RTP Multicast Problem

[millst]

I want to replace a Unifi switch on a TV tower with a netonix but I'm having problems with the traffic.
Its RTP mpeg multicast data which is the only thing on the link going to the TV broadcast mux in the tower.
On the unifi switch it works fine (so long as I turn off IGMP snooping and the multicast enhancement in the powerbeam radios also off).
But when I switch over to the netonix, it just constantly glitches like its being throttled. I get 1 video frame every 5 or 6 seconds and a split second of audio every 2 or 3 seconds.
Its about 2.5Mps of multicast data on a 100Mbps link
I have tried every combination of IGMP on, Multicast On / Off, Igmp Querier on / off. I've turned off all the storm control settings and then turned them on to see if I can make it worse (I can, but only a little bit worse).
The traffic is on a dedicated vlan.
If I turn on IGMP Snooping it stops all together which is not unexpected.
If I turn MC on or off for the ports, it makes no difference.
I've added an IP to the switch on the VLAN involved.
Upgraded to 1.5.5

I'm tearing my hair out here (3 days of googling an trolling the forums) as this should be pretty basic stuff but the netonix doesn't seem to want to play nice with multicast traffic.
Any pointers, tips or suggestions before I chuck it in the bin and order something else?
Is anyone else sending DTV multicast for broadcast DTV over a netonix switch.

I'd heard such great things about netonix switches, I wasn't expecting it to be this hard.

[uberdome]

Multicast is broken. It would be very helpful for more people to share their specific issues so Netonix will fix them... but it has been a couple years already.

Find someone who doesn't need multicast and sell it off if you need it working now. I have regular multicast headaches, and regularly see multicast traffic stop. They are currently very focused on finishing the new products it seems, so other replies may take longer than usual.

[millst]

Oh wow surely not.
I saw posts from 2 or 3 years ago on multicast issues but i didn’t think that after 2 or 3 years they would still be unresolved. There are no recent ones which gave me some confidence.

Multicast is fundamental to the broadcast industry and on paper the netonix gear is perfect for broadcast tower installs.

Are there any other wisp friendly switches that support proper multicast?

[uberdome]

The most recent and regular activity that I know about is from my thread here:
viewtopic.php?p=31496#p31496

I haven't found the alternative I like. MikroTik has some good switches now, but their larger outdoor unit is not out yet. They have an 8-port that is supposed to work well, but I haven't tested it yet / haven't found the optimal size enclosure. Cambium is coming out with some gear, but pricing suggests it will be 4-5x the price of Netonix. Used Juniper is mostly working for me, but you really have to know how to use Juniper to use Juniper.

[Stephen]

uberdome, you are correct we've been very focused on finishing the new product line because it is extremely close to completion and our test's so far have shown it's potential to be superior to our current product in many ways. Due to that and other restructuring we've been tasked with and of course the more recent situation with COVID I just haven't had the spare time I need to deal with request's from the forum's.

However, I've managed a few breakthrough's in software for the new line lately that will allow me to get back to some of the issues that I have been wanting to tackle for some time. Multicast is one of those concern's. So far, I've setup a test environment using VLC rtp for streaming multicast and I have also been able to see that from time to time it will cut out with or without IGMP snooping so I am running some diagnostic test's on the firmware internally to find an answer to finally close this issue. Would either of you be willing to try out some test firmware while I troubleshoot this? I'd like to get you an image by sometime next week.

[uberdome]

...Would either of you be willing to try out some test firmware while I troubleshoot this? I'd like to get you an image by sometime next week.

I am willing, but my ability to test at this time is limited. I will put the firmware on a test switch that runs some test TVs in the office. Nobody is in the office these days, so I won't see issues right away, but I'll plan to check the traffic.

Hopefully, others would be able to get their tests running as well since mine will be limited.

[Stephen]

Any feedback will be helpful on this endeavor.

Also, any suggestion's on what a more industrial environment that uses the switch for multicast might look like from a broadcaster's point of view. As of right now, all I have to test with is VLC and a few IGMP testing tools I have either built or found. I'm wondering if in the past our testing environments may have limited our success in repairing this problem. After reviewing your post's with Eric last time we tackled this. It appeared he was unable to replicate the issue's you saw locally and had to rely on your feedback from the logs. Preferably, I'd like to perform better stress test's on multicast locally.

[uberdome]

I have setup some VLC based tests which helped when IGMP snooping was originally not working at all. The circumstance now is that it will appear to work fine for 30 minutes to 72 hours... and then just stop. Disabling snooping will generally make it work again for some similar amount of time... enabling it again will do the same.

I suspect the VLC tests would have the same results revealing the problem after extended use, but I'm not sure as I haven't done that test myself. The location in our network that is running multicast reveals the problem much faster. I assume the issue is accelerated with higher traffic, but cannot confirm.

[Stephen]

That's a good start.

[millst]

VLC should work, so long as it really is in multicast mode and not Unicast.
We use Open Broadcast Encoder for our TV uplinks, it will run on an linux box, Its a bit of a pain to configure but it is the gold standard for multicast broadcast encoders.


I'm happy to test a firmware version, I have a lab setup that I can get into remotely and we have live multicast traffic spilling onto it so I can see how it goes.

Is there a post somewhere with the new products that are coming? I may hold off looking for something else if there is something cool coming.

I'm particularly interested in an outdoor rated 4 to 6 port switch (not a router) with an SFP or two for tower fiber deployments.

Nobody is making this, everything on the market either has 16 ports, is a router or has only one port with no negotiation (media converter). I don't know what I'm missing but this seems like big gap in the market.