Using Pro 8 on OsX 10.9 VST connect works like a charm on one project but on another it
just keeps telling me the “server is not responding”.
The server is obviously working just fine, as i can connect to it from another project.
The Firewall is also not the problem, as i can connect to the server from another project.
(And i have manually open ports 51111-51113)
I am at the end of me and this is the second time I had to cancel my musician mid-session!!
This is very uncommon. Can you really repeat it?
This message only occurs when there is no internet connection at all. The only other possible cases are your firewall(s), but for the server connections usually they don’t even apply (and you even opened ports), or that the connection-server is down (which has never happened at all so far).
Of course, there may always be temporary one-time failures everywhere in the web. So the question is: is this really reproducible?
Yesterday I backed up a project, so it would be slightly more ‘clean and neat’.
Tried VST Connect, and it worked again.
Today, the same project, not working anymore.
I am typing this on the same computer, so the internet connection is fine.
Also, does anyone know if VST Connect PRO has been updated as well? Or just the SE version?
The SE version is very glitchy by the way. It even got stuck in a loop:
Spinning beach ball… Server not responding click ok…
Spinning beach ball… Server not responding click ok…
Spinning beach ball… Server not responding click ok…
Spinning beach ball… Server not responding click ok…
There is a possibility that the VST Connect port is blocked by
either a formerly started and not properly closed VST Connect (Cubase) or VST Connect Performer app.
Only a computer restart helps in this case.
another Application or background service is occupying the same port. Very unusual but not impossible.
Try to close all other apps - like the browser you are just typing this
The PRO update should be available very soon.
This is also very uncommon. The attempt to connect to the server is only started once when you click the button, it does not retry on its own. OTOH, if the port is actually occupied by some other process (or crashed ‘corpse’), this could cause strange results. We’ll look into this, but again, make sure nothing gets in the way when connecting to the server.
This issue has now hit me. Make no mistake - this issue is project specific. I, too, have a little VST Connect test project and it connects to the server just fine. This project doesn’t. I got in once - after a desperate string of opening the test project, hitting “Check or repair configuration,” etc., but Nuendo has been crashing a lot - latest versions on everything. Note that the “Check or repair configuration” option is often ghosted and not selectable.
Right now I’m down hard. Something is likely corrupted in the Nuendo project file that is causing this project not to be able to connect to the server. Same issue as Dafunque - exactly.
Very very frustrated - not just because of the bugs and quirks, but because of the great potential that this program has that is currently being obscured by issues.
In troubleshooting this issue, the following information would be very useful:
1 - What configuration-specific files get created when VST Connect Pro is installed and how do they change over time? For example, on my Mac, I found /Users//Library/Preferences/com.steinberg.VST Connect PRO.plist, which appears to have all the settings in it from the configuration screen.
2 - What VST Connect Pro settings get stored in the Cubase/Nuendo project file? This problem is project specific and so far has persisted even after removing/re-adding VST Connect Pro to a project, so there is likely something that is specific to the project that is getting corrupted.
3 - To expand on #2, is a project file permanently tainted with VST Connect Pro information if I ever enable it and save the project? I’m weighing recreating a big project manually because this bug hit me before I finished tracking with the remote performer.
4 - What fully-qualified Internet DNS name on what port(s) is being contacted by VST Connect Pro to get a valid project number when you click the login button? I could use an IP trace utility, but it would be easier to know from the source.
5 - There was a previous forum post named “how to uninstall VST Connect Pro 3” that covered manually deleting the VST plug-in file and executable bundle on the Mac. However, it did not cover how to delete configuration files (e.g. from point #1 above). How can I fully delete VST Connect Pro and reinstall from scratch? Can in be done without reinstalling the OS?
I would very much rather be making music right now and I’ll restate that the potential of VST Connect Pro is indeed great. However, I’ve found a lot of issues in just 1 week of use and would really like to see things improve. I am happy to provide any additional information to help the cause, particularly on this bug.
Totally understood, Dafunque. I’m pretty flexible with quirks and workarounds, but showstoppers are another thing.
Disregard #4 above. I did a quick TCP dump while trying to connect. vstconnect.steinberg.net is the fully-qualified name, port 51111 is used in my case and the IP address behind the name (194.6.195.159) is consistent on every request.
Dtrace is next to try to figure out where things are breaking down.
I looked it up once more.
The error string “Server not responding” is only ever exposed when the connection to the login server fails. This has nothing to do at all with the project. I assume the actual error is a different one. Are you really sure that this is the actual text provided to you in a message box?
And if a specific project fails, why not send it along (no audio files and the like needed).
Sure, if there is nothing to repair.
We try to help best we can and many users are successful every day, so help us to figure out how to improve. “Nuendo has been crashing a lot”…there is nothing we ever let through that we are aware of and that causes a crash. We need more info - prefereably any project that causes problems, reduced to whatever state where the problem still occurs.
