NAS Media Storage/Server

[sleepysurf]

Sorry to resurrect an OLD thread, but now there's a NEW twist on using an NAS for streaming FLAC files... the Music Vault... available in 0.5-3 Terabyte capacities PLUS a built-in CD-drive for ripping CD's! It also comes with the latest SqueezeCenter (formerly called SlimServer) pre-installed..
http://soundsciencecat.com/MusicVault.html

It's a bit pricey, but not unreasonable, especially when bundled with one of the Slimdevices products. IMHO, this might be the easiest solution yet for implementing a Squeezebox, Transporter, or the new Duet, into your setup.

 

[Satch]

Sleepysurf, Thanks for resurrecting this Old thread.

Is there any big difference between the Music Vault and the ReadyNAS NV+ ?

I've been using the SB-3 running wireless from my MacBook iTunes library and it sounds great. That was easy enough to set up even for a computer illiterate like me.

Here's the rub, I've had the ReadyNAS NV+ sitting around here and I'm too stupid to figure out how to hook it up and transfer my music files (AIFF) to the ReadyNAS and how to hook it up to the receiver.

Is there an "Idiots Guide" out there anywhere?

Satch

 

[rhd1953]

Another server is freeStor 4020

A new (killer) backup system is freedom9's freeStor 4020. This is a free standing server, network (Gigabit Ethernet) connected, with 4 hot swap SATA bays, RAID levels 0, 1, 5, or 10, AND it will back up (save disc images of) pcs which are connected to the network. About $501 with no drives(currently, through Amazon/Computer Brain), you can add up to 4 1TB hard drives!
-you can access freeStor files from any network connected pc.
-You also can restore your Windows pc across the network from a backup disc image saved on freeStor.
-the freeStor 4020 is not a Microsoft Windows pc!!!http://www.freedom9.com/products/product.php?p=17

A note about adding hard drives to a raid system...it takes time. If you have 3 100 GB drives in a raid level 5 config and want to upgrade to 3 500 GB drives it's faster to move all the files to some place else. I have been using Netcell raid level 3 (like level 5) for 3 years now, it does rebuild a drive (250 GB) in several hours. Rebuilding an array (going to a larger hard drive) can take over a day. The more files currently stored, the longer it takes.

Western Digital stand alone MyBookWorld (the 1TB) has 2 500 GB drives serial (or mirrored, just 500 GB then of course) and a ethernet network connection. They are not regular drives...to replace one, you have to remove it and send it back to WD and get their replacement.

 

[sleepysurf]

The Music Vault is a plug-and-play box that includes wireless networking AND CD ripping, thus more of a complete solution than the ReadyNAS NV+. Both will allow you to use a Squeezebox or Transporter without needing another computer running SqueezeCenter. The Music Vault, unlike the ReadyNAS, rips and tags automatically. I personally rip all my CD's using EAC, and double-check the tagging myself, so probably wouldn't buy one at this point. I'm not sure if it also d/l the album art too. The Music Vault is a new product. The only (mini) review I've found thus far is Dan Wright's, in this thread...
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=49229.msg457713

If you already have the ReadyNAS NV+, I'd just go with that, and do the ripping/tagging on your own. I recommend the Slimdevices forum for help in getting it configured (if the ReadyNAS doesn't have a quick reference guide).

The freeStor server looks interesting, but IMHO, a bit daunting for those of us without advanced computer skills.

 

[Satch]

I rip my cd's onto the MacBook with iTunes (free) and it tags (almost) all the songs with the info needed for easy use with the SB-3. For a fee you can get album art from iTunes.

The Absolute Sound mag. is covering questions like, Does music read from a hard drive sound better than the same music read from an optical disk, ("The Brave New World of Music Servers", Issue 177) interesting... Add the Benchmark DAC 1 w/ usb to the SB-3 and what price range of CD player does this compare to...

I need to rent a geek to help me hook up the ReadyNAS!!!

Satch

 

[sleepysurf]

Just a heads up that Srajan Ebaen has uncovered some networking/ripping issues with the Music Vault, as detailed in this thread...
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/...r0gtmnqrjrge1g8ftohsj40&topic=49229.msg461487

Might be worthwhile to see how these issues are resolved before splurging on one.

 

[sleepysurf]

My older BuffaloTech Linkstation is still going strong. I had *ONE* instance where it wouldn't boot up, but BuffaloTech Support was SUPERB... spending over 1 hr on phone with me even though the warranty had run out.....

I gotta rave again about BuffaloTech support. My Linkstation is now 2-1/2 yrs old (long out of warranty), and somehow got corrupted firmware again, so I couldn't access it. Within 10 mins of calling them I was on the phone with an American tech, who was extremely knowledgeable. He spent over an hour on the phone with me, trying MULTIPLE approaches, until we successfully fixed it! I don't know about the other NAS manufacturers, but for tech support alone, I highly recommend Buffalo!

