that to the doc.

Yes. However, when people add the router their home computer will normally not be on the same network which is why file sharing should be set up with port forwarding.

 

[Christiaan Punter]

Yes. However, when people add the router their home computer will normally not be on the same network which is why file sharing should be set up with port forwarding.

Indeed I added more info about this in the article's header to make this clearer.

Preliminary information on how to set up Port Forwarding for File Sharing can be found in the Router FAQ document on the Taiko Audio website.

 

[cat6man]

Indeed I added more info about this in the article's header to make this clearer.

Preliminary information on how to set up Port Forwarding for File Sharing can be found in the Router FAQ document on the Taiko Audio website.

And may I add, port forwarding works perfectly here, though I do have to turn NordVPN off temporarily on my home network PC.