Finding the MAC address of an Audia or Nexia
In many installations, an Audia or Nexia system has to be connected to an enterprise network with access rights, which requires knowing the MAC Address of all devices connected to the network. If you need the MAC address of an Audia or Nexia, it can be obtained by establishing a serial or telnet connection to the device.
Connecting via RS232
To connect to the device via RS232, you can use Hyperterminal or Putty. Please follow the instructions found in this article to get connected over RS232, and then return to the Retrieve the MAC address section of this article.
Connecting via Ethernet
- Go to the Start menu and click RUN
- Type CMD to start the command prompt
- Type
telnetand hit enter (Note: Telnet is not installed by default in Windows Vista and Windows 7/8. If starting telnet results in an error, read below on how to activate TELNET). - Type
OPEN xxx.xxx.xxx.xxxwhere xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the unit. Then press enter.
- A welcome message should appear on screen:
Retrieve the MAC address
Now that we are connected to the device either via RS232 or Ethernet, type the following command to retrieve the MAC address:
GET 0 MACADDRESS (followed by pressing the Enter key)
Note that telnet will display the MAC address with any leading zero suppressed, so the response may not show the MAC address in the full format. MAC Addresses are comprised of six 2-character hexadecimal numbers. If the first character of any number is a "0" it may not be displayed. The full MAC Address from the screenshot above should be 00:90:5e:10:31:22. Similarly, a MAC address of 00:90:5e:01:02:0A would be displayed as 0:90:5e:1:2:A.
Finding the MAC address of a CobraNet port (Audia)
Preparation
- Go to the Cirrus Logic download site located in the following link: http://cobranet.info/downloads
- Download CobraNet Discovery Utility (Disco) to your desktop (Version 4.0.5 or later)
- Double click on CNDisco_4_0_5.zip and install the appropriate version for your operating system. Please note that Disco will not create a desktop icon.
- Go to the Biamp Systems download site located in the following link: https://www.biamp.com/downloads
- Under Software & Firmware, select the appropriate AudiaFlex CobraNet firmware and download to your desktop (AudiaCobraNetFW.exe)
- Double click on AudiaCobraNetFW.exe and click on “Unzip” to extract the files. Save the files in the default location. (C:\Cirrus Logic\CobraNet Discovery\firmware)
- Open the TCP/IP properties of your computer by going to the Control Panel > Network and Internet> Network and Sharing Center > Local Area Connection. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
- Select “Use the following IP Address” and set a static IP Address. Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0 and click “OK”
Connect
Connect the Ethernet port on your computer to the same network switch as the CobraNet devices on your network. You can also connect directly to the CobraNet port on the Audia unit with a cross-over Cat-5 cable.
- Open CobraNet Disco by going to Start > All Programs > CobraNet Discovery > CobraNet Discovery.
- Open the options menu by going to Tools > Options.
- Make certain your network card is selected under Network Adapter, set the IP Address Range you want the devices to be assigned to, and then click on “Enable Auto Assignment” to select that range. Click “OK”.
- This tells Disco the range of IP addresses you'd like to restrict your devices to; Disco then auto-assigns IP addresses from the pool of addresses that lie within that range.
All units connected to the CobraNet network should appear in the CobraNet Disco window. If not, Click View > Refresh. Each line shows each individual unit, an IP address, MAC address and current firmware version.
- If a device times out, power cycle the unit by unplugging the power cord.
- If, after power cycle and Refresh, the IP address still does not come up in the same subnet as your PC go back to Tools > Options and verify the IP Address Range is correct and matches the PCs static address.
- If you don't see any devices after completing this step, try temporarily disabling any anti-virus software on your PC, and/or temporarily disabling Windows Firewall. These have been known to cause problems with the CobraNet Discovery software.
Enabling Telnet in Windows
To enable Telnet in Windows Vista or newer, do the following:
- Go to the Windows start menu and select Control Panel.
- Select Programs.
- Under Program and Features, select "Turn Windows features on or off".
- Wait until the list populates.
- Make sure "Telnet Client" has a check next to it, and click OK.
- Telnet will now be activated in your computer.