That’s correct. It’s pretty human-readable, but I wouldn’t recommend to edit it. You might want to try to delete that file altogether, there isn’t much to reconfigure.
As explained before, the “Server not responding” case doesn’t look at the project or even know there is one. Also specific information in the project are pretty few and only related to HD files.
It’s almost nothing of concern and if it causes problems when using it without VST Connect I’d assume that the problem has nothing to do with VST Connect at all - in any case, let me repeat my offer to examine the problematic project(s).
I doubt that would be of any use for you, but I see it has been answered already. There is nothing mysterious about the connection server, it merely provides the key number necessary to establish the peer-to-peer connection. This underlines why that part of VST Connect doesn’t deal with projects at all, the project is only ever accessed when the connection to the Performer has been established.
Once more I suspect more and more that the error message is a different one. In order to analyse problems, we need the exact wording of user messages.
You certainly don’t need to re-install the OS. As said, you may also just delete the VST Connect configuration file and restore very few settings (i.e. re-enter your name for login).
We try to help best we can, but need more information.
Thank you for the information, musicllum. I really appreciate it.
I loaded up Wireshark to look at what happens between my system and the VST connect server when I make a connect request. I created packet captures for both a successful connect and one that gets the “Server Not Responding” error. Summary:
1 - If it’s the first connect attempt after a reboot, a name server lookup is made for vstconnect.steinberg.net.
2 - My computer makes a request to the IP address of the vstconnect server (port 51111) with the value entered for “Name” in the payload (a 234-byte UDP packet).
3 - The vstconnect server responds with the assigned project number in the payload (another 234-byte UDP packet).
Given that what looks to be a valid project number is returned whether or not the error comes up, I can only conclude that this problem is with the VST Connect code. The vstconnect server appears to work as it should in all cases.
One other note, I can SOMETIMES successfully get a project number with this project. There is no pattern to it that I have figured out yet. If I close it, close Nuendo and reopen, it typically gets the error again.
I am happy to pass along the packet traces if that helps, but I believe our problem lies in the VST Connect and related code. Please let me know.
Also - the error is a pop-up Window that says the server is not responding, offering only an “OK” button, which closes the window and takes you back to the VST Connect Pro window. Perhaps this helps narrow down the problem to conditions that lead to that pop-up window being displayed in the code.
I’ve done a couple of dtruss & iosnoop traces as well on the main Nuendo process, but had forgotten how just a few seconds of execution time can create 20,000 lines of trace output… Also, that only gives me system call information, which may or may not help narrow things down. Will keep this thread updated as I find stuff.
All of your observations are correct. But note that what the server returns is not a project number but the key number that you should see in VST Connect and that the Performer is supposed to enter in the dedicated field in order to establish a peer-to-peer connection. As said, there is nothing mysterious about this, VST Connect sends a request along with the user name and in return gets the key number. The Performer enters this and posts it to the same server which will then provide both parties with the necessary information to try to establish the connection.
So there are 2 observations to make:
a) this operation has nothing to do at all with any project. You can get all of this with an empty or even no project at all. So there is no use further digging in the depths of wireshark here
b) if the server responds to the request, there will be no such message “Server not responding”. Should I be wrong with this statement, something else is going wrong. Make sure the name you supply has no special characters in it for instance. But again, as the server appears to reply with success, there is no reason for this message altogether. So pls check again if the user message you see is really “Server not responding” and/or send me a project that causes problems if that’s ok with you.
Thanks for your patience.
Agreed on all counts - that key number appears to always be sent back correctly, whether or not the error message comes up. I’d be happy to send you the project file. Should I PM you?
I just got the error again. This project was able to successfully obtain a key earlier today, but now errors out. A screen shot is attached.
A general note - at least for today - this behavior is intermittent. I have the best chance of not getting the error right after a reboot. On my last attempt, I got the error on the first click, but then successfully received a project key on the second click. This is the first time that’s happened - the error would usually persist once it came up.
1 - I open up the project and go to the VST Connect Editor screen.
2 - I enter my name and click the Network Login button.
From here, one of two things happens:
3A - There is a slight delay, then a brief moment of the mouse pointer turning into the “spinning beachball” and then the error message is displayed. The project key does not get displayed, so I have nothing to give the remote performer.
3B - There is an almost instant response and then the project number shows up in the VST Connect Editor.
I can confirm that I haven’t seen this error message come up with a brand new project. I also have a small VST Connect test project that has had the error come up, but very infrequently vs. the main project I’m working on.
Thanks again!
From the VST Connect plugins’ point of view this makes sense. It waits 3 seconds for a response.
However it makes no sense at all that the message appears when the server responds successfully. You said you watched the transfer via wireshark, so just to make this clear again: you saw a successful reply from the server, but still the “Server not responding” message posps up? Then something else is seriously wrong, probably something that has nothing to do with VST Connect directly. If a network reply hits your machine but doesn’t get through, there is probably something wrong on the system (network) level.
Will look at your project, thanks again for keeping with us.
