HD Media Extender does not find Server

[HiDefDon]

My STXHD100 Media Extender does not detect the SageTV server computer.

SageTV 6.3 software is installed and running on the PC. SageTV License Key and SageTV Media Extender License Key are installed on the server PC. SageTV software appears to be running fine on the server PC. I am able to play high definition transports stream files and also play mp3 music files on the server PC.

HD Media Extender is attached to my tv with a short HDMI cable directly to the TV. The HD Media Extender powers up fine and display the menus correctly on my HDTV. Remote control works fine.

My computer network is not connected to the internet. I am connecting the Server PC to a D-link switch and the HD media extender is connected to the same switch. There are no other devices attached to the network. I have used this PC and switch with another PC and have successfully performed file sharing between the two PCs so I know the switch and PC network interface card are all working fine.

I have a static network configuration. No DHCP server. I set the HD Media Extender to a static IP address. Firewalls are disabled on the PC.

On the server PC I am able to run the "ping" command line utility where I specify the static IP address which I entered on the HD Media Extender. Ping response time is < 1ms and there are no missing responses. While ping is running, the PC network activity window shows increasing sent packet counts and increasing received packet counts. Also while ping is running the "Link" indicator flashes on the HD Media Extender. This seems to indicate that I have a working network connection between the server PC and the HD Media Extender.

When I power up the Media Extender or hit the "refresh" menu item, I do not see the "Link" indicator flash at all. Also the server PC shows no packets received at all so it appears that the Media Extender is not transmitting any data to the server PC. How does the Media Extender determine IP address of servers on the network?

I have run out of ideas and need your help to get my HD media extender to communicate with my SageTV server PC. I am wondering if there are any other restrictions when running on a private network with no internet connection and no DHCP server. Are there any restrictions on IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, or DNS server? If not, do I have a defective HD Media Extender?

Thank you.
DonP

[carlgar]

Did you enable the sage server to act as a server for a client or an extender? Setup->Detailed Setup->Server, then enable SageTV Server.
You can test the network connection by trying to telnet into the HD extender. Log in as root with no password. If you get the "em86xx[/root]#" prompt it is unlikely that it is a network issue. You can issue a "uptime" or "ifconfig" commands to insure the HD extender is working.

The HD extender only needs to be connected to the internet to update the firmware.

[HiDefDon]

Thanks carlgar.

Telnet to the HD extender is successful and I was able to log in as root and run several commands.

I verified in Detailed Setup menu on the server PC...
SageTV Server --> Enabled
Media Extender and Placeshifter Server --> Enabled

HD Media Extender is still not finding the server.

Are there any other suggestions?
Thanks.
DonP

[carlgar]

It is not looking good. Have you tried to refresh the servers? I would try the refresh 2 or 3 times. You might try configurating the HD extender to use a DHCP address and then see if it gets one.
If still not showing a server you probably need to contact tech support.

[ehlfg]

I don't have any concrete suggestions (aside from trying a direct cable connection between the extender and the server), but I had a similar problem when I first hooked up the HD extender. I'm not sure it's the same problem as yours, but I'll describe my experience just on the off-chance that something in it may be meaningful to someone else with more knowledge.

The extender would see the server only very intermittently, even though I could telnet into the box. Pings were mostly successful, but there were some missing packets.

When the extender did see the server, all it would get was a blank screen. I ran WireShark to get network traces on the server, and I saw the server rejecting connections from the extender.

I changed from from DHCP to a static address, which didn't seem to help much. I also turned off wide channels on my 802.11n configuration.

But after a while, the problem resolved itself. At first, the extender would only connect after a lengthy black screen. Now, it appears to connect right away.

I don't know how the problem resolved itself. My extender is connected wirelessly, so it's possible (though I'm doubtful) that the connection somehow improved. I'm doubtful, because the extender now consistently works well and I don't see any significant difference in the general signal strength (via iStumbler). Perhaps some networking device configuration tables or caches needed some time to adjust?

By the way, my impression is that the HD extender finds the server by sending UDP broadcast packets to port 31000. The actual connection between extender and server is a TCP connection on port 31099.

[stuckless]

I had a similar issue once with the MVP... Adding this line worked in my case...

miniserver/forced_server_ip=192.168.1.10

A person in another thread had a similar issue and it turned out to be firewall related.... Are you sure your MS firewall isn't blocking?

