Control point MacOs 2021

[MiniMe]

I guess with Linn Kazoo giving up on me, as it either shows Minimserver and not the network player, of vice versa where it shows the network player but not Minimserver I decided it is time to look onwards for a good control point that works on MacOS. Any suggestion?

(edit Kazoo works currently, but still:o)

[simoncn]

It is likely that this is a problem with your network (see my earlier post about this), not a problem with Kazoo.

[MiniMe]

Ah yes, I recall, though previously it was MinimWatch which could not find MinimServer. Now that all that matter was resolved it still is Linn Kazoo that is failing me here and there while all other apps seem to work. So that's why I asked if there is a Kazoo alternative known.

[simoncn]

It sounds like the same UPnP multicast discovery issue that was previously causing problems with MinimWatch (devices sometimes being visible and sometimes not being visible).

Are you on the latest level of Linn Kazoo?

[MiniMe]

I have v4.13.77 of Kazoo installed. I removed and reinstalled it previously.
To be sure disconnected and rebooted and or reset all my network items.
Also changed entire IP range to something else and set it back to the original range.
Pinged everything back and forth and checked all cabling also. Fast and reliable results.
I recall I thereafter MinimWatch had some problems finding MinimServer after this change of IP range. I fixed this via pointing MinimWatch to the current subnet via setting ohnet.subnet to x.x.x.0
From this I guess we can learn that MacOS somehow (assumed) creates a virtual subnet as soon as you go into another IP range or so, I did not change network adapters. But, this is still an assumption.
Regardless, Linn Kazoo when it works i.e. when it finds both ends of the scale, left = MinimServer , right = network player, there are no issues, also not after starting/restarting the computer.
So if network issue, I'd suspect either Mac itself with its magical subnet, or, the router itself could be the culprit (but if so I'd expect also other issues). Strangeness still happens, so I'll also keep testing to see if something is disturbing my network somewhere.
And in the meantime of all above, MinimServer keeps working and the app on my phone or tablet never have issues, nor does the network player.

[simoncn]

It is not unusual for a router to have problems with multicast discovery while working correctly in all other respects.

However, if you are using a UPnP control app on your phone or tablet without issues (is this also Linn Kazoo?), it seems the problem might be related to something on the Mac or the Mac version of Linn Kazoo.

When the server or player is missing from Kazoo on the Mac, does stopping and restarting Kazoo make the missing server or player appear? Does stopping and restarting the missing server or player make it appear? Either of these would suggest a UPnP discovery issue.

[MiniMe]

- It is not unusual for a router to have problems with multicast discovery while working correctly in all other respects. -> Even if the router is just an input to the network switch?
- if you are using a UPnP control app on your phone or tablet without issues (is this also Linn Kazoo?) -> Lumin app without issues
- it seems the problem might be related to something on the Mac or the Mac version of Linn Kazoo. -> agreed this is a suspect
- When the server or player is missing from Kazoo on the Mac, does stopping and restarting Kazoo make the missing server or player appear? -> its behavior is stable even with stopping/starting the app or even the computer
- Does stopping and restarting the missing server or player make it appear? -> No change
- Either of these would suggest a UPnP discovery issue. -> so I assume no UPnP issues?

[simoncn]

Multicast message forwarding is always handled by a router, not a switch. Sometimes a switch can block multicast messages sent by a router. If your router and/or switch has a setting to enable or disable IGMP snooping, this should be set to disabled.

What makes MinimServer or your player appear or disappear from Kazoo? Is it after some time interval, apparently random, or what?

[MiniMe]

In my perspective it is not only the router that handles IGMP snooping, as this setting to enable/disable is also found in managed switches and wireless accesspoints.

In my current knowledge the enabling IGMP snooping should help the efficient forwarding of multicast.

As such in all my network devices the IGMP snooping (efficient multicast forwarding) is/was Enabled. I have had no issues whatsoever until Linn Kazoo started bugging.

Anycase to be sure, should I turn OFF the IGMP snooping so that it will become inefficient multicast forwarding in my network?

[simoncn]

It is not easy to configure a network to implement IGMP snooping correctly. Any device that is not always on can miss an IGMP discovery message and be removed from the IGMP multicast group. Your Mac is such a device because while suspended for power saving it cannot receive network messages. To work around this, you need to manually add your Mac to the multicast groups in your router and/or switches depending on how you have your network configured. If your Mac is connected via wireless, you need to manually add the wireless access point to the multicast group instead of adding the Mac. I have done this with my network.

If you are using multicast only for UPnP, the efficiency consideration is not important. If you are also using multicast for other things such as video streaming, the efficiency consideration is important and you need to add the configuration settings described above.