Apple drops discoveryd in latest OS X beta following months of network issues

By +Frank B.
in Apple (macOS)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted
Apple drops discoveryd in latest OS X beta following months of network issues

After many complaints from the developer community about poor networking performance on Yosemite, the latest beta of OS X 10.10.4 has dropped the discoveryd in favor of the old process used by previous versions of Mac operating system. This should address many of the network stability issues introduced with Yosemite and its new networking stack.

The discoveryd process has been subject to much criticism in recent months as it causes users to regularly drop WiFi access and causes network shares to list many times over, due to bugs. Many developers, such as Craig Hockenberry, have complained about the buggy software and workarounds have been found to include substituting the older system (called mDNSResponder) back into Yosemite.

discoveryd would cause random crashes, duplicate names on the network and many other WiFi-relate bugs. In the latest beta, Apple appears to have applied the same fix as the enthusiasts by axing discoveryd completely.

Looking at Activity Monitor on OS X 10.10 seed 4, discoveryd is no longer loaded by the system

Grand Master

+virtorio MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

Agreed.

 

It really does interest me, though, what went wrong with discoveryd that it caused problems that apparently Apple couldn't or wouldn't fix.

discoveryd is a good real-life example of why it's not a good idea to re-write something from scratch when you already have a perfectly good working component. 

Grand Master

Hurmoth

Posted
Posted

discoveryd is a good real-life example of why it's not a good idea to re-write something from scratch when you already have a perfectly good working component.

Goes right along with that old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Grand Master

Ambroos

Posted
Posted

I think they had some issues with extending mDNSResponder because it's built to work on a ton of platforms. The source code even contains compatibility stuff for Windows CE! Both dropping compatibility code to add new features or adding new features while retaining compatibility are very time-consuming, and it looks like Apple decided to go for a C++ rewrite.

 

Which clearly turned out to be a bad idea. WiFi on my Air has been horrible since Yosemite, most of the time I only got 2Mbps after resuming from standby and the like. After disabling a part of discoveryd (the part that handles Handover, which I don't use anyway) a few weeks ago the amount of times I had WiFi issues dropped to an absolute 0. I'm glad Apple is throwing out discoveryd.

 

mDNSResponder is actually a pretty nice piece of software. Works well on a ton of platforms. I really hope Apple goes this way again, focusing on stability instead of risky changes. I realise I'm not the kind of OS X user Apple wants me to be*, but it'd be nice nonetheless.

 

* I don't use any Apple software besides really core OS X and don't have/want any other Apple hardware other than this Air. I think Apple is great at making hardware, and I like OS X for being so Unixy and yet still having a great UI. I just don't like any consumer-oriented Apple software, I think all their other stuff is horribly limited.

Grand Master

+virtorio MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

I had gotten used to the delay for the internet to start working again on my laptop after closing and opening the lid. Since installing the beta, that delay is gone. 

