Northbound Interface

Northbound Interface

This reference describes the Northbound Interface exposed to third-party control systems.

Overview

The Northbound Interface allows external control systems, such as studio automation or master-control systems, to control selected hi Sources and Destinations through a Pro-Bel SW-P-08 matrix interface.

The interface provides:

• Mapped routing control - external systems issue routing commands against the configured SW-P-08 matrix.

• Standard protocol integration - external systems use Pro-Bel SW-P-08 instead of a custom hi-specific protocol.

• Crosspoint updates - hi sends Crosspoint updates when mapped Destinations change.

• Label access - external systems can query Source and Destination labels for the simulated matrix.

Routing Using Pro-Bel SW-P-08

The hi system presents the Sources and Destinations assigned to a Northbound Node as a Pro-Bel SW-P-08 matrix. An external control system connects to hi and can issue supported SW-P-08 crosspoint commands to switch those mapped hi resources. The Northbound Node defines the matrix size, client settings, label mappings, and resource assignments.

The Northbound Node maps the selected Sources and Destinations to the external matrix. Other resources remain outside that mapping.

See Manage Nodes: Northbound Nodes for the supported configuration workflow.

Behavior

Labels: The third-party system can query the labels for the inputs and outputs of the matrix. The names from the hi database are mapped to the labels specified in the Pro-Bel SW-P-08 protocol documentation.

The interface answers label requests for four label lengths: 4, 8, 12, and 16 characters. For each length, the Northbound Node defines which hi Label is reported: Primary Name, Monitoring Name, Panel Name, or Mixer Name. hi truncates a label that exceeds the maximum length of the requested label type.

Crosspoint Changes: The external control system can send a supported Crosspoint Connect command for an input and output in the Pro-Bel SW-P-08 matrix. hi resolves the mapped Source and Destination and applies the requested route in hi.

Crosspoint Updates: When the route or reported state of a mapped hi Destination changes, hi sends the corresponding supported SW-P-08 state update to the external control system. This lets the external system track routing performed through the Northbound Interface and changes made elsewhere in hi.

If the new Source of a mapped Destination is not part of the Northbound matrix, hi reports a reserved Source slot instead of a Source. See Reserved Source Slots.

The Northbound Node option Force send crosspoint changed message is on by default. When it is on, hi also sends the Crosspoint changed message when the requested connection already exists. Turn it off to send the message only when the connection changes.

The Northbound Node option Force Extended Message On Broadcast is off by default. When it is on, hi always broadcasts Crosspoint changes as extended messages.

Reserved Source Slots

The Pro-Bel SW-P-08 protocol has no indication for special Destination states. To report these states, hi reserves a range of input slots in every Northbound matrix. You cannot assign Ports or Port Containers to the reserved slots. hi uses them to answer Crosspoint Interrogate requests.

The SW-P-08 protocol numbers matrices, levels, and Source IDs from 0, so a protocol value is one lower than the matching hi slot number. Some external systems display the protocol values starting at 1.

Supported Message Types

Incoming Messages:

• Crosspoint Interrogate

• Tally Dump Request

• Crosspoint Connect

• Dual Controller Request

• Single Source Name Request

• All Source Name Request

• All Destination Name Request

• Single Destination Name Request

Outgoing Messages:

• Dual Controller Status Change

• Crosspoint Changes

• Port Label Changes

Constraints

• The Northbound Interface exposes only the Sources and Destinations mapped on its Northbound Node.

• A Northbound Node has three External Client IP address settings.

• The slots 1002 to 1025 are reserved and cannot be assigned.

• Protocol behavior is limited to the supported incoming and outgoing message types listed on this page.

• SW-P-08 Lock, Unlock, and Protect concepts are not supported by the Northbound Interface.

• See the hiDock license details for the entitlement and session-capacity scope.

• Each active Northbound session counts against hiLink. Size hiLink for the peak number of simultaneous Northbound sessions.

Related Procedures

• Use Manage Nodes: Northbound Nodes to configure matrix size, client settings, labels, Sources, and Destinations.