TimeCapsule Airport Wifi in bridge mode does not manage IGMP protocol correctly (while any other cheap AP IGMP compatible works)

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Level 1

8 points

TimeCapsule Airport Wifi in bridge mode does not manage IGMP protocol correctly (while any other cheap AP IGMP compatible works)

This is our network:

F.O. MIKROTIK ROUTER --> SWITCH --> AIRPORT TIMECAPSULE BRIDGE MODE WIFI 2.4/5GHz --> IPTV streaming PLAYER

We receive UDP MULTICAST STREAMING from MOVISTAR FUSION IPTV, but we can not see video stream on the IPTV Player.

But if we use an DLINK IGMP Compatible Access Point (10 times cheaper than Apple Airport) then video stream works fine on the IPTV Player.

So what we say is: Same network, exacly same network, only changing AIRPORT TIMECAPSULE AP for a DLINK IGMP compatible --> Then Wifi udp multicast iptv streaming works perfectly (and we can see 4 videos at the same time!).

So our first conclusion is AIRPORT TIMECAPSULE WIFI does not manage correctly IGMP Protocol.

Our question: Is there anybody who could tell me if IGMP works in Airport Timecapsule Bridge Mode? Is there a problem with Airport Timecapsule Firmware 7.7.3?

Best regards,

Francesc Mas

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), Late 2013 6core D500 64GB

Posted on Mar 5, 2016 8:06 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Manucornejo

Level 1

14 points

Feb 26, 2017 2:46 PM in response to francescmas

Francesc,

I do have a TC and an Airport Express. Both have same issue.

They DO NOT handle IGMP well.

I opened a case with apple support a year ago and even did a webex with support. They do agree that it was not working as desired.

I asked for a fix and they told me they do not provide fixes for consumer products. 😟

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

148,423 points

Mar 5, 2016 9:31 AM in response to francescmas

I have heard of this issue before and your post seems consistent with the others that I am aware of.

One simple test is to re-enable NAT & DHCP on your Time Capsule (Note: As you know this will cause a Double NAT condition, but it's only for testing purposes here.) Does the TC properly route the multicast traffic now? If it does, then you verified a potential issue where IGMP Snooping does not work properly when the base station is in bridge mode.

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Answer 3

francescmas Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 10, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Tesserax

Hello Tesserax:

I'm sorry for my really late answer. I've been so extremely busy with work and travels I couldn't find the required time to do the test.

Now I've done the test and this are the results:

Mode "Only DHCP"

- What should do: This mode should share a range of IP's (same family IP's in WAN & LAN)

- What it does: It does not give any DHCP IP... so WIFI does not allow navigation.

Mode "Bridge"

- What should do: This mode should be 'transparent' so if we have a DHCP server in the other side, it will share IP's to devices on LAN side. It should be IGMP Snooping compatible... allowing Multicast.

- What it does: It works... so TimeCapsule Airport acts exactly the same as an Access Point and navigation works.

- What it does not do: It's not compatible with "IGMP Snooping". So it does not work with Multicast indepently if IGMP is activated or not. (while a simple 30€ IGMP compatible Access Point works perfectly).

Mode "DHCP and NAT"

- What should do: This mode should share 'different family' IP's, working with a double NAT. It should be IGMP Snooping Compatible.

- What it does: It shares 'different family IP's' and allows navigation through a double NAT.

- What it does not do: It's not compatible with "IGMP Snooping". So it does not work with Multicast indepently if IGMP is activated or not.

So this TimeCapsule Airport is a really nightmare for me...

I only see two possibilities:

1 - I am really a jinx... everything goes wrong. I bought an Apple TimeCapsule Airport with a malfunction or bug and as it was in warranty Apple change it for a new unit of an Apple TimeCapsule Airport with the same malfuncion or bug...

2 - Nobody cares about using IGMP Snooping and I'm the only person in the world who wants to use IGMP Snooping the same way I was using with my previous 30€ IGMP compatible Access Point, but decided to buy the wrong 300€ Apple AP model...

Does Apple really aware about the problem inherent with this Apple TimeCapsule Airport ? Why there is no new firmware yet solving this annoying problem?

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