Sonos Network Matrix

[prsmith777]

Just discovered there is a Sonos network matrix that is readily accessible from your network. Shows how all your sonos devices connect and with what signal strength.

http://IPaddress:1400/support/review

just insert IP address of any Sonos player on your network into the above link.

Then click on Network Matrix.

My network is in need of a Boost device from what I have seen on my matrix.

Might be helpful for those having dropouts like I am.

[prsmith777]

My Sonos network has always been slow and subject to drop outs. With this Matrix I have been able to analyze what's been wrong and tune it up nicely. I can now do announcements to all 15 Sonos devices at once and the announcements start within a few seconds with no dropouts.

Some things I did to optimize the network:

I am using Sonosnet for my setup. If you have one or more sonos players connected to the LAN with a wired connection, then you are using Sonosnet. Sonosnet is a proprietary network that uses 2.4GHz to communicate with other players. In the Sonos app, there is a place to choose which channel Sonosnet uses. I use channel 11. Other options are 1 or 6. These are the three channels on 2.4 Ghz which don't overlap with the others. It is important to make sure your routers or access points don't use this Sonosnet channel in the 2.4Ghz range. I previously had routers using auto channel and they were interfering with Sonosnet. I have since set my routers to use channels 1 and 6 with improved results.

It is important to choose the proper Source Player for grouping announcements.




I had read somewhere that the player source didn't really matter, but it turns out in larger setups it does. When Sonos does grouping, it uses a player called the Group Coordinator which will then send the announcement to the other players. This is the same as the Source Player for the Sonos Plugin. It is important that the Source Player is a wired connection to the network which ensures good communication to the other players and reduces network traffic by a factor of two. This is coming from Sonos technical support. It is also important that the wired player be centrally located in the home, or at least have good communication with the other players based on the matrix. I had neither initially, which made for lots of delays.

Another thing that can help is to add as many players in as possible using wired connection. You have to be careful, though, because in some network setups this can cause looping and broadcast flooding and cripple a network. The way Sonosnet prevents this is by using STP, spanning tree protocol. If you have unmanaged switches, this should not be a problem. If you are using managed switches, then it is important to enable STP and not RSTP (rapid STP) as Sonos does not work with RSTP. By changing a few of my players from wireless to wired, my matrix has turned from red and yellow to mostly green with a few yellow.

[baudi]

Thanks for this. I've got lots of red and orange in my matrix. Time for some troubleshooting.

[drparker151]

Thanks, I learned something new this morning. Always a great day when I learn something new.

[Richel]

Just discovered there is a Sonos network matrix that is readily accessible from your network. Shows how all your sonos devices connect and with what signal strength.

http://IPaddress:1400/support/review

just insert IP address of any Sonos player on your network into the above link.

Then click on Network Matrix.

My network is in need of a Boost device from what I have seen on my matrix.

Might be helpful for those having dropouts like I am.

Thank you for letting us know about this. I had some speakers in the red and fixed them simply by changing the channel for my 2.4Ghz WiFi. This totally amazed me. Elliott

[Rvtravlr]

I could use some help in understanding what I am looking at, such as STP state. I have UniFi managed switches and have set STP at the furthest switch to a factor of 4096 that is the largest with the first switch at 4096.

Also, do I need Sonosnet or can I merely hardwire one Sonos Speaker?

Here is the matrix:

[prsmith777]

I would suggest looking at this guys blog. Very informative about what you are asking.

https://freetime.mikeconnelly.com/archives/6050

https://freetime.mikeconnelly.com/archives/6373

[Rvtravlr]

Wow, I’ve got some reading to do. At first glance, it seems exactly what I have been looking for. Thanks!

[bsobel]

For Sonos you MUST set your link values using the original STP spec, the defaults you get in Unifi will NOT work (bad bad things will happen if players are close enough to form a Sonos net connection, you can wind up with loops). Also, hardwiring is always preferred over Sonosnet, so yes do run ethernet to that last one if you can.

[bsobel]

My Sonos network has always been slow and subject to drop outs. With this Matrix I have been able to analyze what's been wrong and tune it up nicely. I can now do announcements to all 15 Sonos devices at once and the announcements start within a few seconds with no dropouts.

