SoftDMX is the industry-standard DMX-512 protocol stack, used for control of advanced lighting and stage equipment. SoftDMX communicates using the simple asynchronous RS-485 serial interface and does not require complicated wiring or installation procedures. It is commonly used to control stage lighting and stage equipment including dimmers, fog machines, moving lights, color mixers, and special effects devices. DMX-512 is also used for non-theatrical lighting such as home, industrial, outdoor, building, and architectural lighting. One master on a DMX-512 channel can control up to 512 individual daisy-chained lights or devices from zero to 100 percent brightness in 256 steps, all from a single control console. softDMX runs on a very broad range of hardware platforms, processors, and operating systems.