Ongoing: Phantom/Dialog/Spark protocol deciphering and development

[andylyonette]

OK - My next project is to understand how the Phantoms work with the dialog so I’m ready to put some effort in, but I need someone that understands networking to decipher the data I capture. Does anybody want to help>

I have installed Wireshark and have a switch that i can configure for port mirroring coming next week. I have two Golds and a dialog. I also have a HiFiBerry and a Roon setup so I reckon I can capture all the traffic related to the different scenarios. I just can’t understand the traffic :-(. 

Does anyone have network expertise who can review the WireShark capture file and explain it to me? The scenarios I want to look at are:
- Using Spark on a PC to play a library track
- Using Spark on a PC to play a tidal track (watch it as it loads and plays)
- Using Roon to play an MQA Tidal file to the HiFiBerry device which is then fibre plugged into one of the Phantoms
- Playing a source (my TV) through the Dialog Optical Input
- Using the iPhone spark app to play a library track and a tidal track
- Using Bluetooth for the iPhone to connect to one of the phantoms and play a track
- Using AirPlay on the iPhone to connect to the airplay dialog
- Using a network player like river to connect to UPNP on the dialog to play a track 

I am interested in: 
- what is actually streaming the sound file to the phantoms (assume it is the Dialog) and what protocol
- how the phantoms signify they are ready to play and then how does the system keep both of them in sync as timing must be critical - i assume they keep sending each other heartbeat signals
- are the protocols encrypted? If not then that’s not good in one way but great in another.

I just picked up 2x silvers and a dialog last week (still waiting on the Reactors) and wanted to start looking at something similar.  I've been getting into development a bit more for the last year or so but my background is more infrastructure and networking.  I'd hoped to spend some proper time over this weekend on it but unfortunately I got side-tracked.  So far I can find Phantoms on the network using SSDP and query various uris for info in xml, and get/set the volume level in a C# console app.  I haven't yet managed to capture any useful Wireshark captures because I need to move some cabling around first in order to be patched into a switch I can create a mirror port on but I feel this could be relatively straight forward (in terms of being able to serve a Phantom a source and have it play it) with a better understanding of how uPnP works and the rygel renderer that I  think the Phantoms are running.  Drop me a PM/email if you're interested in discussing further.

Cheers,
Andy