Livewire (networking)


Livewire is an audio-over-IP system created by Axia Audio, a division of The Telos Alliance. Its primary purpose is routing and distributing broadcast-quality audio in radio stations.
The original Livewire standard was introduced in 2003 and has since been superseded by a second version, Livewire+. Livewire+ includes combatibility with the AES67 and Ravenna standards to allow interoperability with equipment from other manufacturers. Designed as a superset of Livewire functionality utilizing common protocols and formats, Livewire+ is available as an open standard through Axia's Livewire+ Partner Program.
Livewire+ provides flexibile routing and transport of audio streams using multicast networking, with the ability to connect any input to any output. Distribution utilises standard IP and Ethernet over twisted pair cabling.

Protocol

The following table lists ports and protocols used in Livewire systems.
PortProtocolMulticast AddressPurposeNotes
67, 68UDPBOOTP Server/ClientRemote IP address assignment
93TCPLivewire Routing ProtocolAlso provides transparent passing of custom messages, similar to the Ancillary Data Transmission feature of AES3
123UDPNetwork Time Protocol
514UDPSyslogActivity logging to a syslog receiver.
2055UDP239.192.255.4Multicast-based GPIO GPIO commands, GPIO node → console-type endpoint
2060UDP239.192.255.4Multicast-based GPIO GPIO commands, console-type endpoint → GPIO node
4000UDPLivewire Advertisement and Source Allocation ProtocolVerbose advertisement and source allocation requests
4001UDP239.192.255.3Livewire Advertisement and Source Allocation ProtocolPeriodic and verbose announcements;
Source allocation state announcements and responses
4002UDP239.192.255.3Engine Supervision Protocol
4010TCPLivewire Control Protocol
4011UDP239.192.255.4LWCP for Accessory ModulesModule → Console
4012UDP239.192.255.3LWCP for Accessory ModulesConsole → Module
5004UDP239.192.x.xRTP Livewire AudioLast two address octets pertain to Axia channel ID, e.g. 9999 = 39 15
7000UDPLivewire ClockOne device assigns itself as LAN-wide reference, all other devices slave to it
9997TCPProtocol loggingDebug protocol logging for Element