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simoncn · (This post was last modified: 05-05-2014 20:15 by simoncn.)

(05-05-2014 18:07)gnomus Wrote: Simon

Thanks for recommending that switch. The Linn is now playing quite happily with no stuttering.

I'm pleased to hear this.

Quote:And that brings up the latest problem. Since going "wireless" on my "ripping" computer, this process has become even more tedious than before. The speed of "rip" is, of course, unaffected. However, the "CPU-Encoding" stage has become very slow, presumably because of the amount of data that I am now having to send via wireless. Indeed, if I am ripping and re-tagging at the same time, the system will occasionally give up the ghost.

It looks like I am going to have to set up a temporary ripping station close to the Linn/NAS that I can hard-wire into when I have a ripping session (nearly every day at present).

I know that you already knew that that would happen, but I thought I'd post up here for others who may, like me, be at the beginning of this process.

From this, I presume you are ripping direct to the NAS across a slow homeplugs connection. It would probably be better to rip to your local PC and then copy the files to the NAS. This is what I do.

Quote:For those thinking of setting up a NAS in the listening room, the Synology is quiet. I cannot hear it in action, perhaps the flickering lights from the NAS and switch are a little off-putting. I will probably get a small cupboard to house the NAS and switch.

That's interesting. My Synology DS713+ is noisy enough to be quite distracting, so I only use it for testing. For regular listening, I use a fanless QNAP TS-119.

gnomus · 07-05-2014, 18:45

Sorry to keep bothering folks with this, but it seems that I am still having problems getting all of my "boxes" to talk to one another reliably.

Most of the time, it works quite well. However, I had a "loss of NAS" issue yesterday - described here.

My current arrangement is: Linn DS and NAS connected to a switch; switch connected to the BT (v4) Router via BT Homeplugs. I'm at a bit of a loss to know how to proceed. Do I need a better router (if so, which one)? Do I need better homeplugs (if so, which ones)? Or should I buy another router and have DS, NAS and Router(2) all physically connected to one another, but with no internet connection (unless router 2 can talk to router 1)?

simoncn · 07-05-2014, 21:27

(07-05-2014 18:45)gnomus Wrote: Sorry to keep bothering folks with this, but it seems that I am still having problems getting all of my "boxes" to talk to one another reliably.

Most of the time, it works quite well. However, I had a "loss of NAS" issue yesterday - described here.

My current arrangement is: Linn DS and NAS connected to a switch; switch connected to the BT (v4) Router via BT Homeplugs. I'm at a bit of a loss to know how to proceed. Do I need a better router (if so, which one)? Do I need better homeplugs (if so, which ones)? Or should I buy another router and have DS, NAS and Router(2) all physically connected to one another, but with no internet connection (unless router 2 can talk to router 1)?

These problems aren't easy to solve. From your previous posts, I believe you now have the DS and NAS connected via a switch and your recent problem involved PC connectivity to the audio equipment via Homeplugs. If you can eliminate the Homeplugs and use Ethernet and wireless connections only (with good signal strength), I think this would probably help.

gnomus · 07-05-2014, 21:46

(07-05-2014 21:27)simoncn Wrote:
(07-05-2014 18:45)gnomus Wrote: Sorry to keep bothering folks with this, but it seems that I am still having problems getting all of my "boxes" to talk to one another reliably.

Most of the time, it works quite well. However, I had a "loss of NAS" issue yesterday - described here.

My current arrangement is: Linn DS and NAS connected to a switch; switch connected to the BT (v4) Router via BT Homeplugs. I'm at a bit of a loss to know how to proceed. Do I need a better router (if so, which one)? Do I need better homeplugs (if so, which ones)? Or should I buy another router and have DS, NAS and Router(2) all physically connected to one another, but with no internet connection (unless router 2 can talk to router 1)?

These problems aren't easy to solve. From your previous posts, I believe you now have the DS and NAS connected via a switch and your recent problem involved PC connectivity to the audio equipment via Homeplugs. If you can eliminate the Homeplugs and use Ethernet and wireless connections only (with good signal strength), I think this would probably help.

Thanks. I'm quite prepared to give that a go. How do I eliminate the homeplugs, though? As you have surmised the DS, NAS and switch are all in one room. The router is in a distant room (see previous posts). Do I take it that you mean revisiting the idea of a wireless bridge? If so, what make/model would you recommend?

simoncn · (This post was last modified: 08-05-2014 08:47 by simoncn.)

