Help PLEASE Sage server on Vista

[Deborah Smith]

Hello, I just installed Vista Home Prem on my machine. It seems to work ok, but I can't setup placeshifter. I opened the port on both the firewall and router but when I test it doesn't work. Any help please.

Deborah

[Conejo]

Are you testing it locally (on the same internal LAN as your SageTV box) or externally (on a connection outside your local LAN)? Most users cannot use the 'external' methods to connect locally because of issues with the way their home router treats internal and external IP addresses.

If testing locally, I like to enter the local IP address assigned to the SageTV PC to connect.

If testing externally, you can use the 'Locator ID', Dynamic DNS name or the current IP address assigned to your router [don't give any of these out!]

You can also take a look at these links:
Locator server did not have an IP address registered for this locator ID
How to Connect via Internet when on LAN

Or use the forum search function along with keywords 'placeshifter' along with words like 'dns', 'router', or 'connect'...

You could also be experiencing issues with Vista UAC (Universal Access Control) that have some users tearing their hair out. Some users find comfort when disabling this feature meant to protect you from yourself.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Deborah Smith

I opened the port on both the firewall and router but when I test it doesn't work.

Do you mean that you tested it via the option in Setup -> Detailed Setup -> Server -> Configure Placeshifter Internet Connection? If so, what error did it report? That might help narrow it down.

- Andy

[Deborah Smith]

Yes I tested it thru the setup options. I get the error "The Locator server could not connect the IP addresss registered for this locator ID". On my home network with Placeshifters if I enter the IP address I can connect, If I enter the Locator ID It Found Server but won't connect. I opened all sage ports on the firewall and port 31099 on the router. I also disabled the firewall, turned off the UAC in Vista. My mvp's work fine.

Deborah

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Deborah Smith

Yes I tested it thru the setup options. I get the error "The Locator server could not connect the IP addresss registered for this locator ID".

I think that means that it was unable to connect to your home system from an outside address -- I think it got no response when trying to connect to your external IP address.

On my home network with Placeshifters if I enter the IP address I can connect, If I enter the Locator ID It Found Server but won't connect. I opened all sage ports on the firewall and port 31099 on the router. I also disabled the firewall, turned off the UAC in Vista. My mvp's work fine.

The MVPs connect using the local IP address.

For the PS internet config screen: are you choosing UPnP to configure the router, or did you manually forward the port?

It sounds like the router is blocking attempts to connect to that port... but I'll leave any router config suggestions to someone else.

- Andy

[Deborah Smith]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I think that means that it was unable to connect to your home system from an outside address -- I think it got no response when trying to connect to your external IP address.

The MVPs connect using the local IP address.

For the PS internet config screen: are you choosing UPnP to configure the router, or did you manually forward the port?

It sounds like the router is blocking attempts to connect to that port... but I'll leave any router config suggestions to someone else.

- Andy

I used UPnp on config screen, says it forward the port, I go down to test PS I get no response. I went into the router setup checked and the port is forwarded. Vista is killing me. Thanks for your help.

Deborah

[Conejo]

If you CAN connect using the local LAN address of your SageTV box then it's working. Congratulations!

The 'Locator ID' is used to find your home network when you are 'away from home' (connecting from work, etc.)

The Locator ID method doesn't work for most 'at home' users because the Locator ID system works by storing your Internet IP address (the one assigned to your router by your ISP). When you attempt to connect from inside your home, your Placeshifter PC collects your correct 'Internet IP Address' from the service but your 'home router' can't echo/bounce/reflect that IP address back to itself, the route fails. In this case you must hand-enter the local IP address of your SageTV server.

If you use Placeshifter with your Locator ID from another location, you will probably find that it works fine.

I would use some analogies, but they would involve giving a cup of sugar to your kids and asking them to deliver it to your own address... so I won't.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Conejo

The 'Locator ID' is used to find your home network when you are 'away from home' (connecting from work, etc.)

The Locator ID method doesn't work for most 'at home' users because the Locator ID system works by storing your Internet IP address (the one assigned to your router by your ISP). When you attempt to connect from inside your home, your Placeshifter PC collects your correct 'Internet IP Address' from the service but your 'home router' can't echo/bounce/reflect that IP address back to itself, the route fails. In this case you must hand-enter the local IP address of your SageTV server.

