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Sequoia 15.0.1 AVB ATDECC Controller (Virtual Entity not working)

Hey all. Im not sure how many other people are using their mac like this but let me explain.


I have 14-inch, 2023 Apple M2 Pro 16GB Macbook Pro.


For a while now, I've been using my Macbook pro as a AVB Virtual Entity on a AVB network. On Sonoma, I had rock solid results with the ADTECC Controller. I own a RME AVB Tool which I was using to convert my AVB Streams - Madi / Madi - AVB for multitrack recording in a Live sound scenario. I use the apple thunderbolt 2-3 adapter with a Apple Thunderbolt 2 - Ethernet dongle which allows me to enable AVB/EAV mode in the network settings.



It seems after updating to Sequoia 15.0.1 it has bricked this capability. After multiple boot cycles and powering things up in certian order I am able to see my devices in the ATDECC Controller and patch the streams. Audio will pass, but after using it the controller wont allow me to make changes, saying the command has timed out, the streams remain patched even after disabling the virtual entity, nothing will work properly. The thunderbolt interface will remain in my Audio Devices after disabling the virtual entity. Not sure if anyone else is having similar problems, or if the solution is to revert back to Sonoma for now?




MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Oct 22, 2024 11:35 AM

Reply
14 replies

Oct 27, 2024 8:08 AM in response to DevonNutty

DevonNutty wrote:

It seems after updating to Sequoia 15.0.1 it has bricked this capability.

But what about all of the other great Sequoia features? You did upgrade in order to get those features didn't you?


With regards to audio, Apple's Sequoia New Features Guide mentions:

  • the ability to record audio in notes,
  • live transcriptions from audio (in certain regions), and
  • many audio enhancements for AirPods.


If you are using any kind of specialized, 3rd party products, you should consult with the manufacturers of those products to confirm that they work properly with any Apple operating system update or new devices. Sometimes, people on these forums assume that Apple tests its products with 3rd party devices. They don't.


It is the responsibility of 3rd party manufacturers to test their products with new Apple products. That's why Apple gives them access to beta versions for testing. There is no guarantee that any such 3rd party products will work with any future Apple devices or operating systems.

Nov 6, 2024 2:52 PM in response to DevonNutty

To be honest I found the replies to your question very frustrating so far. Unfortunately I today had to find out that I needed to roll back to Sonoma as well as I got all the same problems as you have gotten them. So let´s keep our fingers crossed this gets fixed. Though I think we are such a small group of people that use AVB native with Apple that we might be doomed.

Nov 3, 2024 6:38 PM in response to DevonNutty

DevonNutty wrote:

I havent been able to find anything published about the AVB Configuration application by apple. Its very strange.

To get to the app you open terminal and type the following

avbutil
controller launch

You need to have a AVB Compatible Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to be able to use your Mac as a AVB Virtual Entity.

So this is an undocumented, command-line tool, running on only macOS, that requires ethernet and Thunderbolt? Didn't this tool ever seem strange before? Did you ever see an Apple SVP giving a demo of this thing?

Currently I have a M2 Mac Mini, and a M2 Pro Macbook pro. When both of these were updated to 15.0.1

I obviously can't help you with any command-line thunderbolt ethernet audio tools. But I can give you good advice regarding macOS.


First, a caveat. Personally, I find Sequoia to be exceptionally stable - one Apple best updates in years. But I run a tight ship. I use default settings whenever possible (rotating WiFi address? LOL, no!). I keep 3rd party system modifications to a bare minimum. I don't run any 3rd party "security" apps. I don't run Apple's worthless "application firewall".


All that being said, Sequoia will not be "stable" until late spring of 2025. I wouldn't even consider using it in production until then. My primary computer is still running Ventura. I keep this one on the latest Sequoia beta (currently 15.2) so I know what's coming.


I strongly recommend that you do likewise. Then, when something like this breaks, you can file a bug report with Apple and continue to work using your other computer. You can test each Sequoia update to see when, or if, Apple ever fixes it. Deviate from this process at your peril.

I would love to forward this off to the correct forum if you know the place!

These things are all domain or app focused. I still have no idea what you're doing. Maybe go to the site map and see if you can find the place where your description of the problem would have the best chance of being seen by someone who knows what you're talking about.


It's possible that you've simply done something to your networking that that is no longer reliable in Sequoia. No way for me to tell. Even if you were to swear that you had no 3rd party "security" apps or "firewalls" of any kind, that means absolutely nothing. I can't count how many times people have told me that and then turned out to have some of the worst such example installed the whole time.


