Need some Channels networking advice

I replaced my pfsense router with new hardware and I used Opnsense. That is all working great. my problem now is Channels refuses to open any m3u source

Background
I have a standalone Ubuntu Linux Channels server 192.168.12.29.
I have an Ubuntu Linux Docker server 192.168.12.41 (houses my m3u dockers and some additional Channels Servers)

Channels will not pull anything from the docker server. If I go to a terminal prompt and use curl however it works fine. So I know that there is communication between the 2 servers plus they are in the same subnet so the new router shouldn't make any difference. i rebooted the servers, switch, router etc.

For troubleshooting I installed an Ubuntu VM on my ESXi server (192.168.12.31) and installed Channels. I configured one of my docker sources (mlb) (192.168.12.41) and channels played it perfectly without issue.

I then went into my docker server and took one of my Channels Dockers and verified that it could talk to an m3u container, no issues.

I plugged a USB nic into my standalone Channel server and used it to connect to the docker m3u container, that failed as well.

The common point is my standalone Channels server I know that for sure, i just cant figure out why... i'm pulling what little hair I have out right now so I'm open to any suggestions.

I could (and this is what i am leaning to) just restore my channels instance to my docker server. Moving the internal ssd as well as the 4 bay external HD enclosure is going to be annoying, plus I really would like to understand why this is happening.

Any help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated...

Channels logs (failure from standalone Channels server):
couldn't generate stream playlist for ch1000-dANY-ip192.168.254.228: M3U: Could not fetch playlist from 192.168.12.41:5714 (Timeout): Get "http://192.168.12.41:5714/mlb/stream.m3u8?teamId=120&resolution=best": context deadline exceeded

Curl command from standalone Channels server (success pulling m3u):

seth@channelsdvr:~$ curl http://192.168.12.32:5714/mlb/stream.m3u8?teamId=120&resolution=best
[1] 1642
 #EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:4
#EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS
#EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=AUDIO,GROUP-ID="program_audio",LANGUAGE="en",NAME="English",AUTOSELECT=YES,DEFAULT=YES,CHANNELS="2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/0"
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=1011762,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=950400,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=512x288,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_800K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=296326,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=281600,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=320x180,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_192K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=599915,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=565400,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=384x216,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_450K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=1402225,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=1320000,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=640x360,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_1200K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=2108246,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=1980000,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=896x504,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_1800K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=2931940,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=2750000,CODECS="avc1.4d401f,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=960x540,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_2500K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=4108643,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=3850000,CODECS="avc1.640028,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=1280x720,FRAME-RATE=29.970,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_3500K.m3u8
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:BANDWIDTH=6650120,AVERAGE-BANDWIDTH=6230400,CODECS="avc1.640029,mp4a.40.2",RESOLUTION=1280x720,FRAME-RATE=59.940,AUDIO="program_audio"
file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD_5600K.m3u8
#EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=AUDIO,LANGUAGE="en",NAME="Away Radio",AUTOSELECT=NO,DEFAULT=NO,CHANNELS="2",GROUP-ID="program_audio",URI="file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD-eng-a_64K.m3u8"
#EXT-X-MEDIA:TYPE=AUDIO,LANGUAGE="es",NAME="Visita Radio",AUTOSELECT=NO,DEFAULT=NO,CHANNELS="2",GROUP-ID="program_audio",URI="file?token=1724632295_MDB1bHk3Y3BkenZsNmZRcEkzNTY_YWxsb3dlZE1lZGlhVHlwZXM9QVVESU8sVklERU8_73d67b80a6ddcb6c3c6615f906ebf717fb5a89a383f6b1e108250bf0021fde38&url=https%3A//tv-fst.mlb.com/20240824/747077-AD-spa-a_64K.m3u8"

Firewall?
Gateway?

1 Like

New router is IP'd the same. But since it is in the same subnet they shouldn't be a factor

Huh? Those are two different IP addresses!

Oops what he said :point_up_2:

You are curling 12.32 but it appears channels is trying to connect to the m3u using 12.41.

Is the m3u setup with the wrong ip?

Sorry i switched it as a test. I put the container on a macvlan but i had the same result...

