Posts by gschmidt

I have a Rpi3 with LE8 player attached to -->main router-->ISP router (bridged)-->internet

I use the LE8 Rpi3 to play:

1. Local video, audio and images on a NAS (via NFS sharing)
2. Spotify songs from my Tablet and Smartphone devices to a Spotify Connect Device (which LE8 also is)
3. Internet video and audio streams

My remote control for kodi is an android Smartphone with the Yatse App

Now some of the Internet video and audio streams I would like to play through a VPN.

I know I can setup a VPN on the Rpi3 LE8 system, but I also have a spare Wireless Router, which I could use as a dedicated VPN router

My questions are:

What is better: Setup a VPN on the Rpi3 LE8 or create a dedicated VPN router with the RPi3 LE8 attached?

And if I setup a dedicated VPN router:

1. Can I still access the NAS which is connected to my main router? (I also use the NAS for other purposes where my ISP network is needed)
2. Can I still use The Yatse remote control app on my smartphone when connected to my main router?
3. Is the LE8 Spotify Connect Device still visible in my smartphone when connected to the main router?

Hi,

In a previous rpi3 libreelec version 7.0.2

also installed librespot with kodi output instead of alsa.

I also used the shaderToy visualisation which responded on the spotify connect music.

Since version 8 the visualization doesnt respond anymore...any idea why?

Hi,

I have a Yamaha RX-V671 AV-Receiver with an older Panasonic Viera TV.

3 devices are attached to 3 HDMI inputs of AV-Receiver: Rpi3 (KODI/LE8), DVR (TV decoder), PS4

I control them with a Logitech Harmony 650 remote.

The remote also uses the CEC Adapter of kodi, to control KODI with the remote.

Problem is that when I start any of the created activities (e.g. watching TV) in the harmony, the AV-receiver always selects the HDMI port of the Rpi3 (KODI/LE) device first.

This only happens when all devices are in standby (except the Rpi3, which is allways on).

When I press a second time on the harmony remote activity button, the AV-receiver will select the correct HDMI port.

Also when I turn off the power of the TV and turn it back on again (during an activity), the AV-receiver selects the HDMI port of the Rpi3 (KODI/LE) although a different HDMI port was selected.

I only use the CEC buttons from AV-Receiver on the Harmony Remote.

Any idea to solve this?

Greetzzz,

Gerben

Quote from chewitt

Sounds like an add-on that needs to be marked broken and removed from the Kodi repo until the author fixes it to work on Krypton.

Okay, i'll ask the author if he can reproduce the same error.

Hi,

I did a fresh install of libreelec 8.0.1 on RPi3
After setting up the system I installed the "Uitzending Gemist NPO" addon from the kodi repository.
During browsing the list of shows from uitzending gemist, Kodi (Not Libreelec!) randomly crashes and restarts.
I performed browsing with the Harmony 650 remote using internal CEC adapter and with the Yatse app on my android phone.
Both ways are causing randomly kodi crashes.
Also random crashes when selecting or start playing a show from Uitzending Gemist NPO

This does not happen on my 7.0.3 version

I have attached my log

Any Idea what happens?

Greetzzz,

Gerben

Quote from infinity85

@gschmidt
great to read that you found the reason for the limititation! But how did you know to ask them for this specific thing (never heard of something like "bridge mode" on ISPs side)?

This biggest (merged) Dutch ISP, which is also TV and landline telephone provider, provides by default a wireless modem/router in dhcp mode. But it's wireless function is not great. However the users (with a specific modem type in some Dutch areas) are not able to put this modem in bridge mode by themselves. You have to ask them! Appearantly this by ISP pre-configured device blocks or slowing down more in default mode, regarding VPN Connections!

I also found that the OpenVPN protocol download speed on a RPi is about 70% compared to a Win10 PC. I have read that appearantly the hardware has an impact on the OpenVPN protocol.

Yeah.....I found the problem....today I ask my ISP to put their modem/router into bridge mode, that did the trick!
Somehow it blocked more than I thought....
Here a Speedtest with a PureVPN UK server around 8 pm:

So much for thinking that dutch OpenVPN host have no speed...
Connected with VPNbook ovpn file: "vpnbook-euro1-udp25000.ovpn"

Maybe you should try it too "Infinity"...just for fun?
[hr]
When I compare the OVPN files between PureVPN and VPNbook they are quite different....does this depend on how the providers OpenVPN servers have configured or are different OVPN connections possible?

Update: I found out that I didn't run the PureVPN OVPN Gui on Windows in Admin mode. Although the IP number in the Speedtest gave the impression it was connected to the VPNbook provider it actually was my ISP's IP....hence the high speed of the speedtest...

Quote from infinity85

You could test something else... you could take your windows machine and install official OpenVPN client there and make a speedtest with this connection instead of PureVPN clients PPTP etc. And perhaps the speedtest you used for windows is not appropriate for comparison with speedtest.py?

I am not familiar with VPNbook. I only used PureVPN so far, and it's okay for me.

