How not to wire a Sonos Boost

[HCHTech]

I got a panic call from one of our bigger clients this morning - NOTHING IS WORKING! I look and neither their DC or their SQL server is on the internet, and no one can connect to their practice management application that runs on the SQL server. Rebooting the servers and firewall didn't work. I could remote into the firewall, but couldn't RDP to or ping anything on the network.

So I drop everything and go. Once onsite, I get the vital piece of information: The painters were here yesterday and moved some furniture around. So I walk through the various rooms looking for something out of place. I wasn't disappointed. There was a Sonos Boost unit on one of the desks. "When did you get that system?" "Oh, a couple of months ago - it works great!" "I didn't call you because it was SO EASY to install - my son helped me!" .

I take a look and there is a single network drop for that desk. Underneath the desk is a new 4-port switch installed with 4 cables coming out of it and all of it's lights flashing wildly. One cable goes to the wall jack, one to the computer, and TWO to the Sonos box. The Sonos box has two network ports so you can put it inline with an existing device, but someone decided to connect BOTH of those ports to the new little network switch. This created a loop which took down the entire network.

Easy fix removing the errant cable and rebooting a couple of things - hopefully my bill will be a good reminder to call and ask before plugging new things into the network, but I doubt it.

 

[phaZed]

2 ports must mean double speed! This way Sonos can play songs twice as fast!

 

[HCHTech]

Haha - right!

 

[glennd]

Easy fix removing the errant cable and rebooting a couple of things - hopefully my bill will be a good reminder to call and ask before plugging new things into the network, but I doubt it.

I had a nearly identical situation not long ago. In my case they emphatically denied touching anything. Well I told them whoever did this is clueless and should not be allowed near anything technical and sent them a big invoice. Needless to say the bod in question is still messing with/up the systems.

 

[nerd2u]

Had a customer order a bunch of new machines through staples instead of through me well they decided to start setting them up without me.

Until they got everything so messed up they called me and go oh we did half of it for you, meanwhile I'm undoing everything they did because it was wrong.

Any time someone tells me it just stopped I start prying for info on who touched what.

The same client wanted dual monitors setup so they plugged the first monitor into the PC with HDMI then connected the second monitor to the VGA port on the first.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

 

[phaZed]

The same client wanted dual monitors setup so they plugged the first monitor into the PC with HDMI then connected the second monitor to the VGA port on the first.

I just had a service call at a guys home, after he picked up his new computer with data transferred... Says that everything he tries to open is in a tiny box - he literally got a magnifying glass to read "AOL" on this "window". Weird, it was just working here at the shop. So, I head over...

He has plugged the VGA cable and HDMI cable into the same ONE monitor. The computer thinks it has two monitors now, so he's only seeing the second monitor - not the primary... his programs opening up on the phantom monitor. Those "little windows"? Ya, the taskbar icons!

Had a good laugh and chuckle with him.