Some things I did to optimize the network:

I am using Sonosnet for my setup. If you have one or more sonos players connected to the LAN with a wired connection, then you are using Sonosnet. Sonosnet is a proprietary network that uses 2.4GHz to communicate with other players. In the Sonos app, there is a place to choose which channel Sonosnet uses. I use channel 11. Other options are 1 or 6. These are the three channels on 2.4 Ghz which don't overlap with the others. It is important to make sure your routers or access points don't use this Sonosnet channel in the 2.4Ghz range. I previously had routers using auto channel and they were interfering with Sonosnet. I have since set my routers to use channels 1 and 6 with improved results.

It is important to choose the proper Source Player for grouping announcements.




I had read somewhere that the player source didn't really matter, but it turns out in larger setups it does. When Sonos does grouping, it uses a player called the Group Coordinator which will then send the announcement to the other players. This is the same as the Source Player for the Sonos Plugin. It is important that the Source Player is a wired connection to the network which ensures good communication to the other players and reduces network traffic by a factor of two. This is coming from Sonos technical support. It is also important that the wired player be centrally located in the home, or at least have good communication with the other players based on the matrix. I had neither initially, which made for lots of delays.

Another thing that can help is to add as many players in as possible using wired connection. You have to be careful, though, because in some network setups this can cause looping and broadcast flooding and cripple a network. The way Sonosnet prevents this is by using STP, spanning tree protocol. If you have unmanaged switches, this should not be a problem. If you are using managed switches, then it is important to enable STP and not RSTP (rapid STP) as Sonos does not work with RSTP. By changing a few of my players from wireless to wired, my matrix has turned from red and yellow to mostly green with a few yellow.

One other thing, remember that Zigbee also uses 2.4ghz so if you have Hues (or other Zigbee gear) ensure its channel is not overlapping with Sonos or your Wifi...

Oh and Sonos does work with RSTP, but like with STP you must set your path costs. Only very old STP implementations work with Sonos out of the box, everything else requires the path costs to be set according to the original standard. I have one of the largest Sonos deployments (its actually split as I ran over 32 zones at one house) and have had long long talks with everyone from support to the CEO about these issues ,)

[prsmith777]

https://community.ubnt.com/ubnt/atta...a%20Switch.pdf

this is a link to accepted sonos STP settings

[Rvtravlr]

With trial and error, implementing each UniFi change one at a time, I am now able to get nearly instant messages. Thanks for all your help.

[MNB]

Dumb question, I thought I had read somewhere in a previous thread/post that one should either hardwire all speakers or go wireless but do not mix/match, this thread suggests otherwise. I like the being able to see my system via matrix to make informed decisions.

Is there a easy way to inspect which channels each routers/access points are using?

[prsmith777]

Dumb question, I thought I had read somewhere in a previous thread/post that one should either hardwire all speakers or go wireless but do not mix/match, this thread suggests otherwise.

I think it depends. A fully hardwired setup would probably be easiest to get right and would be very reliable with no issues with wireless latency. A mixed setup is what SonosNet is and is by far the most commonly used setup by most people. It takes a bit of tweaking to get right as outlined above. If you go all wireless, then you are using your own wireless network for streaming audio and that would be most difficult to set up correctly. It would probably require VLAN segregation among other things to get it to work.

I think the reason that people said to not use SonosNet (either all hard wired or all wireless) was that they were encountering issues with STP. If STP is set up correctly (see above) SonosNet works very well.

Is there a easy way to inspect which channels each routers/access points are using?.

If you go to Sonos app on phone and go to settings -> advanced settings, you can see and choose which channel to pick for SonosNet. As far as your router or APs, it would have to be in their configuration pages. Just make sure the channels don't overlap.

[MNB]

Paul, thank-you for the comeback and the "edumcaton" , I currently have an all wireless setup with a connected Sonos Boost (Hub) which generally seems to work. Using the Network Matrix I get the following for my 9 speakers;

When I look at my physical connectivity I'm able to wire only two additional speakers; Patio and Livingroom speakers which might provide my support to my garage and Kitchen from the Patio and dining Room and Amelia Bedroom via the Living Room if wired, have I interrupt this diagram correctly also is there anything I'm missing? Is it possible to add more than one Sonos Boost to the system? Mike