Help ! UPNP server (UnitiServe) not getting detected by ND5 XS

Posted by: amwarren13 on 06 September 2014

Hello all,

Need some help from the experts please.

Just recently (and has not happened before), my ND5 XS, which is connected to an XP5 XS and situated in a loft conversion cannot seem to pick up the Unitiserve, and keeps coming up with the message <no server>, after trying in vain to search for it.

I have a Uniti and a UnitiQute in other rooms which are connecting to the server without any issue.

I am using Netgear Powerline to connect ethernet.

I have tried resetting the factory settings on the ND5 XS, but still no joy.

Has anyone got any other suggestions please ?

Many thanks in advance.

Ashley.

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by ChrisH

When that occasionally happens with my SU / US, I do the old power down / restart trick.

Maybe try closing down any iPads/iPods that might be connected to nStream and power those devices down too.

Hopefully that will clear it.

Fingers crossed. Good luck!

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by Timjoebill

Before you power down, reboot your wifi/internet router. That will usually do the trick. 

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by Simon-in-Suffolk

Hi network discovery requires a network method called multicast to discover items. however some cheap network substitutes and devices don't properly support network protocols in certain environments.

 

So assuming you have some basic connectivity over your link (you can browse web, ping a device on your LAN etc), and you powered down and powered up everything at least once, your powerlines may be preventing your network from working properly.

Temporarily try a wired proper Ethernet connection to see if it all jumps back into life..

 

if not, then look at your NAS/UPnP server to make sure it's properly advertising it's addresses. Check there is no firewall, and you have only one UPnP server running on one device at a time. If still no good try an alternate UPnP server.

 

Simon

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by ChrisSU
My Unitiserve used to become invisible like this fairly frequently. Following advice from Simon and others I went into my router settings and allocated a static IP address to my Unitiserve, and since then I haven't had the problem again. This may or may not solve your problem (I don't use powerlines, and I'm streaming to a Superuniti) but I'd recommend doing it anyway if you haven't already. I found an immediate improvement in all round stability, I can stream hi-res files that previously dropped out, and even the dreaded n-stream app is much less sluggish than is used to be.
Posted on: 06 September 2014 by Mike-B

Tell me more,  I don't have issues with connections other than an occasional slow searching for no explainable reason.  I had it powered down for 2 days & on power up yesterday & it took some annoying time faffing around to get all the bits talking to each other.  This might be worth a try.  

 

Can I "fix" the IP to the same numbers already allocated by the router DHCP

What part of the network - NDX - NAS - iPad - needs to have its IP fixed

& are the "fixed" settings only done at the router - do I leave NDX on DHCP 

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by amwarren13

Ok thanks guys - some things to be getting on with - will let you know if I manage to get things going again.

Ashley.

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by ChrisSU
Mike, I'm not the best person to give you a technical explanation of what to do and why, I was acting largely on the advice of others who kindly responded to my post entitled 'ip address allocation' a few weeks ago if you're interested. The only device I gave a static ip address to was my upnp server (Unitiserve).

What I did was:
• Turn off ALL my Wifi devices (router, phones, printer, etc)
• Turn on my router
• Turn on a computer and connect it by ethernet.
• Access the router settings by typing its ip address into a browser
• Turn on my Unitiserve and allocate it a static ip address (I used the lowest number from the available range)
• turn on all other wifi devices one by one, waiting for each one to receive an ip address from the router, (which is the DHCP server responsible for this) before starting the next.

Hope this helps, if you're still in the dark you probably need advice from someone who knows more than I do!

Regards, Chris
Posted on: 06 September 2014 by Mike-B

Thanks Chris,  I will try per your post - but not today - too busy with F1, bowls & eating out.  

 

I am OK with this kinda stuff,  but am far far away from knowing what I'm doing & I list everything I change so I have "revert to previous" when it all goes wrong. 

But after further checking this morning I find the nStream is the part that has the delay & it is only set to the NDX IP address,  not the NAS.

 

Anyhow thanks for the tips,  will get to it Monday,   

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by amwarren13

Chris - one last question - and excuse my stupidity in advance - but how do you allocate the UnitiServe a static ip address ? 

 

Posted on: 06 September 2014 by ChrisSU
You need to do this in the settings on your router: the exact way of doing it will vary depending on the manufacturer. If you've been supplied one by a broadband ISP, that's the one to use.
The router will have an ip address, which is a long number usually starting 192........... You might find this in its instructions, or phone your ISP tech support. Type this number into a web browser (do not type www. in front of it!)
This should take you to the router settings, where you may need to select an 'advanced' tab, and look for LAN settings.
Somewhere in there you should find the option to allocate dynamic or static ip addresses for your devices.
You may need to know the MAC address of your Unitiserve, which you will probably find written on its back panel.

