Synchronization
Before you proceed, you need to make sure that the clock signals on your ASIO cards are synchronized correctly. This is essential when cabling any kind of digital audio system, not just VST System Link.
About This Task
All digital audio cables by definition always carry a clock signal as well as audio signals, so you do not have to use a special word clock input and output for this (although you may find that you get a slightly more stable audio system if you do, especially when using multiple computers).
The clock mode or sync mode is set up in the ASIO control panel of the audio hardware.
Procedure
Result
Typically, the ASIO control panel for an audio card contains some indication of whether or not the card receives a proper sync signal, including the sample rate of that signal.
This is a good indication that you have connected the cards and set up clock sync properly. Check your audio hardware’s documentation for details.
It is very important that only one card is the clock master, otherwise the network cannot function correctly. Once you have set this up, all the other cards in the network will take their clock signal from this card automatically.
The only exception to this procedure is if you are using an external clock – from a digital mixing desk or a special word clock synchronizer, for example. In that case you must leave all your ASIO cards in clock slave or AutoSync mode and make sure that each of them is listening for the signal coming from the synchronizer. This signal is usually passed through your ADAT cables or word clock connectors in a daisy chain fashion.