[nooz]

Hi all, I followed this guide to setup a central library for all my local KODI devices, and it works just fine, however I will be away from home for a few weeks and wondered if it's possible to access the library with a KODI device remotely?

Any advice is most welcome. Thanks!

[pkscout]

You’d need a way to establish a tunnel into your home setup. You might take a look at Tailscale (https://tailscale.com). It’s not simple to setup, but easier than many of the alternatives.

[scott967]

Check what tools your NAS or router may support natively.  You need a way to get routed from your remote location to your home router IP address (DDNS), then a way to securely get to your MariaDB on the NAS, as well as the sources referenced in the DB.  Setting up VPN on your NAS is one way to secure your home LAN while allowing outside access.  Or your home router may provide VPN as an alternative.

scott s.
.

[nooz]

I have two options available as far as I can see.

1. Use remote proxy native on NAS
2. Use tailscale

I've tried both options but, by changing the host in advancedsettings.xml from the local IP address to the synology domain, or the Tailscale IP for my NAS.

eg.

Code:

                                            <videodatabase>
                                                       <type>mysql</type>
                                                       <name>MyVideos</name>
                                                       <host>[TAILSCALE IP FOR NAS]</host>
                                                       <port>3306</port>
                                                       <user>user</user>
                                                       <pass>*****</pass>
                                                     </videodatabase>


Unfortunately, in both cases I get an error like this

Code:

ERROR <general>: Unable to open database: MyMusic82 [2002](Can't connect to server on '[TAILSCALE IP FOR NAS]' (115))

[pkscout]

Tailscale has to be setup properly on both the client and the server for this to work.  And both have to be active.  I think I mentioned that Tailscale is easier to setup than some things, but it's not exactly easy.

Please note also that all your scraped TV shows, movies, and music has the source listed in the library.  If you created the source using SMB or NFS, then the local IP of your NAS is in the library.  Even if you get this working, none of your library shows will work unless you also do a path substitution.  And if you're using a local mount, you'll have to change it to use the Tailscale IP (but won't have to do the path substitution).    Honestly, if you're only going to be gone a week, you may find getting this working takes longer than you'll be gone.

[nooz]

I see. Not too worried on giving this a good try tho. Two weeks is a long time without Kodi lol
How would I config tailscale in this case, if you don't mind me asking? both Kodi device (Vero) and NAS have tailscale installed and connected.

I have an NFS mount to the NAS on local network btw.

Thanks!

[pkscout]

I know on the Synology the package Synology provides is a little old.  I had to update mine by hand to get it to work right.  Tailscale configuration is well outside the scope of this forum.  You're probably best to ask here:

https://forum.tailscale.com

You need to figure out how to confirm you can talk between the devices via the tunnel.

[jbinkley60]

I see. Not too worried on giving this a good try tho. Two weeks is a long time without Kodi lol
How would I config tailscale in this case, if you don't mind me asking? both Kodi device (Vero) and NAS have tailscale installed and connected.

I have an NFS mount to the NAS on local network btw.

Thanks!

If your goal to be able to play content in your library and even if you are successful getting connectivity there may not be enough bandwidth or latency / jitter issues for smooth video playback depending upon the bitrate of your videos.  Music will likely be Ok but as pointed out, there will be other issues with path substitutions and similar when using a Kodi client SMB connected remotely.  There are other Internet sharing options available which are designed to play  Kodi media (i.e. music / video etc..) remotely.  The one I use allows me browser access to my library and will match the content to my browser as well as the bandwidth and resolution settings I choose for my Internet connection.  I can also pick and chose which parts of my library to expose by user login (i.e. user A might get only music, user B might get certain library content and user C gets everything).  It has the benefits of sharing across my Kodi and non-Kodi devices when I am home and doesn't require me to carry a Kodi client with me when I travel.  I've used it extensively.  I realize it is a bit of a different approach to your current setup but maybe something to consider if you travel often or are looking for something more flexible, easy to use and doesn't require a VPN tunnel (although you can use one with it.  I've done both).  The solution I use can also handle a remote Kodi client by manually pointing your Kodi client to the server IP address at the other end of your tunnel.  It just won't have the bandwidth / resolution controls of the web interface but it won't require anything complicated other than a VPN tunnel.


Jeff

[sialivi]

Another option that I've used successfully in the past is BubbleUPnP which grants you access to any of your DLNA/UPnP servers, including Kodi, over the internet. I haven't tried running it directly on my NAS though, as I didn't have it at the time. Instead I ran it on a local PC.

[jbinkley60]

Another option that I've used successfully in the past is BubbleUPnP which grants you access to any of your DLNA/UPnP servers, including Kodi, over the internet. I haven't tried running it directly on my NAS though, as I didn't have it at the time. Instead I ran it on a local PC.

That is also a good option.  From what I know you can't access a BubbleUPnP server directly and play media from a media source with just a browser.  It requires some sort of a client (i.e. Bubble UPnP Android, Foobar200, UPnP etc..).   The BubbleUPnP server doesn't use a static high port for UPnP discovery so a normal port 1900 UPnP broadcast discovery typically won't work across a VPN tunnel.  Thus manually pointing at the BubbleUPnP server from the Internet will be a challenge.  Locally it works fine since broadcasts are supported.  I had to remove BubbleUPnP and Kodi from the Mezzmo Kodi addon manual server addition capability due to the random high port usage.  Both work fine on local networks with port 1900 discovery.  So the BubbleUPnP server option should work remotely with a supported BubbleUPnP client but is unlikely to work with a remote Kodi UPnP client.


Jeff

[sialivi]

So the BubbleUPnP server option should work remotely with a supported BubbleUPnP client but is unlikely to work with a remote Kodi UPnP client.

I forgot to mention that I didn't use Kodi as the client in this case, only as a server. I think I just used the BubbleUPnP android client on my tablet and cast the stream to the TV.

[seylen]

I had the same problem. I did everything according to the tutorial and I was able to set up the remote access. I am shocked that I did it, the tutorial is really well written.