Good luck!
Chris
Posted on: 06 September 2014 by amwarren13

Many thanks for your help Chris.  much appreciated.

Ashley.

Posted on: 07 September 2014 by Mike-B

I have fixed NDX, NAS & iPad to static IP address on the BT HH4

I will see how it goes, so far it seems to be OK,  maybe my imagination but it seems to be a bit quicker connecting

 

Can someone advise if any advantage in also fixing the individual items to static as well.  

Posted on: 07 September 2014 by ChrisSU
Mike, my understanding is that it's just the NAS that needs a static ip address as the streamer can then find it more quickly and reliably. That's all I did, and it certainly helped.
I did consider setting a static address for my streamer, and maybe other devices too, just to see if it helped. For example, I wondered if n-stream on my iphone would have a faster, more reliable connection to my Superuniti if that had a static address. However, this is not something I have yet got round to trying out. There are other, more technically knowledgable contributors to this forum than me who may be able to offer further advice. (You know who you are, guys.......)
Posted on: 07 September 2014 by Mike-B

I will leave mine as it is Chris - NDX NAS & iPad on static IP - then see how it goes. I intend to do a complete system & router power down tomorrow & see how it all hooks up again,  as that was my problem last week.

Meanwhile if some expert advice says to do something else,   great

Posted on: 07 September 2014 by hungryhalibut
Originally Posted by amwarren13:

Chris - one last question - and excuse my stupidity in advance - but how do you allocate the UnitiServe a static ip address ? 

 

You need to download the Set IP tool from the Naim website.

Posted on: 07 September 2014 by ChrisSU
HH, I wasn't aware of the existence of this. Why would you use it rather than going to your DHCP server settings?
Posted on: 07 September 2014 by hungryhalibut

You need to set the IP in the server, and also in the Serve itself. Eg, my serve is set as .......140 at the router end. You then use the tool to set the IP, DNS gateway etc at the Serve end. It's actually really easy to do. The tool's blurb tells you how.

Posted on: 08 September 2014 by Mike-B
Originally Posted by ChrisSU:
Mike, my understanding is that it's just the NAS that needs a static ip address as the streamer can then find it more quickly and reliably.

I met my local IT geek last evening it he advises best for me with a small network to leave it to DHCP. But NAS on static is OK & will help speed & search. So thats what I've done

 

nStream took its time to find the NAS eventually saying it could not find it

I cleared both caches & its all found & ready to go

Seems snappy & maybe faster than before,  but maybe I'm kidding myself.  

 

I think thats it, I'm done - I hope

Posted on: 10 September 2014 by Mike-B

Conclusion after 2 days is that it is more positive connecting to NAS & faster scrolling thru nStream & starting play. The only delay is on initial start-up when the NAS is waking up from hibernation,  but that is just a few seconds & does not result in unable to find anything. 

 

I have re-set the NAS IP Address in the router (BT HH4) to static.

Rebooted the NAS & it hooked up automatically to the new number, then re-set the NAS itself to static IP on the new number 

 

I did not go outside the BT LAN IP range,  I only have a few items on the network so I don't expect any conflict.  I just added a 3rd digit to the DHCP allocated number    e.g.192.168.1.67 to 192.168.1.167

 

Also yesterday BT made a managed change & reboot of the HH4 (no idea why)  but I was pleased to see the static IP worked OK after.  I later turned all the units & the router off & went thru a sequenced & staged restart starting from the router & its all connected & working fine.

Posted on: 22 September 2014 by ChrisSU
Originally Posted by Hungryhalibut:

You need to set the IP in the server, and also in the Serve itself. Eg, my serve is set as .......140 at the router end. You then use the tool to set the IP, DNS gateway etc at the Serve end. It's actually really easy to do. The tool's blurb tells you how.

HH, having solved my US/SU connectivity problems (touch wood) by setting a static ip address for the US, I'm still curious about how and why I might need to use the tool. I've downloaded the tool, but it's just a .msi file, whatever that is! If you try to download the instrucuions from the US web page, you get an HDX instruction manual!!!

 

If I had any sense I'd just forget the whole thing (if it ain't bust, don't fix it!) - but I'm just curious.

 

Regards, Chris

Posted on: 22 September 2014 by Bart

Chris the instructions for the uServe are the same as for the HDX.  This has led to some confusion in the past. 

Posted on: 22 September 2014 by ChrisSU

Hi Bart, I assumed that would be the case, but the instructions you download are for the HDX desktop client only, and make no mention whatsoever of the set ip tool.