Glossary
The terms KLSTR.ctrl uses, and that this guide uses, grouped by subject. DMX, RDM, Art-Net and sACN themselves are not explained here.
Devices and the app
KLSTR.ctrl
The desktop app for macOS and Windows that finds the devices of a KLSTR lighting network, draws them as a live topology, and lets you configure them, update their firmware, watch their sensors and diagnose problems. See the Overview.
KLSTR.one
A network module built into a fixture or a pixel controller. It contains a small managed network switch, so the fixture gets two or three Ethernet ports and fixtures can be cabled to each other in lines, rings or stars. A KLSTR.one receives , drives the fixture through its output , and is selected by its . It talks to KLSTR.ctrl over the KLSTR protocol on , and announces itself, so it shows up as soon as you pick the right network interface. In the header, the KLSTR.one status shows this connection.
KLSTR.nano
A small RDM module built into a fixture. It sits in the DMX line, passes DMX on to the next
fixture, and answers RDM for itself and for the fixture behind it. It also stores KLSTR data
such as the fixture's and positions (see
), and runs its own firmware. A
KLSTR.nano's RDM UID always starts with 00c8. KLSTR.ctrl reaches it with RDM over Art-Net,
through the Art-Net node its DMX line is connected to; that is why the header calls the
Art-Net connection KLSTR.nano.
Stored in the fixture
KLSTR data that KLSTR.ctrl writes into the fixture itself instead of keeping it on your computer. On a fixture with a , these are:
- the (a fixture with its own RDM unit number keeps the FID there instead);
- the 2D position of its box in the topology, written by Save positions in the 2D Positions group;
- the 3D position and orientation in Stage View, written by Save positions in the 3D Positions group or by an MVR import.
The KLSTR.nano keeps them when the fixture is switched off, and KLSTR.ctrl reads them back at
every RDM discovery. So the data travels with the fixture: it survives power cycles, a new
laptop, a replaced Art-Net node or controller, and a move to another show, and any copy of
KLSTR.ctrl that discovers the rig shows the same numbering and layout. A
keeps the same data in its own configuration. The DMX address,
personality and label are standard RDM settings of the fixture itself. A .klstr.ctrl file
only holds a copy of what KLSTR.ctrl had read; see
Save and restore discovered devices.
Art-Net node
A device that turns Art-Net into DMX lines, and passes RDM between KLSTR.ctrl and the fixtures on those lines. KLSTR.ctrl finds Art-Net nodes with ArtPoll over IPv4.
Root device
A device KLSTR.ctrl finds directly on the network: a fixture or an . The fixtures KLSTR.ctrl reaches through an Art-Net node are its . The Devices tree of the sidebar lists the root devices at the top level.
Subdevice
A fixture that KLSTR.ctrl reaches through a instead of finding it on the network itself: the RDM fixtures on the DMX ports of an . This guide mostly calls them the fixtures behind the node, or the connected fixtures. The Device Topology shows them behind the root device's ports, and the Devices tree of the sidebar lists them under it.
Port
A connection point of a device. In the Device Topology a port is a DMX port of an Art-Net node, drawn as a box with the fixtures behind it. A KLSTR.one has output ports too: its Device Configuration window has a tab for each, such as PORT 1. In the Network Topology the lines join the Ethernet ports of the networked devices.
KLSTR.cloud
KLSTR's online service. Fixture manufacturers log in to it to factory-activate KLSTR modules. Day-to-day work with KLSTR.ctrl needs no account. See Log in to KLSTR.cloud.
Modes
Build mode
The mode for setting up a rig: every action is available. KLSTR.ctrl starts in Build mode. See Switch between Build and Live mode.
Live mode
The mode for running a show. It locks the actions that could disturb a running rig (Assign Fixture ID's, Patch Fixtures, Hold to reset in Reset devices to defaults, and the IP settings of RDM devices), and it shows warnings about devices going offline and sensor alerts as messages that stay until you close them. Menu commands, the bulk configure dialogs and the rest of the Device Configuration window are not locked. See Switch between Build and Live mode.
Demo mode
A mode in which KLSTR.ctrl shows a ready-made demo rig of KLSTR.one fixtures, Art-Net nodes or both, so you can learn the app without hardware. The mode switch then reads Demo Mode; leaving demo mode clears the topology and returns to Build mode. See Tour KLSTR.ctrl in demo mode.
Addressing and patching
Fixture ID
A number that names a fixture in the rig, so you can find and select it without knowing its DMX address. Fixture IDs don't have to be unique: several devices can share one. Fixture ID 0 means the device has none yet. Type Fixture IDs on the FID command line (press : in a topology view) to select devices. See Assign Fixture IDs.
Universe
A block of 512 DMX channels. KLSTR.ctrl writes a start address that runs across universes as
universe.address: 1.1 is universe 1, address 1, and 3.101 is universe 3, address 101.
eDMX
DMX carried over Ethernet: Art-Net and sACN (E1.31). A receives its DMX this way.
