Using a PI as a server has several disadvantages:
* connectivity
1. network interface
2. data storage interface
both use the same USB2.0 bus - a single lane towards the CPU!.
Running a server you'll face quite some two-way traffic on that server.
Now consider you got more then one client plus DSP work to handle!?!?
And. Don't let you fool by most current 3B+ claims of 300MBit/s!
This won't make things better!
This just floods that USB2 bottleneck even more.
* performance
A PI server. Too slow. Because of above. Because of other factors.
It works on small collections, small networks, no DSP.
On large collections things get annoying
You better don't consider demanding DSP applications or several clients
being served at the same time.
The overall HW is just too flimsy and lowQ for bigger tasks.
The first thing you'll notice is that your remote apps perform pretty slow and sluggish.
A database rescan on a large collection takes ages.
######
Bottom line.
LMS will work on a PI.
If you can live with a sluggish system, it'll do. IMO still better then any of these MPD based systems.
The PI OSes usually provide up2date LMS packages. That's a "pro".
A high performance NAS is made for handling lots of network traffic and data
storage access.
That alone speaks for choosing NAS over PI as a server.
The problem with NAS is the SW support - over time. You might not get the
newest SW. Or SW support fades out after a certain timeframe.
Customization is not a term I'd connect to a black-box NAS. Using your own SW or setup might become quite challenging on a NAS.
I see pro and cons on both sides. It depends on what you're expecting.
IMO the best of all solutions is a DIY server (I use my desktop NUC). I tried NAS and I tried PI.
Flexibility, performance and administration beat all above - IMO by a large margin.
Good luck.
* connectivity
1. network interface
2. data storage interface
both use the same USB2.0 bus - a single lane towards the CPU!.
Running a server you'll face quite some two-way traffic on that server.
Now consider you got more then one client plus DSP work to handle!?!?
And. Don't let you fool by most current 3B+ claims of 300MBit/s!
This won't make things better!
This just floods that USB2 bottleneck even more.
* performance
A PI server. Too slow. Because of above. Because of other factors.
It works on small collections, small networks, no DSP.
On large collections things get annoying
You better don't consider demanding DSP applications or several clients
being served at the same time.
The overall HW is just too flimsy and lowQ for bigger tasks.
The first thing you'll notice is that your remote apps perform pretty slow and sluggish.
A database rescan on a large collection takes ages.
######
Bottom line.
LMS will work on a PI.
If you can live with a sluggish system, it'll do. IMO still better then any of these MPD based systems.
The PI OSes usually provide up2date LMS packages. That's a "pro".
A high performance NAS is made for handling lots of network traffic and data
storage access.
That alone speaks for choosing NAS over PI as a server.
The problem with NAS is the SW support - over time. You might not get the
newest SW. Or SW support fades out after a certain timeframe.
Customization is not a term I'd connect to a black-box NAS. Using your own SW or setup might become quite challenging on a NAS.
I see pro and cons on both sides. It depends on what you're expecting.
IMO the best of all solutions is a DIY server (I use my desktop NUC). I tried NAS and I tried PI.
Flexibility, performance and administration beat all above - IMO by a large margin.
Good luck.
I'm running two severs, one is Daphile running on an x86 atom (though it only serves to its own local client) and the other on an Asus Tinkerboard running Armbian.
I really can't say that one is better than the other, given the same library (it's a USB drive connected to the Tinkerboard and shared over the network, as well as being the library for LMS in that setup).
Typically a NAS will have similar hardware to the pi, often poorer. Though storage and network access would be much better you'd have no improvement in terms of processing capability, and for even large files the Tinkerboard is sufficient (up to DSD128, I don't have larger) - though it does have a 'proper' GbE implementation. The drive is still limited to USB 2.0, but I get over 30MB/s out of it, which is sufficient for my needs.
I agree with a dedicated server, but till I'm able to get a dedicated x86 setup working properly, I'm happy with the Asus. My only issue is an occasional disconnect that I can only resolve by seeking forward or restarting playback (there's some reports of the issue but no solution).
The next step is a little J1800 based board powered by a Pico PSU - which will have Samba, P2P and LMS as well as provide network routing for the home network. Don't yet have the Linux chops to put together the entire solution but I'm getting there. Hardware is all in place though.
I really can't say that one is better than the other, given the same library (it's a USB drive connected to the Tinkerboard and shared over the network, as well as being the library for LMS in that setup).
