AppleTV 3 floods DHCP when ethernet connected

Willie Strickland wrote:

I Have a dedicated IP address on the LAN for my AppleTV 2. Have you tried that?

I've done that with fixed reserved addresses configured on my router and I'm still seeing this DHCP spam.

It's as if the AppleTV is ignoring the IP Address Lease Time (option 51). You're not supposed to renew a lease until you're at least 50% through the lease's lifetime.

BTW Airparrot works fine. Wish the picture was as big as via Airplay. Now that is a workaround!

(ATV3 ethernet connection here)

Interesting, I was having slow internet recently, wondering if ATV3 was doing something like this in background...I unplugged it, but reset everything else too, so not sure if it was the culprit. (We might have too many devices for our 10M DSL.)

I have a different router, but, I know how to go into it and change settings, do they all have an option to log and send this info.?

I've also wondered about my iPhone with WiFi calling, if it's doing something similar, or iCloud...with my Mac or iCloud in general (with all my devices).

I have looked all through my router, can't find a way for it to send me those logs. Not sure I even see those logs, I see what devices have DHCP leases and what IP add they have, but, it's just a list of what's connected (IP/MAC add/expires), and there is a system log, but, it's not in order by date, and I can't find options to have them sent to me.

I'm using a (T-mobile) ASUS TM-AC1900 router. If you can help me find these specific logs, or how to have them sent to me daily, I will do my best to set that up.

"BTW, most people won't see/notice this because they don't have router logs. Also, I have an HP switch that allows port mirroring so I can monitor all network traffic to/from the ATV 3 using Wireshark (I used Linux but it works on Mac)."

Mario MG Help:

I have several logs, not sure if any will show this. One is called System Log - Active Connections, the last column is "State" - Enabled/Assured/Unreplied/Time Wait/Close. Apple TV is in this list most, but, not sure what this is showing me?

The General Log is a bit scattered. The System Log - DHCP Leases which shows current connections and expirations, just lists each device, doesn't show when lease was activated.

This router has a lot to it, but, not sure if any of these are showing me how often DHCP leases are asked for, any clues?

Sorry about my double post - I got interrupted.

You are right, it was only a workaround, in fact the connection over wifi no longer works (worked yesterday, not today!). All my iOS devices can use airplay, my Mini is connected by ethernet to the ATV 3, and iTunes works with home sharing from the Mini. I see a fixed screen or a grey screen depending on whether I use ethernet or wifi from the Mini to the ATV 3 whenever I use airplay. The really annoying thing is that this all used to work so well, and I have done nothing except keep all my software up-to-date.

I will do as you suggest and let you know what happens. Many thanks for the help.

So I tried the ethernet cable again, no luck. Unplugged the ATV 3 for 30 secs, powered on with the Mini and ATV 3 connected by ethernet, signed out/in my apple ID. Now I get a stationary picture from a movie (stuck on the frame where I activated Airplay). iTunes homesharing works fine, as do my iOS devices, both music and video.

Is there anything else I can try?

My inclination is that Apple broke Airplay with one of their soft/firm-ware updates.

You seem to have misunderstood my intentions.

I don't disagree with what you said, Apple should fix it. I'm simply here trying to suggest that if workarounds can be found maybe sharing them could benefit everyone, is that unreasonable?

Any response to this from Apple yet?

I have just realized that this problem is occurring - I have three ATVs and each has it's own static IP. Logs show that each unit is requesting a new lease approximately every 2 minutes.

The Apple TV also has a bonjour sleep proxy built into it.

About Wake on Demand and Bonjour Sleep Proxy - Apple Support

That means it needs to be capable of reaching the network even when you may think it is not being used. If you don't have any other Apple devices running a bonjour sleep proxy the ATV will step in.

I don't think it is realistic to say that creating 1 extra packet every 10 minutes is a 'failed networking stack', try filtering your logs.

glarbl_blarbl wrote:

I'm having the same issue. My dhcp lease time is set for 24H, but the apple tv asks for a new lease about once a minute.

Once per minute is not a flood, if it was thousands of time per minute I would agree that is a flood and a major issue. Once a minute is nothing. If you put tcpdump on pretty much any device you will see a constant stream of seeming needless management traffic. I would guess it is related to supporting their screwed up Bonjour protocol but who knows. What ever the reason that is the way it works and it is not likely to change, and it is not hurting anything.

You're right. Once every ten minutes is just an irritation, not broken. But on first glance, it did seem strange that my portable devices ask for their IP address less often than a supposedly fixed device. I apologize for being over-dramatic.

I also suspect that you are right that it has something to do with Bonjour Sleep Proxy. The ATV seems to be happy with its address when it's in use. Only when it's idle does it constantly need to be reminded of its IP address.

Just curious: When the ATV sleeps and you see the 10-minute DHCP requests, are you able to see the ATV as an AirPlay choice on any devices (assuming you have an iSomething that supports AirPlay) and will the ATV wake up on its own if you choose it for AirPlay?

So 3600x more traffic than expected is not a flood. Got it.

Sorry if my issue doesn't rise to the level of severity of the original poster, but my understanding from this thread was that posting logs of the issue would be helpful.

To me, if a networking device is ignoring a setting by orders of magnitude -- then that is a bug.

EDIT:

Realized I took those logs while the ATV was sleeping. I'll check it when the thing is awake later today.