Knowledgebase

There are typically only two reasons why the Media Control Panel is inaccessible:

1. The mediacp service is not running, or the nginx web server within mediacp is not operational; or
2. Access is being limited by network or firewall

Typically the second reason is the most common problem, however we will take you through how to validate the mediacp service is running appropriately before looking at the firewall.

Validate MediaCP web service is running

Firstly we should validate that the service responsible for Media Control Panel's web interface is running appropriately.

1. Login to SSH as root user on the server where MediaCP software is installed
2. Check the services status by running the below command:

   mediacp status

3. If everything is running normally then you should see output similar to the below
   

   root@demo:~# mediacp status
   Web server is running (10832)
   PHP is running (4150)
   MySQL database is running (24332)
   FTP service ProFTPd is running (20123)
   Redis service is running (20119)
   Queue Manager is running (26917)
   Nginx RTMP server is running (19523)

4. Should you see any errors, or "is not running" next to any service then you can restart the entire mediacp application with the below command:
   

   mediacp restart

At this point, if all services are displayed as "running" then the problem with accessibility is due to the firewall, and you should continue reading below.

Why is the address not accessible?

Most service providers (AWS, VULTR, Linode, OVH etc) include an external firewall with an interface to manage firewall policies, in majority of cases this is blocking the access to the Media Control Panel. If you are uncertain about how to do this, you should contact your service providers support helpdesk and inform them of the ports that you require to be opened (Refer to System Requirements).

When you first install the Media Control Panel, our software will automatically open ports with the default firewall service provided on the server itself. We'll automatically detect common firewalls and add exclusions for our software's web interfaces (ports 80,443,2020,2121,50000-51000). Since accessibility is still limited then there is most likely an external firewall or other network issue preventing access.

There is no firewall but MediaCP still cannot be accessed

Should you still have difficulty, we can further validate the operation of the Media Control Panel and ensure it is listening for connections on port 2020. Should the software be operating correctly and listening for connections then there is still a network issue that you must resolve with your Service Provider.

Check MediaCP is operating correctly

The simplest way to check if MediaCP is installed and operating is to use wget to open the address provided during installation on that same server in SSH. If successful it means that the MediaCP software is able to be accessed from within your server but not outside of your server, proving there is a network or firewall restricting access:

1. Login to your server SSH where MediaCP is installed
2. Run the following command exactly as shown below:

   wget http://localhost:2020/

3. The last line of output should display similar to below:

   2023-03-10 00:52:36 (88.5 MB/s) - 'index.html' saved [4522]

How to confirm port 2020 is active and listening

The netstat utility can be used to show processes on the system that are listening and waiting for connections.

1. Install netstat on the server through SSH as root user
   

   yum install net-tools # CentOS / AlmaLinux
   apt install net-tools # Debian / Ubuntu

2. Run the following as root user

   netstat -tulpn | grep 2020

3. You should see a result similar to below:

   tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:2020 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 10832/nginx: master

MediaCP is running on my home network, how do I open ports?

Managing ports and port forwarding on a home network can be complicated and something that our support team are unable to assist with. Typically it involves port forwarding from your router to the PC and IP address where MediaCP is installed and there is no 'one solution fits all' guide. Overall we recommend building your streaming platform with a public VPS provider however if you do wish to run locally then you could contact your local PC shop or service centre for further support. 

Can MediaCP resolve the network or firewall issue for me?

Typically this is something your service provider needs to help you with, and if you contact their support most providers will help you without additional charges.

Should you require MediaCP Support to open the ports for you, our Senior Technical Support team can assist by ordering a one-time Professional Service.