The tale of my unorthodox yet somehow functional setup

[lulzyatlas 20]

Awkwardly long titles are great.

 

This thread is my attempt at logging my current setup, issues I ran into with it, workarounds, and ideas for others. It'll likely be random, very stream of conscious.

 

I have a pretty broad user and client base, and an even more confusing network topology to go with it. Instead of dwelling on my physical devices and those setups (it'd end up a minibook on networking), I'll cover the basics.

 

My network resides on 192.168.0.x, communiating with a 192.168.3.x networking in a neighboring house, and a 192.168.1.x network.

 

A 4th network is bridged off of the 192.168.1.X network, at 10.0.0.X.

 

The hardware on my end is merely 2 routers with one being the Master in a Triple WAN setup allowing me to use the two neighboring networks for internet access as well.

 

My server is accessible from neighboring networks via port forwards (I got lazy during reconfiguring and just DMZ'd some things, port forwarding a cleaner and safer alternative however (Emby's UPNP has been hit and miss for me with various different router firmwares (Currently I use OpenWRT and DDWRT))).

 

I serve content from an old Compaq (is that even still a company?) with an ancient AMD Sempron LE-1300. I plan to upgrade when I rob a bank. There's no transcoding in my setup, or LiveTV (I briefly played with IPTV, still do, but until the clients catch up I've avoided it).

 

My media is stored on a series of xxx GB drives (one of which is an array, also used for metadata, torrents, and other servers data). As well as a stash of content on a NAS on the 192.168.3.x network (the bridge between these usually operates at 36-54mbps, enough to stream any content either of us have).

 

I used to be big on setting up path substitutions, but in some cases I'm not sure how it even functions (almost none of my neighboring networks have static routes, or any settings changed in their modem routers). IE: The 192.168.1.X networks being able to direct play content from the 192.168.3.X network, their gateways should have no idea where that is, my guess is after NAT and a failure to resolve the path name, the path sub is thrown out and Direct Stream VIA current server IP is used. Either way this has been transparent. 192.168.3.x content shows and plays like its on the server (though library scans over wireless NAS take much longer from what I've seen, the only noticable difference (it'd probably be very inefficient to use locally stored metadata with a setup like this, pulling all those files over the wireless just wouldn't be worth the throughput with the delay).

 

My clients, are many and as I usually teach my neighbors the configuration options needed to connect a device (hey write down this IP and Port) I'm not even sure I know them all (I see new devices in the log and list from time to time), outside my house I can confirm atleast 5 PCs (Win7, 8, and 10) using Theater and/or Classic. A few Apple devices. A Chromecast via app. A Miracast via Android Phone and BubbleUPNP as an external player (bubble then casts to the mira, how this affects overhead I haven't noticed). A PS3 via BubbleUPNP/Droid/DLNA. A half dozen or so Android phones and Tablets.

Inside the house: 2 PCs Win10 running Theater, 2 Androids running standard client, 1 x86 Andro Box (was gonna use my ancient original Xbox for this but it got thrown out of storage by an overzealous cleanup, RIP old champ).

 

To my knowledge there have never been more than 4 or 5 simultaneous plays, and aside from the expected buffering delays of the wirelessly remote content on the 192.168.3.x just about everything plays.

 

Caveats: Remember User doesn't work for neighboring subnets

Server Broadcast/Auto-Detect doesn't work for neighboring subnets

DLNA doesn't work for neighboring subnets

We don't all have Wireless AC routers in a seperate subnet WDS for smart routing

 

Those 3 could be aided slightly by a well setup IGMP proxy, but it probably wouldn't be a sound solution (passing multicasts of 4 different home networks, the overhead itself would be ungodly).

 

All in all though, it functions, and for the most part brings my library to various screens in 4 homes.

[colejack 30]

Interesting setup. Good read

 

I'm assuming you're using wireless bridges between networks?

Edited January 11, 2016 by colejack

[lulzyatlas 20]

Interesting setup. Good read

 

I'm assuming you're using wireless bridges between networks?

Yep, N & G, NAT'd bridges. The wireless creates some slight delay in play starts and such, the occasional buffer, but other than that its unnoticeable.

 

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