Advanced network configurations

Table of Contents

In most cases, connecting to the target using its dynamic IP address is straightforward and requires no additional setup. This dynamic IP is either assigned by a DHCP server when the target is connected to a local network or auto-assigned for targets running firmware version 2025.2 beta or later.

Whenever possible, we recommend using dynamic IP instead of static IP as it does not require any additional setup. To do so, please refer to the Programming and operating imperix controllers page.

If using a dynamic IP address is not feasible, static IPs can be used as an alternative. This page presents various scenarios and explains how to configure static IP addresses to establish a connection. While the focus is on imperix targets, the principles described here apply to any device. These are standard IP networking concepts.

Scenario A: a single target directly connected to the computer

The imperix targets are always accessible using the pre-configured static IP address 192.168.222.22. To connect to it, the host computer Ethernet interface must be configured to use a static IP in the same subnet, but different from that of the target. For instance, the Ethernet interface can be configured with the IP 192.168.222.50 with the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

Windows 10

Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > from the left pane, Change adapter settings.
Right-click on the Ethernet adapter that is connected to the target and select Properties.
Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
Set the IP address and Subnet mask as shown below.

Windows 11

Open the Settings app (Windows + I).
Go to Network & internet.
Select Ethernet.
Select the Ethernet interface connect to the target.
Under IP assignment, click Edit
Set the IP address and Subnet mask as shown below.

Scenario B: one master-slaves system directly connected to the computer

When multiple targets are interconnected in a master-slaves configuration using SFP optical fiber, only the Ethernet port of the top master needs to be connected to the host computer. The static IP 1 is automatically incremented for each slave device:
– Device #0: 192.168.222.22
– Device #1: 192.168.222.23
– Device #2: 192.168.222.24
– Etc.

This configuration requires the same connection procedure as described in scenario A.

Scenario C: multiple targets directly connected to the computer

If multiple independent targets are connected directly to the computer, their default Static IP 1 addresses will conflict. Since all targets use the same default IP address (192.168.222.22), the computer cannot distinguish between them, leading to communication errors. To resolve this, each target (including slave devices) must be assigned a unique Static IP 2 address using Cockpit.

Configuration procedure

Connect each target one at a time to the computer using its default Static IP 1 address (see scenario A procedure).
Open Cockpit.
Navigate to the Target Configuration window.
Assign a unique Static IP 2 address to the device.

IP assignment recommendations

It is recommended to assign Static IP 2 addresses in a different subnet than Static IP 1 to avoid conflicts. For example:

Target 1: 192.168.100.10
Target 2: 192.168.100.11
Target 3: 192.168.100.12
…and so on

The computer’s Ethernet interface must be configured to match the Static IP 2 subnet. For example, set the interface to:

IP address: 192.168.100.1
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Once configured, all targets can be connected to the computer simultaneously without IP conflicts.

Using multiple Ethernet ports

If multiple Ethernet ports of the same computer are used, each port must be assigned to a different subnet. The targets’ static IP 2 must be updated to match the subnet of the corresponding Ethernet port. For instance:

Port 1: