Netflix conflict with FreeNAS?

[Dom93950]

Hi,

I'm new to FreeNAS and recently set up my first FreeNAS server. I've noticed that every time I spin up the FreeNAS server other family members on the same LAN seem to have problems with streaming Netflix. Shutting down FreeNAS and restarting Netflix streaming seems to resolve the problem. Is it possible that FreeNAS and Netflix on the same LAN can interfere with one another?

I've searched the forums but don't find any mention of this potential conflict.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

-Dom.

 

[Jailer]

No they should not interfere with each other. This sounds like a network issue, most likely an IP conflict.

 

[Dom93950]

Thanks Jailer. I was letting FreeNAS get an IP address from DHCP running on my router. I will try assigning a unique address manually when I have time to experiment.

 

[Chris Moore]

Is it possible that FreeNAS and Netflix on the same LAN can interfere with one another?

What are you accessing Netflix with? Are you using a static IP address with the FreeNAS?
Why is the FreeNAS getting this " spin up " treatment. It should be up all the time. It is a server.

 

[Dom93950]

Thanks Jailer. I was letting FreeNAS get an IP address from DHCP running on my router. I will try assigning a unique address manually when I have time to experiment.

Jailer, I tried rebooting FreeNAS and assigned it an unused IP address 192.168.1.253. I scanned the network with iNet, an app for Mac OS X, and confirmed that FreeNAS had the assigned IP address and it was different from all the other devices on the LAN. As soon as I rebooted FreeNAS it started to interfere with Netflix streaming on another device (smart TV) connected to the LAN via WiFi with a different IP address. Unless I'm missing something it seems the interference is not due to an IP conflict. Is it possible that the bandwidth on my LAN can't handle the traffic when streaming Netflix and running FreeNAS at the same time? I have an AT&T Uverse modem/router with download speed of 36 Mbps (not great, I know, but Comcast doesn't work where I live). Any other thoughts?

 

[kdragon75]

Perhaps some odd ARP glitch causing excess broadcasts? That would kill a wireless connection. Are you using jails or plugins? How is your network setup?

 

[Dom93950]

What are you accessing Netflix with? Are you using a static IP address with the FreeNAS?
Why is the FreeNAS getting this " spin up " treatment. It should be up all the time. It is a server.

Chris: Please see my response to Jailer for some of the answers to your questions. I am accessing Netflix with a Vizio smart TV connected via WiFi to the AT&T modem/router, with excellent strength signal. I assigned the IP address 192.168.1.253 during FreeNAS boot up instead of going through DHCP (does that fit the definition of "static" IP address?). My FreeNAS is connected via ethernet directly to the modem/router.

I am setting up FreeNAS for the first time. Once I get it working I plan to keep it up all the time, that is, IF I can get it to work without interfering with other services on my LAN. The symptoms of "interference" with Netflix streaming are that video streaming stops for a few seconds, then starts for a few more seconds. May repeat stop/start a few more times. Sometimes it will stop for a longer time and go into rebuffering video and then it stops again. Shutting down FreeNAS fixes the Netflix streaming problem.

Any other thoughts where the problem is?

 

[Dom93950]

Perhaps some odd ARP glitch causing excess broadcasts? That would kill a wireless connection. Are you using jails or plugins? How is your network setup?

kdragon75: I don't know what an ARP glitch is, can you explain? I did set up FreeNAS for an Apple (AFP) share. I've also set up a SMB share on FreeNAS. My plan was to set up a Plex plugin but I haven't gotten that far....

 

[Chris Moore]

Is it possible that FreeNAS and Netflix on the same LAN can interfere with one another?

It sounds unusual.

I assigned the IP address 192.168.1.253 during FreeNAS boot up instead of going through DHCP (does that fit the definition of "static" IP address?).

Yes.

I am accessing Netflix with a Vizio smart TV connected via WiFi to the AT&T modem/router, with excellent strength signal.

Even if it is just temporary, for testing, can you connect the TV by a wired connection to see if the problem continues?

 

[kdragon75]

kdragon75: I don't know what an ARP glitch is, can you explain? I did set up FreeNAS for an Apple (AFP) share. I've also set up a SMB share on FreeNAS. My plan was to set up a Plex plugin but I haven't gotten that far....

On your LAN, your network card doesn't work with IP addresses, it uses your MAC address. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is how you find a MAC for an IP Address. Look into the OSI model. MAC addresses are for layer 2 and IP addresses are for layer 3. When sending data from Plex for example, you work from layer 7 down to layer 1 but let's skip to 3. Plex wants to send something to 192.168.100. Great. So how to get get down to layer 2? The network stack will check its local arp table and see it doesn't know the layer 2 (MAC) address so it send out an ARP broadcast that in effect says "How has 192.168.1.100? Tell aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff". In this example the network card on the plex server has the MAC aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff. This means EVERY network card on the LAN has to stop and listen, think ok that not me. Now when the computer with the IP 192.168.1.100 sees this ARP request, it will send out a packet (technically it not a packet but an ethernet frame at this layer) and say "hey aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff, 192.168.1.100 is at 11:22:33:44:55:66!". Sometimes things can go screwy and that one tiny ARP request broadcast gets repeated and this because of the fact that its a broadcast can plug up a LAN very quickly. The other case is a switching loop. This can happen even within one computer where there are bridges and multiple interfaces (think jails here).

So yeah, networking is kind of amazing in the fact that it works at all and goes WAY deeper that IPs and routers. If your interested in the subject, look into the Cisco CCNA switching books.

 

[Dom93950]

It sounds unusual.

Yes.

Even if it is just temporary, for testing, can you connect the TV by a wired connection to see if the problem continues?

Chris: I tried connecting the TV by a wired connection as you suggested. Netflix has been streaming now for about 30 minutes with FreeNAS also streaming on a static IP address with no interference. I'll continue to monitor this evening and post again if the problem recurs. Thanks for your suggestion.

When I log in to the FreeNAS server from a remote computer using the WebGUI I'm getting a couple of alerts, shown in the screenshot below.

Can you explain what these mean and how to fix? The first Warning is interesting because the IP address in the alert is the address that my modem/router assigned previously, before I assigned FreeNAS a different static IP address. I have no idea what the second Critical alert means. Can you advise on these?

 

[Dom93950]

On your LAN, your network card doesn't work with IP addresses, it uses your MAC address. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is how you find a MAC for an IP Address. Look into the OSI model. MAC addresses are for layer 2 and IP addresses are for layer 3. When sending data from Plex for example, you work from layer 7 down to layer 1 but let's skip to 3. Plex wants to send something to 192.168.100. Great. So how to get get down to layer 2? The network stack will check its local arp table and see it doesn't know the layer 2 (MAC) address so it send out an ARP broadcast that in effect says "How has 192.168.1.100? Tell aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff". In this example the network card on the plex server has the MAC aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff. This means EVERY network card on the LAN has to stop and listen, think ok that not me. Now when the computer with the IP 192.168.1.100 sees this ARP request, it will send out a packet (technically it not a packet but an ethernet frame at this layer) and say "hey aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff, 192.168.1.100 is at 11:22:33:44:55:66!". Sometimes things can go screwy and that one tiny ARP request broadcast gets repeated and this because of the fact that its a broadcast can plug up a LAN very quickly. The other case is a switching loop. This can happen even within one computer where there are bridges and multiple interfaces (think jails here).

So yeah, networking is kind of amazing in the fact that it works at all and goes WAY deeper that IPs and routers. If your interested in the subject, look into the Cisco CCNA switching books.

Yes, there is a lot about networking that I don't know. Thanks for the reference to the Cisco books.

 

[Chris Moore]

Can you explain what these mean and how to fix?

Are you running FreeNAS in a virtual machine?
We need to get a rundown on what hardware you are using for your FreeNAS build (as much as possible) because the "multipaths are not optimal" thing up there tells me that you have some faulty hardware, but we need more information to be sure.

 

[Dom93950]

Are you running FreeNAS in a virtual machine?
We need to get a rundown on what hardware you are using for your FreeNAS build (as much as possible) because the "multipaths are not optimal" thing up there tells me that you have some faulty hardware, but we need more information to be sure.

