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RDM: Remote Device Management Protocol
The following information is taken from the Artistic Licence website. It outlines the design goals of the RDM protocol.
Remote Device Management (or RDM) is the colloquial name for the ANSI E1.20 standard in development at ESTA.
RDM is intended to allow bi-directional communication over the DMX512 cable. This will occur on the standard twisted pair connected to pins 2 and 3. This same pair of wires is used to transmit data from the console to the dimmers or moving lamps.
RDM will require a new breed of DMX splitters, such as the Artistic Licence Rack-Split RDM. This new type of splitter is intelligent as it must monitor the data for a command to reverse the direction of the cable.
The large benefit of this approach as opposed to using the spare pins 4 and 5, is that RDM can be retrofitted to installations wired with single pair cable. A second benefit is that many products, such as High End Systems', already contain the electronics needed for bi-directional communication using pins 2 and 3. These products can be upgraded to RDM with only a software change.
RDM will provide the following benefits:
- Ability for the console to set the base address of the lamp. There will no longer be a need for DIP switches.
- Plug and Play. The console will be able to search the DMX512 cable for all connected devices and then automatically patch them.
- Lamp personality: It will be possible for the console to use RDM to download personalities direct from the moving lamp. No more last minute panics to find the correct lamp library.
- RDM devices can be firmware upgraded via the DMX512 signal.
- RDM devices can send status and fault information back to the console.
- By allowing bi-directional communication, it will be much easier to mix DMX installations with sophisticated Ethernet protocols such as Art-Net or ACN.
RDM is currently in development, however RDM-ready products such as Down-Link and Rack-Split RDM are already shipping. The term RDM-ready simply means that when RDM is finished, these products can be upgraded.
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