Audinate launched Dante Director to allow remote network administration and management of Dante devices from any manufacturer. This Software-as-a-Service solution works across the Internet using a simple, convenient web dashboard, and provides a powerful, interoperable, manufacturer-agnostic platform that complements perfectly the possibilities of multichannel networking. This is a very useful add-on, at a moment when Audinate is expanding its audio networking technology into a complete audio-with-video-over-IP solution.
Dante has become the de facto standard in audio-over-IP networking, available in over 4,000 devices from over 600 manufacturers, Dante now enables the low-latency transmission of audio and video streams over any standard IT network. Dante Director joins the Dante suite of products for professional AV management alongside Dante Domain Manager, which serves enterprise and on-premise network management needs.
Dante Director enables IT and AV systems administrators to be more productive via remote access for management and monitoring. Admins can remotely configure Dante channel subscriptions, control user access, ensure network security, and monitor multiple Dante networks from a single account.
Dante Director works closely with Dante Controller to provide AV management capabilities. After initial setup, users can remotely launch and use Dante Controller from any Internet connection without requiring direct local access to the network. With Dante Director, administrators can manage multiple AV networks from a single web dashboard, providing faster response times, increased flexibility, and better peace of mind through real-time monitoring.
"Dante Director is the next step in managing Dante networks, providing maximum convenience and flexibility for IT and AV administrators,” said Laurence Crew, Senior Product Manager, Audinate. “Users can manage device security with user accounts, track device stability through event logging, and extend control and transparent monitoring with custom Dante Managed API integrations. We expect Dante Director to become the default choice for permanent Dante installations where management flexibility and monitoring are critical."
Subscriptions to Dante Director also grant access to the Dante Managed API, allowing integrators and software developers to add value to their applications by building new network interfaces and retrieving Dante network data for use in dashboards. For example, AVI-SPL has used the Dante Managed API to integrate data from customer Dante networks into their Symphony platform.
Dante Director comes with a free 30-day trial and is available as a monthly subscription, starting at $20 (USD) per month for up to 20 Dante devices, expanding easily to cover any network size for an additional $1 (USD) per device per month.
Dante More Secure
A second announcement from Audinate for InfoComm 2024 is the introduction of Dante Media Encryption, safeguarding media from interception or unauthorized access. Because Dante is a complete platform over IP, integrating audio, video, control, and management features, allowing users to access and route AV signals anywhere in the world, adding end-to-end encryption between connected products becomes another level of enhanced security for users of the technology.
The accelerating convergence of audio and video equipment and IT network technologies has increased the need for integrators and manufacturers to provide network protection for system users with security-conscious designs and adherence to emerging IoT (Internet-of-Things) network regulations. Designed with security at its core, Dante already offers device, network, and media-level protections for manufacturers to integrate into their products and system solutions.
Dante systems and endpoints implement a multilayer security architecture that provides threat and vulnerability protection to the network and connected devices. The multilayer security architecture provides a solid foundation for manufacturers and systems integrators to follow best practices when configuring Dante and their products to meet new regulations. The addition of Dante Media Encryption enables equipment manufacturers to upgrade qualified Dante firmware and software in new or existing designs to support AES-256 encryption security policies on managed Dante networks.
"Dante Media Encryption is the only fully interoperable and manufacturer-agnostic solution for AV installations, providing a powerful tool to customers that must adhere to strict security and privacy mandates," says Mark Gerrard, Group Product Manager, Audinate.
Dante Media Encryption capabilities are fully compatible between updated devices in managed Dante networks. Managed networks are fundamental to a secure AV-over-IP system, with Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager (DDM) providing secure access controls, network segmentation, policy management, and event logging as essential protections to an installation. Dante Media Encryption policy is configurable by the network administrator through an intuitive user interface on the Dante Director management platform. Dante Director also provides strong key management, including key rotation, for enrolled devices.
Dante product updates for Dante Media Encryption will be available for original equipment manufacturers to integrate with their products in the second half of 2024.
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