 

[sleepysurf]

Resurrecting this thread yet again! My Buffalo Linkstation finally bit the dust recently (my own fault for not having used a Battery backup), and I'd been looking for a higher capacity replacement NAS. I was contemplating getting dbPowerAmp's RipNAS (www.ripnas.com), but it's still not shipping to the U.S. and looks a bit pricey. Netgear is now offering their 6 bay supercharged ReadyNAS Pro, but it's very expensive. They will supposedly be releasing the ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer soon (just the shell NAS without drives), but pricing and availability not clear. Since the rollout of the Pro series, the (older) ReadyNAS NV+ models are now being discounted, and are still powerful enough to natively run SqueezeCenter (which comes pre-installed) *IF* you get them configured with 1 GB RAM (default is 256 MB). I just bought a 1.5 TB NV+ (great deals at www.eaegis.com) and can attest that SqueezeCenter runs fine on it. It took me about 3 hrs last night to transfer over my FLAC files, install the latest SqueezeCenter firmware, and configure my 3 Squeezeboxes to use it. I can still control it via my WinXP laptop, but my laptop no longer needs to be on for the Squeezeboxes to work. For those previously considering the ReadyNAS NV+ solution, now might be a good time to buy one. There are certainly other more powerful, and cheaper, NAS options out there, but none offer the easy integration and SqueezeCenter support like Netgear does. As mentioned previously in this thread, the X-Raid configuration is great for data redundancy, and seamlessly adding higher capacity drives in the future.

 

[sleepysurf]

Great News for ReadyNAS users! SqueezeCenter 7.3 is now out (fully ReadyNAS compatible), and includes a new feature called SqueezeCenter Repositories. This allows you to automatically install a variety of SqueezeCenter Plugins. That was the main feature I missed in migrating over to running SC on the ReadyNAS. I just installed Lazysearch2, AutoRescan, and AlienBBC. The latest "Repository" list is here... http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/SqueezeCenter_Repositories

My only remaining complaint with running SC on the ReadyNAS is the VERY SLOW refresh time when accessing SqueezeCenter remotely using my laptop browser. It's really a pain to build new playlists. However, the Squeezebox response, via it's remote, is quite snappy now. I hope they'll address the slow browser access in a future update.

 

[Kruppy]

Sleepy,
I'm glad you're still posting to this thread. I'm looking forward to reading comments on your Ready NAS experiences. Not that I can afford one in the near future, but I do realize that this is something that I will most likely need to have.

 

[amey01]

Great News for ReadyNAS users! SqueezeCenter 7.3 is now out (fully ReadyNAS compatible), and includes a new feature called SqueezeCenter Repositories. This allows you to automatically install a variety of SqueezeCenter Plugins. That was the main feature I missed in migrating over to running SC on the ReadyNAS. I just installed Lazysearch2, AutoRescan, and AlienBBC. The latest "Repository" list is here... http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/SqueezeCenter_Repositories

My only remaining complaint with running SC on the ReadyNAS is the VERY SLOW refresh time when accessing SqueezeCenter remotely using my laptop browser. It's really a pain to build new playlists. However, the Squeezebox response, via it's remote, is quite snappy now. I hope they'll address the slow browser access in a future update.

Alan, have you tried 7.3 yet? How is it? I, only a few months ago, updated to 7.2 from 6.5.4. I'm paranoid about stuffing that server up - I'd be so annoyed if I had to waste hours of listening time re-configuring that thing!

 

[sleepysurf]

Unfortunately, after posting about the slow browser access in the Slimdevices forum, I was told there's no significant fix available. The ReadyNAS NV+ doesn't have enough horsepower under the hood, even with my 1 GB RAM upgrade. The ReadyNAS Pro does, for a $$$ premium. Guess I'll run a spare version of SqueezeCenter on my laptop, for more labor intensive functions like building a playlist.

 

[sleepysurf]

Alan, have you tried 7.3 yet? How is it? I, only a few months ago, updated to 7.2 from 6.5.4. I'm paranoid about stuffing that server up - I'd be so annoyed if I had to waste hours of listening time re-configuring that thing!

I say, go for it! Installing the ReadyNAS specific update went without a hitch, except I had to reboot BOTH the NAS and my laptop in order to re-access the ReadyNAS FrontView It doesn't take much time to reconfigure the options, unless you load some new plugins like I did. Another GREAT new feature is the new Amazon link, where you can browse other albums and ratings for any artist you're listening too, and even order a CD!