Dead silent dedicated Linux music server for USB DAC's.

TomS · « **Reply #340 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 01:09 am »

Quote from: jkelly on 10 Mar 2011, 12:36 am

I am getting on board with this project and have a Alix coming.
Do I need a NAS setup for files or can it hit a shared network drive
that my squeezebox also hits?

Jeff

Jeff,

My Alix sees a Vortexbox (Linux) which has both a Squeezecenter server and MPD on it pointed to the same music directory/files. The MPD instance on the Alix also points directly to the same files so all are quite happy with it. I can easily A/B the same files coming from both Squeezecenter through a Transporter to my DAC and the same ones coming through the Alix/AP1 with MPD to my DAC.

Tom

nyc_paramedic · « **Reply #341 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 02:09 am »

Quote from: jkelly on 10 Mar 2011, 12:36 am

I am getting on board with this project and have a Alix coming.
Do I need a NAS setup for files or can it hit a shared network drive
that my squeezebox also hits?

Jeff,

Does your shared network drive support NFS protocol? If yes, you're good to go.

ted_b · « **Reply #342 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 02:14 am »

I have an Alix coming, along with the programmed cf card (thanks Mike and Tom). I've been told I will need to "run some scripts" and be good to go....problem is, I have no networked disc yet. I haven't ordered a NAS yet, so can I somehow make one of my go-to pc's on the network have NFS discs? In other words, can I get the Alix to see either the internal FLAC music files of my desktop or the external wav/aiff music files of my Macbook (all on same LAN)?

nyc_paramedic · « **Reply #343 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 02:26 am »

Quote from: ted_b on 10 Mar 2011, 02:14 am

I have an Alix coming, along with the programmed cf card (thanks Mike and Tom). I've been told I will need to "run some scripts" and be good to go....problem is, I have no networked disc yet. I haven't ordered a NAS yet, so can I somehow make one of my go-to pc's on the network have NFS discs? In other words, can I get the Alix to see either the internal FLAC music files of my desktop or the external wav/aiff music files of my Macbook (all on same LAN)?

You have several options:

Use any Linux PC on your network to export a folder with FLAC files. I do this with my bedroom computer that exports to the Alix in the listening room. You can add a second disc to the machine and install nfs-kernel-server.

You can do the same with you Mac. Mac OS X supports NFS.

Use any old cheap Pentium class machine; install a big disc; install a minmal Debian server install; apt-get install nfs-kernel-server; export a folder to the Alix.

ted_b · « **Reply #344 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 03:22 am »

Thanks! So, according to some googling I can use Disk Utility in Snow Leopard and mount an NFS drive (some other local USB drive laying around), and the Alix will see it? Sounds easy enough......

The disk utility will ask for a "remote NFS URL". If this is Alix, does this mean I can't get ready/ahead of the curve and set up an NFS disc mount on my Mac until the Alix is introduced into my network? It will be the only Linux machine there; the config using another linux machine is being "faked" or the majority of the config is being done remotely, I guess, via Mike's remote copying of the cf card.

(newbie alert)

nyc_paramedic · « **Reply #345 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 03:45 am »

Quote from: ted_b on 10 Mar 2011, 03:22 am

Thanks! So, according to some googling I can use Disk Utility in Snow Leopard and mount an NFS drive (some other local USB drive laying around), and the Alix will see it? Sounds easy enough......

Edit: will I have a "remote NFS URL" by then? I will somehow know the URL of Alix? (can you tell these are all-time newbie questions?)

No worries about the newbie questions...

The Alix will see any NFS share when we edit a text file called fstab. It resides in /etc.
The file of my Alix is as follows:
#/dev/hda1 / ext2 defaults,noatime,rw 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
tmpfs          /tmp    tmpfs    nosuid,nodev          0       0
#tmpfs /rw tmpfs defaults,size=32M 0 0
192.168.1.10:/home/nick /mnt/nfs nfs rw 0 0

The last line is the one were interested in. It mounts the home directory of my bedroom machine (/home/nick), which has the ip of 192.168.1.10, to the Alix under /mnt/nfs. I made the nfs directory with the mkdir command, i.e., mkdir nfs while being in the /mnt directory.

On my bedroom machine, I export /home/nick via editing the /etc/exports file. Mine is like this:

# /etc/exports: the access control list for filesystems which may be exported
#      to NFS clients. See exports(5).
#
# Example for NFSv2 and NFSv3:
# /srv/homes hostname1(rw,sync,no_subtree_check) hostname2(ro,sync,no_subtree_check)
#
# Example for NFSv4:
# /srv/nfs4 gss/krb5i(rw,sync,fsid=0,crossmnt,no_subtree_check)
# /srv/nfs4/homes gss/krb5i(rw,sync,no_subtree_check)
#

/home/nick/    192.168.1.12(rw,sync,no_root_squash)

192.168.1.12 is the IP of my alix.

mgalusha · « **Reply #346 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 04:09 am »

For those who may have a windows box holding their music collection and perhaps running slim server, Voyage also has a SAMBA client and it will happily connect provided a share is created on the win box along with a user/password with access to that share.

Mounting is very similar to the NFS example Nick posted. Mine is unplugged at the moment or I'd grab the line from fstab. Will post tomorrow if I don't forget or you can google it.

That is part of the beauty of the Alix or other Linux based player, it can connect to nearly anything.

ted_b · « **Reply #347 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 04:45 am »

Mike, is something like slimserver required when doing the SAMBA thing with Windows? I ask because that is where my large FLAC collection is, once a repository for Slimserver, but I no longer run Slimserver (I can again of course, but not for any reason other than you saying I need it for SAMBA).

mgalusha · « **Reply #348 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 05:25 pm »

Quote

is something like slimserver required when doing the SAMBA thing with Windows?

