Dante makes use of standard Voice over IP (VoIP) protocols and utilises Quality of Service (QoS) switch features, to prioritise clock sync and audio traffic over other network traffic. AoIP QoS features are available in a variety of inexpensive and enterprise Ethernet switches.

What to Look for in a switch

We would recommend that switches purchased for use in a Dante network should meet the following requirements:

• Gigabit-rated (1000 Mbps)
• Managed
• Non-blocking
• Quality of Service (QoS) with four queues
• Diffserv (DSCP) QoS with strict priority
• The ability to disable Energy Efficient Ethernet or "EEE" (also called Green Ethernet)

Recommended switch examples

Unlike other networked audio systems, Dante works with standard, off-the-shelf Ethernet hardware, which is commonly available and needn't be expensive. There are many switches available with varying features, number of ports and in various sizes. Although not an exhaustive list, below are some switches that Focusrite has found to be ideal for Dante:

• Cisco SG200 Series
• Cisco SG300 Series
• Cisco SG350 Series
• Cisco Business 350 Series Managed Switches

 Known problematic switches

• D-Link DGS Series (has some EEE + QoS settings that cannot be altered as it's unmanaged)