[HiDefDon]

My HD media extender still does not find the server.

I have collected some additional network information....

My computer network is not connected to the internet. I am connecting my Server PC directly to a D-link switch and the HD media extender is directly connected to the same switch. There is no router and no other devices are attached to the network. There is no DHCP. Firewalls are disabled on the PC. Yes, I have enabled the server in Detailed Setup including the Media Extender and Placeshifter. HD Media Extender still does not find the Server PC.

I am setting static IP addresses on the Server PC and HD media extender.

Server PC: IP=169.254.245.199 and Subnet mask is 255.255.0.0

HD Media Extender: IP=169.254.245.189 and Subnet mask is 255.255.0.0

From the server PC, I was able to establish a telnet connection to the media extender using the media externder's static IP address (telnet 169.254.245.189). I was able to log in as root on the media extender and ran the ifconfig command...
eth0
inet addr 169.254.245.189
Bcast 169.254.255.255
Up Broadcast running multicast MTU:1500, Metric:1

I then ran "ping 169.254.255.255" on the media extender and the PC server responded to every ping with its static IP address of 169.254.245.199.

So, everything I tried so far seems to indicate that the media extender's basic functionality is OK. The network connection between PC and media extender is also working for network traffic in both directions.

I suspect that most SageTV users have their servers and media extenders on a network with router (DHCP server) and internet connection. Has anyone verified that SageTV will really work with this network configuration? My media equipment does not need an internet connection, nor do I want to deal with firewalls and anti-virus issues. I just want a dependable media system which is stable and can run for years without a lot of maintenance or modifications.

Thank you.
DonP

[carlgar]

Why are you using a class B address? Why are you using the network address of 169.254.x.x? while use of a class B network should not be a problem. I expect most people are using class C. You should also be using a network number within the public IP ranges of:
Class A From 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
Class B From 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
Class C From 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

I suspect your server is setup to get a DHCP address but an error occurs. The 169.254.x.x range usually means no valid IP address could be obtained. This would indicate no DHCP server or it is not working correctly.

The following info is from http://www.udel.edu/topics/connect/e...oting.html#169
I can't connect to the Internet. I see an error message about an IP address that begins with 169.254.0.0.
When a Windows 2000/XP computer starts, if no DHCP server can be found, the computer will assign itself an IP address in the Class B range of 169.254.0.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. No gateway or DNS server will be assigned. This process is referred to as "Automatic IP Addressing." It is only used in the instance where a Windows 2000/XP computer is configured for DHCP, and no DHCP server can be located.

[HiDefDon]

I tried these IP addresses and HD media extender still does not find the server.

Server PC: 192.168.111.1 and Subnet mask is 255.255.0.0

HD Media Extender: IP=192.168.111.2 and Subnet mask is 255.255.0.0

With the above IP addresses, I tried all my previous ping and telnet experiments as previously described and everything worked exactly the same as before.

I looked at the "Sage.properties" files and saw the following entry...
"miniserver/gateway=192.168.0.1"
What is the significance of that entry? Apparently by coincidence, that is the same IP address which I had originally tested on the server PC. After I changed the server IP address to 192.168.111.1, that entry in Sage.properties did not change.

I also see the following entry in Sage.properties with no value assigned...
"miniserver/forced_server_ip="

When I power up the Media Extender or hit the "refresh" menu item, I still do not see the "Link" indicator flash at all. Also the server PC shows no packets received so it appears that the Media Extender is not transmitting any data to the server PC during normal operation. Again, when I run the ping and telnet experiments, the "Link" indicator does flash.

Has anyone verified that SageTV will really work in my configuration?

After a week of experments with no success I am becoming very frustrated.

All suggestions are welcome.
Thank you.
DonP

[carlgar]

You should go back to using IP=192.168.111.2 but you subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0.

