Hello

I’m a strong advocate of a healthy and stable network. Not just for the sake of enhancing Sonos enjoyment but also fundamentally. That said I thought it might be helpful (for some) to talk about networking. Not as a tutorial; but from an informational point of view. Also, know that the information presented is rudimentary and not intended to cover every aspect of the subject matter.  So, let’s begin…

Internet Service Provider (ISP) Router vs Personal Router

• If you are network savvy whenever possible use your own router instead of the one supplied by your ISP. You’ll have greater flexibility and control over settings.
• As most ISP’s supply a combo Router/Modem box; when using your own router be sure to set the ISP’s provided Router Side of their box to Bridge Mode. This will eliminate a conflict of two Wi-Fi networks in your home.

Network Types

• Traditional: Consists of a Modem and Router either as separates or as a combined box.
• Mesh: Consists of a Router and one or more Satellites. Typically, not more than three (3) satellites. You may also hear the components of a Mesh network referred to as Nodes.

Mesh Networks

• Can be designed by the user, or you may purchase a pre-configured Mesh by Netgear, ASUS, TP Link just to name a few.
• If you are someone that would rather design your own Mesh Network, I highly recommend you use components of the same manufacturer. Mesh Networks rely heavily on compatibility between components especially at the consumer level. On the other hand if you are versed in network design …then have at it. 

Mesh Network Setup Tips

• If you are building your own Mesh network; although I discussed this earlier in this post, I feel it necessary to restate and mention a few more do’s and don’ts.
• When using your ISP’s gear whether it be a combo router/modem or separate router & modem be sure to place the router in bridge mode. In fact, if the router and modem are separates; mothball the ISP’s router and connect your Main router (node) directly to the ISP’s modem.
• When purchasing a pre-configured retail mesh which is essentially Plug’ n Play avoid connecting the Main router (node) to yours or the ISP’s router. Always connect directly to the ISP modem and place the satellites (nodes) accordingly.
• There are also Mesh components that can be added to your existing network as satellites only. They will typically be advertised/sold as “Works with X router” or “Compatible with most existing network configurations.” Meaning you can add them to your network and configure them to create a Mesh network. I recommend not buying into that concept as compatibility is hit or miss.

Mesh Network Communication (Backhaul)

• Wireless Backhaul: The Main router communicates with the Satellites over either 5GHz or 6Ghz band. Therefore, for best results it is best to use a Tri-band router. More on Dual Band vs Tri-Band later.
• Wired Backhaul: The Main router communicates with the Satellites over Ethernet cable. This method allows the Satellites to utilize all available Wi-Fi bands to communicate with your Wi-Fi products unhindered. This is obviously, the most stable of the two backhaul configurations as it is not susceptible to interference.

Wi-Fi 5 / Wi-Fi 6 / Wi-Fi 7 *

• When shopping for a router you’ll see Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6/6e and Wi-Fi 7. They are also identified as 802.11ac, 802.11ax and 802.11be respectively.
• The average user will be fine with a router designated as Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6.
• All Wi-Fi versions support 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands. Most are backwards compatible to 802.11 a/b/g and n.

Dual Band/Tri-Band

• Dual band meaning they provide 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi bands.
• Tri-band I: 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and a second 5Ghz band
• Tri-band II: 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and 6/6eGhz band. **

Avoid whenever possible setting your router (personal or ISP provided) to just one specific band. Having all bands active is not an issue as devices will connect to whichever band they can operate on and ignore those they cannot.

For example, most devices will ignore the 6Ghz band and opt for either 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz. Although, the 6Ghz band is gaining more traction among products across the board.

Band Steering/Load Balancing

• Band Steering or Load Balancing”. That means the router will select which band a product should connect to; so as not to allow too many devices on one specific band.  For example, some devices with work on 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi.
• Enabling “Band Steering or Load Balancing” the router will decide which band a particular device should use. That feature has its pro’s and con’s. Unfortunately, one can’t tell if the feature has a positive or negative effect on their network until issues occur. At that point you’ll have to toggle the feature on/off and monitor the results. I personally don’t use this feature.

Quality of Service (QoS)

QoS is another feature that many personal routers allow you to configure. In a nutshell you can specify which one of the features below get priority on your network:

• Video and Audio Streaming Services
• Web Surfing
• File Transfer
• Gaming
• Working from Home
• Learning from Home
• Peer to Peer Connection
• Other

Airtime Fairness

• Airtime Fairness Is a concept in wireless networking that ensures each client device gets an equal opportunity to transmit data over the network. The feature is designed to allocate equal time for communication with the Wi-Fi access point, regardless of the device's speed capabilities. 
• Unfortunately, Airtime Fairness may/can have a negative effect for Sonos. Sonos is in constant communication across your network. Therefore, it is essential that Sonos not be deprived of communication “chattiness” in order to maintain stability.
•  In some instances enabling Airtime Fairness can result in dropped speakers not appearing in the Sonos app.

