This chapter covers general troubleshooting steps to take if something goes wrong in RealProxy.
If you encounter problems when running RealProxy, you can narrow down the problem with the following tasks:
These steps are good ones to check whenever you have trouble with any RealProxy features.
When you started RealProxy, were there any error messages? If so, look up the message in the index of this document.
There are several possible causes of RealProxy not starting:
RMServer in the list; the word "Started" in the Status field indicates that it's running.
"Error - RTSP proxy not licensed for use. Either no license key exists, or the license key present is invalid."
"Error - PNA proxy not licensed for use. Either no license key exists, or the license key present is invalid."
IPBindings section, or change it to use the single 0.0.0.0 address.
To bind to an address, open the configuration file in a text editor. If this is a new installation of RealProxy, and the configuration file has not been customized, you will need to add the following text to the configuration file. The configuration file is named rmserver.cfg, and is located in the RealProxy main directory. Add this text to the end of the file:
<List Name="IPBindings">
<Var Address_01="0.0.0.0"/>
</List>
The address 0.0.0.0 binds RealProxy to all IP addresses available on this machine. You can substitute the machine's actual address, instead. Note that if you bind to an actual address, you must also bind to the loopback address (127.0.0.1).
Use the appropriate method for your operating system:
ipconfig.
ifconfig.
Rather than remaining visible, the window closes if RealProxy encounters an error. Use the following steps to find out what the error is:
Bin directory.
Bin\rmserver rmserver.cfg
RealProxy will attempt to start, and any error messages will appear on screen. The most frequent causes of this type of problem are an expired license or conflicting port use.
Also, compare your system date to the Issue and Expire date shown on the About page of RealSystem Administrator, and make sure your system date is accurate.
If your license files have expired, RealProxy runs with minimal settings. See "License Information" for a list of the features that are always available. Contact RealNetworks or your reseller to purchase an updated license.
RealProxy's error log (a text file named proxy.log or proxy, and located in the Logs directory) may contain a message describing the nature of the problem.
If there are any obstacles in the route that RealSystem packets take as they move through the network, RealProxy may not be able to contact other RealSystem components, such as RealPlayers and RealServers.
There are two general areas to check:
Before investigating any client-to-RealProxy issues, be sure the RealProxy-to-RealServer connections are working properly.
On the RealProxy machine, use the method described in "Using TELNET to Test Connections" to ensure that the connection between RealProxy and RealServer is clear.
On the RealProxy machine, use the method described in "Using TELNET to Test Connections" to ensure that the connection between the client and RealProxy is clear.
Instructions in this section describe how to use the TELNET program to determine whether a TCP connection exists between two computers. This information is often the first step in figuring out where the problem lies.
If the TELNET program is able to make a successful connection between computers, the problem is not a routing one. Use the troubleshooting guidelines in this chapter to work out a solution.
If the program is not able to make a successful connection, the problem is either a simple configuration issue on the other computer, or it may be a network routing problem.
telnet> prompt, type the following command:
telnet>open realproxy.example.com port
realproxy.example.com is the name of the machine on which RealProxy is running
port is either of the ports below:
| Port | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 554 | RTSP proxy requests |
| 1090 | PNA proxy requests |
telnet> prompt, type the following command:
telnet>open realserver.example.com port
realproxy.example.com is the name of the machine on which RealProxy is running
port is the number of the port number you are testing.
Be sure that client software is configured to connect to RealProxy. Refer to Chapter 5, "Connecting Clients to RealProxy".
Read further in this chapter for help with specific features.
Others in your organization may have information you need, such as available port numbers, or information on bandwidth restrictions.
rmserver.cfg and is located in the main RealProxy directory, and search the file for AdminPort.
<Var AdminPort="7845"/>
address and the number you found for AdminPort in the previous step:
http://address:AdminPort/admin/index.html
When you install RealProxy, the setup program asks you for a user name and a password. It uses these for RealSystem Administrator and for any content creators who use G2 encoding software to send material to your RealProxy.
If you can't remember your password, you must reinstall RealProxy, or contact RealNetworks Technical Support department (see "Contacting RealNetworks Technical Support").
Javascript errors are usually due to an older browser version or the wrong version of RealProxy for your operating system. RealSystem Administrator is designed to run with Netscape 4.06 or higher, and Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher.
Steps involved in troubleshooting pull splitting fall into two general areas:
If pull splitting is disabled on the transmitter RealProxy, your RealProxy will not be able to serve the clip via pull splitting. It will use passthrough mode for that clip.
Before investigating any RealProxy-to-client issues, be sure the transmitter-to-RealProxy connections are working properly.
Problems with splitting may be related to:
You can test the connection by connecting a client to the transmitter RealServer to make sure the clip exists and is being broadcasted; use a client from a machine that is not routed through RealProxy.
Make sure that RealProxy can receive a regular unicast from the transmitter RealServer. If unicasting is not working, splitting will not work, either.