I am not sure what "miniserver/gateway=192.168.0.1" is for. I suggest you change it to "miniserver/gateway".
The "miniserver/forced_server_ip=" is used to specify which NIC is used if you have have multiple NICs that the server could use. You should leave it blank unless you do have multiple NICs.

the only thing that is unique about your configuration is the use of a D-link switch. You could eliminate it by using a crossover cable direct between the HD extender and the server. I would think the "miniserver/gateway=192.168.0.1" is more likely the problem. Correct that line and then update the IP server IP address and subnet mask and also provide the HD static IP address and subnet mask being used. If you still have problems you should use wireshark and get a capture of the communication between the server and the extender. A wireshark capture would determine exactly what is occurring.

[ehlfg]

Do you ever see the server if you hit refresh repeatedly?

In my setup, I also have trouble with DHCP and server discovery -- both work infrequently, although telnet to the extender appears to work fine. However, if I hit refresh repeatedly, it does eventually find the server. Once I select the server, the extender appears to work well.

I just had to go through this setup again last night. Before that, the extender had been working fine for about a number of days. But last night, it froze during playback and then rebooted. Upon reboot, it couldn't find the server. I had to refresh five or more times before the server showed up. Once I selected the server, however, the extender appeared to work fine again.

I also have a similar problem with DHCP, so I'm using a static IP address. In my case, I suspect my wireless bridge is dodgy with broadcasts because I have no trouble finding the server if I run Placeshifter on a wireless laptop. That doesn't sound like your problem, but perhaps you also have a similar issue with another piece of network equipment such as the switch.

Can you test with a crossover cable directly between the extender and server, bypassing the switch?

[HiDefDon]

I took Carlgar's advice and installed Wireshark on my server PC. That is a wonderful tool!

With Wireshark monitoring the network traffic, I powered up the HD media extender and it generated absolutely NO network traffic. Then I changed the network configuration on the media extender to obtain IP address from DHCP. With that configuration, the media extender made 3 attempts at 2 second intervals to "Discover DHCP". Source IP address was 0.0.0.0 and destination address was 255.255.255.255. Since I have no DHCP server there were no responses and the media extender displayed "Failed to obtain IP address". On the media extender, I then decided to set both Gateway IP address and DNS IP address to the IP address of my PC server (192.168.111.1). When I hit "refresh" on the media extender menu, Wireshark immediately showed a flood of traffic from the media extender, and to my amazement, the media extender actually detected the server PC! Within minutes, the media extender was working perfectly while playing a high definition transport stream file on my 73" HDTV!

For whatever reason, the media extender will not attempt to find a server when the Gateway IP address is set to 0.0.0.0 and/or the DNS IP address is set to 0.0.0.0. Can anyone tell me if setting Gateway and DNS to server PC's IP address is the proper setting? I suspect not.

I am now a happy SageTV customer. While this effort had its frustrations, I really learned a lot, especially about networking. Many thanks for all the suggestions and especially to Carlgar for the pointer to Wireshark!

DonP

[gplasky]

From a command prompt on your Windows PC type ipconfig /all. It may scroll by but from there you should see all the actual settings you should use for your media extender's gateway and dns.

Gerry

[Electronicbuff]

My extenders were unable to see the server due to my ZoneAlarm firewall. I shut it down and the extenders worked perfect. Then I turned on ZoneAlarm again and monitored the hits on the firewall.

After identifying the hits on the firewall as the extenders and giving them access to the server all was well from that point on.

[dmakkuni]

I'm a SageTV newbie, bought my 1st Media Extender recently. I've read through as much of the forums as I can trying to get things up and running.
From what I can tell, I've got similar connection issues.

My network configuration on the server box looks like this:

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : server-1
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : gateway.2wire.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : gateway.2wire.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros L1 Gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1
000Base-T Controller
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.1

When I telnet into the extender, ifconfig -n gives me this:

Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
127.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0 lo
0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0

I'm running an AT&T Yahoo! 2701HG-B Gateway as my DSL modem/router with its built-in 802.11g wireless router/access point disabled.

A Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit Router WRT310N provides wireless access and is physically wired into the 2701HG-B Gateway over the WAN/Internet ethernet ports.

The server box runs WinXP Pro SP3, with valid SageTV Media Extender and Placeshifter license keys registered and uses a Hauppage WinTV HVR-1600 NTSC/ATSC/QAM Combo as a tuner card. Right now, I'm not even hooking that to my HDTV satellite yet since I haven't even gotten past the point where a simple SD video file plays to a TV from SageTV's media library folders on my server box.

