User guide
14 HYDRA2 Operator Manual
Introduction - Hydra2 Networking
ROUTER CORES
Standalone router racks, called Router 
Cores, that have no DSP and no control 
surface attached, can be used to increase 
the capacity of I/O connections by 
providing an extra 16 or 32 router ports 
with each additional rack.
Router Cores can be used as a central 
point for shared I/O resources and 
console router connections. Dedicating a 
standalone router as the Master Router in 
a network and locating it in an equipment 
room, powered on 24/7, ensures that 
the network is always active and that any 
console that is powered on has access 
to all their own I/O as well as all I/O 
connected to the Router Core. 
Audio I/O
Router 
Core
Console 
Core
Audio I/O Audio I/OAudio I/O Audio I/OAudio I/O
Audio I/O
Audio I/O
Audio I/O
Audio I/O
Audio I/O
Audio I/O
Control Room 1 Control Room 2 Control Room 3
Studio A Studio B Studio C
Audio I/O Audio I/O
Equipment 
Room
Console 
Core
Console 
Core
Having a central point for console 
connections on a large network with a 
lot of shared I/O makes router to router 
bandwidth easier to manage. 
The consoles / control rooms shown 
below in Figure 1 have access to the 
studio floor and equipment room I/O 
without it being routed via other console 
cores. 
FIGURE1 - NETWORK WITH STANDALONE MASTER ROUTER










