Instant On - Wired

Hello,

let's assume the following setup:

• a number of Sonos speakers connect through an Instant On Ethernet switch (or a set of switches)
• some additional "satellite" switches communigate with SonusNet to those on the Ethernet 
• SonosNet uses STP and wired speakers act like bridges to their own, proprietary hidden 2.4GHz WiFi network
• no speakers connect through Instant on Access Points, hence tthere are no mDNS / multicast issues or the like

Now, Sonos still (v2) uses STP path cost values which are not being used as a default in modern switches (maybe pre-standard or 20 years old recommendations). These values are, for example - 10 for 100Mbps, 4 for 1G etc. They also assume a root bridge priority of 4096:

• in Cloud management, the root bridge priority can be changed
• however, it is not possible to change the default path cost values for each port

This results in blocked ports which connect to Speakers. Changing to local management and adjusting the port cost values as needed works without problems.

I really like the Instant On cloud management, but I am on local switch management as there is no way to configure this in the cloud. Maybe I did not find it.

If not possible, is there any way this is being implemented in a future version? I know the idea is to keep things simple, but some "Advanced Setup" choices would do no harm...

Regards, 

A.

I have 13 Sonos speakers all on WiFi, and they work perfectly. None are connected to Ethernet. No special configuration.

I did try putting Sonos on my IOT network but consumer devices are not designed to work across networks, even if the network switches have settings to help - mDNS, discovery, etc. - so they are on my main network. I have a LOT of IOT devices, family and friend on other VLANs/SSIDs. My family had an engagement party for my son - 80 people - and at least 20-30 people were on the WiFi inside the house and in the backyard (mostly in the backyard) for the day and evening. I have:

• A Sonos Arc soundbar, 2 Era 100 satellites, Sub (gen 3). The Arc soundbar creates its own WiFi network for the devices that are configured to be part of the soundbar system. AFAIK, this cannot be changed. I have tried, but its turned out not to be necessary. AFAIK, it would still do this if wired. I originally thought I had a defective sub because it would not connected to the local AP after unplugging it from a temporary Ethernet connection. Nope, it wanted to be connected on the WiFi network created by the soundbar. I wasted a lot of time on this and even replaced the sub because I thought it was defective. It wasn't. I plan to add two front satellites to the soundbar system eventually.
• I have 2 additional Era 100 speakers that are not part of the sound bar configuration.
• I have 7 Move 1 speakers that I disburse during parties. I have a large backyard and my extended family uses my backyard. One is always plugged in my garage, but it gets moved to the backyard during parties. The others are in a cabinet. I put all 7 out for the parties. I have enough power outlets in the backyard that I can just run extension cords through the bushes so that all 7 are sitting on their powered bases. I think once I let them use their internal batteries as I knew the party (a wedding shower) would only last 5 hours but normally they're plugged in.

I can send music to any speaker or speakers as desired - the Sonos app excels at this. I have sent music (I use Spotify) to the backyard speakers continuously for 12 hours, including all the indoor speakers (soundbar, etc.) without any interruptions. At some point someone usually wants to watch sports so the soundbar, 2 satellites and sub switch from music to whatever is on TV.

I have 3 AP27 outdoor APs, 4 indoor APs (2 AP25 and 2 AP22D), and 3 switches. All my APs are Ethernet wired. The soundbar, satellites and sub are on their own 2.4 GHz network that Sonos creates. The other 9 speakers are on my 5 GHz network.

Like I said, it just works. My suggestion is not to fight with Sonos. I have spent a lot of time over the years fighting consumer equipment that expects to be on the same network. Get it working as it's designed - first. If you still want to bend it to your will - do it after you know it all works.

I hope this helps.

Also, all the Instant-On devices are cloud managed. So it should be possible to get everything working if locally managed.

Thanks Adam for describing your setup.

Maybe I didn't describe mine very precisely:

• i do not use different networks, VLANs or the like - for Sonos speakers and also not controllers. There is no multicast or mDNS problem
• I also use 13 Speakers in a relatively small house and 7 access points, although no APs are used in this context
• many older Sonos speakers would not work / cannot be configured to use access points instead of SonosNet anyway 
• I have to put multiple speakers - as many as possible - on Ethernet because they simply would not function with SonosNet

I suppose you do not live in Europe? The maximum transmission power in the US for example is much higher. Also I have concrete / steel ceilings, thick brick walls etc. and not wooden structures as common in the US, which is bad for wireless reception.

As I said before - everything works well with local management. There I can configure the required STP path costs values. What I wish for is to be able to use cloud management and still connect the Sonos speakers. 

Local management is okay, but if you have several switches (like a big 1930 one and multiple 1830s which are POE powered from the bigger one), without cloud management you have to update and configure each switch manually. For me, having to switch to local management is quite a disadvantage.

This would require additions to the cloud UI and backends. 

For me, it would be also okay if you could switch in between local and cloud management without a factory reset - this would allow to configure certain things and switch back to the cloud. I fear this could cause inconsistencies and support nightmares, but maybe there's already a way to do exactly what i want? With the cloud API perhaps?

Reagards... 

A.

Hi axthemax,

I don't live in Europe. Sorry. I'm not familiar with the differences and in particular older Sonos products, as I only bought into Sonos 1 year ago.