Network Security WEP_WPA_WPA2_WPA3_WPA2/WPA3

You may have seen the above abbreviations either in the admin page of your router or on the retail box of a router that says “supports Wxx”.  Here’s what the above abbreviations mean:

• WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy.  Is a security protocol designed to provide data confidentiality for wireless networks, comparable to that of a traditional wired network
• WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access. Is an intermediate measure to take the place of WEP
• WPA2 and WPA3: Simply put are subsequent iterations of WPA that are progressively enhanced network security protocols.

All the above protocols are user selectable. WEP is obsolete and will open your network to breaches with little resistance. Therefore, (IMO) it should not be used under any circumstances.

WPA while providing better security than WEP is better bypassed in consideration of WPA2 and most effectively WPA3.

Due to the fact that many home networks have a combination of legacy and current Wi-Fi products WPA3 may prevent legacy products from connecting. Therefore, there’s an option to choose WPA2/WPA3 security which allows 99% (I just pulled that percentage out of the air BTW ) of Wi-Fi products to join your network.

Network SSID and Password

• SSID stands for Service Set Identifier and is used to uniquely identify any given wireless network. It is the name of a network connection and can be made up of case-sensitive letters, numbers, and special characters like dashes, periods, and spaces. Each access point or router typically comes with a preset network SSID that can be changed in the device's settings.  Wireless routers and access points broadcast their SSIDs so that devices in the vicinity can find them.

You may have noticed when trying to connect to your Wi-Fi network via your cell phone for example you may see the names of other nearby networks. There is an option in your routers admin page to hide your SSID (network name) so that others can’t see it.

At first thought you might think that’s a great way to further protect your network from intruders (hacks). I strongly recommend that you Do Not hide your SSID as it can make it difficult for Wi-Fi capable products you own to find your network. I refer you back to the underlined sentence in the SSID description above.

• Password is a collection of alpha or numeric characters (preferably both) and/or symbols that protects your network from unauthorized access. It is commonly referred to as a Wi-Fi password or network security key, which is used to connect devices to a wireless network. Each access point or router typically comes with a preset network password that can be changed in the device's settings.

A strong network password is your best defense to protect your network from intruders (hackers). Your password should be something you can remember; but not easily guessed.

Using a Password Generator is a way to establish a strong/hard to guess password. In fact, they are so good that I don’t’ use them because my memory isn’t what is used to be. 

A good password is, essentially, one that it’s impossible or very difficult for an attacker to guess. That means avoiding anything obvious — “password” or “123456” for example, both of which are surprisingly frequently used.

Generally speaking, the longer a password is, the better, and it should include a combination of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. While a combination of real words and other symbol is fine, using the name of your child or your favorite sports team is a really bad idea. And you should make sure that each password you use is unique — never reuse a password, or even a very similar one — across more than one site.

Also, avoid birthdates, anniversaries, name of your high school or college and/or their mascot. Don’t use a password that mimics your SSID. Such as MamaPoppaBear as the SSID and Goldilocks as the Password. In short be creative in designing your password.

Additional Security and Parental Controls

• Additional Security. Internally you have your Main network which has its own SSID and Password. You can also setup a Guest network with a different SSID and Password to allow relatives, friends and children (***) internet access. Doing so will restrict access to your Main network and protect it from possible infection which might be transferred by the individuals device and/or downloaded via a malicious website.
• Parental controls are software tools that let parents monitor and restrict what their children see and do online. They can be used to block specific websites, filter content, limit communication, set time limits, and track usage. For the most part the majority of routers purchased today have the tools built-in. This feature also has the benefit of not having to setup individual devices with internet access restrictions as the access can be set to turn-off at a specific time. ****

 * Sonos products that have been set up using the Sonos S1 Controller app are limited to 802.11b/g connections over 2.4GHz with WPA or WPA2 security. When using the latest version of the Sonos app, Sonos products support the additional WiFi modes and security standards listed below. Here’s a link to Supported WiFi modes and security standards for Sonos products

** 6e is not a band per se. The “e” stands for extended

 *** Age may dictate how access is granted to children. For greater control over internet access consider the Parental Control feature.

**** This feature does not restrict “Screen Time” on a phone or tablet.