Again you have the same idea as I had yesterday...I downloaded the Windows 10 OpenVPN installer from the PureVPN site and installed it on my WIN10 PC.
This is actually a nice and simple program to test OpenVPN connections & Speeds....not only the OVPN's configs from PureVPN but also other VPN service providers!
You can store OVPN files in the "Config" folder created by the installer. In this folder also the ca, cert and key files are stored.
If you replace them with your VPN provider files it is also working.

But what is most important....what are the PureVPN connection speeds....sadly enough the same crappy speed I got on the RPi
Then I was looking for alternatives....is this only a PureVPN server problem, or something else in my local network?

The only way to figure this out is to try another VPN service...after some surfing on the net I found VPNbook, which is a totally free VPN service.
On their site you can download 2 Zipfiles with each 4 OVPN files. Each zip file is a different EU server. The login details can be found on the site.
So I copied them to the PureVPN OVPN files "Config" folder (fortunately the ca, cert and key are stored in the OVPN files, so I did not have to switch them with the PureVPN files).
The VPNbook OVPN files have a UDP port 53 and 25000 and TCP port 80 and 443 version

The First time I loaded an UDP port 53 OVPN file, I typed in the login details....and it was connected to a host in Toronto...I performed a speedtest: 25Mbps
Second time I tried it I was connected to a dutch host Altushost...4mbps, but each time when connected to the Toronto host >23Mbps and each time connected to a Dutch host<10Mbps

Then I tried one of the 2 UDP port 25000 OVPN files... it was connected to a host in Romania, Cluj-Napoca (MXhost.ro)....and...boooom 82Mbps download speed (I even saved a pic ;))
Each time when the OVPN file connected me to the Cluj-Napoca host >40Mbps download speeds
When it connects to other hosts like the one in Toronto (but not the Dutch Host), the speeds are above 23Mbps at prime time Europe.
But the Cluj-Napoca (MXhost.ro) host is far from the best (for me).

Tonight I will test them on the RPi if it is possible to setup the VPNbook service in the VPN Manager Addon.
With regard to the PureVPN OpenVPN service....I have to get in contact with them about the OpenVPN speeds (in the Netherlands).

Are you familiar with the VPNbook provider?

I found that Windows client of PureVPN is using nl.pointtoserver.com as host.
When i typed this host in Convert Host Name to IP Address or Find IP address of a host - e.g. find IP address of host name of
It came with 11 IP addresses:

Host Name : nl.pointtoserver.com

IP Address : 138.99.211.2 and 188.72.98.130 and 188.72.98.2 and 213.5.64.38 and 213.5.64.37 and 138.99.211.130 and 185.2.31.191 and 213.5.71.71 and 213.5.69.4 and 213.5.68.20 and 185.2.29.191

I have tested it in my ovpn file and the first speedtest i got was 23Mbit/s...However I get a feeling that the speedtest.py that i am using is not the right one...which one do you use?

Update:
Have tested several times with all dutch servers, including nl.pointtoserver.com (latest VPN Manager 2.3.0)...no difference...max 23Mbit/s, but mostly under 10Mbit/s. Also connected RPi to my ISP router....same results

Quote from infinity85

You said you have a DD-WRT device there. I think it would be possible to establish a PPTP connection with DD-WRT. On the other hand PPTP has a weaker encryption and that's why faster I guess. Don't know whether that automatically means realistic security issues.

I was thinking the exact same way
If the PPTP speed is equal to my ISP connection....than it would be no problem for my other devices. But i have to dig into it.
And there must be a way to Back-up my existing DD-WRT profile incase I want to switch back to the old situation

Quote from infinity85

VPN connections are encrypted. Encryption takes some amount of processing power. So the CPU of your Win10 system can cope with decrypting even when the data comes with high throughput, the Raspberry has limited processing power... (I edited my last post, there I explain it also). Depends on your the way you established your VPN on Windows. Perhaps it was PPTP or so, which is faster/easier to decrypt I think. Anyways... At first you should make sure that the VPN was established correctly on your Win10 machine during testing and then you should make a comparison with the raspberry at the same time. Perhaps it turns out that OpenVPN servers are not just harder to decrypt for the raspberry, but may be also PureVPN assigns them less bandwidth compared to PPTP and the other protocols. It would be a question for the PureVPN support chat again.

It's a downloadable Windows program at PureVPN website and i think it uses PPTP, Thanx to point this out...i will ask them the huge difference

I understand....but what about the Windows 10 VPN connection of my PureVPN account which hits 90mbps? Several times over 110....which is even faster than my normal ISP connection speed...I have doubts that by accident and time I 10:10 hit a >90mbps hit, and on openvpn on the raspberry 1:20>20mbps

I thought let's install a spare Windows 10 PC with a PureVPN connection on my Home Network. Established the VPN connection on the selected the dutch server (no other choice) and did a speedtest on Ookla: and Boooommmm...90mbps...several times

Why is this so fast?

