AC5300 Nighthawk X8 AC5300 Tri-Band WiFi Router - lack of STP protocol support for SONOS

[NetFan]

I was reading the product manual for this router and found out it does not support STP (Spanning tree protocol) which is used by the SONOSNET network. I cannot plug in more than one speaker to my wired (ethernet) home network as it causes a broadcast storm. Is NETGEAR working on a firmware release to correct this issue? This was a very expensive router that I bought recently to replace a 12 year old Linksys router (which by the way supported STP).
Is an option to get around the lack of STP (Spaning Tree protocol) support on the router to get a managed switch from NETGEAR that supports STP? All the network traffic will go through the managed switch then to the router? Just wondering if this is a possibility to get around my problem?

What NETGEAR managed switch will be compatible with this router?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[NETGEAR Guy]

Hi...the R8500 switch is simple unmanaged so no plans for STP support.

Any NETGEAR Smart switch model has STP/RSTP protocol support

 

[NetFan]

Hi...the R8500 switch is simple unmanaged so no plans for STP support.

Any NETGEAR Smart switch model has STP/RSTP protocol support

Thanks....I am thinking of getting the GS208 (8 port network switch)....from NETGEAR. Got some feedback as well from the SONOS forums and this switch will work with my SONOS speakers.

Got this reply at the SONOS forum:

A simple dumb unmanaged switch will almost certainly suffice. Netgear GS20x switches work perfectly with Sonos.

the switches you stated on the prior post (GS205 or GS208) from Netgear support STP?

Yes, by totally ignoring it and letting all such traffic pass through. They're small dumb switches.


And:

SONOS ZonePlayers use 802.1D Spanning Tree (STP) for loop prevention between wired ZonePlayers and the wireless SonosNet Mesh Network. The Spanning Tree running on ZonePlayers is compliant with IEEE 802.1D and can inter-operate with other IEEE 802.1D and IEEE 802.1w compliant devices. Note: IEEE 802.1w is an updated version of the Spanning Tree protocol called Rapid Spanning Tree. The two types of STP protocols are compatible and 802.1w should revert to inter-operate with 802.1D devices (such as Sonos). Therefore, 802.1w Ethernet switches will work with Sonos ZonePlayers.
SONOS ZonePlayers CAN be connected to Ethernet switches that do NOT support Spanning Tree as long as the Ethernet switches do not interfere with the STP BPDU packets transmitted between ZonePlayers. This is typically never the case and these switches pass the BPDU packets like any other packet.
If the Ethernet switches that Sonos ZonePlayers are wired to DOES support Spanning Tree, the Spanning Tree on those switches must be configured properly. Ethernet switches that support Spanning Tree typically have their STP settings disabled. This also typically means that these switches will block/discard the BPDUs coming from the ZonePlayers. When the ZonePlayers are not able to see BPDUs, they cannot detect there is a shared transmission medium between the Zones and this will typically result in loops in the network. The solution to allow the use of these switches with Sonos is to enable and configure the Spanning Tree on the Ethernet switches. The configuration settings on each switch are different and the appropriate documentation for those products should be consulted. Note: Some switches have a setting that is called Pass BPDUs or equivalent. This setting when present allows the BPDUs between the ZonePlayers to pass freely through the switch without actually enabling STP on the the switch. Typically, setting this function also works, but again please review the switches product documentation.

 

[NETGEAR Guy]

Note that the GS208 is an unmanaged switch.

If you do need a switch with full STP support, the Smart switch models have a letter "T" is at the end of the product code, ie., see the following link: http://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/smart/standalone-smart-switch.aspx#tab-models

 

[NetFan]

Note that the GS208 is an unmanaged switch.

If you do need a switch with full STP support, the Smart switch models have a letter "T" is at the end of the product code, ie., see the following link: http://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/smart/standalone-smart-switch.aspx#tab-models

Thanks....I spoke with a rep at NETGEAR business support and they directed me to the GS724Tv4 switch last Friday. I brought up all my SONOS Zone players up this weekend and wired only one to the Ethernet jack and had no issues with them - no broadcast storms etc. The GS208 switch will work as well as it will ignore STP and let all the traffic through. It wont get in the way of the STP BPDU packets transmitted between ZonePlayers.

 

[NETGEAR Guy]

Ok...thanks for the update.