It's more a question of what you want to get out of this forum interaction. If you just want to complain about Apple, I can't help much. I do have some complaints of my own, but they're just as obscure as yours. I can tell you how to file a bug report, but just so you know, that's a total waste of your time. People file bug reports and then sincerely expect their bugs to be fixed in the next couple of weeks. So sad. A critical security bug that affects millions of people will take weeks to release. Other major bugs take months. I'm afraid that in your case, your only hope is that the bug gets fixed as part of one of Apple's other low-level networking bug fixes. I've heard rumours that 15.1 may fix some of these. I can't confirm because I was never affected in the first place.


So that's what you can do. Roll one of those computers back to the last stable version. Then upgrade the other to the latest beta. Maybe you get lucky. But don't you dare upgrade the old version to Sequoia until macOS 16 is released. And even then, late summer updates to version 16.4.7 or 16.5.1 could easily break it all over again.


This is how the world works. Apple's customers continue to deliver semi trucks full of cash to Apple to make sure it stays that way.

Oct 27, 2024 7:43 AM in response to DevonNutty

I'm struggling as well with AVB after updating to sequoia. It was a little finicky on Sonoma, but now it's extremely unpredictable. If you try to change almost anything the system seems to silently fail and you have to reboot to restore it.


Even after a reboot, it is hit or miss on whether it will reload correctly and I end up rebooting multiple times to get it to work.


Im not seeing that particular clock error, but setting the clock related checkbox when initializing the virtual interface definitely caused problems. Leaving it unchecked works better for me.


one thing that did help immediately after the upgrade was to go into settings and hit the reset (connections I think?) button before setting it up. You might try that.

Nov 3, 2024 11:24 AM in response to etresoft

Hey, thanks for the reply.


Think you might not fully understand my post here. Im not talking about third party developers. The AVB Configuration app is designed by apple. It no longer works as of 15.01. Im currently rolled back to sonoma 14.7.1 and everything is happy again.


You should look into AVB and what the apple ATDECC controller is. Even without any third party hardware , two Mac Minis linked over a network port. The Application doesnt work anymore.



Nov 3, 2024 11:45 AM in response to DevonNutty

DevonNutty wrote:

Think you might not fully understand my post here. Im not talking about third party developers. The AVB Configuration app is designed by apple. It no longer works as of 15.01. Im currently rolled back to sonoma 14.7.1 and everything is happy again.

You should look into AVB and what the apple ATDECC controller is. Even without any third party hardware , two Mac Minis linked over a network port. The Application doesnt work anymore.

I assumed that you were referring to a product from Adtec Digital. You also mentioned an "RME AVB Tool".


But I see you are using different spellings. Sometimes you say "ADTECC" and sometimes you say "ATDECC". There is an "ATDECC" (né AVDECC) protocol which apparently stands for "AVB/TSN Discovery, Enumeration, Connection management and Control".


But I see absolute nothing about any of this on any official Apple site. I see no reason to assume that my original reply was incorrect in any way. If I'm wrong and you are working with 100% Apple software and Apple hardware, then please identify which products you are talking about so that I can ask the moderators to move your question to an appropriate forum. This is the Sequoia forum, where only a tiny, tiny fraction of people know anything about professional audio protocols. There are other forums where you can find people more familiar with these products. If there are any problems with Sequoia, those are the people who would know about it.

Nov 3, 2024 1:15 PM in response to etresoft

I havent been able to find anything published about the AVB Configuration application by apple. Its very strange.


Currently I have a M2 Mac Mini, and a M2 Pro Macbook pro. When both of these were updated to 15.0.1 the ATDECC Controller was very buggy and became unresponive. At the time I was also trying to encorperate a third party "RME AVB TOOL" which also speaks the AVB protocol. Even without this unit. The Controller application was glitching out.


To get to the app you open terminal and type the following


avbutil

controller launch


You need to have a AVB Compatible Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to be able to use your Mac as a AVB Virtual Entity.


I would love to forward this off to the correct forum if you know the place!

Nov 11, 2024 1:09 PM in response to DevonNutty

Sequoia 15.0.1 AVB mac(intel) to mac(intel) works well. However, we noticed a clock failure on the PreSonus USB audio interface immediately after connecting "Apple Thunderbolt3 - Apple Thunderbolt 2 - Ethernet". The culprit may be the PreSonus "Universal control" driver. It simply crashes and does not start when connecting "Apple Thunderbolt3 - Apple Thunderbolt 2 - Ethernet". It is probably trying to recognize its Thunderbolt device. *Two "Universal control" updates have been released, we have not yet conducted tests.

AVB is owned by intel. If Apple doesn't buy intel -AVB will die on MacOS...

Nov 24, 2024 4:55 AM in response to Jomix13

K1ind of.... best-practice atm to get it working under sequoia and silicon is to use the configuration dialog. Somehow this is a little different connection-wise and way more stable. So do a right-click on the device and go for setup entities this configures all the needed settings and connects them in the end. That worked the most stable for me, though it is not a failsafe option ATM.

Sequoia 15.0.1 AVB ATDECC Controller (Virtual Entity not working)

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