Dlna server not appearing on wifi

[imrlumley]

Dlna media server not appearing on wireless network. I tried to upgrade and downgrade firmware as per other discussions. Server appears and works just fine on wired devices in same vlan. But no wireless devices can see the server. Is there something on the nighthawk uplink interface blocking / dropping broadcast or multicast from the dlna server?

[imrlumley · Accepted solution]

Well this was an exercise in frustration.

I can say that the Nighthawk APs do not appear to be at fault.

The issue "suddenly" resolved itself and the DLNA servers suddenly started appearing to all of my wifi connected devices.

I am going to assume this was some issue with IGMP on the Cisco core switch.

I cannot reproduce the issue. Various combinations of disabling and re-enabling IGMP on the switch interfaces, vlans, and global config on the Cisco do not seem to reproduce the issue with DLNA broadcast not appearing on the WiFi segments.

So everything is working just fine!

*(bangs head softly against the server rack and curses Cisco yet again)

[michaelkenward]

What Netgear product is this?

[imrlumley]

Nighthawk mesh Mr60 and two MS60.

[michaelkenward]

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@imrlumley wrote:
Nighthawk mesh Mr60 and two MS60.

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From what I can see, the MK63 does not have a built in DLNA server.

So what server are we talking about here?

What tells you that the router is the source of the issue?

[imrlumley]

I have been running my own DLNA server for many years on my LAN.  After installing the Nighthawk mesh units, none of the clients on the wifi network can find the DLNA server.    Seems the Mesh APs may be blocking the broadcast from the DLNA server.  

I have used minidlna, mediatomb, serviio, and others on the LAN.  I also launched bubbleUPNP on and an android connected to the wifi SSID.  bubbleupnp server hosted on the android on wifi does appear to my client DLNA devices on wifi; The DLNA server on the wired LAN does not.

Typically I would configure previous wireless APs as network bridge mode.  The MR60 is operating in "access point" mode.

[michaelkenward]

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@imrlumley wrote:

The MR60 is operating in "access point" mode.

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That pushes everything back to the router to manage.

Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR Support

Netgear probably expects people to use routers as routers.

Maybe you need to look into the configuration of your main router.

[imrlumley]

I don't need any of the router/firewall features. I need to know if the APs are blocking multicast from LAN to WiFi in AP mode. My firewall is upstream from the vlan and IP subnet that is shared by all attached devices on wired and WiFi on the core switch. The APs need to allow multicast properly in AP mode. If they don't, the WiFi devices will never discover the media server.

[imrlumley]

I appear to be seeing the same issue as this Orbi topic: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Wi-Fi-5-AC-and-Orbi-with/Can-t-access-dlna-server-from-orbi/td...

...Except my APs are already in AP mode.

[imrlumley]

I am still looking for a solution to this.

----> {INTERNET} ---> [Cisco Firewall] ----> [Cisco Switch]        ----> [MR60] (AP mode) ----> WIFI devices (my phone)

                                                                            |                                  L  2x MS60 

                                                                            L  DLNA  Server 

                                                                            L  Wired Devices

- I have factory reset the MR60 and MS60's. configured Wifi, verified Internet access, switched MR60 to AP mode, verified Internet, SMB, and printer access. 

- I have verified that the IP subnet is the same for all connected devices on LAN and WiFi, 192.168.22.0/24. 

- I have powered off and retested all the AP's. 

- I have powered off and restarted the core Cisco switch and verified that the DHCP LAN/WiFi devices are getting the correct IP net, mask and gateway and Internet access.

- I have downgraded the firmware on the AP's and retested.

- I have upgraded the firmware to latest and retested.

Still the WiFi devices do not see the DLNA server announce but the LAN devices immediately see them.

[michaelkenward]

Where is the router that handles the wifi traffic from the MR60? Is that the Cisco Firewall?

[imrlumley]

Everything is home to the switch in the same vlan.  All wired and wireless devices are in the same IP subnet. IP gateway for all devices is the switch vlan IP , so no packets leave the he subnet unless the destination IP is outside that subnet.

[michaelkenward]

I still have no idea where the router is. Switches rarely carry out that role. Maybe it is this anonymous firewall. As you provide no details of what these Cisco devices are, it is impossible to dig deeper.

Have you considered changing the physical layout? The LAN ports on the MS60 will still work and in AP mode will do not mess around with directing the traffic.

As you are running an atypical system – no visible modem or router –  you may need to consult a network engineer for advice.

[michaelkenward]

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@imrlumley wrote:

I appear to be seeing the same issue as this Orbi topic: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Orbi-Wi-Fi-5-AC-and-Orbi-with/Can-t-access-dlna-server-from-orbi/td...

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Completely different scenario.

That user has Freebox router. It still isn't obvious which bit of your network is a router.

[imrlumley]

Cisco switch is a layer 3 switch acting as the router. Firewall functions are all on the Cisco firewall.  All IP traffic is in the same vlan on the switch. 

multicast from the DLNA media servers is visible on any other host on the vlan but NOT on the WiFi.

The wired and wireless hosts all have the same IP network and addresses assigned by the same DHCP server.

Wireless hosts have no issues finding any other device on the IP network whether they are a printer, web server, SMB share, etc. The issue appears to be strictly related to multicast from wired LAN through the Netgear to the wireless devices.

I am a network engineer. 🙂 

I just need to know if the Netgear APs are blocking multicast from upstream devices in the same IP subnet.

The other forum discussion references an issue with firmware resolved with firmware update.

Another forum discussion referenced IGMP config on the Cisco to allow multicast,  I already addressed and verified this is not an issue.

[michaelkenward]

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@imrlumley wrote:

I am a network engineer. 🙂 

I just need to know if the Netgear APs are blocking multicast from upstream devices in the same IP subnet.

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Congratulations. Maybe you are a rare exception to the general rule that the higher the qualifications people claim here – often in a domain far removed from domestic networks – the less they understand.

What are the "Netgear SPs"?

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The other forum discussion references an issue with firmware resolved with firmware update.

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If you mean the forum discussion you mentioned earlier, as explained, that discussion referred to completely different circumstances. It wasn't even related to the same hardware. Orbi and MR mesh devices are very different. I may not be a network engineer, but I have used both.

[imrlumley]

Netgear APs  = Netgear Nighthawks in AP mode.

Again, all I need to have answered is whether or not the APs are dropping multicast packets from wired to wireless segments.

[imrlumley · Accepted solution]

Well this was an exercise in frustration.

I can say that the Nighthawk APs do not appear to be at fault.

The issue "suddenly" resolved itself and the DLNA servers suddenly started appearing to all of my wifi connected devices.

I am going to assume this was some issue with IGMP on the Cisco core switch.

I cannot reproduce the issue. Various combinations of disabling and re-enabling IGMP on the switch interfaces, vlans, and global config on the Cisco do not seem to reproduce the issue with DLNA broadcast not appearing on the WiFi segments.

So everything is working just fine!

*(bangs head softly against the server rack and curses Cisco yet again)