(07-05-2014 21:46)gnomus Wrote: Thanks. I'm quite prepared to give that a go. How do I eliminate the homeplugs, though? As you have surmised the DS, NAS and switch are all in one room. The router is in a distant room (see previous posts). Do I take it that you mean revisiting the idea of a wireless bridge? If so, what make/model would you recommend?

I can't make any recommendations for a make and model because I don't have current personal experience of this situation. The NETGEAR wireless bridge that I purchased some years ago works very well but is no longer available.

These days, it seems that manufacturers have moved from wireless bridges to range extenders. You would need a model with an Ethernet port to connect to your switch, such as this model. I don't know whether this NETGEAR model would work with a non-NETGEAR wireless router such as your BT Homehub, or whether it would be able to pick up a strong enough wireless signal from your router when placed close to your switch.

gnomus · 08-05-2014, 09:10

(08-05-2014 08:46)simoncn Wrote: .... I can't make any recommendations for a make and model because I don't have current personal experience of this situation. The NETGEAR wireless bridge that I purchased some years ago works very well but is no longer available.

(08-05-2014 08:46)simoncn Wrote: These days, it seems that manufacturers have moved from wireless bridges to range extenders. You would need a model with an Ethernet port to connect to your switch, such as this model. I don't know whether this NETGEAR model would work with a non-NETGEAR wireless router such as your BT Homehub, or whether it would be able to pick up a strong enough wireless signal from your router when placed close to your switch.

Thank you for your continued interest. I continue to experiment. Last night I dug out the little black box that I use to connect my SKY boxes wirelessly to the Internet (to allow downloading of SKY content). I tried the following. I reconnected the NAS directly to my Router; and I connected the SKY "black box" to my Linn. Lo and behold, my PCs could "see" the DS and I could stream music from the upstairs NAS, through the SKY Connect box to the DS.

Strangely though, none of my Android devices could see the DS! I have no idea why this should be.

I assume that the SKY "black box" is some sort of wireless bridge, and I wonder if I should get a bridge and try it out.

I've been reading (Internet) reviews of my BT Router in which several folks report it "dropping" connections to wireless devices. I wonder if a new router and a decent bridge might be the answer.

I'm so "deep" into all of this now.... well what's another few quid ....!

gnomus · (This post was last modified: 11-05-2014 08:04 by gnomus.)

(05-05-2014 20:09)simoncn Wrote: ....
From this, I presume you are ripping direct to the NAS across a slow homeplugs connection. It would probably be better to rip to your local PC and then copy the files to the NAS. This is what I do.

I've just tried doing it this way. CPU Encoding is taking a fraction of the time it used to .... It is even faster that when I rip with the NAS ethernet-connected to the "ripping" computer. Thanks again, this tip is going to save me hours of time.

gnomus · 11-05-2014, 08:44

Just to keep you up to date with my ongoing saga. I tried a TP-Link Access Point is place of the HomePlugs. This performed much less well, with quite frequent dropouts. It looks increasingly like I am going to have to either: a) put up with the very occasional dropout with Homeplug, or; b) go with the NAS directly connected to the DS option.

I think that even occasional dropout is unacceptable to me so....

(05-05-2014 20:09)simoncn Wrote: ...
That's interesting. My Synology DS713+ is noisy enough to be quite distracting, so I only use it for testing. For regular listening, I use a fanless QNAP TS-119.

I had a look at the model you use. I think it is no longer made. The newer 119P does have a fan. I think that even that model is being replaced (Amazon only had a few left).

The fan noise from the Synology really is not audible from my listening position. However, it is much more convenient to have the Synology in my upstairs room. It is also quite a bit bigger than a single slot NAS.

I have been backing up using the "Icy Dock" that you recommended. If I were to get a single dock NAS, could I just put one of backup HDs into it? (I seem to remember that the Synology spent some time "disc scrubbing" the two drives that I put in it.

Lastly, if I bought either this or this, can I install MinimServer on the NAS?

And, if I do this, would it be best to uninstall MinimServer from the Synology - that is to say, would it confuse MinimWatch (installed on my main computer and my laptop) to have two MinimServers running?

Thanks again.

