Buffer issues when streaming from LAN

[lostwind]

Hello, this is really strange..I am trying to watch some tv series (using xbmc from ATV2 and streaming from a server) and every minute or so it interrupts and buffers...

I have the latest firmware (Merlin's mod).

The problematic setup is as follows...

I have a multimedia server which has a gigabit port, and my apple tv (jailbroken with xbmc) which has a 100mbit port. Both the server and ATV2 are connected to the asus router using cat 5 cables and that's where the problem with the stuttering occurs.

Now, I got a gigabit switch, which I decided to try and use, so I connected the server and the atv2 into the switch and the switch to asus and guess what? the stuttering issues are gone!

My question; is my router faulty? since it should be able to do the same as the switch? or perhaps I need to optimize it in some way?

Thanks!

 

[RMerlin]

You need Cat5e or Cat6 cables for reliable Gigabit performance.

 

[lostwind]

You need Cat5e or Cat6 cables for reliable Gigabit performance.

I've replaced with 2 Cat5e's, same issue no changes...the file I am streaming isn't even that big, and 0 problems when using a switch.

I don't even see why it wouldn't work with Cat5s when it works through a switch... (but anyway as I said its 5e and same)

This is extremely annoying since it stops like every min :/

Any ideas?
Thanks for help Merlin!

 

[RMerlin]

I've replaced with 2 Cat5e's, same issue no changes...the file I am streaming isn't even that big, and 0 problems when using a switch.

I don't even see why it wouldn't work with Cat5s when it works through a switch...

That would be because either your switch is only Fast Ethernet, or it's somehow more resilient to line noise.

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

dmesg output

Can you post the output of dmesg from your router either through the command prompt or from the systemlog > general.

 

[lostwind]

Hi, thanks for looking at this, here's the output:

http://pastebin.com/auP1WHkk

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Is there a potential loop in the the network ? Seems like your router's kernel recorded a duplicate frame

eth2: received packet with own address as source address

Do any of your connected devices have both wired and wireless interfaces hooked up to the same network ?

try at the command prompt doing brctl showmacs br0 and check for duplicates.

Please ensure STP is not turned off you may enable brctl stp br0 on/off to toggle stp and see if your problem goes away.

 

[lostwind]

I made sure that every device is using either eth or wifi and not both, I also modified STP on and off, there' seems to be no difference, the hiccups are still present...

EDIT:

I'll borrow friends device tomorrow, flash it with the same firmware and try it out.... see if its reproducible or not... if not, how hard is it to RMA in Canada?

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

When your devices are connected, you could try using robocfg show, and run the same command when you are playing see if any of the interfaces are flapping between FD to HD which might indicate a bad cable or a speed neg problem.

 

[lostwind]

Thanks for the reply, I've run the command during the hiccups, and the following is shown:


admin@RT-N66U:/tmp/home/root# robocfg show
Switch: enabled gigabit
Port 0: DOWN enabled stp: none vlan: 2 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
Port 1: 1000FD enabled stp: none vlan: 1 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
Port 2: 100FD enabled stp: none vlan: 1 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
Port 3: DOWN enabled stp: none vlan: 1 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
Port 4: DOWN enabled stp: none vlan: 1 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
Port 8: 1000FD enabled stp: none vlan: 1 jumbo: off mac: 00:00:00:00:00:00
VLANs: BCM53115 enabled mac_check mac_hash
1: vlan1: 1 2 3 4 8t
2: vlan2: 0 8u


Is this any helpful? I've replaced the actual mac addresses with 0's.

Thanks sir!

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Just a thought, try forcing the device on port1 (at Gig) to 100FD , see if the problem persists. Also , since your switch isn't doing jumbo frames, can you verify that jumbo frames are turned off on the server ?

 

[lostwind]

I've forced the servers nic to 100FD and ensured that jumbo frames are off. Tried the streaming again, but its even slower... (wait time for buffer has increased considerably).

I've took a screenshot of all my advanced settings (servers nic), maybe you can suggest changing something, I have no clue.

Thanks!

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

The only other thing I can think of is, try monitoring the load on the router during streaming using the top d 1 command. Try disabling GRO offload under the LAN > switch control, reboot router and see if it makes a difference. That's as far as I can tell without doing traffic sniffs.

 

[lostwind]

Thanks for your help, I can't see anything obvious, with the command either,
still the same issue. I will try tomorrow with a friends router, and if I don't see the same issue, I will RMA.

I know the gigabit switch I have fixes the issue..but I have to make sure, where the problem is coming from....

 

[lostwind]

Hey guys!

I finally had a chance to test out my friends router, and guess what... the same issue!!

I'd need to try this out with tomatousb, when I used to have e4200 v1, I had no such issue, I can't understand why the built in switch can't handle basic stuff like that.. the files aren't even that heavy..

Optimally, I'd leave my gigabit (external) switch do the job but I don't see a reason that this isn't doing it.

When I used my friends router, it was just set to factory default...no internet, nothing...

Any advices are appreciated