Network Requirements for Departmental DirecTV Orders
DirecTV, an IP-based entertainment television service, is available in the residence halls and in many other locations on campus. Before placing an order for service, departments on campus should review the following network requirements with the local Network Administrator.
Standard Definition vs. High Definition Service
Standard Definition Service
Standard definition (SD) service can be supported just about any place there is CIT network service (with a few exceptions). SD service runs at less than 10Mb/s (variable bit rate between 2Mb/s and 8Mb/s). Full-duplex is required (no hubs).
High Definition Service
High definition (HD) service runs at higher speeds (up to 30+Mb/s). Full-duplex and 100Mb/s or 1000Mb/s are both required.
Jacks
DirecTV jacks can be either dedicated or non-dedicated.
Dedicated Jack
Vlans/subnets set up to specifically support DirecTv Set-Top Boxes are available. These vlan/subnets are designed for public spaces such as lounges, lobbies, waiting rooms or any place you would like to dedicate a jack to DirecTV. They are access-limited accordingly. Only DirecTV set-top boxes will work on them.
To install a set-top box on a dedicated jack, submit a request to NCS to activate the jack and specify that it is a DirectTV installation. Standard jack activation and monthly port fees apply but no "new VLAN" fee and no NUBB fees.
Non-dedicated Jack
If you do not want to dedicate a jack to the set-top box and/or would like to install a set-top box on an existing jack, the vlan/subnet on that jack needs to comply with the following requirements.
- DHCP is required. Set-top boxes have no mechanism for manually setting IP addresses. CIT’s central DHCP service is recommended because there are specific DHCP option requirements. If you choose to use your own DHCP service, vendor-encapsulated-options (option 43) must be set to return hex string “3c:04:6d:66:68:33” (without quotes).
Sample configuration using Internet Systems Consortium’s (ISC) DHCP server:
class "DirecTV_MFH3" {
match if option vendor-class-identifier = "mfh3";
option vendor-encapsulated-options = 3c:04:6d:66:68:33;
}
- ACLs and Firewalls need to allow IP access (both TCP and UDP, unicast
and multicast) between the set-top box and the DirecTv servers on the
following subnets:
- 10.253.169.192/26
- 10.16.196.0/24 (video streams only)
- IP Based Filters are the simplest and recommended
method:
- allow IP traffic to and from subnet 10.253.169.192/26
- allow IP traffic to and from subnet 10.16.196.0/24
Sample IOS ACL:
permit ip 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.192 any
permit ip 10.16.196.0/24 239.255.0.0. 0.0.255.255
Note: Above examples are outbound from the router/firewall to the subnet (inbound to the subnet).
- Port filters are not recommended because DirecTV may
change ports without warning. The following ports are in use
as of November 2008:
- UDP src port 1024 (video streams)
- UDP src port 1758 (multicast TFTP)
- UDP src port 4999 (multicast TFTP)
- UDP src port 9875 (SAP/SDP)
- TCP dst port 554 (RTSP)
Sample IOS ACL:
(The text below shows FIVE commands, each beginning with the word "permit.")
permit udp 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.63 239.255.0.0 0.0.255.255 eq 1024
permit udp 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.63 239.255.0.0 0.0.255.255 eq 1758
permit udp 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.63 239.255.0.0 0.0.255.255 eq 9875
permit udp 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.63 239.255.0.0 0.0.255.255 eq 4999
permit tcp 10.253.169.192 0.0.0.63 eq 554 any
Note: Above examples are outbound from the router/firewall to the subnet (inbound to the subnet).
- Routers including routing firewalls, need to understand and run multicast routing protocols, specifically Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) running in pim-sparse mode.