The extender is currently hard-wired into the Linksys router over ethernet till things work fully, then I would like to use the wireless network but that is
another story.

I've already tried pinging back and forth between the server PC and the extender, works fine. However, the "Link" light is dead on the extender and I get absolutely nothing trying to view SageTV.

I'm looking for some guidance as to what I'm doing wrong. I don't want to give up on SageTV though its been very frustrating, ultimately I still believe
the payoffs are big once things come together.

Please help. Thanks.

[gplasky]

Usually the issue is the firewall. Make sure the appropriate ports are opened. Or better yet disable the firewall if yo have one running on the server. Search the forum or consult the Sage manual to find what ports need to be opened. WHat media extender do you have-the HD100 or a MVP?

Gerry

[dmakkuni]

I've got the STX-HD100. I'll try disabling firewalls and post back the results. I believe I'd tried that a few days back when I first began my SageTV project but I may be mistaken, I'll give it another try.

[dmakkuni]

I've shut off the software firewall on the server altogether as you suggested. Still not connecting between server and the extender. I ran wireshark on the server box, I don't see any activity at all between the server and the extender. As others have apparently experienced, the extender is simply blind to the server. Perhaps I need to get with SageTV technical support? Unless anyone has other suggestions based on the network settings I posted earlier?

[carlgar]

Originally Posted by dmakkuni

When I telnet into the extender, ifconfig -n gives me this:

Kernel IP routing table
Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0
127.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 U 0 0 0 lo
0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0

I am confused by the above. When I telnet into my HD extender and try an ifconfig -n command, I get the following error message:
em86xx[/root]# ifconfig -n
ifconfig: -n: error fetching interface information: Device not found

When I give just an ifconfig command, I get info like:
em86xx[/root]# ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:08:5C:53:A3:B1
inet addr:192.168.1.91 Bcast:255.255.255.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:408248532 errors:1 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:713346863 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:3 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:67556826 (64.4 MiB) TX bytes:1058694190 (1009.6 MiB)
Interrupt:14
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:35279 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:35279 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:13805457 (13.1 MiB) TX bytes:13805457 (13.1 MiB)
em86xx[/root]#

Based upon the info you provided it looks like your HD extender is trying to use an IP address of 192.168.1.0, which is wrong. The last byte should not be 0 or 255. Is your HD extender configured to use a dynamic or static IP address? If static what is the IP number?

Originally Posted by dmakkuni

I've shut off the software firewall on the server altogether as you suggested. Still not connecting between server and the extender. I ran wireshark on the server box, I don't see any activity at all between the server and the extender. As others have apparently experienced, the extender is simply blind to the server. Perhaps I need to get with SageTV technical support? Unless anyone has other suggestions based on the network settings I posted earlier?

I doubt if SageTV technical support can help unless you believe it is a hardware issue with your HD extender. I believe it is a network related issue. Have you tried updating the firmware? You should have the current firmware but the main purpose would be to see if the HD extender can connect to the firmware server properly using the internet. Your wireshark capture should have shown some type of broadcast packet from the HD extender that got to your server. If not, then you will never be able to connect to the server. That would imply some type of gateway issue. What is your gateway device (192.168.1.1)?

[dmakkuni]

Your correct about ifconfig -n. Sorry, that was a typo on my part, I meant that if you type route -n then you get that output, not ifconfig -n.

My HD extender is configured to use a static address of 192.168.1.5. The gateway device at 192.168.1.1 is the Linksys WRT310N Wireless-N router that the extender is connected to over ethernet.

That router itself is fine, have been using it for wireless access and internet connectivity without so much as a burp for months on end now. The wireless connection is rock-solid actually and if I hard-wire another device (e.g. laptop) to the same router, I have no issues with network access.

Is it even possible for me to download a firmware update right now since I get absolutely nothing, can't even bring up the Servers menu on the extender to attempt a firmware update that way, as was recommended in SageTV Media Extender FAQ. Is there any other method I can use to do a firmware update? I suppose its possible to download the firmware to a flash drive and then mount it via the USB ports on the extender but that defeats the purpose of the internet connectivity test for the extender that you have in mind.

I agree this must be a network-related issue. I'm sure I'll work through it with the help I'm getting here. Something is a little off somewhere and as is usually the case, that small detail will turn out to be the root cause.