Plan a Network

Before deploying a Crestron system on a network, it is important to consider the guidelines presented in this section. While there are many ways to configure an enterprise network, these practices have been found to be the most efficient and successful for Crestron devices.

Isolate the Network

Crestron devices should exist on a network separate from other device traffic. Other network activity can impact the response time of Crestron devices and disrupt the user experience.

Crestron users expect instant control and feedback. To ensure constant connection and accurate feedback, proprietary Crestron control communication uses a heartbeat packet. Loss of round-trip heartbeat packets indicates unreliable connections. Crestron control systems have strict response time and connectivity requirements to ensure user confidence and, as such, are very latency sensitive. Therefore, Crestron recommends setting up all Crestron devices on a dedicated (Crestron-only) VLAN so that unnecessary traffic does not interfere with the time‑sensitive packets between Crestron devices.

Deploying Crestron devices on a dedicated VLAN provides network access control in addition to the username and password authentication that is available on Crestron control systems.

VLAN Configuration

Whenever possible, all Crestron devices should be separate on their own VLAN. This allows for smoother operation of the control network and helps manage infrastructure, resulting in a better user experience.

The following steps should be taken to ensure that Crestron devices can be managed effectively:

• If Crestron devices reside on multiple VLANs, static routes should be set up between VLANs on a router.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) requests should be forwarded to the appropriate VLAN with a DHCP server.
• For proper operation, Crestron ports should not be blocked. For detailed information regarding the required port numbers for a 4-Series control system, refer to the 4-Series Control Systems Reference Guide.
• Some devices allow streaming media content from the internet. These devices should be allowed to connect to the internet if streaming is desired.
• A 16-port switch such as the CEN‑SWPOE‑16 supports VLANs, which is useful when designing a Crestron network.

Listen Ports

A Crestron control system listens to the following set of ports. Not all ports are turned on by default. For detailed information regarding the required port numbers for a 4-Series control system, refer to the 4-Series Control Systems Reference Guide.

 

Crestron over IP Communications

Multiple listeners can be added to the Crestron control system via the user program. Crestron recommends performing a security scan on the control system without a program and then performing the scan again with a program. This will help identify whether any security breaches are created by loading the program.

Connect Ports

Using external devices and services, a Crestron control system can connect to the following sets of ports. Not all ports are turned on by default. For detailed information regarding the required port numbers for a 4-Series control system, refer to the 4-Series Control Systems Reference Guide.

IP Addressing

In most installations, Crestron recommends configuring devices with static IP addresses. Especially in large corporate or university environments, using static or reserved DHCP aids in managing devices and avoids potential DNS issues. However, DHCP should be used when devices are connected to a Crestron control subnet. See Crestron Control Subnet for more information.

IPv6

All Crestron Ethernet devices can exist on an IPv6 network. Certain Crestron Ethernet devices support IPv6 addressing, which can be turned on using the device's web configuration interface or console commands via Crestron Toolbox™ software. The device's web configuration interface can be accessed over IPv6 by entering its IPv6 address into a web browser

The following table lists the Crestron Ethernet device categories that currently support IPv6 addressing with the minimum firmware version that adds this support.

Device Category	Minimum Firmware Version
4-Series™ Control Systems	2.8001.x
DM NVX® A/V Encoders and Decoders	7.1.x
TS/TSS/TSW-70 Series Touch Screens	2.003.x

The following software and services are not supported by Crestron Ethernet devices over IPv6 addressing:

• BACnet
• SNMP
• Crestron Fusion® software
• Crestron modules and IP drivers
• XPanel (must use a host name that can resolve to an IPv6 address)
• .AV Framework™ software

Hostnames

Crestron recommends configuring DNS and DHCP servers to allow hostnames to resolve via option 81 or option 12.