I'm using hardware I have on hand for FreeNAS, not a standalone NAS box. If things go well with it I may upgrade to an NAS box. Currently, I am running FreeNAS on an Intel NUC with 8 GB memory. I have two 8 TB drives attached to the NUC via USB 3.0, with mirroring on, so the available space for the volume is a little less than 8 TB. I realize this is not an optimal hardware setup but it seems to be working well for streaming media locally except for those pesky alerts!

 

[Dom93950]

I'm using hardware I have on hand for FreeNAS, not a standalone NAS box. If things go well with it I may upgrade to an NAS box. Currently, I am running FreeNAS on an Intel NUC with 8 GB memory. I have two 8 TB drives attached to the NUC via USB 3.0, with mirroring on, so the available space for the volume is a little less than 8 TB. I realize this is not an optimal hardware setup but it seems to be working well for streaming media locally except for those pesky alerts!

Also, I am not running any VMs. Next step I want to do is to run a Plex server plugin on the FreeNAS server but I haven't gotten that far yet.

 

[Chris Moore]

I realize this is not an optimal hardware setup but it seems to be working well for streaming media locally except for those pesky alerts!

Those pesky kids... Sorry, but the problem is bigger than you know. You can't mirror two drives on USB. Probably has only worked this long because you have not run it very much. The USB interface is why you are getting the multipath error. This hardware isn't just sub-optimal, it is unusable. You will not be able to have a stable, reliable FreeNAS with this hardware.

 

[Dom93950]

Those pesky kids... Sorry, but the problem is bigger than you know. You can't mirror two drives on USB. Probably has only worked this long because you have not run it very much. The USB interface is why you are getting the multipath error. This hardware isn't just sub-optimal, it is unusable. You will not be able to have a stable, reliable FreeNAS with this hardware.

View attachment 25294

I was afraid you were going to say that. Guess I'll have to start saving up for dedicated hardware. At least I can use the two 8TB drives in a NAS enclosure. Do you have any recommended NAS boxes?

 

[Chris Moore]

I was afraid you were going to say that. Guess I'll have to start saving up for dedicated hardware. At least I can use the two 8TB drives in a NAS enclosure. Do you have any recommended NAS boxes?

There are so many options. If you just want to have the two 8TB drives in a mirror, and you want to start with something ready-made that isn't terribly expensive, you can get one of these systems and upgrade it with an additional 4GB of memory:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5173247&Sku=13888996
We have several forum members that have started with one like this and they are, as I understand it, quite reliable.

You can also pickup a system from eBay that would do about the same, such as this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Preci...2-8ghz-12GB-DVDRW-500GB-HD-FX580/253732553713
Only $120 and I used one like it for a couple years before upgrading to a better system. You can throw out the DVD drive and put hard drive adapters in those bays to fit up to six drives in it. If you are going to do that I suggest also investing in a SAS controller to connect the drives to the system:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...de-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-6Gbps-SAS-HBA/253822062505
The SAS controller can run as many as 256 hard drives using SAS expanders, but you can directly connect up to eight using these simple cables:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-M...-Forward-Breakout-Internal-Cable/371681252206

 

[Chris Moore]

I was afraid you were going to say that.

The USB attached data drives was the big problem, just to be clear. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[Dom93950]

There are so many options. If you just want to have the two 8TB drives in a mirror, and you want to start with something ready-made that isn't terribly expensive, you can get one of these systems and upgrade it with an additional 4GB of memory:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5173247&Sku=13888996
We have several forum members that have started with one like this and they are, as I understand it, quite reliable.

You can also pickup a system from eBay that would do about the same, such as this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Preci...2-8ghz-12GB-DVDRW-500GB-HD-FX580/253732553713
Only $120 and I used one like it for a couple years before upgrading to a better system. You can throw out the DVD drive and put hard drive adapters in those bays to fit up to six drives in it. If you are going to do that I suggest also investing in a SAS controller to connect the drives to the system:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H310-...de-for-ZFS-FreeNAS-6Gbps-SAS-HBA/253822062505
The SAS controller can run as many as 256 hard drives using SAS expanders, but you can directly connect up to eight using these simple cables:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-M...-Forward-Breakout-Internal-Cable/371681252206

Chris, thanks for all the helpful advice. You've given me a lot to think about and research before setting up a FreeNAS server!