Quote from zomboided

Well the security hole is an issue because you're using a VPN who elect not to give you any sort of firewall unless you pay extra. It's not because you're using my addon, which is just doing the work to create a VPN connection for you.

infinity85, do I need to update the Pure connection list? I can't think why the DNS name would make a difference as both resolve to the same IP. I can believe that Pure workload balance, which maybe what's happening here?

Hi zomboided,

Your addon works fine, I only need to figure out why the connections are so slow.
I just had a live chat (on my Laptop) with a PureVPN guy, which advised me to try the speedtest without firewalls on both my routers, but no difference.
Maybe my issue is Network/Router related...If I connect the Pi straight to my ISP Router, I can exclude my DD-WRT router from issues?
[hr]
Also strange is that if I perform a Python Speedtest to a connected VPN Server on the RPi (LAN connected) with Putty on my LAPTOP (Which has no VPN connection) the internet signal is lost for a while.....is this an indication that there might be an issue with the ISP Router because i still have a working local network connection?

Quote from infinity85

EDIT:
Here are my speedtests for those 7 servers: [Bash] PureVPN Netherlands Speedtest - Pastebin.com

Turns out that server 206.123.147.2 was the only one which cut my bandwidth down to max 1Mbit Down, less than 1Mbit up. All others had nearly full speed of my 50/10 (max 40/10 synced) internet connection.

And it turns out that the external PureVPN IP's are not always matching the corresponding server IP's (except for the fourth position). Netherlands servers are the first where I see totally different assigned external IP's than the actual servers IP you connect to. Anyways, perhaps this all helps. Perhaps there is one particular of those 7 servers, which you should avoid. I made the above linked speedtests at ~2am from germany, so there might be no load on servers during this time, hence it's not a good comparison for your measurements.

Thanx for helping me out here.
So resume to understand VPN Connections:

• With a "default" PureVPN connection setup in VPN Manager be aware that there is an unbelievably massive security issue, because all ports are open (including SSH 22)

• I have tested your Speedtest IP's (How do you get/know these IP's anyway?) from 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM, the fastest one had a 25 Mbit/s. 3 of them had a 1 or 2 time >23 Mbit/s hit, but later tests on the same IP's came up with 0-5 Mbit/s. The selected host at "Hosted by" was quite of influence in the tests.

• When I just used "nl1-ovpn-udp.purevpn.net" instead of an IP, 90% of the tested speeds were less than 4 Mbit/s

• So 70% of the times the RPi makes a VPN connection, the speed does not hit above 4 Mbit/s.....I would say that VPN is not working for me? Or are there other settings (Routers, DNS) which are influencing the poor VPN Connection speed?

OK I have performed some speed tests.

The first one I did with: remote nl1-ovpn-udp.purevpn.net 53
This came back with:

LibreELEC (official) Version: 7.0.2
LibreELEC:~ # curl ipinfo.io
{
  "ip": "206.123.147.102",
  "hostname": "No Hostname",
  "city": "Amsterdam",
  "region": "North Holland",
  "country": "NL",
  "loc": "52.3500,4.9167",
  "org": "AS61317 Digital Energy Technologies Limited",
  "postal": "1091"
}LibreELEC:~ #




LibreELEC:~ # python speedtest.py
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Host1Plus (206.123.147.102)...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by Tele2 Netherlands B.V. (Amsterdam) [2.18 km]: 33.853 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 18.36 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed....................................................................................................
Upload: 1.04 Mbit/s

This was the best result. After that I tried some of your IP's, which all came back with rubbish connections download speeds of less than 4mbits and zero upload.

Then I used instead of "remote nl1-ovpn-udp.purevpn.net"-->"206.123.147.102", because this gave the best connection.
And then I suddenly got:

LibreELEC (official) Version: 7.0.2
LibreELEC:~ # curl ipinfo.io
{
  "ip": "83.82.xxx.xxx",
  "hostname": "535285E6.cm-6-3c.dynamic.ziggo.nl",
  "city": "Werkendam",
  "region": "Noord-Brabant",
  "country": "NL",
  "loc": "51.8098,4.8937",
  "org": "AS9143 Ziggo B.V.",
  "postal": "4250"
}LibreELEC:~ # python speedtest.py
Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
Testing from Ziggo (83.82.xxx.xxx)...
Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
Selecting best server based on ping...
Hosted by Vodafone NL (Utrecht) [34.87 km]: 16.267 ms
Testing download speed................................................................................
Download: 90.36 Mbit/s
Testing upload speed....................................................................................................
Upload: 15.09 Mbit/s
LibreELEC:~ #

Ziggo is actually my ISP and the "83.82.xxx.xxx" is my WAN Ip address?!?!
I performed the speed test on "206.123.147.102" 3x and 3x I got a different Ziggo Server with the same connetion speeds.
This confuses me...Can I use my own ISP to make a VPN Connection?
And if so is the internet traffic still anonymous?

Update: I saw that The VPN connection was not established with this IP address, OpenVPN was not started