Of radios and toubleshooting
Time for more Adventures in Running a Server!!
So I've been trying to install Icecast2 onto the server (after the rates for my streaming service in second life went up I had been considering running it on my own) and after much trial and tribulation, I finally got it to work!
http://radio.armaina.com:8000/
(there's no stream RN, it only plays when I connect to it and stream directly, don't have the bandwidth for a constant stream)
So that's the end goal. But how I got to that point is a tale in my continued frustration with lacking documentation for things with a high barrier of entry that constantly assume you already know everything.
Installing Icecast2 initially was easy. It was just a quick package install, heck it even gave you a little interface when it installed to automatically populate the password fields.... Only it didn't work and I had to change the config file manually anyway after the fact.
I had tried multiple times to get the service to run but it never seemed to start, I messed up my own settings a few times (changed the permissions because it was set to group/owner Icecast which I thought was weird) had to purge it a couple times. I double check a few of my settings with a friend of mine who also just installed Icecast so I figured he would have more insight into some of the idiosyncrasies that might be causing a problem and to double check my settings.
So I finally get to a state where it seems like everything is set up correctly but I still can't get the dang program to start. First troubleshooting is maybe the firewall is locked and it's preventing it from starting. except.. there's no firewall. On the server. At all. But I can't open ports. After too much digging I find out I can put in rules for ports using iptables, but.. that doesn't change anything.
So I give up and shelve it for a few days and I poke at it yesterday, poking another friend's brain for help.
And he pointed me to check Status on the service, specifically and I got this result:
Starting streaming media server: icecast2icecast2 daemon is disabled - read /etc/default/icecast2 ... failed!
so I wonder what the heck /etc/default/icecast2 is and see if I can open it up in nano or if it's an application and well...
# Defaults for icecast2 initscript
# sourced by /etc/init.d/icecast2
# installed at /etc/default/icecast2 by the maintainer scripts
#
# This is a POSIX shell fragment
#
# Full path to the server configuration file
CONFIGFILE="/etc/icecast2/icecast.xml"
# Name or ID of the user and group the daemon should run under
USERID=icecast2
GROUPID=icecast
# Edit /etc/icecast2/icecast.xml and change at least the passwords.
# Change this to true when done to enable the init.d script
ENABLE=false
I get to the last two lines and I lose it
THIS
THIS IS IT
THIS IS THE THING THAT HAS PREVENTED ICECAST FROM STARTING THIS WHOLE TIME
But that alone is not what frustrates me, no, the thing that truly frustrates me is that NOT A SINGLE DOCUMENT MENTIONS THIS IS A FILE YOU MAY POSSIBLY NEED TO CHECK
It's always these weird hitches that keep me from understanding how to get things done. It's not that I'm incapable of doing it, it's that constantly documentation either assumes you know things already and doesn't bother to explain or reference anything or that little hitches like this aren't referenced. I really wish that more applications came with guides as to what files do what so I knew where I was looking to troubleshoot. Guh.
And now I move on to the next big step and possible headache in running a server takes a deep breath
Encryption.
So I've been trying to install Icecast2 onto the server (after the rates for my streaming service in second life went up I had been considering running it on my own) and after much trial and tribulation, I finally got it to work!
http://radio.armaina.com:8000/
(there's no stream RN, it only plays when I connect to it and stream directly, don't have the bandwidth for a constant stream)
So that's the end goal. But how I got to that point is a tale in my continued frustration with lacking documentation for things with a high barrier of entry that constantly assume you already know everything.
Installing Icecast2 initially was easy. It was just a quick package install, heck it even gave you a little interface when it installed to automatically populate the password fields.... Only it didn't work and I had to change the config file manually anyway after the fact.
I had tried multiple times to get the service to run but it never seemed to start, I messed up my own settings a few times (changed the permissions because it was set to group/owner Icecast which I thought was weird) had to purge it a couple times. I double check a few of my settings with a friend of mine who also just installed Icecast so I figured he would have more insight into some of the idiosyncrasies that might be causing a problem and to double check my settings.
So I finally get to a state where it seems like everything is set up correctly but I still can't get the dang program to start. First troubleshooting is maybe the firewall is locked and it's preventing it from starting. except.. there's no firewall. On the server. At all. But I can't open ports. After too much digging I find out I can put in rules for ports using iptables, but.. that doesn't change anything.
So I give up and shelve it for a few days and I poke at it yesterday, poking another friend's brain for help.
And he pointed me to check Status on the service, specifically and I got this result:
Starting streaming media server: icecast2icecast2 daemon is disabled - read /etc/default/icecast2 ... failed!
so I wonder what the heck /etc/default/icecast2 is and see if I can open it up in nano or if it's an application and well...
# Defaults for icecast2 initscript
# sourced by /etc/init.d/icecast2
# installed at /etc/default/icecast2 by the maintainer scripts
#
# This is a POSIX shell fragment
#
# Full path to the server configuration file
CONFIGFILE="/etc/icecast2/icecast.xml"
# Name or ID of the user and group the daemon should run under
USERID=icecast2
GROUPID=icecast
# Edit /etc/icecast2/icecast.xml and change at least the passwords.
# Change this to true when done to enable the init.d script
ENABLE=false
I get to the last two lines and I lose it
THIS
THIS IS IT
THIS IS THE THING THAT HAS PREVENTED ICECAST FROM STARTING THIS WHOLE TIME
But that alone is not what frustrates me, no, the thing that truly frustrates me is that NOT A SINGLE DOCUMENT MENTIONS THIS IS A FILE YOU MAY POSSIBLY NEED TO CHECK
It's always these weird hitches that keep me from understanding how to get things done. It's not that I'm incapable of doing it, it's that constantly documentation either assumes you know things already and doesn't bother to explain or reference anything or that little hitches like this aren't referenced. I really wish that more applications came with guides as to what files do what so I knew where I was looking to troubleshoot. Guh.
And now I move on to the next big step and possible headache in running a server takes a deep breath
Encryption.