Personality
The DMX mode of a fixture: which channels it uses and what they do. Changing the personality can change the .
Footprint
The number of DMX channels a fixture's current uses. KLSTR.ctrl uses it to place fixtures back to back when it patches them.
Patching mode
In the Auto-assign address dialog, the rule for how much room each KLSTR.one gets: Per Universe (a universe of its own), Current footprint (right after the previous fixture, by its current footprint) or Largest footprint (by the footprint of its largest personality). See Auto-assign DMX addresses.
Pinned port
A KLSTR.one output whose start universe you fixed by hand, with Start universe override on the port's tab in the Device Configuration window. Auto-assign address leaves pinned ports alone unless you tell it otherwise.
Selection order
The order in which the selected devices are numbered: the blue badge next to each selected node shows its place. It follows the order you clicked them, the direction you dragged, or the order you typed on the FID command line, and you can change it with Selection Orientation. Assigning Fixture IDs follows it, and so does the Selection order patch order of Auto-assign address. See Select devices.
Discovery and communication
IPv6 link-local
An IPv6 address that starts with fe80:: and that every interface with IPv6 switched on
gives itself, without a DHCP server or any setting. It is valid on one Ethernet network only
and never passes a router. KLSTR.ctrl finds and controls every over
its link-local address, on the interface you select for KLSTR.one. See
IPv6 zeroconf networking.
Zeroconf
Networking without configuration: devices give themselves an address and announce themselves, with no IP plan and no DHCP server. In this guide it usually means the addressing of KLSTR.one fixtures. The Zeroconf switch in the RDM IP settings of some fixtures is something else: the IPv4 fallback to a 169.254.x.x address (see Change RDM IP settings).
RDM discovery
Finding the RDM devices on the DMX ports of Art-Net nodes. KLSTR.ctrl runs the standard RDM discovery and, when the line has modules, asks them first which fixture sits behind which nano and in what order, so the Device Topology can draw the line fixture by fixture. See Discover devices.
Vendorcast
An RDM message addressed to all devices of one manufacturer at once. KLSTR.ctrl uses it to reach all modules on a port together, for example to send firmware to all of them at the same time (Vendorcast (multiple) in the Upgrade Nano Firmware dialog).
Unicast
An RDM message addressed to one device. In the Upgrade Nano Firmware dialog, Unicast (one-by-one) sends the firmware to each KLSTR.nano in turn: slower than , but more robust on a difficult line.
Identify
Making a device show itself in the rig, usually by flashing, so you can find it. You can identify devices from the topology, while you hover them, or by Fixture ID. See Identify devices.
Firmware
A/B partition
A holds two firmware partitions, A and B. It runs from one and is always updated into the other, so a failed update leaves the running firmware in place. See Update KLSTR.nano firmware.
Firmware cache
The firmware files KLSTR.ctrl has downloaded and keeps on this computer, so you can update devices without internet access. Manage it in User settings › UPDATES. See Manage the firmware cache.
LAN upgrade mode
A state in which every becomes fully transparent: its IN/OUT relay closes and all traffic on the line passes through to the fixture behind it. Start it with KLSTR.nano › Nano › Advanced › LAN Upgrade mode; end it with LAN Upgrade mode cancel or by restarting the nanos. It is not the same as LAN transparent mode on the KLSTR tab of a KLSTR.one, which affects only that fixture's built-in nano. See Use KLSTR.nano LAN upgrade mode.
Monitoring and diagnostics
Health Check
The tab that lists problems KLSTR.ctrl found in the rig, such as nano firmware that is out of date or blocked network access. Its title shows ⚠️ while there are any. See Run a health check.
Advanced Sensors
The view in the Monitoring tab that shows the sensor readings of many devices side by side, as a grid of tiles with gauges, and compares them against . See Monitor sensors.
Tolerance
How far a sensor reading may move away from its nominal value before Advanced Sensors marks it. There are two limits, both a percentage of the nominal value: within the inner limit the reading is fine, between the inner and the outer limit it is a warning, and beyond the outer limit it is a fault. A tolerance can apply on both sides of the nominal value or on one side only. You set tolerances for all fixtures, per fixture type and per . See Set sensor tolerances and roles.
Role
A named group within one sensor category of a fixture type, for example the voltage sensors called Lamp, so they get their own apart from the other sensors of that category.
Mute vs disable
Two ways to quiet one sensor reading of one device in Advanced Sensors. Mute stops its alerts only: the reading stays visible and keeps updating, with a muted mark. Disable takes the reading out of use: it is greyed out or hidden, and for an RDM fixture KLSTR.ctrl stops asking for its value. Both apply to that one device only. You mute or disable a reading by clicking its tile while Disabling Mode is on, or from the reading's detail window.
Related
Written for KLSTR.ctrl 1.2.0 (a0df909) · Checked 1 Oct 2026