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Audio File Servers

D

Dndsh237

Guest
Hey gang,

I am looking for some suggestions on setting up an audio server for a home-based music playback system. I figured I'd post about it here, since you guys do this sort of thing for radio.

My audio file playback system is OtsDJAV from OtsLabs. Presently my audio files are stored on a 300 GB hard drive in the same computer. I already have this computer on a network, and although this system is working for me, I have run into a problem.

The problem concerns ripping the audio files to my server, from another computer on the network. Most of the time it works, but on occasion the process stalls and I get errors like "The path is too deep" or "the connection is no longer available".

Both machines are WindowsXP Home SP2. Both are on a network router with a firewall. My guess is my server machine is not powerful enough to run the music playback software and serve as my audio file server at the same time. That's not really ideal anyway so I considered this as a make-do until I was ready to add an audio file server.

before I take a DIY approach to building a file server, I thought about looking for something pre-built. I have heard of NAS servers as a possibility, but thought I'd keep an open mind and see what else might work for me.

Any tips / suggestions for pre-built servers?

Thanks
 
Sounds like the perfect application for NAS. It's a defacto file server, for a very reasonable price. The network interface can provide your entertainment data (music or video) at rates that are much higher than needed for even HD video.

They're easy to set up, but I'd make sure that you had a wired connection between the NAS and the router. It's faster and more reliable.
 
SirRoxalot said:
Sounds like the perfect application for NAS. It's a defacto file server, for a very reasonable price. The network interface can provide your entertainment data (music or video) at rates that are much higher than needed for even HD video.

They're easy to set up, but I'd make sure that you had a wired connection between the NAS and the router. It's faster and more reliable.
Click to expand...

I'd go a step further. HP makes a home server for the OP's specific purpose. A 500Gb model running Windows Home Server can be had for $600 or less. Google "hp home server" to find it.
 
"You said your computers were XP home. For best performance I would upgrade to XP-Pro. Over the years I've noticed that some of the networking capabilities of XP have been disappearing form the home addition. One of the site I maintain computers for had been buying desktops from Costco with XP Home. Lately I've had networking issues so I upgraded them to PRO and no more issues. This degradation coincided with the launch of Vista which definitely has the networking hobbled in the home versions.

For what you propose you need robust performance, you might want to look at going to gigabyte networking especially if you want to do video though regular Cat-5 should be adequate for audio. Definitely though wired over wireless in either case.
 
Thanks guys for the tips.

My system will be audio only, no video. The network is wired with Cat 5, since it's all in the same location. I have no plans to do wireless networks.

The HP server looks interesting!

Please keep the tips coming, as I have made no official selection yet.
 
If you have virus scan software running, you may need to tell the software to exclude looking at the folders you
are writing into. I see this issue frequently in printing press applications.

I do all my ripping/editing on a laptop, then load then copy the files to the the server, which runs Zara continuously on a box with
Windows 2000. It use a 768 mhz CPU and has only half a gig of memory.
It never burps. I need to restart Zara to see these newest files, but it's no problem to start a second instance of the program and switch off on the fly.
 
Tom Wells said:
If you have virus scan software running, you may need to tell the software to exclude looking at the folders you
are writing into. I see this issue frequently in printing press applications.

I do all my ripping/editing on a laptop, then load then copy the files to the the server, which runs Zara continuously on a box with
Windows 2000. It use a 768 mhz CPU and has only half a gig of memory.
It never burps. I need to restart Zara to see these newest files, but it's no problem to start a second instance of the program and switch off on the fly.
Click to expand...
Sorry to interrupt the discussion.

Tom: In one of the menus at the top of ZaraRadio, there is an option to refresh or reload the file tree in the edit or view menus. You don't even have to restart the program to see the new files. I don't have the software installed so I cannot give you the exact menu and name of the option. Just take a look and see if this trick will solve your problem.
 
Well, that was easy.. it's under VIEW, and it says "update tree". Thank you.
 
nmoore6676 said:
Over the years I've noticed that some of the networking capabilities of XP have been disappearing form the home addition. One of the site I maintain computers for had been buying desktops from Costco with XP Home. Lately I've had networking issues so I upgraded them to PRO and no more issues.
Click to expand...

What???

Here's a news flash: The only difference between Home and Pro's networking is that Home can't join domains and Home doesn't allow RDP (remote desktop). Period.