Not at all, I just mentioned it in case someone was using an XP box for a slim server and is wanting to try an Alix solution, this just allows them to connect to an existing setup with minimal effort.

SMB (Server Message Block) is the protocol used for windows networks and SAMBA is the Linux service that act as a SMB client and host. Unless one has an existing Windows box NFS is a better option and it's also possible to add NFS to Windows but since Voyage has the SAMBA client installed by default it's less work to just use that if your files are on a win box.

ted_b · « **Reply #349 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 05:29 pm »

Quote from: mgalusha on 10 Mar 2011, 05:25 pm

Not at all, I just mentioned it in case someone was using an XP box for a slim server and is wanting to try an Alix solution, this just allows them to connect to an existing setup with minimal effort.

SMB (Server Message Block) is the protocol used for windows networks and SAMBA is the Linux service that act as a SMB client and host. Unless one has an existing Windows box NFS is a better option and it's also possible to add NFS to Windows but since Voyage has the SAMBA client installed by default it's less work to just use that if your files are on a win box.

So I just make sure my FLAC hard drive (internal P drive) is shared and then mapped as a network drive? Or are there some authentications or user security changes required on the Vista side?

mgalusha · « **Reply #350 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 05:42 pm »

On the Windows machine:

1) Create a local user named something like mpduser with a password, keep track of the password.

2) Share the root of your music folder and give read only permission to that user account.

On the Linux machine:

3) add a line to the fstab with the username/password to mount this share. I suggest that you give the Vista (or whatever) box a static IP address so the Alix box will always be able to find it. Alternatively create a reservation in your DHCP server (your router) for the Windows machine so it always gets the same address.

4) The mpd.conf file will need to be updated to use the mount point defined in the fstab entry.

There are some in between details but that is the basic bits. I'll post my fstab entry and the mpd.conf bits this evening if I don't forget...

I also have mpd configured to use the share to store it's catalog since the CF drives are mounted as read only but that requires a bit more work though not much though the account used by the mpduser will need read/write access.

mike

ted_b · « **Reply #351 on:** 10 Mar 2011, 05:47 pm »

Mike, thanks but that is all greek to me.

I have no clue how to share a root (unless you mean what I already did, that is make my lossless folder of my p drive shared and mapped as a network drive), and I have no Linux machine that I can add any line to (Alix only, due here today or tmrw, but was told it has no interface). I will take my questions offline to TomS and Mike so as not to hijack this thread. Sorry....I'm sensing very quickly that this is the wrong option for folks like me.

jkelly · « **Reply #352 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 10:09 am »

What does everyone like for a NAS?

Jeff

mcgsxr · « **Reply #353 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 01:37 pm »

Is anyone playing with wifi for this yet, or is it all wired ethernet?

jtwrace · « **Reply #354 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 02:25 pm »

Quote from: ted_b on 10 Mar 2011, 05:47 pm

I'm sensing very quickly that this is the wrong option for folks like me.

+1 gazillion

nyc_paramedic · « **Reply #355 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 06:13 pm »

Quote from: ted_b on 10 Mar 2011, 05:47 pm

Mike, thanks but that is all greek to me. :( I have no clue how to share a root (unless you mean what I already did, that is make my lossless folder of my p drive shared and mapped as a network drive), and I have no Linux machine that I can add any line to (Alix only, due here today or tmrw, but was told it has no interface). I will take my questions offline to TomS and Mike so as not to hijack this thread. Sorry....I'm sensing very quickly that this is the wrong option for folks like me.

Take a deep breath. It's not as complicated as it seems. Yes, you're going to have to put some elbow grease into getting it running, but we're here to help, and yes, this is the right thread for you to learn how to get it running; you're not hijacking anything. :)

The Alix does have an interface; we log in via ssh over the LAN. We can do this from any machine: Windows, MAC, or Linux.

In Mac we pull up the Terminal in the Applications/Utilities folder.

In Windows, we can use a tool called Putty. Link: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/

Some trouble that newbies run into with the Alix/NAS/NFS share is making sure all the machines have the same IP address. Whether it's static or having the router reserve an IP based on the unit's MAC address. I use m0n0wall on a Wrap board (predecessor to the Alix) as my router and that lets me reserve 192.168.1.17 for my Alix and 192.168.1.10 for my bedroom desktop NFS share. What router model do you have?

jtwrace · « **Reply #356 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 06:29 pm »

Apple Airport Extreme here.

ted_b · « **Reply #357 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 06:39 pm »

D-Link DIR-655 here. The web interface says static IP always on, but yet it uses a DHCP server. Anyway, it seems my desktop pc (Vista, with shared drive on it) always has the same IP address 192.168.0.197. Alix box has been assembled and CF card could be here today.

Tom, I shipped you your extra case (the one with the CF card cutout) USPS today, will arrive Monday.

Edit: Putty installed, thanks.

nyc_paramedic · « **Reply #358 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 08:46 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 11 Mar 2011, 06:29 pm

Apple Airport Extreme here.

This one? http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/specs.html

Do you have the owner's manual? I can't seem to find a PDF on the Apple site.

jtwrace · « **Reply #359 on:** 11 Mar 2011, 08:59 pm »

Quote from: nyc_paramedic on 11 Mar 2011, 08:46 pm

This one? http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/specs.html

Do you have the owner's manual? I can't seem to find a PDF on the Apple site.

That's it!

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/airportextreme_802.11n_userguide.pdf