Clients and server doesn't sync

[Avantasia]

Hello, i'm considering purchasing ArraySync but I can't get it to work using the demo version of the server.

I've tried installing it in 2 different Lion systems a macbook air and a iMac (spanish, don't know if the locale can make a difference), and the client on some macbooks.

I get the server to load the video, the clients see the server on the list, i can select, the client's screen go black, i can even play the video (some formats didn't but I converted them and now they work), but they only play on the server screen.

I tried with the 3 modes, standard, mirrored and spanned, on the clients and on the server.

Any ideas?

[Turboladdade]

Make sure the clients and servers are on the same network, same subnet, and are NOT directly connected to each other. Also make sure UDP and TCP ports 9201 are open on everything and not blocked by any sort of firewall.

[Avantasia]

They are on the same wireless network, same subnet and no firewall.

[Turboladdade]

Whatever's happening is definitely network related, sounds like the clients can see the server but communications from the server are being blocked somehow. Have you checked that your router isn't preventing UDP communication on port 9201?

[Avantasia]

No, well not inside the network.

Actually, debugging the ports you say now i can "hear" the messages sent from the client to the server

Server:

iMac-de-Elisabet:~ Ely$ nc -u -l 9201
,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.,Give me a time please.^C

This is with one client connected to the server.

Well with no clients i can stablish a connection and share data normally

Client:
MacBook-Air-de-David:~ fido$ nc -u 192.168.0.2 9201
prueba
hola
funciona
^D
.
^C

Server:
iMac-de-Elisabet:~ Ely$ nc -u -l 9201
prueba
hola
funciona


So i think the connection is not an issue here.

[Turboladdade]

The server should be responding to each of those with a timecode. Is there any data coming out of the server at all?

EDIT: And are you reading these messages from the client or from the server?

[Avantasia]

I was reading the messages from the server.

On a more detailed capture, I get this conversation, also from the server :

"Give me a time are" incoming messages.
"Stop presentation" and timecodes are outgoing messages



.......,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please........-57.99.0.......,Give me a time please........,Give me a time please........-57.99.0.3766667.......-57.99.0.56.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.0.7983333.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.1.835.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.2.836667.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.3.87.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.4.951667.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.5.868333.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.6.841667.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.7.87.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.8.96.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.9.975.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.10.80833.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.11.89333.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.12.895.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.13.895.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.14.895.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.15.815.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.16.94667.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.17.83333.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.18.835.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.19.835.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.20.83667.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.21.92333.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.22.885.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.23.88833.......,Give me a time please........-57.99.24.88667.......,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation........,Give me a time please.........Stop presentation.

Edit : Just tried to capture from one client

It goes like this

1 "Hello Servers" packet
1 "Imac de Elisabet" packet (it's the server name it found)

The rest is exactly the opposite of the above capture, "Stop presentation" and timecodes incoming and "Give me a time" outgoing

More info:
Ip's used:
Server: inet 192.168.0.2 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
Client: inet 192.168.0.9 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
---
Operating systems
Lion in all
Just tried with one fresh new mountain Lion just now too

---
Computer names :

Sever: iMac de Elísabet (as I was writing this I changed it to Ely to discard locale errors with the tilde)

Client: Macbook de David


---
Two sample videos i'm working with :
1024 × 576
H.264, AAC
Duration: 00: 37
Bits: 563
Size: 2.607.799 bytes

--

960 × 540
H.264, Linear PCM
Duration: 00: 58
bits: 3.536
Size: 25.666.077 bytes

[Turboladdade]

Those messages look perfectly fine to me. And Firewall in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Firewall is off correct? Because Mac OS X's firewall has the ability to block communications on an app-by-app basis.

I'm not sure what the problem could be at the moment, other than something else on your system interfering with ArraySync somehow. Based on the communications you've posted, it looks like the server is receiving data from the client just fine and returning responses, so something is wrong on the client side because somehow ArraySync doesn't think it aught to start the presentation.

One other thing, that I'm almost afraid to ask but have to just make sure - have you copied the video file to all the clients and dragged them into the application in the same manner as the server? Because ArraySync doesn't stream anything -- its job is to achieve perfect synchronization. Each client must have local copies of the videos.

[Avantasia]

Sigh..

Just lost some hours of my life, and worst, of yours, troubleshooting this

In fact i wasn't copying the files as I expected to stream it over the network

Sooo, just bought the app in the mac app store, because.. you know, it works wonders now :S


Sorry again

[Turboladdade]

Sooo, just bought the app in the mac app store, because.. you know, it works wonders now :S

Don't worry, I should have asked right from the beginning lol... I'm glad it's working as it should. Enjoy!