I bet the reason your problems went away with the Pro installation was because you trashed the (usually bloated) XP Home preinstallation on the Costco computers.
 
XP Home vs. Pro

Rob Stutson said:
Here's a news flash: The only difference between Home and Pro's networking is that Home can't join domains and Home doesn't allow RDP (remote desktop). Period.
Click to expand...

That's not entirely true. XP Home ONLY supports "Simple File Sharing", which means that you can't control individual access to shares. XP Pro allows you to turn off SFS and control both access and management rights all the way down to the file level. That's a HUGE increase in security, especially if your machine is exposed to the Internet.

For this application, I don't see the need of all the overhead, complexity, and cost of Microsoft Home Server when Network Attached Storage will serve the purpose more easily, and for significantly less money.
 
In a home setting... I'd jump on the HP MediaVault gen 2.0. MV2120 features a 500gb HD for $288.98 (http://www.amazon.com/HP-MV2120-500GB-Media-Vault/dp/B0015313O8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1215648284&sr=8-1 - for product feature comparison... not an intent to SPAM). This all in one NAS solution features a built in Itunes media sever. Of course, the MV5140 model is available featuring 2 500gb HDD and the MV5150 featuring 2 750gb HDD.

The benefit of the HP MediaVault over the HP Home Media server is:
1. Price
2. Unlimited configurable user accounts with permission settings
3. Doesn't run server software from a certain Redmond, WA software company
4. Stable
5. Outstanding Knowledge Base supported by Lee Devlin (HP MediaVault gen 1.0 System Engineer). Knowledge base: http://www.k0lee.com/hpmediavault/index.html

IMO... The HP MediaVault is the NAS solution for the casual home user.
 
DoneDrinkingKoolAid said:
In a home setting... I'd jump on the HP MediaVault gen 2.0. MV2120 features a 500gb HD for $288.98 (http://www.amazon.com/HP-MV2120-500GB-Media-Vault/dp/B0015313O8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1215648284&sr=8-1 - for product feature comparison... not an intent to SPAM). This all in one NAS solution features a built in Itunes media sever. Of course, the MV5140 model is available featuring 2 500gb HDD and the MV5150 featuring 2 750gb HDD.

The benefit of the HP MediaVault over the HP Home Media server is:
1. Price
2. Unlimited configurable user accounts with permission settings
3. Doesn't run server software from a certain Redmond, WA software company
4. Stable
5. Outstanding Knowledge Base supported by Lee Devlin (HP MediaVault gen 1.0 System Engineer). Knowledge base: http://www.k0lee.com/hpmediavault/index.html

IMO... The HP MediaVault is the NAS solution for the casual home user.
Click to expand...

I've been looking at the 2120, and the 2020, both on the Amazon site. The one difference I see is that the 2120 uses an external power supply. The 2020 has an internal power supply and uses the standard 3 pin AC Power cable.

Normally I dislike produts that use external power supplies. So I'm thinking the 2020 might be better for me.

Any thoughts?
 
Remember that the P/S is a source of heat, which is a killer for electronics. On the other hand, most internal P/Ss have extra fans that may even increase air flow inside the case.

Tough call without seeing the unit.
 
You are correct. The 2020 has an internal Power Supply while the 2120 is external. As a result, power consumption (for those of us trying to be 'green' is significantly lower - 60watts on the 2120).

There are fans in both units, however, the 2120 generates significantly less heat. I surmise that this may be due in part to the external power supply.

I will warn you, the 2020 and 2120 are night and day different systems. Different processors, OSes, control panels, file systems, etc. Both, however, do a fine job for their intended marketplace.

Regardless of the unit on which you decide, I believe that you will be pleased with the addition of a MediaVault to your home server collection. Good luck.
 
OK I've decided to go with the 2020. It should arrive next week. And I'll have lots of time to play around with it since I am on vacation that week as well. ;D Should be fun! ;)

Thanks all for the tips & suggestions. 8)
 
I trust that you will be pleased.

Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Man alive it arrived this morning and it is SWEET 8) 8) 8)

Got my two PC's configured and everything. Now I just gotta rip about 900 CD's onto it. ;D
 
OK guys I have set everything up and it works, except for one issue. As the audio files play from the server, they periodically stop and start, as if someone was pressing a pause button. My PC used to stream the files, and the server, are next to each other. They are connected to the same network hub. I had the same problem when I had the server near a different computer, that was on a router.

Any tips on how to resolve this?

Thanks.
 
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