Long (20s) pauses between images using wIndi server with PI Indi modules?

[fnord123]

I am trying to use Windi server in combination with PixInsight to remotely capture images. I am seeing long delays (20s) where PixInsight says, "Waiting for server" between images. I was wondering what sort of delay is to be expected, and if there is any way with pixInsight to tell what is going on (where to find log files etc.)

My setup:
Telescope-->Camera (ZWOASI1600mc)--usb-->Windows 10 PC running wIndi Server--wifi-->(access point)--ethernet-->Windows 10 PC running PixInsight, using it's INDI client modules to pull down images.

The setup above works (in terms of pulling down images), it is just the long delay (~20s) between pulling down images that is an issue. Given my exposures currently are very short (10s-15s), this majorly impacts my imaging.

[vicent_peris]

Hi,

Try to acquire your images in the same computer you're running the INDI server. That would discard the local net as a bottle neck. If it then lasts 20 seconds, it could be something related to the INDI server or to the camera drivers.

Best regards,
Vicent.

[fnord123]

I dug a bit more into this - networking was indeed the bottleneck.

Interestingly, I also tried running the Indi server on a RPi3 under Raspbian. It was even slower, with the network bandwidth *looking* like the bottleneck at 11Mbps.  However, the whole thing felt sluggish, so I upgraded to a faster MicroSD card. Suddenly images were being downloaded from the server at 37Mbps, a huge improvement.  Now the inter-image pause is ~7s, which is quite reasonable.

I've found running wINDI and capturing w/PI seems to flake out after a while and just hang.  I am trying now with INDI server running on the rPI to try to determine which side is the source of the flake.

[fnord123]

FWIW, using INDI server on the rPI seemed more stable, however, I realized that by default the capture was RAW8 and there were several other parameters that were wrong by default.  I'm looking forward to when PI has a better GUI for using INDI to capture!

[Juan Conejero]

FWIW, using INDI server on the rPI seemed more stable, however, I realized that by default the capture was RAW8 and there were several other parameters that were wrong by default.  I'm looking forward to when PI has a better GUI for using INDI to capture!

Please note that the RAW8 capture format and other wrong parameters are not our responsibility. These are default parameters set by the corresponding INDI driver, which is out of our control. Contrary to what some say, we are not liable for everything wrong in the universe

[fnord123]

Please note that the RAW8 capture format and other wrong parameters are not our responsibility. These are default parameters set by the corresponding INDI driver, which is out of our control. Contrary to what some say, we are not liable for everything wrong in the universe

Oh absolutely I didn't mean to imply that PI was choosing the wrong values.  More it was a wish for some sort of UI that cleanly shows all the settings and makes it easy to save a particular combination/profile.

[kkretzsch]

I've found running wINDI and capturing w/PI seems to flake out after a while and just hang... 

Hi,
I have experienced sporadically a hanging instance after downloading the image from the INDI server over a WIFI too. I am looking at it and come with a fix asap. Its a bit tricky since it occurs only sporadically ...

Best regadrs,
Klaus

[kkretzsch]

I've found running wINDI and capturing w/PI seems to flake out after a while and just hang... 

Hi,
I have experienced sporadically a hanging instance after downloading the image from the INDI server over a WIFI too. I am looking at it and come with a fix asap. Its a bit tricky since it occurs only sporadically ...

Best regadrs,
Klaus

Hi Juan,
During testing yesterday I experienced again several times a hanging image upload (endless-loop I had to kill the process). I was able to attach a debugger to it and the backtrace showed that the system was all the time in JulianDay.cpp:  -> ComplexTimeToJD called within the unconditioned "for loop" in String.cpp -> ToISO8601DateTime. Is it possible that the "break" condition does not hold for some special situations? As already mentioned the hanging upload only occurs sporadically. The exact conditions are currently unkown...

Klaus

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Klaus,

All of the functions you mention have been thoroughly verified for stability and correctness. However, I'll make some additional tests to check them further. Thanks for investigating this issue.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Klaus,

in String.cpp -> ToISO8601DateTime. Is it possible that the "break" condition does not hold for some special situations? As already mentioned the hanging upload only occurs sporadically. The exact conditions are currently unkown...

I have been testing new routines added to PCL since the latest version thoroughly, as part of the testing work necessary to release a new version of PixInsight. Yes, there is a bug in this routine. It is very improbable, but the for loop can get stuck under certain combinations of formatting options. This bug is going to be fixed immediately. I apologize for not having detected this bug much earlier. Sorry for the trouble...

[Juan Conejero]

This bug is now fixed:

https://github.com/PixInsight/PCL/commit/e36bfddccee9cc95c049f36ce0a69e52020ad238

The next build of INDIClient will include the fixed implementation of IsoString::ToISO8601DateTime(). Thank you for your patience.

[kkretzsch]

This bug is now fixed:

https://github.com/PixInsight/PCL/commit/e36bfddccee9cc95c049f36ce0a69e52020ad238

The next build of INDIClient will include the fixed implementation of IsoString::ToISO8601DateTime(). Thank you for your patience.

Great! Thanks Juan! The problem occured only sporadically and only in client uploads, so there was not much  trouble