Alternate emby server address

[LonginusL33T 3]

Hi,support

Would it be possible to add a feature to the mobile and TV clients that would automatically switch between the primary and alternate server addresses depending on connectivity?

It's too much of a hassle to refill an available address on the TV client when the server address can't connect.

Thanks

[Luke 37100]

Hi, is this for two different servers, or the same server?

[LonginusL33T 3]

9 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, is this for two different servers, or the same server?

Same emby server. My ISP doesn't have the ability to provide public IP addresses, so I use two cloud servers for reverse proxy.  When one server is busy, I will use another server's domain name to access EMBY.

[Luke 37100]

Would a ddns not be a better option for you?

[justinrh 174]

Can you explain how the cloud servers are proxy-ing for you?  It sounds like you connected your home Emby server to the cloud, then connect to the cloud.  But then that wouldn't make sense if you can't get a public IP at the house.

So, like if the address field had an recently-used list or bookmark function, right?

[LonginusL33T 3]

7 hours ago, Luke said:

Would a ddns not be a better option for you?

I can't use DDNS because I don't have a public IP address. I need a cloud server with a public IP address to do NAT traversal.

This is the only way I can access my home EMBY server from the extranet

[LonginusL33T 3]

1 hour ago, justinrh said:

Can you explain how the cloud servers are proxy-ing for you?  It sounds like you connected your home Emby server to the cloud, then connect to the cloud.  But then that wouldn't make sense if you can't get a public IP at the house.

So, like if the address field had an recently-used list or bookmark function, right?

I use FRP to do NAT traversal.  fatedier/frp: A fast reverse proxy to help you expose a local server behind a NAT or firewall to the internet. (github.com)

 

[Q-Droid 653]

On 12/1/2023 at 2:15 AM, LonginusL33T said:

Same emby server. My ISP doesn't have the ability to provide public IP addresses, so I use two cloud servers for reverse proxy.  When one server is busy, I will use another server's domain name to access EMBY.

Busy or unavailable, and how would you determine this? If it's a clear condition that can be tested then you should also be able to automate a check and use DDNS to maintain the IP address for your service and update to the available proxy.

 

[LonginusL33T 3]

1 hour ago, Q-Droid said:

Busy or unavailable, and how would you determine this? If it's a clear condition that can be tested then you should also be able to automate a check and use DDNS to maintain the IP address for your service and update to the available proxy.

 

I don't really understand this query.

Isn't it true that the EMBY client returns to the "Select Server" screen because the client can't link to the server? 

This means that the client knows that the current address is invalid. Why is there a need for an additional determine method?

I think there's some misunderstanding here.

I'm just asking if it's possible to add a feature to try to use an backup address to link to the EMBY server in case the main address is unavailable on mobile client and TV client.

just like the interface shown in this photo.

[jaycedk 385]

Kind of like this.

Then I could use ddns for my backup 5G connection, when and if my fiber is down.

[Q-Droid 653]

1 hour ago, LonginusL33T said:

I don't really understand this query.

Isn't it true that the EMBY client returns to the "Select Server" screen because the client can't link to the server? 

This means that the client knows that the current address is invalid. Why is there a need for an additional determine method?

I think there's some misunderstanding here.

I'm just asking if it's possible to add a feature to try to use an backup address to link to the EMBY server in case the main address is unavailable on mobile client and TV client.

just like the interface shown in this photo.

 

That would be up to the Emby developers to decide if they feel the functionality in this request is worth the effort.

Emby, the product and the company, are not responsible for the availability or reliability of the infrastructure of those who use their products. That's a lot to ask for what is a personal media server.

The choice was yours to use FRP with two entry points which may or may not be available. I do understand why as your options are limited by your ISP.

What I suggested is to use a mechanism on your server to check if the FRP service is available on one entry point and change a DDNS (CNAME) record to the other when not. This way a single domain name can be used to connect to either FRP service in order to reach Emby. A possible solution to your current situation instead of (or until) the requested feature.

 

[LonginusL33T 3]

9 hours ago, Q-Droid said:

That would be up to the Emby developers to decide if they feel the functionality in this request is worth the effort.

Emby, the product and the company, are not responsible for the availability or reliability of the infrastructure of those who use their products. That's a lot to ask for what is a personal media server.

