How to tune for wifi dropouts to prevent reconnections? #1135

curiousercreative · 2023-05-21T00:39:13Z

curiousercreative
May 21, 2023

Hi all, snapcast works fantastically for two of my three clients: one running on the same Linux host and another running the Android client on the wired network. My third client has been a struggle though: a Linux client connected by ethernet to an Airport Express functioning as a wireless bridge. Running iperf3, I can observe frequent dropouts lasting 1-2 seconds. I'm aware of some improvements that can be made with positioning and running cables, etc but I'm hoping the community may have guidance in two other directions:

Is there any obvious Linux network tuning that I should explore? Is there any way to make Linux aware that despite being connected via ethernet, it's actually subject to a wireless hop?

Is there any snapserver or snapclient configuration that can help here? Increasing the server buffer configuration seems to help mitigate some dropouts, but what I'm seeing is a loss of connection with the snapserver rather than just an empty client buffer. Here's what the logs look like and unfortunately, the longer the server buffer value, the longer it takes for the client to start playing again (because it's filling its buffer). Is there a tuning for how many retries for a request or how long before timing out? My dropouts only last a second or two, so the client's buffer should cover it if weren't for the loss of connection.

2023-05-20 20-21-55.486 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-21-55.487 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-21-55.488 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-21-55.489 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-21-55.489 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-21-55.489 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-21-55.714 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-21-55.715 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-21-55.716 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-21-56.410 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-22-05.724 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-22-05.785 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message header of length 0: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-22-06.785 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-06.786 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-22-07.816 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-07.816 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-22-07.841 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-22-07.843 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-07.844 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-07.844 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-07.845 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-07.845 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-22-08.070 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-22-08.072 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-22-08.072 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-22-08.691 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-22-23.239 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-22-23.299 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 1059: Bad file descriptor
2023-05-20 20-22-24.299 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-24.299 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-22-24.312 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-24.312 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-22-24.328 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-22-24.329 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-24.329 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-24.329 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-24.329 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-24.329 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-22-24.554 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-22-24.554 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-22-24.554 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-22-25.058 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-22-44.453 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-22-44.482 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 0: Bad file descriptor
2023-05-20 20-22-45.482 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-45.482 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-22-46.557 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-46.558 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-22-46.667 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-22-46.668 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-46.668 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-46.669 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-46.670 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-46.670 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-22-46.894 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-22-46.895 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-22-46.895 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-22-48.900 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-22-48.942 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 671: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-22-49.943 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-49.943 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-22-49.949 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-49.949 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-22-49.966 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-22-49.971 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-49.971 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-49.972 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-49.972 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-49.972 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-22-50.198 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-22-50.199 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-22-50.199 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-22-52.801 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-22-52.866 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message header of length 0: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-22-53.867 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-53.867 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-22-56.918 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-22-56.919 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-22-56.940 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-22-56.941 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-56.942 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-56.942 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-22-56.942 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-22-56.942 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-22-57.166 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-22-57.167 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-22-57.168 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-22-58.622 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-23-14.339 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-23-14.403 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message header of length 0: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-23-15.405 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-15.405 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-23-16.730 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-16.730 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-23-16.751 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-23-16.751 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-16.752 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-16.752 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-16.752 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-16.753 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-23-16.978 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-23-16.979 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-23-16.979 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-23-17.693 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-23-38.184 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-23-38.227 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message header of length 0: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-23-39.227 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-39.227 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-23-39.249 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-39.249 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-23-39.277 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-23-39.278 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-39.279 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-39.279 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-39.279 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-39.279 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-23-39.502 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-23-39.502 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-23-39.502 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-23-40.078 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-23-58.467 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-23-58.512 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 2870: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-23-59.513 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-59.513 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-23-59.519 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-23-59.519 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-23-59.546 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-23-59.549 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-59.550 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-59.550 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-23-59.550 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-23-59.550 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-23-59.775 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-23-59.776 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-23-59.776 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-24-01.877 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-24-01.905 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 2870: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-24-02.905 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-24-02.905 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-24-02.947 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-24-02.948 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-24-02.966 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-24-02.967 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-24-02.967 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-24-02.967 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-24-02.968 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-24-02.968 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-24-03.194 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-24-03.195 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-24-03.195 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-24-03.835 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07
2023-05-20 20-24-23.356 [Error] (Controller) Time sync request failed: Operation timed out
2023-05-20 20-24-23.385 [Error] (Connection) Error reading message body of length 1708: Operation canceled
2023-05-20 20-24-24.385 [Info] (Connection) Resolving host IP for: 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-24-24.386 [Info] (Connection) Connecting
2023-05-20 20-24-24.471 [Notice] (Connection) Connected to 10.0.0.101
2023-05-20 20-24-24.471 [Info] (Connection) My MAC: "02:42:ac:1b:00:02", socket: 7
2023-05-20 20-24-24.593 [Info] (Controller) ServerSettings - buffer: 10000, latency: 0, volume: 12, muted: 0
2023-05-20 20-24-24.594 [Info] (Controller) Codec: flac, sampleformat: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-24-24.594 [Info] (Player) Player name: alsa, device: hw:CARD=Analog, description: <none>, idx: -1, sharing mode: unspecified, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-24-24.594 [Info] (Player) Mixer mode: software, parameters: <none>
2023-05-20 20-24-24.595 [Info] (Player) Sampleformat: 44100:16:0, stream: 44100:16:2
2023-05-20 20-24-24.595 [Info] (Alsa) Using default buffer_time: 80 ms, default fragments: 4
2023-05-20 20-24-24.818 [Info] (Alsa) PCM name: hw:CARD=Analog, sample rate: 44100 Hz, channels: 2, buffer time: 80000 us, periods: 4, period time: 20000 us, period frames: 882
2023-05-20 20-24-24.818 [Info] (Stream) No chunks available
2023-05-20 20-24-24.819 [Info] (Alsa) Failed to get chunk
2023-05-20 20-24-25.607 [Info] (Controller) diff to server [ms]: -3.0194e+07