Running Placeshifter and using the Locator ID to connect from your home network back to your home network may not work for everyone because of the issue you mention.

I could easily be wrong on this one, but I thought the test procedure asks the Locator ID server at SageTV to connect to your system to see what the results are; it doesn't actually try to connect a PS session, just see if it can talk to your PS server successfully. If that is what the test does, then it should work OK because it isn't coming back to your system from your own IP address. However, I might have that wrong and your system does actually try to connect to itself during the test... but the test was intended to check an external connection. (I can't remember which discussions talked about this issue recently, but didn't the connection test say it was OK, but they couldn't actually use PS after that?)

- Andy

[Deborah Smith]

I'll have to check and see when I get to "Work" Monday, not that I want to go but my HD extenders are comming so I guess I'll just have to go and pick them up. Thanks to everyone for all the help.

Deborah

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I could easily be wrong on this one, but I thought the test procedure asks the Locator ID server at SageTV to connect to your system to see what the results are; it doesn't actually try to connect a PS session, just see if it can talk to your PS server successfully.

I just grabbed my 'work' laptop to see how the authentication of the Locator ID system worked BUT my Xyzel router lets me connect from my home network back to my home network using the Locator ID, so I can't duplicate the problem.

I did disconnect my SageTV box from my internal LAN and launched SageTV Placeshifter and the PS dialog box shows 'Locator Found Server', while the server is was disconnected, so I don't think it performs a 'live' test. Yep, I just fudged the ID number off by one and back again, PS displayed 'Locator Failed to Find Server' then 'Locator Found Server' when the server had no LAN or Internet Connectivity. Same result after 30 minutes.

So, 'Locator Found Server' is no indication of a 'live' server - just a previously registered Internet IP address.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Conejo

I just grabbed my 'work' laptop to see how the authentication of the Locator ID system worked BUT my Xyzel router lets me connect from my home network back to my home network using the Locator ID, so I can't duplicate the problem.

I did disconnect my SageTV box from my internal LAN and launched SageTV Placeshifter and the PS dialog box shows 'Locator Found Server', while the server is was disconnected, so I don't think it performs a 'live' test. Yep, I just fudged the ID number off by one and back again, PS displayed 'Locator Failed to Find Server' then 'Locator Found Server' when the server had no LAN or Internet Connectivity. Same result after 30 minutes.

So, 'Locator Found Server' is no indication of a 'live' server - just a previously registered Internet IP address.

Since you quoted part of my post in front of your comments... I'm not sure what you were testing, but I was talking about the "Test Placeshifter Connection" option at Setup -> Detailed Setup -> Server -> Configure Placeshifter Internet Connection inside SageTV, not when running Placeshifter.

- Andy

[Conejo]

Yea, sorry Andy. I went off into La La land again, thinking that the PlaceShifter program 'tested' the connections available. Add that to the text 'Locator Found Server', then after a few minutes my LOCAL LAN connection popping up, and you have a perfectly reasonable delusion.

Since I do most of my SageTV configurations through a 'SageTV Client' connection, I can't see the 'Configure Placeshifter Internet Connection/Test Placeshifter Connection' unless I remote into my SageTV box and launch the menu. Using SageTV Client to view the setup menus results in some blind spots. Sorry.

To any future thread readers, my feedback is to be taken with a grain of salt. What I suggest might work, might not work or will possibly be a fluke.

That's why Andy is here.

BTW, for people who love the forum search function, try the term Test Placeshifter Connection. Fascinating stuff, great for troubleshooting.

[Opus4]

Here's an update, since I wasn't completely sure above: the "Test Placeshifter Connection" option at Setup -> Detailed Setup -> Server -> Configure Placeshifter Internet Connection does test connecting to your server from an outside source; it is not a round trip from your own IP address back to your own IP address.

If that connection test fails, you won't be able to connect from a remote location.

- Andy

[Deborah Smith]

I went back to XP Pro.

Deborah