LMCE not detecting any shares, smb or nfs

[DocHoss]

After doing a lot of digging around on the forums the past few days, I've finally gotten LMCE up and running with DHCP server intact.  I have it set up per the recommended setup (2 NICs, LMCE is DHCP server on internal) so I have no strange layout issues.  Both the Core/Hybrid and my other computer have internet access, so that's not an issue.

However, I can't seem to get my Core to find shares on my other computer ("Kitchen"...though it's technically not in the kitchen, but that's not important).  Kitchen has both Ubuntu 8.04 and WinXP on it, and the Core will find Kitchen, but cannot access any information on it.  When I go through the KDE desktop and try Remote Places -> Samba Shares -> LinuxMCE -> Kitchen, it opens smb://kitchen but there's nothing there.  No shares are visible outside Samba either (even when Kitchen is in Ubuntu).  I can ping Kitchen from Core just fine, and Kitchen can see shares on Core, but not vice versa. 

I feel like there must be something in Samba that I'm missing, or I screwed something up in the detection process from the Core.  Is there a way to remove the database entry for Kitchen and rescan the network for shares?  Also, what am I doing wrong that I can see the Core shares but it can't see Kitchen shares?

Thanks in advance for any light that can be shed on my issues.

[colinjones]

Couple of points....

Have you any form of firewall software running on the XP machine? Turn it off completely (Windows firewall and any other 3rd party ones)

The primary detection method is DHCP, so your XP machine must be set to acquire an IP address via DHCP. Once the core sees this request (via a plugin to its DHCP server) it will go through the network share detection process. This should mean that it will pop up on screen with a message about finding a server - you must tell it that you want to use this server, then it will start prompting about shares. Did you get this message? How did you respond?

Have you looked in the web admin in the devices tree to see if it has been added?

[DocHoss]

Windows firewall is D-E-D dead.  Even disabled the underlying service to be sure.  No 3rd party firewalls in place.

The connection is set for DHCP and receives the address fine.  When I first booted up the Core after installation, it found the machine and asked what I wanted to do with it.  I selected "File Server", and it did some stuff, rebooted the router, and it never asked me anything else.  I was under the impression that at some point it would ask for a user name/passwd, but it didn't.  Didn't add my media either.

I have looked at the web admin and it lists nothing saying "File Server", nor "Kitchen" or anything else indicating that it's there.

Thanks for the fast turnaround on the help, colinjones!  I'm really excited about LMCE and want to get it running full-time.  Wish I knew more about Linux and networking in general, but I'll get there eventually. 

[colinjones]

Ok, almost immediately after you told it to use the file server, it should have started prompting you to add each share it finds..... it even finds the system/admin shares that are hidden so you should have at least been prompted with C$ or Admin$...

Have you actually created an open share of a folder? As an aside, you should create a new folder for this (empty) and share that out with full write access. When LMCE finds it, tell it to use the LMCE folder structure - it will then create appropriate folders under that folder. You can then move your media into these folders as appropriate and it will start adding them to the database automatically - which will take a while if you have a lot. Seriously, don't try to get it to use your media in their current locations... can explain later why, just don't!

You really need to find the server device in the Devices Tree - look for the Devices Tree link at the bottom of the left hand pane when you first log in. It will be at the same level as "the Core/Hybrid" device. If it isn't there, than something has gone wrong.

Are you able to ssh into your core, or at least able to open a terminal screen on the core to type commands? If so, then you can look at the DHCP_pnp.log file in /var/log/pluto, watching this when your XP machine requests a DHCP address will tell you whether the pnp system is working and what it considers the device to be. It may say it is a new device, or not... take a look. In the /etc/dhcp3/dhcp.log (I think) file you should see the lease registration.

We need to determine if it is registered, ignored, or just not working (pnp)...

[DocHoss]

Ok, here is the dhcp_pnp.log file. I couldn't fine the other one you were talking about, /etc/dhcp3/dhcp.log.  Not there, as far as I can tell.

When I got the first "Device recognized" message when I first got the core up and running, it said it found the other computer.  Did not prompt for individual shares, and I should have at least two or three folders (movies, audio, backups).

Code: [Select]

00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:20:50 -0600 DHCP : MAC '00:50:8d:7e:47:23' IP '192.168.80.253'
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:20:50 -0600 Device already exists: 30
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:20:54 -0600 DHCP : MAC '00:50:8d:7e:47:23' IP '192.168.80.253'
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:20:54 -0600 Device already exists: 30
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:21:02 -0600 DHCP : MAC '00:50:8d:7e:47:23' IP '192.168.80.253'
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:21:02 -0600 Device already exists: 30
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:31:06 -0600 \n\n\n\nDhcp-Plugin Process Started
00 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:31:06 -0600 Dhcp-Plugin Started

Keep the good info coming, colinjones!  I can feel the solution is just around the corner!

[itspac]

All else fails remove the device and try again

[DocHoss]

That's one of the questions I'm asking.  How do I remove the "memory" of the other computer from the core?  I tried deleting the device from the device tree in web admin, but then it doesn't pick it back up at all, like it can't see it any more.  Nearest I can tell, it's deleting the device but not the database entry for the device...if that makes any sense.

[itspac]

You probably have to allow the device to be discovered from web admin. I can't tell you exactly where it is off hand, but it one of the menus up top for devices

[colinjones]

Been a while since I needed to force this... yes there is an option to unlock "unknown devices" in the menu's but your issue doesn't appear to be an unknown device, it is known, and that is a bit more interesting.

I think the logic for pnp (and you can check this yourself by reviewing the DHCP pnp script) first continuously greps for new DHCP leases and determines whether they are new leases. Only if they are a new lease, it will then do a SQL query to determine if the IP/MAC is in the devices database, and proceed to add if not.

So you should remove the DHCP lease from the config file in /etc/dhcp3 first. Then as long as you have deleted the device itself it should retrigger the process. However, I note that the problems I have had in the past were that my PC remembered its old lease and asked for a renewal rather than a new lease, and LMCE honoured this even though it had no record of the lease any more, so the PC ended up with the same address, and this seemed not to meet the test for a "new device" in the script. It was a pain to get around and I can't remember exactly what I did. If this also happens, I would try ipconfig /release first, disable the NIC, reboot, then re-enable the NIC and see if that sorts it out...