Stream multicast via VLC to clients

[stefangbg]

We are trying to set up VLC server to listen to multiple multicast and out (stream) unicast. We furthermore want to ba able to remote control VLC streams from local clients over a VPN tunnel. What is the best way to accomplish this?

We found a stand alone piece of software that is called RemoteTV (http://anuragworld.googlepages.com/remotetv),is it possible to use that to accomplish our goal?

We did get it to work with http, but we experienced problems when opening saved playlists (we haven't tried the latest VLC version though) with that solution.

Anyone who has got any ideas who to solve our problem?

Thanks

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Multicast cannot really work through VPNs. Well, it can work but it´s not really multicast - you just need multicast proxying support on the VPN gateway.

[tkapela]

We support multicast for remote users of our office vpn.

Our 'vpn termination' system is really just a mid-grade cisco router (2811, running 12.4T). The only vpn type that I've successfully gotten multicast to work on is PPTP - and that's only by virtue of the fact that "real" PPP virtual-access interfaces are spawned upon users connecting to the vpn gateway. Because of this architecture, the router's MFIB sees legit point to point interfaces (i.e. per user tunnels), over which pim and igmp can function.

Here's all it took for mcast to work on PPTP for me:

interface Virtual-Template1
description pptp legacy support
ip unnumbered Loopback9
ip pim sparse-mode
ip multicast boundary mcast-user-filter
ip nat inside
ip virtual-reassembly
ip igmp access-group mcast-user-filter
load-interval 30
peer default ip address pool vpn-pool
ppp encrypt mppe auto
ppp authentication ms-chap-v2
ppp ipcp header-compression ack
ppp ipcp dns 172.16.1.X 172.16.1.Y
ppp timeout idle 3600 either

...enable pptp globally through vpdn:

vpdn enable
vpdn-group pptp-users
! Default PPTP VPDN group
accept-dialin
protocol pptp
virtual-template 1

be sure to have AAA setup for ppp userauth. we use radius at our shop, but you can use local-user auth within the router too.

aaa new-model

aaa authentication ppp default group radius

radius-server host 172.16.1.X auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646 key 7 blahblah
radius-server host 172.16.1.Y auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646 key 7 blahblah

I'm able to join any mcast group that we have in our sa-cache and that our RP can find! Works great, for what it is.

Best,

-Tk