Network setup M4100 Switch and streaming services

[tuddy]

Hi guys,

my first post here so please go gentle. I have dabbled in the dark arts of IT for many years but am rather inexperienced when it comes to network setups.

My hope setup is thus:
Modem/router: Netgear N600 (DGND3700v2)
Managed switch: Netgear M4100-D12G

Cabled devices:
Sonos bridge
Sonos connect
Apple TV
TV's, amp etc...

After much research I have the STP working correctly with the M4100 acting as the root bridge (by default the Sonos bridge was playing this role). IGMP snooping is also enabled.

My problem that when I start streaming a movie through Apple TV I will get drop outs in my music streaming through Sonos (via Spotify). When Sonos is playing by itself it never gets drop outs.

Is this problem just a limitation of my download bandwidth (approx 7000 Kbps) or are there settings the switch (e.g. QoS, DiffServ) that are able to throttle the port to the Apple TV so that priority is given to the Sonos system.

Would be very greatful to hear your ideas.

Cheers,
Tuddy

[DaneA]

Hi tuddy,

A few questions below:

a. If you connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the DGND3700v2, are you getting drop outs?

b. Connect the M4100-D12G switch directly to the DGND3700v2. Then, connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the M4100-D12G switch, are you getting drop outs?

c. What is the current firmware version of the M4100-D12G switch and DGND3700v2?

d. If you disable STP on the M4100-D12G switch, are you getting drop outs?

I look forward to your response.  Welcome to the community! 

Regards,

DaneA

Netgear Community Team

[tuddy]

Hi Dane,

Many thanks for taking the time to reply, its most appreciated. After reading your questions I realised I should have posted a little more info about the configuration of my network, apologies for that.

I will endeavour to answer your questions as follows:

a. If you connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the DGND3700v2, are you getting drop outs?

• Yes - this was my original setup and the drop outs were terrible to the point where I would have to reset the modem all the time with just Sonos working (which started me on the quest of investigating network setups for Sonos, and led to the purchase of a managed switch)

b. Connect the M4100-D12G switch directly to the DGND3700v2. Then, connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the M4100-D12G switch, are you getting drop outs?

• Yes - as mentioned above I should have explained my configuration in my original post. My current setup has the M4100-D12G connected directly to the DGND3700v2: no other ports on the M4100-D12G are used; every other wired device in the network is connected via the M4100-D12G. With this setup and STP enabled the Sonos works beautifully by itself (i.e. it fixed my original problem), but not long after streaming a movie through apple TV I will start getting drop out in the Sonos.

c. What is the current firmware version of the M4100-D12G switch and DGND3700v2?

• M4100-D12G: firmware = 10.0.2.13
• DGND3700v2: firmware = 1.1.00.24
  

d. If you disable STP on the M4100-D12G switch, are you getting drop outs?

• This is an excellent question, and probably something I should have at least tried. However, all the research I did about Sonos systems suggested STP was required as Sonos uses STP for its mesh network.
• So tonight I have tried disabling STP and guess what??? The drop outs have stopped I tested the system just prior to disabling STP and the dropouts were still happening, its been two hours of streaming apple TV and Sonos now and no drop outs
• After the first hour of no drop outs I also enabled "Forward BPDU while STP Disabled". Apparently Sonos required BPDU packets to be forwarded to stop network storms: I don't know how to test this, but even with it disabled Sonos appeared to work fine.

The outcome: well I am stoked that the drop outs appear to have stopped: this is great news! And I thank you very much for your ideas, and solution!

Now I am also a very analytical person so I would be keen to understand understand why turning off STP would fix the problem (I did buy a managed switch after all to fix my problems lol). Also is there any way that I can check to what is going on with the network traffic - I would be keen to see the difference between the settings.

Thanks very much for your help.

Cheers,

Tuddy

[tuddy]

Looks like I spoke to soon, even with STP disabled I am getting the odd drop out when streaming music and video at the same time

[DaneA]

Hi @tuddy,

---

@tuddy wrote:

a. If you connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the DGND3700v2, are you getting drop outs?

• Yes - this was my original setup and the drop outs were terrible to the point where I would have to reset the modem all the time with just Sonos working (which started me on the quest of investigating network setups for Sonos, and led to the purchase of a managed switch)

---

Based from your answer, since dropouts occurs at the setup described above, it could be a setting on the DGND3700v2 or Sonos that needs to be modified.  Check the physical connection as well.  Are you using CAT5e or CAT6 ethernet cables?

Does the Sonos device you have works offline?  If yes, disconnect the M4100-D12G switch from the DGND3700v2 then connect both the Apple TV and Sonos directly to the M4100-D12G switch then play a movie.  Do you observe any dropouts?  (Note: Try to enable or disable STP to observe)

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

DaneA

Netgear Community Team

[tuddy]

Hi Dane, Thanks for your reply mate. I'm running Cat5e cable through the house but I was having the same problem when I was running short patch cables in my previous setup, and come to think of it I was having the problem when the Apple TV was connected via wifi. Unfortunately the Apple TV and the sonos both require an Internet connection to operate (as they are both accessing streaming service) so I can't test your suggestion of trying the direct connection to the switch. I have been watching the sonos controller when the dropouts occur and it displays a message saying it is unable to maintain a sufficient buffer speed. It seems to me that the Apple TV is somehow hogging all the bandwidth. I've read the QOS help but I don't really understand how to implement it properly. Do you think this may help my problem? Cheers Tuddy