Skip to main content
User314638
Contributor I
Feb 15, 2013 4:39 PM UTC

Sonos across multiple IP subnets

It appears that the sonos system relies on a network broadcast to add components to the system. Unfortunately, this limits the system to a single IP subnet. Could enhancements be made to the compnents and software to allow for the system to exist across multiple subnets? Think of this as an advanced configuration for system administrators to do and not your average home/small business user. This would enable the sonos system to be utilized through enterprise deployments where multiple locations all have wide area network connectivity which would allow for control of all of the offices from a centralized location. Furthermore, additional basic security could be added to perhaps limit access to rooms.
    This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

    17 replies

    Show previous replies
    NinjaJellyBean
    Lyricist I
    Oct 5, 2017 3:08 PM UTC
    It appears that the sonos system relies on a network broadcast to add components to the system. Unfortunately, this limits the system to a single IP subnet. Could enhancements be made to the compnents and software to allow for the system to exist across multiple subnets? Think of this as an advanced configuration for system administrators to do and not your average home/small business user. This would enable the sonos system to be utilized through enterprise deployments where multiple locations all have wide area network connectivity which would allow for control of all of the offices from a centralized location. Furthermore, additional basic security could be added to perhaps limit access to rooms.
    Translate
    NinjaJellyBean
    Lyricist I
    Oct 5, 2017 3:11 PM UTC
    Has this been addressed yet? I will be setting up sonos very soon in an enterprise environment. If it is a case of just forwarding multicast I should be good but it sounds like it needs stp. Thanks
    Translate
    cmcgarry
    Lyricist II
    Nov 30, 2017 7:39 PM UTC
    Here's my working opnsense config for the common usecase of LAN and WLAN on different subnets, should be able to achieve the same on pfsense

    Configure the IGMP Proxy
    WLAN upstream 192.168.1.1/24 --Sonos controller clients
    LAN downstream 192.168.0.1/24 --Sonos devices + controller clients

    The important part that seems to be missing in the above guides is the firewall rule configuration, in advanced options
    allow options must be checked

    I have this checked for both firewall rules LAN to any and WLAN to any.
    Translate
    Wanderlust
    Contributor I
    Nov 30, 2017 7:49 PM UTC
    Just to add, I use high-end Cisco equipment (I'm an independent IT consultant) and I keep my Sonos speakers in one subnet and my phones and wired clients in another subnet just for them.

    To get this to work, I had to enable IP Multicast Routing on the switch, and then turn on IP PIM Sparse-Dense Mode on those subnets. Once I did that the controllers in the client subnet could see all the speakers and interact with them.

    The only catch is that when adding a new Sonos device the controller I am using to add it must be in the same subnet as the speaker - I imagine this is some type of security measure. I have a Windows VM I keep in that subnet running the Sonos app for when I need to do this.

    So other than needing to be the same subnet when adding a speaker everything appears to work fine as long as you can route multicast - to work with Cisco enterprise switches you need to be running the IP Services featureset. The IGMP proxy would be another option. On non-enterprise grade equipment I have seen things like IPTV vlan types that would work similar to IGMP Proxy, where multicast traffic in one subnet is proxied to another.
    Translate
    sophware
    Lyricist III
    Dec 6, 2017 3:59 PM UTC
    The only catch is that when adding a new Sonos device the controller I am using to add it must be in the same subnet as the speaker - I imagine this is some type of security measure..

    Might this be true during software updates, too? Have you done one since configuring all this?
    Translate
    Wanderlust
    Contributor I
    Dec 6, 2017 4:34 PM UTC
    The only catch is that when adding a new Sonos device the controller I am using to add it must be in the same subnet as the speaker - I imagine this is some type of security measure..

    Might this be true during software updates, too? Have you done one since configuring all this?

    I've done many in the year or two since I configured VLANs, never had a single issue with updates. I surmise that since it's not adding additional equipment there's no need to do a sequence that demonstrates that you have physical access to the device and you're also on the same subnet.
    Translate
    alsmith
    alsmith
    Contributor I
    Dec 21, 2017 9:37 AM UTC
    If you happen to have a Linux box that is doing your routing, then you might find this handy:

    https://github.com/alsmith/ssdp-relay

    I just got myself a set of Sonos speakers and I have a WPA2-Enterprise network using WPA-TLS keys for authentication.

    I set up a hidden-SSID pre-shared key network hanging on a different subnet to support the Sonos speakers, as they don't support WPA2-Enterprise...

    For the initial setup, the SSID needs to be un-hidden and I found that my iPhone needed to also sit on the same network, but after setup has been done you can go ahead and hide the SSID and move your telephone back to its original network. The SSDP relay means that everything can still discover itself.
    Translate
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement