RAVENNA ASIO recommended Network Adapter

Even though the Merging AES67 RAVENNA ASIO driver can function on any Gigabit Ethernet Adapter, including the onboard one, it is advisable to utilize a dedicated card. Merging suggests employing Intel Gigabit network adapters for optimal performance.

In the Windows Control Panel > Device Manager, locate the network adapters, select your card, and access its Properties. It's crucial to disable any power management features, such as Green Ethernet, Energy efficient Ethernet, Ultra Low Power mode, or System Idle Power Saver. These options are typically found in a Power Management tab, but their location may vary based on the NIC manufacturer and model.

Disable "Reduce link Speed during standby" (especially when using a switch on the RAVENNA network) or "Reduce Speed on Power Down" to "Disabled". "Wake on LAN" should also be disabled for dedicated RAVENNA network cards, although it's not mandatory.

Some additional notes:

- Jumbo packet is not supported.
- Interrupt Moderation can sometimes help reduce sink jitter when disabled (default is enabled).
- Receive Side Scaling must be enabled with the default value.
- Receive Side Scaling Queues should be set to 1 (default value), as having 2 queues can result in very poor performance.
- Performance options should generally be left at default values, including Adaptive Inter-Frame Spacing Disabled, Flow Control set to RX & TX, Interrupt Moderation rate set to Adaptive (which will have no effect if Interrupt Moderation is disabled), Receive Buffers at 256, and Transmit Buffers at 512.

For Realtek 2.5 GbE Controllers, the default Receive Buffers value is often set to 512 by default. Please adjust it to 256 (Transmit Buffers should remain at 512).

When upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11, certain settings may become inaccessible, such as the crucial "RSS Queues." In such cases, open the "Devices Manager," right-click your network adapter, go to Driver, and choose Downgrade Driver. This should grant access to the hidden settings.

For Mac users, it's recommended to use a network adapter ideally recommended by Merging, such as the Sonnet Thunderbolt AVB Adapter.