kingosticks · 2023-05-22T08:11:05Z

kingosticks
May 22, 2023

You should fix your network. A working LAN should not suffer from dropouts like that. Trying to work around fundamental problems at higher levels is the wrong approach. Perhaps there's something periodically running on the bridge that's causing problems? I'm not familiar with that hardware.

3 replies

curiousercreative May 22, 2023
Author

Thanks for the reply and I do agree, but what is the threshold for a working LAN when wireless is involved? Absolute zero lost packets? I live in NYC, in a busy apartment building on a busy block. Prior to this snapcast client install, I would have told you this WiFi extension was very stable. If I ran a standard ping test, I might not see a dropped packet over an hour, but running iperf at 1Mbit bandwidth for an hour shows a packet dropping every 10-15 minutes, but not enough to affect the bandwidth for the one second interval typically. In such cases, my snapcast client connection is lost resulting in a seconds long audio dropout (however long the server buffer is). Is this expected? We're not talking about a network dropout where all packets get lost for a three second interval.

I ask because I read in older discussions that setting a high value for server buffer can compensate for network instability, but I see it offers no benefit in my case and actually results in the same frequency of dropouts, but longer.

curiousercreative May 22, 2023
Author

Here's 3 minutes of sending 1000byte ping every 25ms to the snapclient host

kingosticks May 22, 2023

I must have misunderstood, I thought you were saying your Wireless connection was disappearing for multiple seconds.

A small amount of packet loss should be fine. And as you say, it's unavoidable in built-up areas. Must be something else going on.

Provide feedback

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How to tune for wifi dropouts to prevent reconnections? #1135

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How to tune for wifi dropouts to prevent reconnections? #1135

curiousercreative May 21, 2023

Replies: 1 comment · 3 replies

kingosticks May 22, 2023

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