U2 Networking (fiber)

Audio Gear Talk Lumin
1

I have come across some advertisements mentioning that the U2 features a built-in network switch, allowing users to connect it to a switch using the optical network and then connect to their NAS using the RJ45 Ethernet connector. This is potentially appealing to me as I currently use a Synology NAS to serve up about 90% of the music I listen to.

On Lumin’s fiber/optical networking page, they advise against connecting both the fiber and copper Ethernet of the U2 back to a switch simultaneously, as it can create a loop and disrupt the network. I take this to mean, it’s only okay for both to be connected if the Ethernet is directly connected to a router (and not via a switch) - LUMIN - Fibre Networking

I’m curious about what the advantages could be with connecting the U2 to a router/ via Ethernet in addition to the separate fiber connection to a network switch (which is then connected to the aforementioned router?)

Or maybe better said, why a user would just not connect to the U2 to a switch via SFP/fiber and leaving the RJ45/Ethernet port unused?

I greatly appreciate any help and insight as I try to understand this new aspect and wrinkle of networking!

2

That’s not the case.

This is the standard recommended approach as seen here:
https://www.luminmusic.com/support-fibre.html

In other forum, some people prefer the music source NAS and the streamer to be directly connected without going through a switch, so this also works:

switch - SFP - U2 - RJ45 - NAS or Roon Core

In the above configuration, note that if the U2 power switch is turned off, the NAS or Roon Core will be offline from network.

But the following does not work due to network loop:

switch or router - SFP - U2 - RJ45 - switch or router

3

Got it! This makes it much easier for me to wrap my head around. I kept wondering why the RJ45 would head back to the router as opposed to the NAS. Really appreciate that!

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For future fiber searches / users :

All confirmed to be working well w/ the U2 a QNAP QSW-2104-2S Switch. It’s a relatively affordable switch that has the necessary fiber ports AND a 2.5ghz ports. So that you can still get the benefit of added 2.5gbe file transfer within your home network (i left the NAS attached to the switch vs routing it via the Lumin’s Rj45 port)

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