ProSight Beginner's Guide

STEP ZERO

Before you start

Check you have these. The first three are essential; the rest make ProSight more useful.

NeededA Windows laptop or a MacWindows 10 or 11, or macOS 12 or later. Nothing else to install: ProSight brings everything it needs.
NeededA wired network portThe square socket on the laptop (RJ45). Most Macs need a USB-C or Thunderbolt network adapter. Wi-Fi won't do.
NeededA network cable you trustA Cat5e or Cat6 patch lead. A damaged lead gives misleading results.
RecommendedWireshark installedFree from wireshark.org. It makes the Listen tab faster and more exact. On a Mac it also saves typing your password each time.
OptionalThe vendor list fileSave oui.csv from the IEEE to see device makers' names. Winnext to ProSight.exe. Macin ~/Library/Application Support/ProSight/.
OptionalAdministrator passwordOnly the Listen tab needs it: Windows asks to restart ProSight; a Mac asks for your password. Everything else works without it.

First time on this laptop? Run the self-test once, so you know the app works before you're on site. WinProSight.exe --selftest shows a window with every check marked PASS or FAIL. Macin Terminal: /Applications/ProSight.app/Contents/MacOS/ProSight --selftest.

ONE-TIME SETUP

Getting ProSight

ProSight is a standalone app. There's no installer and nothing else to download.

WinWindows

UnzipExtract ProSight-Windows-x64.zip to a folder you keep, such as Documents\ProSight.
Open ProSight.exeThe first launch takes a few seconds longer while it unpacks.
If Windows warns you"Windows protected your PC" appears for apps from outside the Store. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Windows on Arm laptops use the win-arm64 download.

MacMac

Unzip and moveDouble-click ProSight-macOS-Apple-Silicon.zip, then drag ProSight into Applications.
If macOS won't open itOpen System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to ProSight.
Allow the local networkWhen asked "ProSight would like to find devices on your local network", click Allow. Without it, Who's up?, Dante and OSC find nothing.

Intel Macs use the osx-x64 download.

Your download may not open the first time. Copies of ProSight that aren't signed with a publisher certificate get these warnings once. After that they open normally.

JARGON, DECODED

Words you'll see

You don't need to be a network engineer. These are the only terms the guide uses.

Wall socket / drop / jack: The network socket in the wall or floor box. A cable runs from it, hidden in the building, to a switch.
Switch: The box in a rack that every socket's cable plugs into. It has numbered ports.
Port: One socket on the switch, with a name like Gi1/0/24 (gigabit, stack 1, module 0, port 24).
VLAN: A separate "network inside the network". Audio, phones and office PCs are often kept on different VLANs, each with a number.
LLDP / CDP: Short announcements a managed switch sends out of each port, saying its name and port. ProSight listens for these.
IP address: A device's address on the network, like 10.40.0.12.
Subnet: The block of addresses your laptop can talk to directly, written like 10.40.0.0/24 (that's 254 addresses).
MAC address: A device's fixed hardware ID, like 00:1A:A2:4C:10:18. The first half tells you the maker.
Dante: A system that carries live audio over a network, used by mixing desks, stage boxes and amplifiers.
OSC: Open Sound Control: small messages that control show software, sent by apps like TouchOSC or GyrOSC.
Multicast / flood: Traffic sent to many devices at once. Lots of it can swamp a connection.
Mbps: Megabits per second: connection speed. A healthy modern socket runs at 1000 Mbps.

ABOUT FIVE MINUTES

Your first wall socket

Do these in order. Each step tells you something the next one builds on.

Plug in.Connect the laptop's network port to the wall socket with your patch lead. Wait about 10 seconds for the link lights.
Open ProSight and choose your adapter.At the top, under Network adapter, pick the wired one. Real, connected adapters are listed first, so the default is usually right.
Check the cable: Load tab → Sample 3 seconds.Look at the Link line. 1000 Mbps is good. 100 Mbps usually means a damaged cable or socket; see Reading the results.
Find where it goes: Listen tab → Listen live.WinIf asked, click Yes to restart ProSight as Administrator, then click Listen live again. MacType your Mac password when asked. Then wait up to a minute for the switch name, port and VLAN.
See who else is there: Who's up? tab → Scan live hosts.Lists every device on this part of the network.
On an audio network: Dante tab → Browse Dante.Lists the audio devices and their addresses.

No switch to practise on? On the Listen tab, click Built-in Cisco sample. It shows exactly what a real result looks like, using made-up switch data.

WHAT EACH TAB DOES

The six tabs

The progress bar next to the adapter picker shows how far along any wait is, as a percentage.

Listen

up to 65 sNeeds admin password

Which switch, port and VLAN is this socket on?

How to use it

Leave Max wait at 65 seconds. Switches announce themselves every 30 to 60 seconds.
Click Listen live. On a Mac, type your password when asked. With Wireshark installed it stops as soon as it hears the switch.
Read the Switch, Port and Native VLAN lines. Those three are usually all you need.

Write down the switch name and port, e.g. core-sw-01 Gi1/0/24. That's what the network team will ask for.

Listen · Built-in Cisco sample

Protocol    LLDP
Switch      core-sw-01.lab.local
Platform    Managed switch
Port        Gi1/0/24
Port desc   GigabitEthernet1/0/24
Native VLAN 20
Voice VLAN  30
Mgmt IP     10.10.10.1
Link        1000BASE-T FD

Example only: the built-in sample, not a real switch.

Who's up?

secondsNo admin

What else is connected to this network?

How to use it

The address box is filled in for you, e.g. 10.40.0.0/24. You can also type a short range like 10.40.0.1-50.
Click Scan live hosts. Click Stop scan to cancel.
Each row is one live device, with its address, maker and name where known.

The "Seen via" column

Shows	Means
`icmp`	It answered a ping.
`tcp`	It answered a connection attempt.
`arp`	It's there but ignores everything else. Common for printers and AV gear.
`arp (cached)`	MacThe Mac remembered it from earlier. It may have left in the last 20 minutes.

Only scan networks you're allowed to test. On a venue's network, ask first.

Dante

about 3 sNo admin

Which audio devices are on this network, and at what address?

How to use it

Plug into a socket on the audio network. Dante devices can only be found from the same network.
Click Browse Dante.
Each line shows a device name, its IP address, and its maker and model.

See a banner reading "OFFLINE DEMO DATA"? Nothing answered, so ProSight is showing a practice rack. Those devices are not on your network. Check you're plugged into the audio network and have the wired adapter selected.

OSC

runs until stoppedNo admin

Are show-control messages reaching this laptop?

How to use it

Set UDP port to match your sending app (8000 is usual).
Click Start listener. Two test messages appear straight away, proving it works.
Send from your app to this laptop's IP address. Messages appear as they arrive.

OSC · UDP 8000

/gyrosc/gyro  60/s
20:14:02  127.0.0.1  /gyrosc/gyro  0.12  -0.48  0.91
20:14:02  127.0.0.1  /voices/3/osc/14/freq  440

The top line shows messages per second for each address.

Load

3 sNo admin

How healthy and how busy is this connection right now?

How to use it

Click Sample 3 seconds.
Check Link (speed), Errors (should be 0) and the Verdict line.

This measures the laptop's own connection, not the whole network.

Load · example

Link        1000 Mbps  (Up)
Utilisation 3.2 %
Flood in    1.80 Mbps multicast+broadcast
Errors      0.0 /s
Verdict     Healthy

Example figures, for illustration.

Monitor

updates every secondNo admin

How does the connection behave over a few minutes?

Click Start monitor. The same figures as Load update every second, with a graph of the last 90 seconds. Useful during a soundcheck or when a problem comes and goes. Click Stop monitor to finish.

WHAT IT'S TELLING YOU

Reading the results

Load and Monitor sum up the connection in one verdict.

Verdict	What it means	What to do
Healthy	Normal traffic, no errors.	Nothing.
Idle	Very little traffic.	Normal for an unused socket.
Busy	Half to most of the speed is in use.	Fine for now; watch it in Monitor.
Saturated	The connection is full.	Tell the network team; things will slow or drop out.
High discards	Lots of traffic is being thrown away.	Watch in Monitor and report it.
Errors on link	Data is arriving damaged.	Swap your patch lead first. If errors continue, the socket or building cable is faulty.
Link down	No connection at all.	Check the lead is clicked in at both ends, and the socket is patched.

Speed shows 100 Mbps instead of 1000? A gigabit connection needs all four pairs of wires in the cable; 100 Mbps manages on two. So this usually means a broken wire in the lead, the socket or the cable in the wall. Try another lead first.

TROUBLESHOOTING

When something goes wrong

You see	Try this
Listen: Neighbor none	The switch may not announce itself (cheap unmanaged switches don't). Raise Max wait to 120 and try again, or ask the network team.
Listen: No capture backend	WinRestart ProSight as Administrator. MacClick Listen live again and enter your password. Installing Wireshark also helps. The message lists exactly what failed.
Listen: WARNING … different adapters	The result might be from a docking station's port. Unplug other network cables and adapters, then listen again.
Listen: cancelled at the password prompt	MacClick Listen live again and type your Mac password. You need an administrator account on this Mac.
Who's up?: Vendor column empty	Add the `oui.csv` file (see Before you start for where it goes).
Who's up? or Dante: finds nothing at all	MacProSight may not be allowed on the local network. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and switch ProSight on.
Dante: demo banner	You're not on the audio network, or Wi-Fi is selected. Pick the wired adapter and try again.
OSC: port already in use	Close the other OSC app, or change the UDP port number.
Load: Flood in n/a	This laptop can't report that figure; Macs never can. Everything else is still correct.
No wired adapter listed	Plug the cable in first, or connect your USB network adapter, then restart ProSight. On a Mac, Wi-Fi is deliberately left out of the list.

GOOD QUESTIONS

Questions

Can ProSight break anything on the network?

No. It only listens and asks devices to say hello. It never changes a switch or a device. Still, only scan networks you have permission to test.

Why does Listen need an admin password, but nothing else does?

Hearing a switch's announcements means reading raw network traffic, which Windows and macOS both restrict. ProSight asks only when you click Listen live. On a Mac, installing Wireshark removes the password prompt.

Is the Mac version the same as the Windows one?

Yes: same six tabs, same results. It looks slightly different because it follows macOS conventions. The only figure a Mac can't show is Flood in on the Load and Monitor tabs.

Why can't I use Wi-Fi?

Switches only announce their port name down the cable. Over Wi-Fi there is no switch port to find.

Why did Listen take a whole minute?

Without Wireshark, ProSight has to wait the full time. With Wireshark installed it stops the moment it hears the switch.

Is the built-in sample real data?

No. It's a fixed example for practice and testing. Live results only come from Listen live.