I am frequently getting the “Waiting for Remote Core” error when trying to use Roon Remote on iOS and Mac OS X devices to connect to my Nucleus.
I have an enterprise grade network based on Cisco Meraki equipment that was configured by an IT professional to allow me to work and conduct virtual meetings from home.
Based on advice received through the Roon community, I have disabled IGMP snooping on my switch, but this has still not resolved the problem (I have listed further details on my network configuration below).
I can access the Nucleus Web Administration Interface without any problems.
Rebooting the Nucleus through the Web Administration Interface seems to improve Remote to Core discovery temporarily, but the problem quickly recurs.
I have opened a Meraki support case on this issue, and after having me do basic troubleshooting (ping, etc.) they have requested the following information:
As the devices can ping each other that means there is L3 connectivity. Do you know what is the protocol or port that the Core Roon Nucleus computer uses for the device discovery? We can help you check if there is TCP or UDP traffic on an specific port.
The Meraki browser interface enables a high level of customization of my network settings, so I am hopeful that if I am given the relevant information on the protocol or port that Roon uses for Remote to Core discovery I can work with Meraki support and/or my network installer to configure my network to work properly with Roon.
Can someone in the Community or in Roon Support provide answers to the questions posed by Meraki on the protocol or port that Roon uses for Remote to Core discovery? Alternatively, is there anyone else using Meraki equipment with Roon who has found a fix for this problem?
Here is more information on my network setup:
Nucleus and all Roon endpoints connected via wired ethernet to a dedicated AV vlan
Meraki MX100 firewall, Meraki MS250-48LP and MS125-24P switches
Meraki MR45 WiFi 6 access points
Layer 3 firewall rules - Policy set to Allow on both switch and WAPs
Bonjour Gateway enabled on wifi network to the AV vlan
Not sure if I have Roon Support to thank for this, but the Remote to Core discovery issues that I was experiencing seem to have resolved themselves over the past couple of days. I have tried the Roon Remote app on both iOS and Mac OS X devices, and am able to connect with minimal delay.
The best thing you can do is remove complexity and build it back up until the point it breaks. This firewall has a somewhat complex set of knobs which can be turned. A few of those knobs enable “intelligence” by trying to automagically tune and/or protect the network in a dynamic way. This requires the network is properly modeled and that model is part of the firewall configuration. Of course, I’m guessing here as there isn’t nearly enough information to diagnose why the discovery becomes unstable. If I was walking in to diagnose this I’d start with drawing out the network (requires full set of configuration) and then looking through the logs to identify what the devices were trying to be “intelligent” about.
As far as what transport and port is needed? It’s not entirely straight forward:
This is why its best, and most reliable, to not put any kind of firewall, filtering, shaping, or other intelligence between Roon Core, Remote, Zones, etc.
Oh… and I guess I should mention the obvious…
How many Wifi networks do you have that the iOS device knows about? When you have this issue is the device on the right Wifi network?
My installers finally replaced the NAD CI 580 players that were giving me so much trouble with Roon with other single zone devices, and the good news is that now I can use Roon to control all of my zones.
The bad news is that I am getting the Remote to Core discovery problems again on multiple devices. My wife is also now starting to use Roon since the hardware was swapped out, and she is also having problems with her devices.
I just rebooted all of my network equipment and my Nucleus, and it has not helped.
Quick update. Just spent some time on the phone with Meraki support who remotely captured the communication between Nucleus and remote devices. UDP queries sent from remotes to Nucleus were not getting a response. Remotes were connected to WAPs on one vlan while Nucleus is on a separate AV vlan, so even with Bonjour rules enabled on the firewall remote to core discovery was erratic. Changed Nucleus to same vlan as WAP, and remote to core discovery was instantaneous, but I lost connectivity with Roon Ready devices on the AV vlan.
I see a note from Roon Tech Support from 2018 that says the following:
“Yes, Roon does not work across multiple VLANs so all Roon gear (Core + Remotes + Endpoints) must be on the same VLAN to work properly.”
Can you confirm whether it is possible to configure the network so that either 1) remotes are on a different vlan as Nucleus/Roon Ready devices, or 2) remotes and core are on same vlan different from Roon Ready devices?
Roon does not support crossing VLANs at all. It’s discovery of audio devices will not work. You can get it to work with advanced network configuration as some users have but it is not supported in any way and is in the class of tinkering not support.
I completely understand why crossing vlans is not advisable between Core and Roon Ready devices, which should be easy to solve when configuring a network, but it is a serious limitation if Roon remotes connected to wifi have to be on the same vlan as well, which I can now see is required for optimal performance of Remote to Core Discovery.
I am not a networking expert, but many other services seem to be able to take advantage of Bonjour and other protocols to enable more flexible connectivity. Now that enterprise networks are required in connected homes, maybe Roon risks shutting itself out of a large part of the target market for many Roon Ready brands if it cannot become more compatible with managed networks?
Separately, nowhere in the Roon Networking Best Practices support note section on Managed Switches is there specific direction on not crossing vlans, particularly between Roon Remotes and the Roon Core. Making this clear up front would save Roon users with managed networks such as myself much time and aggravation.