Server status indicator not working over internet

Hi,

I discovered PMMP recently, when deciding to setup a server for my son and his friends. The setup was smooth and easy, and my son is happy. Thanks for providing this great piece of software.
I use a OVH VPS server for the moment, but am also doing some tests on a local linux machine in my LAN. Trying to make myself familiar with MC. I am a newby in this game.

What I just couldn't get to work, nor found a solution on the forums and docs; is how to make the server appear as available in the friend list, with motd and number of players active/max. At the moment my server running on the VPS appears grey (see attached screenshot). Friends who will receive the server host-details might think the server is unavailable when it appears grey in the list.

When I have server and client on the same LAN is shows green as LAN Server with the motd and connected/max player info, as per the info in server.properties.
In the list Servers it shows up with the name I configured (test server) on the client, without details and status "searching for server".
Is there a way to refect the server status correctly over the internet?

The client is PE Android V1.1.4
Server info:
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Loading pocketmine.yml...
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Loading server properties...
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Selected English (eng) as the base language
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Starting Minecraft: PE server version v1.1.0.55
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Opening server on 0.0.0.0:19132
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: This server is running PocketMine-MP version 1.6.2dev-310 "Unleashed" (API 3.0.0-ALPHA7)
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: PocketMine-MP is distributed under the LGPL License
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Loading recipes...
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Loading resource packs...
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Preparing level "world"
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Starting GS4 status listener
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Setting query port to 19132
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Query running on 0.0.0.0:19132
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Default game type: Creative Mode
[19:19:28] [Server thread/INFO]: Done (0.358s)! For help, type "help" or "?"

server.properties:

Code:

#Properties Config file
#Tue Jul 25 19:19:28 CEST 2017
motd=Minecraft: PE Server
server-name=Minecraft: PE Server
server-port=19132
gamemode=1
max-players=20
spawn-protection=16
white-list=off
enable-query=on
enable-rcon=off
announce-player-achievements=on
allow-flight=off
spawn-animals=on
spawn-mobs=on
force-gamemode=off
hardcore=off
pvp=on
difficulty=1
generator-settings=
level-name=world
level-seed=
level-type=DEFAULT
rcon.password=xxxxx
auto-save=on
view-distance=8

Thanks,
ACBE

 

It's impossible to change the "Locating server" message and doesn't have anything to do with PocketMine.
"Locating server" means that it didn't connect to the server yet.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply.
I can connect to the server without problems. After a connect and disconnect the status continues to show "Locating server" though, without motd or other details. I can only see those when connecting over the same LAN. I have the same problem on both of my servers. The one on the OVH VPS is already frequently visited, but continues to show as "Locating server".

"Minecraft: PE server" and "test server" in the attached screenshot is the same server. TCS is the other server hosted with OVH,

 

A LAN server shows up on the device automatically, but if you also add it to the server list, only it's presence in the list of LAN servers will display it's status. Have you tried connecting to the server from a different Internet connection than the one the server is being hosted on (note that you must be port forwarded)?

 

I just did a fresh installation on a different VPS (5 day free trial) of Ubuntu:

Code:

root@ubuntu:~# lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:   Ubuntu
Description:   Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS
Release:   16.04
Codename:   xenial
root@ubuntu:~# uname -a
Linux ubuntu 4.4.0-71-generic #92-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 24 12:59:01 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
root@ubuntu:~#

I installed PMMP the easy way:

Code:

wget -q -O - https://get.pmmp.io | bash -s -

Now it's working correctly. I will reinstall Ubuntu from scratch on the OVH server with a fresh PMMP installation. In case it does not solve the problem, I'll have to compare the stock Ubuntu installation differences between the two servers.

 

Note that you need to have 2 protocols forwarded UDP and TCP. One of them is used for the game and the other one for the MODT, hence the locating server...

 

Thanks.
Port forwarding is not applicable in this case; between the server and the client is no firewall, nor NAt being used.
I tested an exact copy of my PMMP folder on various different VPS servers (all with a new Ubuntu deployment, but using various different VPS providers); on some of those servers the motd and server health status is presented correctly, while others do not.

Conclusion; apparently the problem is cause by the underlying Ubuntu setup.

I will investigate further, and check the differences in the base setup of the VPS servers. Your answer helps me to start concentrating on TCP first.