Pause/stutter MKV video using NFS on AC86U and NFS Exports server fails to start on AC68U

[Buontinh]

Hi all,

A couple of months ago I posted about a problem in logging in to the router SMB server from the Oppo 103 player. I later found out that the 103 also support NFS so I setup NFS Exports on the AC86U and tested a couple of MKV files and they played fine.

I recently bought a 14TB WD external USB drive and ripped all my bluray disc in MKV container format. Anyway, depending on the movies bitrate, the video would stutter/pause randomly for a second or so, 10 or 20 times during the movie. Low bitrate movies seem to play fine, but high bitrate movies 30-40 mbps stutter a lot. The same movies stream fine from Windows via NFS and I have tested NFS transfer rate from Windows and it's more than high enough for bluray so I'm not sure if the problem is with the Oppo or something else. The Oppo ethernet port is only 100mbps, but that should be enough for 1080p bluray. I have tried both Merlin 384.19 as well as 386.1beta5 with the same exact problem.

I wanted to see if the AC68U had the same problem but NFS server would not start (also tried turning on/off support for V2).
System log show, "kernel : svc: failed to register lockdv1 RPC service (errno 97)". Tried resetting router to factory settings, but didn't change anything. Running firmware 386.19 but same problem with beta5 386.1.
Only difference between AC86U and AC68U is the former running in access point mode and the latter in router mode.

I then flashed the AC86U with ASUS firmware 384.32799 as all of the latest version no longer support Samba V1 and the movies stream smooth as silk via SMB.

Any idea why NFS fails to start on the AC68U with both Merlin latest firmware as I'm curious to know if it has the same problem. Also any suggestions on what to try on the AC86U?

Thank you

 

[ColinTaylor]

System log show, "kernel : svc: failed to register lockdv1 RPC service (errno 97)".

It always gives that message.

Jan 24 20:09:43 kernel: RPC: Registered udp transport module.
Jan 24 20:09:43 kernel: RPC: Registered tcp transport module.
Jan 24 20:09:43 kernel: RPC: Registered tcp NFSv4.1 backchannel transport module.
Jan 24 20:09:43 kernel: Installing knfsd (copyright (C) 1996 okir@monad.swb.de).
Jan 24 20:09:44 statd[1326]: Version 1.1.6 Starting
Jan 24 20:09:44 statd[1326]: statd running as root. chown /var/lib/nfs/sm to choose different user
Jan 24 20:09:44 kernel: svc: failed to register lockdv1 RPC service (errno 97).
Jan 24 20:09:45 NFS_Server: daemon is started

 

[Buontinh]

Thank you, but mine says nothing about NFS_Server. I cleared the log then tried enabling NFS again and this is all it says and Windows 10 does not see it either.

Jan 29 19:06:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[256]: DHCPDISCOVER(br0) 70:26:05:5e:07:de 
Jan 29 19:06:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[256]: DHCPOFFER(br0) 192.168.1.74 70:26:05:5e:07:de 
Jan 29 19:06:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[256]: DHCPREQUEST(br0) 192.168.1.74 70:26:05:5e:07:de 
Jan 29 19:06:00 dnsmasq-dhcp[256]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.1.74 70:26:05:5e:07:de 
Jan 29 19:06:01 rc_service: httpd 280:notify_rc restart_nasapps
Jan 29 19:06:01 avahi-daemon[29555]: Files changed, reloading.
Jan 29 19:06:01 avahi-daemon[29555]: Loading service file /tmp/avahi/services/mt-daap.service.
Jan 29 19:06:01 avahi-daemon[29555]: Alias name RT-AC68U: avahi_server_add_cname failure: The requested operation is invalid because redundant
Jan 29 19:06:01 iTunes: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 19:06:01 FTP_Server: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 19:06:01 wsdd2[29568]: Terminated received.
Jan 29 19:06:01 wsdd2[29568]: terminating.
Jan 29 19:06:01 Samba_Server: smb daemon is stopped
Jan 29 19:06:01 kernel: gro disabled
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29555]: Service "RT-AC68U" (/tmp/avahi/services/mt-daap.service) successfully established.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29555]: Got SIGTERM, quitting.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29555]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface br0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.1.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29555]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface lo.IPv4 with address 127.0.1.1.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29555]: avahi-daemon 0.7 exiting.
Jan 29 19:06:02 Timemachine: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 19:06:02 miniupnpd[29567]: shutting down MiniUPnPd
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Found user 'nobody' (UID 65534) and group 'nobody' (GID 65534).
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Successfully dropped root privileges.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: avahi-daemon 0.7 starting up.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: WARNING: No NSS support for mDNS detected, consider installing nss-mdns!
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: No service file found in /tmp/avahi/services.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Loading new alias name RT-AC68U.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Joining mDNS multicast group on interface br0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.1.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: New relevant interface br0.IPv4 for mDNS.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Joining mDNS multicast group on interface lo.IPv4 with address 127.0.1.1.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: New relevant interface lo.IPv4 for mDNS.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Network interface enumeration completed.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Registering new address record for 192.168.1.1 on br0.IPv4.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Registering new address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.IPv4.
Jan 29 19:06:02 avahi-daemon[29654]: Registering new address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.IPv4.
Jan 29 19:06:02 kernel: gro enabled with interval 2
Jan 29 19:06:03 Samba_Server: daemon is started
Jan 29 19:06:03 wsdd2[29671]: starting.
Jan 29 19:06:03 statd[29673]: Version 1.3.3 starting
Jan 29 19:06:03 statd[29673]: Failed to open directory sm: No such file or directory
Jan 29 19:06:03 statd[29673]: Running as root.  chown /var/lib/nfs to choose different user
Jan 29 19:06:03 kernel: svc: failed to register lockdv1 RPC service (errno 97).
Jan 29 19:06:03 mountd[29686]: Version 1.3.3 starting
Jan 29 19:06:03 avahi-daemon[29654]: Server startup complete. Host name is RT-AC68U.local. Local service cookie is 2371788390.
Jan 29 19:06:03 avahi-daemon[29654]: Alias name RT-AC68U: avahi_server_add_cname failure: The requested operation is invalid because redundant
Jan 29 19:06:04 miniupnpd[29690]: HTTP listening on port 36493
Jan 29 19:06:04 miniupnpd[29690]: Listening for NAT-PMP/PCP traffic on port 5351

