1

I want to access my media files from anywhere on the world, so I thought I could set up some UPnP/DLNA server, add media files to it, then access these files from any UPnP/DLNA-capable device.

Therefore, I have installed MiniDLNA / ReadyMedia on my public Internet-reachable Ubuntu 16.04 machine, which is available under the domain name example.com. I have also opened TCP port 8200 and UDP port 1900 on that machine - basically I followed the steps in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MiniDLNA .

I can visit MiniDLNA's web interface from any client by visitng http://example.com:8200.

Now I would like to access the UPnP / DLNA service with some client, e.g. VLC on my Windows machine or Android smartphone.

But when pointing any of these clients to example.com, http://example.com, http://example.com:1900, or http://example.com:8200, they don't show anything.

Abdull
  • 502

2 Answers2

2

In the meantime, I came to the conclusion my setup is not working because port 1900 is used for IP multicasting with the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP). Clients (e. g. VLC) send out discovery requests to multicast address 239.255.255.250, which is not routed on the public Internet. VPNs based on OpenVPN currently do not handle multicasts out of the box, unfortunately. Yet, there is a possible solution to this in the form of an additional daemon.

Abdull
  • 502
1

DLNA services work on local networks, so you will not be able to connect to it directly. One think that you could try is to set up a VPN connection to your home/local network.

Peter Ark
  • 463
  • 1
    Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! I recommend to [edit] this answer to expand it with specific details about how to do this. (See also How do I write a good answer? for general advice about what sorts of answers are considered most valuable on AskUbuntu.) – David Foerster Apr 23 '17 at 10:49
  • In the meantime, I came to the conclusion my setup is not working because port 1900 is used for IP multicasting with the Simple Service Discovery Protocol. Clients (e. g. VLC) send out discovery requests to multicast address 239.255.255.250, which is not routed on the public Internet. VPNs based on OpenVPN currently do not handle multicasts out of the box, unfortunately. – Abdull Apr 23 '17 at 20:40
  • @Abdull Can you post that as an answer to your own question? – Fabby Apr 24 '17 at 06:48
  • @Fabby, thanks, I gave an answer in expanded form... it's an ongoing project for me to get DLNA working via VPN, so expect an updated answer once I get it working. – Abdull Apr 24 '17 at 10:53