· Roon client will start and display the Roon devices running on the network. I am able to see the Nucleus (registered to my coworker) and the Salk StreamPlayer (which I am trying to register to myself). I can also see this MacBook as a Roon device. When I click "Connect" on any of these devices, the Roon client will load for what seems to be forever. I have waited up to 30 minutes and found no change in the loading state. I have tried re-installing the roon client, and found the same behavior to persist. I have tried to delete the database folders as outlined here (https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/database-location#macOS). There is no such folder named "Roon" or "roonlibrary" on this computer. Does this mean the Roon client has not been installed correctly?
Tell us about your home network
· Nucleus + the SPlayer in question are both wired to TP-Link powered switches, connected to our TP-Link Omada ER7206 router. No VPNs are used.
Based on logs, a reinstall of the GUI shouldn’t be required here. The TCP connection between Roon Server and client seems to be interrupted.
However, both the control layer and audio transport layer are struggling on this network. Roon Server has logged device discovery announcements from clients and endpoints, but either can’t handshake or can’t sustain a TCP connection long enough to send data reliably.
Dropouts are accumulating when Roon sends tracks to the streamer, eventually overwhelming the buffer.
What is the specific network pathway between the Nucleus and the Mac you’re using a controller? We’d like to pull diagnostic logging from the Roon Remote instance on the Mac itself, but we see a few MacOS instances in this environment in our diagnostic servers. Are you able to specify the name of the machine in Roon you’re using as a client/GUI here?
We’ll watch for your response and proceed from there. Thank you!
Thanks for your quick reply. Yes, there’s a handful of other devices on the network here that I’m sure make it a bit strange on logs. The computer that I am working on is hostname Noras-MacBook-Air-2.local and MAC address of 50:ED:3C:0A:62:69. This Mac is connected to the network via a wired ethernet connection. Just let me know if there’s any other information you need from me.
Thanks for clarifying. Diagnostic logs from the server show that particular Macbook connecting to Roon Server via two alternating IP network interfaces, probably the WiFI and ethernet interfaces on the laptop.
Are you closing the lid of this machine or allowing it to sleep between attempts to connect?
If so, it’s plausible that when the Mac flips its IP, the server ends up dialing the stale address.
Please try disabling all the network interfaces except the Ethernet interface. We’ll check logs after this quick test and follow up promptly from there. Thank you!
I have not been closing the lid between attempts, the laptop sits on a stand open for most of the day. I have tried disabling Wi-Fi and running only on the ethernet connection, and found the condition to be the same.
I was able to get into the Nucleus yesterday and activate it on my account, using Wi-Fi at that time. I attempted to deactivate that device today so that I could try activating the Salk StreamPlayer with this account, and after clicking “log out” in the Nucleus’ gui I have been returned to eternal loading screens when I try and open either device, again.
I will leave my laptop with Wi-Fi off and disable screensaver/auto sleep to keep it awake. Let me know if there is anything else you think I should try. Thanks for your help thus far
I wanted to let you know I was able to get into the Salk StreamPlayer today and activate that as a Roon device on my account. To avoid switching too many variables, I have not tried to re-activate the Nucleus yet.
I am mostly curious what you think we could do differently as to not cause this issue in the future. Would reducing the amount of audio devices active on the Nucleus help the situation?
Wondering if you’ve had a chance to check the logs. This morning, I am again met with an eternal loading screen when trying to get into the Nucleus using the Roon app on this computer. It was working yesterday, and today I’m unable to access the Roon app in any way. Would love some help coming up with a solution here- we’d really like to have this Nucleus online and functional!
Thanks for the updates. We’re unfortunatly unable to request an auto-diagnostic report from the Nucleus, if you could then please use the directions found here and send over a set of Roon Server logs to our File Uploader? Once logs have been uploaded, please let us know so that we can check the server for your files, thanks!
I have uploaded the RoonServer file to the Zoho drive. It is a 1.9gb zipped folder, still titled RoonServer. Let me know if there is anything else you need from me.
Thanks for the follow-up! We’re actually not seeing any uploaded logs on our end, could you please retry?
It’s also worth noting htat 1.9GB seems very large for a zipped up log folder. Can you confirm you’re only copying +zipping your Roon Server Logs folder?
Thanks for getting those logs over, and for your patience while we dug in. This gave us a much clearer picture, and the short version is: the client software is fine. What we’re seeing is network-level instability that keeps breaking the connection between your client and Roon Server before it can finish loading.
A few specifics from the logs:
Your MacBook is showing up on three different IP addresses (192.168.0.199, .94, and .96), several machines on this network are flipping between addresses (for example, one endpoint is bouncing between .234 and .235 constantly). When an address changes underneath an active connection, Roon Server keeps trying to reach the old one, and the control connection that loads your library gets dropped mid-handshake. That’s the “eternal loading” you’re seeing. It also explains why it works one day and not the next, it depends on which address things land on.
We’re also seeing the Nucleus itself intermittently lose its path to the internet/gateway, which points to something on the router or switching side rather than any one computer.
Here’s what we’d suggest, roughly in order:
One network interface per machine. On your MacBook, fully turn Wi-Fi off (not just deprioritized) so it runs on Ethernet only. Any other Mac used as a Roon controller should do the same, no machine should have both Wi-Fi and Ethernet active at once.
Reserve static IPs on the Omada ER7206. Assign DHCP reservations for the Nucleus, the Salk StreamPlayer, and the Mac(s) you use to control Roon, and increase the DHCP lease time. This stops the addresses from shuffling around, which is the core of the problem.
Check the Nucleus's connection. Since the Nucleus periodically loses its gateway, try a different switch port and cable for it, and confirm it's on a reserved address.
In the Omada controller, confirm IGMP snooping is configured sensibly (Roon uses multicast to discover devices) and make sure there isn't a second DHCP server on the network handing out addresses.
Once you've set the static reservations and dropped each machine to a single interface, give it a try and let us know how it goes, we'll pull fresh logs and confirm things have settled. Thanks again!
Thanks for that helpful information. I had figured it was likely due to some way we had these multiple computers set up. Let me get with the other folks in the building and make these network changes. I’ll reach back out once we’ve made those changes and upload the fresh set of logs.
I’ve turned off Wi-Fi on any computers here that are also connected via Ethernet. I have set the static IP of the Nucleus and confirmed IGMP is enabled on the router and the Nucleus’ IP is reserved on the router. I have moved the Nucleus to a different port on the switch as you suggested.
The Nucleus appears to be stable, it has been behaving normally for all of yesterday and so far today. Would you be able to pull logs now and confirm things have settled?