The choice was yours to use FRP with two entry points which may or may not be available. I do understand why as your options are limited by your ISP.

What I suggested is to use a mechanism on your server to check if the FRP service is available on one entry point and change a DDNS (CNAME) record to the other when not. This way a single domain name can be used to connect to either FRP service in order to reach Emby. A possible solution to your current situation instead of (or until) the requested feature.

 

1. I'm just proposing a new feature, it's of course the choice of the development team as to whether or not to implement it.

    I'm only saying all this because I'm worried I'm not expressing myself clearly. Mainland China is assigned so few IPV4 addresses that the vast majority of home networks do not have public IP addresses. In our case, this is common knowledge, but I know that in other countries it's not.

2. I've considered several solutions before. The solution you mentioned is not possible at the moment because the FRP server does not provide an API for displaying the current connectivity, and because the EMBY client knows directly that an address is unavailable, that's why I'm proposing a new feature like this now.

3. If you decide not to implement this feature, is it possible to change the "Select Server" screen of the EMBY app so that I can fill in multiple addresses? I can do the switching manually. As it is now, filling in one address overwrites the previous one. This at least saves the hassle of having to fill in the domain name using the remote control in the TV client.

Thanks for the reply.

[Q-Droid 653]

1. CGNAT due to IPv4 exhaustion is becoming a common thing globally and so are the ways around it. Being on mainland China is useful information - how common is IPv6 support? Is it available to you? That would be the ultimate solution.

2. API to FRP is not needed. Same as the Emby client, test to see if you can connect to your server via one FRP route? -> No? Try the other. -> Yes? Make that your DDNS CNAME for the Emby server. Now, if the FRP servers are too busy and so unstable that polling every few minutes result in constant switching then this would be less than ideal and maybe too disruptive.

 

[Q-Droid 653]

Before anyone thinks I'm against your feature request, I am not. I'm just trying to offer suggestions around your current problem because the reality is that even if the developers like your request and decide to implement it could be years (yes, literally) before it would get rolled out.

[ebr 14925]

Hi. I understand what you are asking for and, theoretically, it would be possible but it seems to me that the audience for this feature would be extremely small and it would be a not insignificant complication.

So, we'll keep this request open and monitor ongoing feedback.

Thanks.

[LonginusL33T 3]

2 hours ago, Q-Droid said:

1. CGNAT due to IPv4 exhaustion is becoming a common thing globally and so are the ways around it. Being on mainland China is useful information - how common is IPv6 support? Is it available to you? That would be the ultimate solution.

2. API to FRP is not needed. Same as the Emby client, test to see if you can connect to your server via one FRP route? -> No? Try the other. -> Yes? Make that your DDNS CNAME for the Emby server. Now, if the FRP servers are too busy and so unstable that polling every few minutes result in constant switching then this would be less than ideal and maybe too disruptive.

 

1. The construction of IPV6 networks in our country is still at the level of backbone networks so currently IPV6 support is poor. The three largest ISP typically provide a dynamic IPV6 address, but it is not a public address either. And my ISP won't even give us an IPV6 address.

2.I'll look into this method a bit more.I'll check with the FRP developers and ask how to implement it.

[LonginusL33T 3]

2 hours ago, Q-Droid said:

Before anyone thinks I'm against your feature request, I am not. I'm just trying to offer suggestions around your current problem because the reality is that even if the developers like your request and decide to implement it could be years (yes, literally) before it would get rolled out.

I actually don't really care about time.

Since there aren't many options, I'll continue to use EMBY for many years to come.

Even if I don't wait for this feature to be implemented, I'm happy to see that other users who face the same situation as me can have a better experience.

[LonginusL33T 3]

2 hours ago, ebr said:

Hi. I understand what you are asking for and, theoretically, it would be possible but it seems to me that the audience for this feature would be extremely small and it would be a not insignificant complication.

So, we'll keep this request open and monitor ongoing feedback.

Thanks.

I express my full understanding.

I understand that this feature may only be needed by a few.

But I do make such a request on behalf of some other users (after all, English is not our native language and it's really hard for them to post in the forums), so I'm not the only one who needs this feature.
Anyway, thank you very much for your replies.

I'll look for other ways to solve my problem and keep an eye on your maintenance of EMBY.