 

[john9527]

Try turning NFS off, then reboot the router. After it finishes booting, then verify NFS is set up the way you want and then enable it.

 

[Buontinh]

I disabled NFS then rebooted as suggested and the log shows something new about NFS now, but still nothing about NFS_Server and Windows still does not see it. I'm running beta5 firmware BTW. Is there a command to start NFS manually in shell?

Thanks

Jan 29 20:24:52 rc_service: httpd 767:notify_rc restart_nasapps
Jan 29 20:24:52 avahi-daemon[1315]: Files changed, reloading.
Jan 29 20:24:52 avahi-daemon[1315]: Loading service file /tmp/avahi/services/mt-daap.service.
Jan 29 20:24:52 iTunes: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 20:24:52 FTP_Server: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 20:24:52 wsdd2[1359]: Terminated received.
Jan 29 20:24:52 wsdd2[1359]: terminating.
Jan 29 20:24:52 avahi-daemon[1315]: Alias name RT-AC68U: avahi_server_add_cname failure: The requested operation is invalid because redundant
Jan 29 20:24:53 Samba_Server: smb daemon is stopped
Jan 29 20:24:53 kernel: gro disabled
Jan 29 20:24:53 avahi-daemon[1315]: Got SIGTERM, quitting.
Jan 29 20:24:53 avahi-daemon[1315]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface br0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.1.
Jan 29 20:24:53 avahi-daemon[1315]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface lo.IPv4 with address 127.0.1.1.
Jan 29 20:24:53 avahi-daemon[1315]: avahi-daemon 0.7 exiting.
Jan 29 20:24:53 Timemachine: daemon is stopped
Jan 29 20:24:53 miniupnpd[1362]: shutting down MiniUPnPd
Jan 29 20:24:54 kernel: gro enabled with interval 2
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Found user 'nobody' (UID 65534) and group 'nobody' (GID 65534).
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Successfully dropped root privileges.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: avahi-daemon 0.7 starting up.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: WARNING: No NSS support for mDNS detected, consider installing nss-mdns!
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: No service file found in /tmp/avahi/services.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Loading new alias name RT-AC68U.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Joining mDNS multicast group on interface br0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.1.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: New relevant interface br0.IPv4 for mDNS.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Joining mDNS multicast group on interface lo.IPv4 with address 127.0.1.1.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: New relevant interface lo.IPv4 for mDNS.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Network interface enumeration completed.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Registering new address record for 192.168.1.1 on br0.IPv4.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Registering new address record for 127.0.1.1 on lo.IPv4.
Jan 29 20:24:54 avahi-daemon[1671]: Registering new address record for 127.0.0.1 on lo.IPv4.
Jan 29 20:24:54 Samba_Server: daemon is started
Jan 29 20:24:54 wsdd2[1688]: starting.
Jan 29 20:24:54 kernel: RPC: Registered udp transport module.
Jan 29 20:24:54 kernel: RPC: Registered tcp transport module.
Jan 29 20:24:54 kernel: RPC: Registered tcp NFSv4.1 backchannel transport module.
Jan 29 20:24:55 kernel: Installing knfsd (copyright (C) 1996 okir@monad.swb.de).
Jan 29 20:24:55 avahi-daemon[1671]: Server startup complete. Host name is RT-AC68U.local. Local service cookie is 3667970155.
Jan 29 20:24:55 avahi-daemon[1671]: Alias name RT-AC68U: avahi_server_add_cname failure: The requested operation is invalid because redundant
Jan 29 20:24:55 statd[1699]: Version 1.3.3 starting
Jan 29 20:24:55 statd[1699]: Failed to open directory sm: No such file or directory
Jan 29 20:24:55 statd[1699]: Initializing NSM state
Jan 29 20:24:55 statd[1699]: Running as root.  chown /var/lib/nfs to choose different user
Jan 29 20:24:55 kernel: svc: failed to register lockdv1 RPC service (errno 97).
Jan 29 20:24:55 mountd[1712]: Version 1.3.3 starting
Jan 29 20:24:56 miniupnpd[1716]: HTTP listening on port 55951
Jan 29 20:24:56 miniupnpd[1716]: Listening for NAT-PMP/PCP traffic on port 5351