DavidL · 11-05-2014, 09:43

(08-05-2014 09:10)gnomus Wrote:
(08-05-2014 08:46)simoncn Wrote: .... I can't make any recommendations for a make and model because I don't have current personal experience of this situation. The NETGEAR wireless bridge that I purchased some years ago works very well but is no longer available.

(08-05-2014 08:46)simoncn Wrote: These days, it seems that manufacturers have moved from wireless bridges to range extenders. You would need a model with an Ethernet port to connect to your switch, such as this model. I don't know whether this NETGEAR model would work with a non-NETGEAR wireless router such as your BT Homehub, or whether it would be able to pick up a strong enough wireless signal from your router when placed close to your switch.

Thank you for your continued interest. I continue to experiment. Last night I dug out the little black box that I use to connect my SKY boxes wirelessly to the Internet (to allow downloading of SKY content). I tried the following. I reconnected the NAS directly to my Router; and I connected the SKY "black box" to my Linn. Lo and behold, my PCs could "see" the DS and I could stream music from the upstairs NAS, through the SKY Connect box to the DS.

Strangely though, none of my Android devices could see the DS! I have no idea why this should be.

I assume that the SKY "black box" is some sort of wireless bridge, and I wonder if I should get a bridge and try it out.

I've been reading (Internet) reviews of my BT Router in which several folks report it "dropping" connections to wireless devices. I wonder if a new router and a decent bridge might be the answer.

I'm so "deep" into all of this now.... well what's another few quid ....!

My experience may be relevant to your situation. After some experimentation I've ended up with 2 Airport Extremes forming a wireless bridge between my Modem etc and the hi-fi system: mine are not the latest model - earlier, less expensive versions are available on Amazon, eBay etc. Now no problems at all with music playback.

A couple of other aspects of my network that be relevant. Most modems now supplied by ISPs incorporate other functions besides being a cable modem, in particular router and wireless hub functionality. I found that switching off the former prevented any confusion in the allocation of dynamic IP addresses - one of my Airport Extremes acts as the sole router. Switching off the wireless functionality in my ISP-supplied modem removed any potential ambiguity in transmission / reception at the other end of the bridge.
I use Netgear switches connected to the Airport Extremes at both ends of the bridge to access other home computers and AV devices without any transmission problems. I can cause hiccups in playback if I'm foolish enough to try to serve video and hi-res audio across the bridge at the same time!
Hope this is some use.
David

simoncn · (This post was last modified: 11-05-2014 09:52 by simoncn.)

(11-05-2014 08:44)gnomus Wrote: I had a look at the model you use. I think it is no longer made. The newer 119P does have a fan. I think that even that model is being replaced (Amazon only had a few left).

The fan noise from the Synology really is not audible from my listening position. However, it is much more convenient to have the Synology in my upstairs room. It is also quite a bit bigger than a single slot NAS.

There is a new fanless model from QNAP (see this page). This would be my current choice if I needed to replace my TS-119 with a new model.

Quote:I have been backing up using the "Icy Dock" that you recommended. If I were to get a single dock NAS, could I just put one of backup HDs into it? (I seem to remember that the Synology spent some time "disc scrubbing" the two drives that I put in it.

NAS HDDs use a special format that isn't the same as backup HDDs, so you can't swap them like that. You can convert a backup HDD into a NAS HDD by deleting all its partitions and putting it in the NAS for reformatting.

Quote:Lastly, if I bought either this or this, can I install MinimServer on the NAS?

MinimServer can be installed on either of these. MinimServer runs on all current models from QNAP and Synology.

Quote:And, if I do this, would it be best to uninstall MinimServer from the Synology - that is to say, would it confuse MinimWatch (installed on my main computer and my laptop) to have two MinimServers running?

Thanks again.

There's no need to do this. MinimWatch will show a separate minim icon for each instance of MinimServer that's runnng, and you can set a different display name for each instance to make it easy to distinguish them in your control point and in MinimWatch.

Having a separate audio NAS connected to your DS by a switch is probably the best way to ensure reliable connectivity between the NAS and DS. Your control point will be connecting to the audio NAS via your wireless router and Homeplugs, so you might have occasional connectivity issues with that. If this becomes an issue, you can put the TP-Link wireless access point in your listening room and create a separate audio wireless network on a different wi-fi channel than your main home wireless network. You can then connect your control point to your audio wireless network instead of your home wireless network.