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Ocenaudio 3.19.5

      By Copernic · Posted

      Ocenaudio 3.19.5 by Razvan Serea  Ocenaudio is a full featured, fast and easy to use audio and music editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyze audio files without complications. Ocenaudio also has powerful features that will please more advanced users. To assist ocenaudio development, a powerful toolset of audio editing, analysis and manipulation called Ocen Framework was created. ocenaudio is also based on Qt framework, a well known library for cross-platform development. Cross-platform support ocenaudio is available for all major operating systems: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Native applications are generated for each platform from a common source, in order to achieve excelent performance and seamless integration with the operating system. All versions of ocenaudio have a uniform set of features and the same graphical interface, so the skills you learn in one platform can be used in the others. VST plugins support Ocenaudio supports VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins, giving its users access to numerous effects. Like the native effects, VST effects can use real-time preview to aide configuration. Real-time preview of effects Applying effects such as EQ, gain and filtering is an important part of audio editing. However, it is very tricky to get the desired result by adjusting the controls configuration alone: you must listen the processed audio. To ease the configuration of audio effects, ocenaudio has a real time preview feature: you hear the processed signal while adjusting the controls. The effect configuration window also includes a miniature view of the selected audio signal. You can navigate on this miniature view in the same way as you do on the main interface, selecting parts that interest you and listening to the effect result in real time. Multiselection for delicate editions To speed up complex audio files editing, ocenaudio includes multi-selection. With this amazing tool, you can simultaneously select different portions of an audio file and listen, edit or even apply an effect to them. For example, if you want to normalize only the excerpts of an interview where the interviewee is talking, just select them and apply the effect. Eficient edition of large files With ocenaudio, there is no limit to the length or the quantity of the audio files you can edit. Using an advanced memory management system, the application keeps your files open without wasting any of your computer's memory. Even in files several hours long, common editing operations such as copy, cut or paste happen almost instantly. Fully featured spectrogram Besides offering an incredible waveform view of your audio files, ocenaudio has a powerful and complete spectrogram view. In this view, you can analyze the spectral content of your audio signal with maximum clarity. Advanced users will be surprised to find that the spectrogram settings are applied in real time. The display is updated immediately when altering features such as the number of frequency bands, window type and size and dynamic range of the display. Ocenaudio 3.19.5 changelog: Fixes crashes related to audio devices on Windows (DirectSound and ASIO) Fixes several crashes and memory corruption issues Fixes opening several headerless files at once, which previously dropped all but one Improves batch export by suggesting and remembering the destination folder Fixes accented and non-Latin characters in VST plug-in and compressed-archive file names Adds zstd compression support and updates the archive library Other bug fixes and improvements Download: Ocenaudio 64-bit | Portable | ~40.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Ocenaudio for Linux and Mac OS View: Ocenaudio Homepage | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Limited Prime Day deal sees Amazon Echo Show 11 is at its lowest price yet

      By ad47uk · Posted

      I did think about a Echo show once and it would be useful to see what my cameras see. But my brother got one and I changed my mind. Adverts and not really worth the price just to see my cameras. I have a load of dots and a Echo Gen 4, they will do.
    • The Trump administration doesn't want you to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 without its approval

      By ad47uk · Posted

      I asking where you are from or live, because if you don't live in the U.K, why are you so bothered? That is another reason I voted out, E.U and people poking their noses in where they should not be. Sadly we still have it, Trump, and his cronies. Putin as well and no doubt others. It makes no difference what we believe, if we made the right choice or not, we are out. As I said to someone when the news first broke we have voted out, we just need to make the best of it. I have no problems with closer ties to the E.U, we still need to trade. Just don't want to be in their club.
    • The Trump administration doesn't want you to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 without its approval

      By ad47uk · Posted

      So you think I voted out because i am anti-immigrant. I am fed up with those that come over and think that we owe them something. The ones that are at the moment coming over from France where they are already in a safe country because they think and no doubt will get everything chucked at them. While people who were born and bred here get very little. I have nothing against as i have said before those that come here and work. In fact I know full well that our NHS would struggle without them. I do have a problem with those that come over here and try to push their religion and their way of life onto us. My reasons for voting out was because of what the E.U is and is also becoming. I did not agree with Freedom of movement, not because I don't want people over here, but because people need to be checked before being allowed to cross borders and that goes both ways. But my main thing was because the E.U is becoming if not already a united states of Europe. The only reason countries like Poland and Romania joined was because they had no money. When my partner left Poland, she had nothing, Poland had nothing, that is why she left. Wanted to learn something and earn a living. The E.U would have us back according to Michel Barnier. https://www.euronews.com/my-eu...ator-barnier-tells-euronews Why are you so scared to say what country you are in?
    • Windows 11 is getting redesigned taskbar settings in new build

      By thartist · Posted

      I wonder what that line really meant...

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      498
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      205
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      145
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      74
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      69
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!