The simple steps to making Placeshifter work

[tvmaster2]

Can someone please outline the simple steps here - I have tried everything I can think of, but cannot get it to connect from a remote connection (Starbucks, the university, etc.). I could with version 5, but when I upgraded to 6, that was it for PS.

I have: confirmed open port with canyouseeme.org
-set up a name and password.
-figured out the locater number
-confirmed that the Sage server test is aok
-logged on from my home network
-reserved a port on the router, and set a specific IP address on Sage server and router

however, do you have to manually open a port on the laptop via windows firewall?

What about Upnp? I have enabled that in my router, so what else can I possibly have forgotten

thanks to those in the know

do you have to ma

[Opus4]

Did you allow the Placeshifter client to get through the firewall on its PC? (I believe that would be your laptop.) Maybe when you installed the new version, your firewall saw that it wa different and blcoked it again.

This FAQ and the SageTV manual (bottom of p. 216 for v6.3) talk about firewall ports.

- Andy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Did you allow the Placeshifter client to get through the firewall on its PC? (I believe that would be your laptop.) Maybe when you installed the new version, your firewall saw that it wa different and blcoked it again.

This FAQ and the SageTV manual (bottom of p. 216 for v6.3) talk about firewall ports.

- Andy

Thanks - I re-installed Placeshifter on my laptop, and there are now several requests listed in Windows Firewall for available ports, etc. Hopefully this will take care of things - let you know.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Did you allow the Placeshifter client to get through the firewall on its PC? (I believe that would be your laptop.) Maybe when you installed the new version, your firewall saw that it wa different and blcoked it again.

This FAQ and the SageTV manual (bottom of p. 216 for v6.3) talk about firewall ports.

- Andy

Before I drive 10 miles to the nearest starbucks to check connectivity, is there a way to visually tell if I have opened the correct ports on the server and laptop? If I look on the server's Windows Firewall, there is only one "sagetv" listing under "exceptions", as opposed to the laptop, which lists at least eight sagetv exceptions. I read the faq you forwarded, but am still a little muddy on this concept.

cheers

[Opus4]

Configure Placeshifter on the laptop to add another server connection using your internet IP address instead of a Locator ID & it should try to connect via the internet instead of via your LAN.

- Andy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Configure Placeshifter on the laptop to add another server connection using your internet IP address instead of a Locator ID & it should try to connect via the internet instead of via your LAN.

- Andy

thanks, but you're assuming I am as intelligent as you may be with these kinds of things - wish that were true. Do you mean the internet IP address that my cable company assigns me?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Do you mean the internet IP address that my cable company assigns me?

Yes.

- Andy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Yes.

- Andy

Okay, I set up an account on the laptop using the cableco IP, and that seems to have done it - the sign in screen now comes up: I put in my name and password and there you go.

So if for some reason it fails to connect from a remote locale, would the only explanation be that their firewall is blocking most ports?

thanks so far

[tvmaster2]

So, I could connect by my cable companies assigned IP address, but only from within my house, which makes me suspect that the ports are still not correct.

I cannot connect from the university I am currently at, where I could prior to installing v. 6.

Somewhere, I am doing something wrong I imagine. Is there a help phone number for sage?

thanks

[Opus4]

Are you sure you used your external IP address, not your internal LAN address?

Maybe the university started blocking the port.

You could try submitting a support request to SageTV.

- Andy

[tvmaster2]

my internal addresses are all typical 192.168.xx.xx

my ip from cable co is quite different - 68.5.148.xxx

and that worked earlier today. has be completely baffled.

thanks so far - Starbucks wouldn't block port 31099 would they?

[gplasky]

Depending on how companies approach security, a lot of times they will block all the ports on the firewall and then only open the ones that they absolutely need to. So it is quite possible after a security audit your university now has all those ports blocked by default. Other places you just need to test and see. You should take your PC to a friend's house with Internet and try to use PS. There you can verify and open up the appropriate ports to confirm you have a working install.

Gerry

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Depending on how companies approach security, a lot of times they will block all the ports on the firewall and then only open the ones that they absolutely need to. So it is quite possible after a security audit your university now has all those ports blocked by default. Other places you just need to test and see. You should take your PC to a friend's house with Internet and try to use PS. There you can verify and open up the appropriate ports to confirm you have a working install.

Gerry

good idea - if that fails, then any idea what the most likely problem is?

thanks

[CollinR]

You can also setup port forwarding and make placeshifter externally run on a port that would be difficult for them to block. Like say 8080 thats usually open for service work and your cable provider probably won't block that like they do port 80.

PS I too have the mentality of block everything and then fix the squeaking wheels. However outbound traffic isn't as closely watched as inbound.

If you connected from your WAN address at home but cannot remotely you either aren't on their network (can't websurf) or they have blocked you.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by CollinR

You can also setup port forwarding and make placeshifter externally run on a port that would be difficult for them to block. Like say 8080 thats usually open for service work and your cable provider probably won't block that like they do port 80.

PS I too have the mentality of block everything and then fix the squeaking wheels. However outbound traffic isn't as closely watched as inbound.

If you connected from your WAN address at home but cannot remotely you either aren't on their network (can't websurf) or they have blocked you.

There's something wrong with my setup - when I set up an account that used my cable companies assigned ip address to my house, Placeshifter would find the server (from a laptop), throw up the login screen, accept my name and password, and voila - the two boxes were talking. But now, for some unexplainable reason, I am again getting the "can't find server - blah blah blah " warning. I guess the only thing to do is a complete re-install of both.
Way too many headaches with v. 6 compared to v. 5 - at least so far.
thanks for the help.

[CollinR]

That IP address most likely changes, thats the point of the locator system. I personally use DynDNS.org and get a subdomain. However it's anyone's guess as to when it changes.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Before I drive 10 miles to the nearest starbucks...

Guess I must be spoiled. There are probably a dozen Starbucks (and twice that many competitors and independents) within a ten-minute walk of my downtown Seattle apartment -- not to mention Starbucks Galactic HQ visible about a mile away through my living room window.

[tvmaster2]

There must be a bug in v.6 regarding PS. For absolutely no reason, as to my knowledge I changed nothing on the server - PS just decided to start working after three days of pain and suffering. Tomorrow, it will likely not work. Who knows - all I do know is that when things just pop back to life, there's likely a gremlin in the works.

keep ya posted

[GKusnick]

Does your Sage server have a fixed IP address on your LAN, or does it get its address via DHCP? Your router can't reliably forward Placeshifter packets to the Sage machine if its address changes every few days.

You can either assign a fixed IP in the network control panel on that machine, or keep using DHCP but set your DHCP server (typically your router) to always give the same IP address to that MAC address.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Does your Sage server have a fixed IP address on your LAN, or does it get its address via DHCP? Your router can't reliably forward Placeshifter packets to the Sage machine if its address changes every few days.

You can either assign a fixed IP in the network control panel on that machine, or keep using DHCP but set your DHCP server (typically your router) to always give the same IP address to that MAC address.

Hi - yes, my server's IP address is fixed - the router has assigned the correct open port - etc etc - everything worked great for over a year, and then when I upgraded to v.6, it's been nothing but a mystery - I'm not so sure the concept of saving wiz.bin files and sage.properties actually works very well. It was only when I completely trashed everything that a connection was made.

and when you have 100 recordings that face extinction, there must be a better way to do an upgrade.