Ill update the logs after i run the test again but the result is the same as my description. Sorry i know that is confusing

Only other thing I can think of is maybe not all devices are using 255.255.0.0 as a netmask?
I would think the ones failing have it set at 255.255.255.0

I checked and they are all/24

I did another test. I tried to create a new temp m3u custom channel for frndly.

This is through the ui

invalid source url: Get "http://192.168.12.41:8183/playlist.m3u8?gracenote=exclude": context deadline exceeded

This is through curl on the same server.

Last login: Sat Aug 24 22:49:44 2024 from 192.168.254.228
seth@channelsdvr:~$ curl http://192.168.12.41:8183/playlist.m3u8?gracenote=exclude
#EXTM3U x-tvg-url="http://192.168.12.41:8183/epg.xml?gracenote=exclude"
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="frndly-53" tvg-id="frndly-53" tvg-logo="https://d229kpbsb5jevy.cloudfront.net/frndlytv/400/400/content/common/logos/channel/logos/omzaxy.png",Cowboy Way
http://192.168.12.41:8183/play/cowboy_way-53.m3u8
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="frndly-38" tvg-id="frndly-38" tvg-logo="https://d229kpbsb5jevy.cloudfront.net/frndlytv/400/400/content/common/logos/channel/logos/kgiodq.png",Dove Channel
http://192.168.12.41:8183/play/dove_channel-38.m3u8
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="frndly-41" tvg-id="frndly-41" tvg-logo="https://d229kpbsb5jevy.cloudfront.net/frndlytv/400/400/content/common/logos/channel/logos/yizbmj.png",Heartland TV - Dove Channel
http://192.168.12.41:8183/play/heartland-41.m3u8
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="frndly-50" tvg-id="frndly-50" tvg-logo="https://d229kpbsb5jevy.cloudfront.net/frndlytv/400/400/content/common/logos/channel/logos/agyfkb.png",Dove Family Movies
http://192.168.12.41:8183/play/dove_movies-50.m3u8
#EXTINF:-1 channel-id="frndly-49" tvg-id="frndly-49" tvg-logo="https://d229kpbsb5jevy.cloudfront.net/frndlytv/400/400/content/common/logos/channel/logos/hiumqv.png",Dove Kids
http://192.168.12.41:8183/play/dove_kids-49.m3u8

How is Channels DVR installed on it?
Does it have any other sources that actually work (HDHR Tuners, TVE, etc.)?

Its installed directly on the os, not though docker. Tve and hdhr work great. Its literally m3u sources on the same subnet and only through the channels service/ui. I tried pulling an m3u from another channels server outside of docker amd that failed too. Its gotta be something on the channels server, im baffled

OMG.... I figured it out. Tailscale... I was convinced it some something inside the channels UI so I began combing through every setting. I turned tailscale off (haven't used it lately) and then refreshed and m3u and the channel count went from 0 to 90. Everything works perfect now. Something about replacing my router (IP's stayed the same both internal and external) made Channels barf....

Wow!
In Channels DVR, or was it installed on Ubuntu Linux? https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/

I removed tailscale from all my machines ... instead installed OPENVPN on my router much better.

I have no problems using it installed on my NAS's, Windows laptop and iOS devices.
I long ago disabled the integrated tailscale on my Channels DVR servers and clients.

It was the integrated tailscale. I dont use it anymore but i left it turned on and forgot about it.

If you turn it back on does it break again?

@tmm1 I just turned it back on and the problem with the m3u resurfaced. So it looks pretty easy to repro.
Basically to trigger this I replaced my router and everything other than that stayed the same. Static public IP, internal subnet, etc. I rebooted all gear after I did it to clear out caches etc.
I submitted some logs from the server if that helps
82a79a56-58ff-4676-9e0e-35b4c50b7b1f

2024/08/25 16:18:34.220471 [ERR] Failed to start stream for ch955: M3U: Could not fetch playlist from 192.168.12.41:9999 (Timeout): Get "http://192.168.12.41:9999/stream.m3u8?team=MIL&mediaType=Video&resolution=720p60": context deadline exceeded

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