Discovery Server Config

Discovery Server configuration enables cross-subnet NDI® discovery.

When You Need This

Default NDI® discovery uses mDNS (multicast DNS), which works on flat networks where all devices are in the same subnet or multicast is bridged across VLANs.

You need a discovery server when:

• NDI® sources are on different subnets from your monitoring workstation
• Your network uses VLANs that don’t pass multicast traffic
• Firewall rules block mDNS
• You’re in a large facility with routed network infrastructure
• IT has specifically set up NDI® discovery servers

Opening Discovery Server Config

Menu → Sources → Discovery Server Config

A dialog appears with a text field for entering discovery server addresses.

Configuring Discovery Servers

Format:

Enter discovery server IP addresses and optional ports, separated by commas:

192.168.1.50:5959,192.168.1.51:5959

Or use default port (5959) by omitting the port number:

192.168.1.50,192.168.1.51

Getting discovery server addresses:

Ask your network engineering team. They’ll provide the IP addresses of the discovery servers they’ve configured.

If you don’t have discovery servers set up, you’ll need to install and configure an NDI® Discovery Server (available from NDI®‘s website) on a routed network segment visible to all subnets.

Applying configuration:

Enter the addresses and click Save (or press Enter / Ctrl+S).

Laika immediately switches to discovery server mode. Refresh sources to pull the updated source list.

Discovery Server Syntax

The discovery server field follows NDI® SDK conventions:

Single server:

192.168.10.5

Single server with port:

192.168.10.5:5959

Multiple servers:

192.168.10.5,192.168.20.5,10.0.1.100

Mixed (with and without ports):

192.168.10.5:5959,192.168.20.5

Hostnames are also supported:

ndi-discovery.studio.local:5959

Switching Back to mDNS

To disable discovery server and return to mDNS:

Open Discovery Server Config and clear the text field (delete all servers). Save.

Laika reverts to mDNS multicast discovery. Refresh sources to re-scan the local network.

Troubleshooting Discovery Server Issues

No sources found after configuring servers:

• Verify server IP addresses are correct
• Confirm servers are actually running (ping them)
• Check firewall rules allow traffic to/from discovery servers on port 5959
• Verify discovery servers have visibility to both your subnet and the NDI® sender subnets

Some sources missing:

• Confirm those sources are registered with the discovery servers
• Check that sources are on subnets the discovery servers can route to
• Verify NDI® groups if configured (sources and receivers must share a group)

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