 

[ColinTaylor]

What do you get from:

showmount --exports
exportfs -v
mount | grep nfs

 

[Buontinh]

I currently have only a usb stick connected, but I have also tried connecting usb hard drive.

admin@RT-AC68U:/tmp/home/root# showmount --exports
Export list for RT-AC68U:
/tmp/mnt/4_1GB *
admin@RT-AC68U:/tmp/home/root# exportfs -v
/tmp/mnt/4_1GB  <world>(rw,async,wdelay,no_root_squash,no_subtree_check,sec=sys,rw,secure,no_root_squash,no_all_squash)
admin@RT-AC68U:/tmp/home/root# mount | grep nfs
nfsd on /proc/fs/nfsd type nfsd (rw,relatime)

 

[ColinTaylor]

That all looks fine. What error do you get when you try to mount the drive? Do you see any errors in the router's syslog?

 

[Buontinh]

No error when mounting the drive as far as I can tell as I have no problem accessing the drive through Samba from Windows. I just don't know why mine does not say NFS_Server : daemon started like yours so it seems like service does not even try to start.

Maybe I will try resetting the router to factory setting next and try again without enabling anything else. I won't be using the AC68U for NAS duty, but want to know if the Oppo has the same problem accessing through it so I can better troubleshoot it on the AC86U.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I just don't know why mine does not say NFS_Server : daemon started like yours so it seems like service does not even try to start.

I have that message because I'm using John's firmware. That message isn't present in Merlin's so that's normal.

I meant what error do you see on your client when trying to mount the NFS drive? As far as I can see the NFS service is working fine on the router.

 

[Kaver163]

@Buontinh , just wanted to let you know that I also have issues using NFS with an Oppo on beta 4 (from your post it doesn`t sound like beta 5 will change that). I have a Oppo 203 connected to a AX86U where NFS gives stuttering with high bitrate files, while using UPnP media server works smoothly with 4K material having bitrates above 100 mbit/s but does have the disadvantage of taking double the time of NFS before the movie starts and UPnP doesn`t remember where the movie was last stopped. With SMB I have like you describe also a problem with the Oppo 203 logging on to the SMB server, so would be great if NFS media server could to be fixed to allow smooth high bit rate file playback.

 

[Buontinh]

I have that message because I'm using John's firmware. That message isn't present in Merlin's so that's normal.

I meant what error do you see on your client when trying to mount the NFS drive? As far as I can see the NFS service is working fine on the router.

No error msg as the NFS hostname does not even show up in Windows. Basically Windows does not even see it. On the AC86U with NFS working, the hostname for NFS, RT-AC86U would appear under Network on Windows 10 and I could click on the icon and see and access all the mounts. With Samba running too, it would show two RT-AC86U icons under Network, but with the AC68U, just the hostname for Samba appears. This is on two different Windows 10 computer. Of course it does not show up on the Oppo either. With NFS working on the AC86U, the Oppo would display the LAN IP address of the router.

@Kaver163 Good to know that you are also experiencing similar issues. Yeah, UPnP also works smoothly for me, but like you mentioned limited compared to NFS or SAMBA as it also does not support AVCHD.

 

[ColinTaylor]

What NFS client are you using on Windows?

 

[john9527]

Try turning NFS off, then reboot the router. After it finishes booting, then verify NFS is set up the way you want and then enable it.

Just to follow up on this recommendation....

