No. Dante is built on standard networking technology, so you don't need special or dedicated network hardware. Dante devices connect with ordinary off-the-shelf Ethernet switches and cabling. But the switch you choose affects how well your Dante network performs, especially as it grows.
What's the minimum switch requirement?
- Gigabit switches are recommended for all Dante networks, and essential for higher channel counts.
- 100 Mbps switches can be used only for small systems (fewer than 32 channels), and only if the switch supports Quality of Service (QoS) and QoS is turned on. Using 100 Mbps switches without QoS isn't recommended or supported.
- QoS on Gigabit switches is recommended if the network also carries non-Dante traffic.
Small networks
For a small network with only a few Dante devices, used only for Dante audio, most off-the-shelf unmanaged switches work fine. They're plug-and-play and need no configuration.
Avoid unmanaged switches with Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), because EEE can interfere with Dante clocking. See Can I use EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet or 'Green Ethernet') in my Dante network?
Larger or shared networks
For larger systems, or networks shared with other traffic, choose switches with:
- Gigabit ports, for performance and room to grow.
- Quality of Service (QoS), to prioritise Dante clock and audio traffic and keep latency and packet loss low.
- Multicast management, to handle multicast audio efficiently.
For the full list of features to look for, see What features are important when purchasing a switch?