Typically a NAS will have similar hardware to the pi, often poorer. Though storage and network access would be much better you'd have no improvement in terms of processing capability, and for even large files the Tinkerboard is sufficient (up to DSD128, I don't have larger) - though it does have a 'proper' GbE implementation. The drive is still limited to USB 2.0, but I get over 30MB/s out of it, which is sufficient for my needs.
I agree with a dedicated server, but till I'm able to get a dedicated x86 setup working properly, I'm happy with the Asus. My only issue is an occasional disconnect that I can only resolve by seeking forward or restarting playback (there's some reports of the issue but no solution).
The next step is a little J1800 based board powered by a Pico PSU - which will have Samba, P2P and LMS as well as provide network routing for the home network. Don't yet have the Linux chops to put together the entire solution but I'm getting there. Hardware is all in place though.
I might be "off the reservation" with this, but if you're talking about an x86 NAS, I'm pretty sure that both Synology and Qnap have native packages implemented for LMS which automatically update themselves with the nightlies.
Depends what you're up2.
I'm running a
* i5 Broadwell NUC with
* 128GB M.2 system SDD and
* 2TB data HDD and
* 16GB RAM
You can set fans and HDD this way that they pretty much keep quiet all
the time.
It also still serves very well as every-day desktop PC since years.
As base OS I run Ubuntu and its low latency kernel.
I also have a Windows installed on Virtualbox - just in case.
Beside LMS - I have Serviio as UpnP server installed.
****
Would I recommend such a setup!?!? I guess I did already.
I'm more then happy with it. Never had a single issue.
I also had weaker Atom and Arm (Cubitruck) "toys" for a while.
They do the job. Non of them survived for long though.
Would I recommend a setup like that for the media server task only!?!?
Hmmh. It's quite an investment if you can't share different tasks.
I'd have to think twice what to do.
As usual. There'll be as many options as opinions about this or that choice.
Good luck with your choices!
Better to ask over on the slimdevices forum.
Give details of your NAS and which connection you intend to use cifs or nfs
ronnie
Hi folks.
Just got notified by the recent posts. And that made me reread my 2018 posts.
Time is flying.
Hmmh.
Things have changed on my side.
I'm running a RPi4 as server now. The Pi is quite a step up from RPi3.
And not such a big step down from the NUC - at least when looking at the audio server duti
es.
As storage I use a SSD attached to the USB3.0 port.
The RPi 4 provides a solid GBit performance.
I keep the PI running at 1500Mhz with performance governor.
As case I am using a passive cooling case. That keeps the temperature
at around 50-54C°.
I am not running heavy DSP work!! That I'd still consider a weak spot.
Honestly. I do not experience any annoying lags. The database scan takes slightly
longer compared to the NUC. It's still more than acceptable.
Bottom line. Since almost half a year I am enjoying my RPI4 with LMS on it.
And No. I still wouldn't go for a NAS.
Enjoy.
PS: If you consider such a PI4 based solution. Make sure you
buy a Sata>>USB adapter that supports "trim".
And buy a stable powers supply. I had an iFi iPower around. That's doing the job.
Just got notified by the recent posts. And that made me reread my 2018 posts.
Time is flying.
Hmmh.
Things have changed on my side.
I'm running a RPi4 as server now. The Pi is quite a step up from RPi3.
And not such a big step down from the NUC - at least when looking at the audio server duti
es.
As storage I use a SSD attached to the USB3.0 port.
The RPi 4 provides a solid GBit performance.
I keep the PI running at 1500Mhz with performance governor.
As case I am using a passive cooling case. That keeps the temperature
at around 50-54C°.
I am not running heavy DSP work!! That I'd still consider a weak spot.
Honestly. I do not experience any annoying lags. The database scan takes slightly
longer compared to the NUC. It's still more than acceptable.
Bottom line. Since almost half a year I am enjoying my RPI4 with LMS on it.
And No. I still wouldn't go for a NAS.
Enjoy.
PS: If you consider such a PI4 based solution. Make sure you
buy a Sata>>USB adapter that supports "trim".
And buy a stable powers supply. I had an iFi iPower around. That's doing the job.
Last edited:
You may consider to install picoreplayer. It is easy to expand the partition then setup LMS all via its’ web gui.
pCP - Getting Started
Thanks for that. I've heard good reports about the picoreplayer from a number of folks. I''ll investigate it.
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