There are several components loaded for NFS support on the AC68 (I need to check if the AC86 is still using the same setup). One of those components has a problem that it can't be killed and then restarted successfully. So on a boot, where the NFS services is actually started/stopped a couple of times, NFS would end up not working. I fixed this on my fork and seem to remember Merlin did as well, but it may have crept back in.

I also made a change on my fork to increase the default threads for NFS (from 1 to 2). I think this is primarily for concurrent accesses, but not entirely sure. There is also a manual nvram setting where you can increase it further.

What NFS client are you using on Windows?

I had never tried it up to now, but just enabled the built in NFS client on Win10 (need Win10 PRO or Enterprise). The NFS exports showed right up in Explorer/Network along with the existing Samba shares using my fork.

 

[Buontinh]

@ColinTaylor I'm using Windows 10 built in NFS client john9527 mentioned above.

@john9527 do you know how to increase the default threads for NFS manually as I would like to try this to see if it fixes the stuttering the issues.

 

[john9527]

do you know how to increase the default threads for NFS manually as I would like to try this to see if it fixes the stuttering the issues.

You can try this via ssh....

killall mountd
killall -SIGKILL nfsd
/usr/sbin/nfsd -N 2 2
/usr/sbin/mountd -N 2
/usr/sbin/exportfs -r

The last number in the command to start nfsd is the number of threads to start (in this case 2)

Also, it looks like the fix I previously mentioned about the component restart is in the Merlin code, so not sure why your AC68 was not starting successfully.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I had never tried it up to now, but just enabled the built in NFS client on Win10 (need Win10 PRO or Enterprise). The NFS exports showed right up in Explorer/Network along with the existing Samba shares using my fork.

Thanks John, I see it now.

I wonder whether the portmap process is starting properly. @Buontinh can you run the following commands:

ps w | egrep "rpc|portmap|statd|lockd|nfs|mountd"

netstat -ap | egrep "rpc|portmap|statd|nfs|mountd"

 

[john9527]

I wonder whether the portmap process is starting properly

portmap is the bad actor.....you can only start it once/boot

 

[Buontinh]

You can try this via ssh....


Also, it looks like the fix I previously mentioned about the component restart is in the Merlin code, so not sure why your AC68 was not starting successfully.

Thanks John. I will try it once I got it working on the AC68U. Yeah, I don't understand it as I couldn't get it to work with Merlin 384.19 either. My AC68U is the version with 1.4ghz cpu so I'm not sure if that make a difference.

@ColinTaylor

admin@RT-AC68U:/tmp/home/root# ps w | egrep "rpc|portmap|statd|lockd|nfs|mountd"
   13 admin        0 SW<  [kblockd]
 1691 admin        0 SW<  [rpciod]
 1696 nobody     672 S    /usr/sbin/portmap
13781 admin      712 S    /usr/sbin/statd
13784 admin        0 SW   [lockd]
13785 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13786 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13787 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13788 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13789 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13790 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13791 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13792 admin        0 SW   [nfsd]
13794 admin      836 S    /usr/sbin/mountd -V 2
28529 admin     1472 S    egrep rpc|portmap|statd|lockd|nfs|mountd
admin@RT-AC68U:/tmp/home/root# netstat -ap | egrep "rpc|portmap|statd|nfs|mountd
"
tcp        0      0 localhost:nfs           localhost:*             LISTEN                                                                                                                   -
tcp        0      0 localhost:39395         localhost:*             LISTEN                                                                                                                   13794/mountd
tcp        0      0 localhost:57767         localhost:*             LISTEN                                                                                                                   13781/statd
tcp        0      0 localhost:sunrpc        localhost:*             LISTEN                                                                                                                   1696/portmap
tcp        0      0 RT-AC68U.:sunrpc        192.168.1.114:966       ESTABLISHED                                                                                                              1696/portmap
udp        0      0 localhost:nfs           localhost:*                                                                                                                                      -
udp        0      0 localhost:58404         localhost:*                                                                                                                                      13781/statd
udp        0      0 localhost.localdomain:813 localhost:*                                                                                                                                      13781/statd
udp        0      0 localhost:sunrpc        localhost:*                                                                                                                                      1696/portmap
udp        0      0 localhost:52688         localhost:*                                                                                                                                      13794/mountd
unix  2      [ ]         DGRAM                    125126 13794/mountd
unix  2      [ ]         DGRAM                    125064 13781/statd
unix  2      [ ]         DGRAM                      6285 1696/portmap

Thanks

 

[john9527]

13794 admin 836 S /usr/sbin/mountd -V 2

You are using NFS 'legacy' mode.....is that by choice?
My procedure to set the number of threads should work on both the AC68 and AC86.

Also, your ps output shows you already have 8 nfsd threads running...not sure why that is.