Calibre server stability?

[mact]

Finally got Calibre server open on an old mac mini (for which I had no other use) after having fun learning how to open the port on an AT&T Uverse router/modem.

Anyway. It was up. Could get into it from my tablets and phones no problem. Yesterday. Left the mini and Calibre running. Today none of my android devices can access it. Yet if I go into the mini (either via VNC or direct) and "test" the server it comes out just fine.

But it still generates error on the android devices.

The ip address is unchanged (or else the VNC would not work, no?<G>) And the port is still open on the router.

what's up?

[chaley]

My guess is that you don't have a fixed IP address and the ip address changed. Changes to dynamic addresses often happen overnight.

If I am right then you will need to either get a fixed IP address or set up a dynamic DNS domain name. The former is between you and your ISP. The latter depends on whether your router supports dynamic DNS, and if so which one(s). It probably supports dyndns. There are many posts in the calibre forums about using dyndns. See http://dyn.com/dns/dyndns-pro-free-trial/. You can get one hostname for free.

If you have a static IP address from your ISP then you might have a dynamic address for your mac. If so, then port forwarding will break when the internal IP address changes. The solution: give it a fixed IP address, probably best done using a static DHCP lease in the router.

Isn't networking fun?

[mact]

Nope.

As I said in the OP, the IP address is unchanged, otherwise SMB connection and VNC would not work. And they do.

Actually the IPs on my network, although "dynamic," have stayed pretty much the same for a year or more

[chaley]

Originally Posted by mact

Nope.

As I said in the OP, the IP address is unchanged, otherwise SMB connection and VNC would not work. And they do.

You really allow SMB connections from the internet?

You said you had to open a port, so connections would be coming into your net from outside. The IP address that is probably changing is the one for the internet-facing side of your router. Certainly using calibre's test wouldn't detect that, and neither would VNC if run from inside your net.

I have a calibre server that has run for weeks at a time with no problems. This argues that there is something in your network configuration that is causing the problem. Alternatively, I am lucky, which is possible.

[GRiker]

I run calibre server 24/7 on a Mac mini with a dynamic ip. I use a dyndns host name so I can get to it from wherever I am. I haven't had any problems with it.

G

[mact]

I also use DHCP

Problem of stability solved.

It was the butler what done it!<G>

Drive where catalog was kept was in a dock connected to USB port in the old (2006) mini. Somehow it wasn't seated properly, and repeated efforts to reseat it didn't work, a fact noted after other network related things were screwy as well. Pulled that drive and put in another for the mini's use, re-established catalog. All is well, no issues at all after several days.

The "pulled" drive is happily working away, reliably, in a similar dock connected to a win7box.