Make certain there aren't any access control rules on RealProxy that prohibit the client from receiving any broadcast or stream.
If RealProxy is using multicast to distribute the split broadcast inside the network, look for multicast user list rules that insist that the client receive the broadcast in multicast mode. If the client is not configured for multicast reception, it will not be able to receive the broadcast.
Messages that contain the phrase "bit save" refer to pull splitting.
Before setting up multicasting, two conditions must exist:
If these two conditions have been met, use the following information to troubleshoot this feature.
Steps in troubleshooting multicasting fall into two areas:
The following error messages, appearing in the error log, indicate either that you have configured a back-channel multicast in RealSystem Administrator with Delivery Only set to Yes (DeliveryOnly=True in the configuration file):
The message "Error in creating Back-channel multicast session. Please increase the AddressRange configuration variable." indicates that RealProxy needs more multicast addresses in order to broadcast in back-channel multicast mode. In RealSystem Administrator, use a larger range in the IP Address Range boxes.
If you configure back-channel multicast by editing the configuration file directly, you may inadvertently omit required sections. Without a ControlList section, multicasting will not work. Add it, using the format shown in "Multicasting Configuration Elements", or use RealSystem Administrator to set up the Client Access List. The error message that appears if this section is missing is:
If you make changes to the multicasting section of the configuration file, and you make those changes incorrectly, the following error messages may appear in the error log:
Use RealSystem Administrator to configure multicasting. You may need to check with your network administrator to find out the correct address range to use for your network.
Try to play the clip from the same system on which RealProxy is installed.
Problems with multicasting may be related to:
In addition to the required rules, make sure you have at least three rules, so that you can continue to connect to RealSystem Administrator, as described in"Creating Rules" .
The first rule to create is always the rule that allows you to access RealSystem Administrator! If you create another rule first, and lock yourself out of RealSystem Administrator, you will need to edit the configuration file, remove the rule manually, and then restart RealProxy. See "Access Control" for a guide on what to look for in the configuration file.
If you receive the message, "Invalid player IP Address", it is because this RealProxy is configured with access rules that prevent clients from certain IP addresses from playing content. The client that tried to request content is excluded via access rules. Access rules are described in Chapter 9, "Limiting Access to RealProxy".
If you edit the configuration file directly to configure this feature, you risk accidentally deleting a key section. If you delete the cache mount point information, the following error message appears:
Set up the cache information using RealSystem Administrator.
This feature is described in Chapter 10, "Proxy Routing".
Make certain that only the child RealProxy has been configured. The parent RealProxy receives the child's requests automatically, and requires no settings to do this. If the parent has been configured to send its requests to another RealProxy, and no such RealProxy is available, clients will display error messages.
If only some requests are being honored, and you have checked that the parent RealProxy has not been configured at all, make sure the child's list of rules includes a broad rule that handles all requests not specified in the other rules.
If you have followed the troubleshooting tips in this chapter and have not been able to solve the problem, check the RealNetworks Knowledge Base for help. The Knowledge Base contains solutions to many problems not covered here:
For technical support with RealSystem, please fill out the form at:
The information you provide in this form will help technical support personnel to give you a prompt response. For general information about RealNetworks' technical support, visit:
In addition asking for a detailed description of the problem you are experiencing, support technicians will want to know the information shown in the following form.
 |
Note |
|---|
| Space for noting information about RealServer is included for those customers who are also running RealServer on their networks. |
| RealProxy | RealServer | |
|---|---|---|
| Information About Your Software | ||
| Exact Server version (see "Determining the RealProxy Version") | 8._._._ _ _ | 8._._._ _ _ |
| Information About Your System | ||
| Operating system | ||
| Processor type and speed | ||
| Available RAM | ||
| Port numbers | ||
| Type of connection to the Internet | ||
| Is there a Web server on this system? | ||
| Information About Other Software | ||
| Client software version | ||
| Encoding software version | ||
| Information About the Problem | ||
| Exact text of error message (if any): | ||
| How are you delivering content—are you streaming on-demand clips or broadcasting live clips? | ||
| To how many clients are you streaming simultaneously? | ||
| If the problem is with a certain feature, when was the last time it worked correctly? What has changed? | ||
| Are there any related problems? | ||
| What features are you using? | ||
| What troubleshooting steps have you already tried? | ||
There are two methods for finding the exact version of RealProxy you are running.
At a command prompt, navigate to the Bin directory, and type the following:
rmserver -v
The version number appears, in the form 8.x.x.xxx, where x varies according to your operating system.
In RealSystem Administrator, click About.
A new browser window appears, with information about your Server.
The version number can vary according to the operating system you use. If you are contacting the RealNetworks Technical Support department for assistance, it is important that they know the exact version you have.
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Note |
|---|
| If you are also using a RealServer, these same steps can be used to determine the version of RealServer. |