It's been a while since I've added anything to this thread so here is an update on some changes that I've made my configuration and how things are working out.
First, I picked up the following new hardware: 1) a Dell Inspiron 530S computer (it's the slim version of the Inspiron 530) without a monitor. 2) A IOGEAR kvm switch so that I can use the Inspiron along with my existing Dell Dimension 4600 computer. 3) A Drobo storage robot which I then loaded with four 750GB Seagate sata hard drives. I've configured the hardware as follows: 1) My old Dell Dimension 4600 is now used exclusively as a dedicated server running SlimServer 6.5.4 2) The Drobo is connected to the Dell Dimension 4600 via USB 2.0 3) The Dell Inspiron 530S is now my "main" computer on which I do all my computer related work, e.g. email, web surfing, downloading, ripping CDs, etc. Note: any new music which I want to add to my music library is first prepared on the Inspiron and then transfered to the Dimension 4600 via my network (both computers are connected to my router via CAT5 cable). After I got the Drobo I transfered my entire music library, which was spread across 4 external USB hard drives, over the course of several days onto the Drobo. I set up the directory structure on the Drobo as follows: F:\Drobo Music\Classical F:\Drobo Music\Christmas F:\Drobo Music\Jazz F:\Drobo Music\Other F:\Drobo Music\Rock That's it, just five subdirectories for all my music. Each CD or multi-CD set gets it's own subdirectory within one of five main music directories. Several of the five main music directories are quite large (the "jazz" directory has about 1,700 subdirectories, or "albums" in it) while some are fairly small (the "other" directory has about 10 items in it). So how is this new setup working out? Glad you asked. So far, so good. One of the reasons that I picked up a new computer is that I feel that my old Dell is reaching the end of it's life cycle and since I'm presently living in the Netherlands until at least early next year, I didn't want to have to buy a new computer in Europe. I bought the new Dell and the Drobo while I was back in the US for the Christmas holidays and carried them both back in my luggage which, by the way, was way overweight. As far as the problems I was experiencing (as outlined in the first post of this thread) here's a rundown on what's changed and what's not. > The response of the server to various commands from any of the > Squeezeboxes or the Transporter can vary from reasonably fast to > achingly slow. For example, when adding a new "album" to the library I > use the "browse" command to search through the music folders until I > locate the new album and then play it and each time I try to do this I > end up having to go through the process twice since on the first try > the "browse" command "freezes" at the genre level, i.e. the > jazz/rock/classical subfolder level of a given disc. After a short > pause the server returns to the "now playing" state and if I then run > the browse command again I am then able to scroll through the > jazz/rock/classical subfolder level to the album I am trying to add to > the music library. This slow response behavior is somewhat better but still not perfect. I can now browse thru my music folder quite bit faster but it still hesitates after reaching one of the main music subfolders, i.e. the "jazz" subfolder. However, I now do not have to go through the process twice, as stated above. > This the major problem but at other times the server will momentarily > stop playing, particularly if there is a heavy load being placed on my > computer, e.g. file copying or some other cpu and/or disc intensive > task. This doesn't happen any more since the computer is only running SlimServer and nothing else. > For the most part once an album is playing it will play fine. In > addition, the search command works fine (as in reasonably fast) for > albums or artists but runs super slowly if a I try to search for an > individual song. I also use the lazy search plugin and the search > speeds/responses are the same whether or not I use the lazy search or > the normal search mode. The response to the search command is greatly improved. > The web Slimserver interface runs very slowly will not even display my > library if the browse function is set for "albums", however, it will > display when set for "artists". The SlimServer interface still runs rather slowly and still will not display "albums" or "songs". I will most likely upgrade the server to SlimCenter 7.0 once the official version is released. Just for the record, the Drobo works great and since it is automatically "backing up" my music library I no longer have to worry about one of the external hard drives failing and me losing that part of my music library. -- ralphpnj ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=41006 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
