Announcing MinimServer 2

[simoncn]

If you are using MinimServer on your Synology without MinimStreamer, you can continue with this for as long as you want.

If you are using MinimStreamer as well as MinimServer, MinimStreamer will stop working some time next year, probably in July. At that time, you will have two choices:

1) uninstall MinimStreamer and use MinimServer only

2) update to MinimServer 2 and MinimStreamer 2

[retraite]

I too have been following the posts on the introduction of Minimserver 2 and Minimstreamer 2. I have donated in the past, but have rather guiltily realised that there have been many updates and a lot of support added to the software since I settled down into a pattern of just using it.
For that reason, I feel that the licensing route is not only the best way to go, but also reminds us to appreciate the service we get in the development of something, which, in my case has become part of everyday life. The scale of charges proposed seems eminently reasonable to me.
I also feel that the inclusion of 3 devices in the basic licence will probably meet the needs of the majority of users, with the option for more if required, but as a user of 2 devices currently, that is just my view.

Is it yet possible to give an indication of when the new Minimserver and Minimstreamer will be available for Synology boxes ( I have a DS218+ and a reserve DS214+). I appreciate that enquiring about the length of a piece of string may not elicit any definite response, but some indication of anticipated timescale and priorities would be appreciated.

Also, I assume that the “minimserver2” webpage, rather than “minimworld” is the place to follow developments?
I look forward to further progress

[simoncn]

Thanks very much for this.

It is easy for users not to realise that providing ongoing support and updates (especially for a large number of users on a large number of platforms) can require as much work (if not more) than the initial development. While the number of users is growing rapidly, new users who make a donation or pay a one-time license fee are providing sufficent income to also pay the costs of supporting existing users. When things settle down to a fairly stable number of committed users, the revenue from new donations or licenses is decreasing while support costs are steadily rising. The new pricing model is an attempt to provide a sustainable balance between development and support costs as MinimServer moves forward into its next stage of life.

On your specific questions, I am going to resist (for now) the temptation to predict (even approximately) when MinimServer 2 is likely to become available for Synology. Quite a bit of work is needed before this can happen.

The minimworld.com site is only for purchasing a full license. All other information will be added to the minimserver.com/minimserver2 pages.

[ErikM]

Thank you Simon.. Happy Holidays !!!

[Snoopy08]

I still have a collection of questions on the upgrade.

Do we have to keep watching this forum for announcements? Do users of Minimstreamer not on the forum, not aware of the upgrade, "fall off the cliff" when it expires next year? Do we have to upgrade manually? Or can we use Minimwatch 2 to upgrade automatically, assuming of course it can work with current versions of Minimserver/ Minimstreamer? Do Linux distros go to a specific repository to get updates? (Am using a cut down Ubuntu distro, sorry, not familiar with how this done). Should I in future decide to use Minimstreamer with both my Synology and Linux setups, do I need 2 separate licenses?

[simoncn]

Any announcements will be posted here and also added to the MinimServer 2 section of the website.

All existing users of MinimStreamer have accepted a license stating clearly that it is limited to a fixed end date, so should not be surprised if it no longer works after this date. I will look into ways that MinimStreamer users could be reminded about this in advance of this date. This would require them to either be using MinimWatch or the MinimServer desktop UI.

Updating to MinimStreamer 2 cannot be fully automated because it requires installing MinimServer 2 (a manual step) and purchasing a license (also a manual step). The user's previous configuration settings will be preserved by this upgrade process.

Online updates for MinimServer and MinimStreamer come from a MinimServer download server. As such, they are independent of the process used by Linux distros to install updates to other software components from Linux repositories.

The full license for MinimServer 2 allows the use of MinimStreamer 2 on up to 3 devices of any type.

[Snoopy08]

(23-12-2019 13:20)simoncn Wrote:  All existing users of MinimStreamer have accepted a license stating clearly that it is limited to a fixed end date, so should not be surprised if it no longer works after this date. I will look into ways that MinimStreamer users could be reminded about this in advance of this date. This would require them to either be using MinimWatch or the MinimServer desktop UI.

While you are technically and legally correct, in practice, most users do not read T&Cs. And even if they have read it, they would have likely forgotten (as I did!) the expiry date.

(23-12-2019 13:20)simoncn Wrote:  Updating to MinimStreamer 2 cannot be fully automated because it requires installing MinimServer 2 (a manual step) and purchasing a license (also a manual step). The user's previous configuration settings will be preserved by this upgrade process.

I get the manual steps required for licensing and MinimStreamer. But can the update to MinimServer 2 be automated from an existing MinimServer instance?

(23-12-2019 13:20)simoncn Wrote:  Online updates for MinimServer and MinimStreamer come from a MinimServer download server. As such, they are independent of the process used by Linux distros to install updates to other software components from Linux repositories.

I suspect that many MinimServer users rely on their NAS or Linux repositories for updates to MinimServer. While it is technically not your problem, I assume you have plans to inform your "partners" of the coming upgrades when they become available.

(23-12-2019 13:20)simoncn Wrote:  The full license for MinimServer 2 allows the use of MinimStreamer 2 on up to 3 devices of any type.

Understood.

[DavidHB]

[quote='simoncn' pid='34812' dateline='1577103635'The full license for MinimServer 2 allows the use of MinimStreamer 2 on up to 3 devices of any type.[/quote]

I have been thinking about this limit, in response to your request for user views earlier in the thread.

I understand that the full license for MinimServer 2 is permanent, and from what you say, the number of devices on which a user can install it is, as with MinimServer 0.x, not specifically limited. But it has been my practice to keep all the installations of MinimServer that I use with essentially the same settings, so I would wish to have my subscription, when I have it, to cover all the instances og MinimServer that I use.

At the moment I have four instances of MinimServer in use, two on NASs and two on PCs. I run two NASs, for backup and redundancy. It is not just the music files that are backed up; so, too, is the MinimServer installation, So, when a drive on my seven year old Netgear NAS failed a couple of months ago, I was able to switch immediately to its much newer QNAP counterpart, and the music service continued uninterrupted.

I also have MinimServer installed on my primary PC, which is where I keep the master copy of my music library and do all my downloading and metadata editing. This copy of MinimServer is not generally used for normal listening, but for testing metadata edits and as part of cleanup and error correction work, so that any complex edits are fully tested before they are copied to the NASs for regular use.

In theory, I could manage my current workflow with just the three instances of MinimServer, but it would also be very useful to be able to install one or two more instances temporarily for use in experiments of various kinds. So, from my perspective, if MinimStreamer could be installed on up to 4 or 6 devices, that would be very helpful.

David

[simoncn]

(24-12-2019 13:34)Snoopy08 Wrote:  While you are technically and legally correct, in practice, most users do not read T&Cs. And even if they have read it, they would have likely forgotten (as I did!) the expiry date.

I can't contact these users personally because I don't have contact details for them but I will do my best to show them a message via MinimWatch or the MinimServer GUI before the expiry date.

Quote:I get the manual steps required for licensing and MinimStreamer. But can the update to MinimServer 2 be automated from an existing MinimServer instance?

Updates to new versions (as opposed to online updates within a version) have always been manual. As MininServer 2 is a new version, a manual update is needed.

Quote:I suspect that many MinimServer users rely on their NAS or Linux repositories for updates to MinimServer. While it is technically not your problem, I assume you have plans to inform your "partners" of the coming upgrades when they become available.

I think we might be using the word "update" to mean different things (see above). MinimServer is not (or should not be) available from any Linux repository. MinimServer is available from some NAS repositories (QNAP, Synology and ASUSTOR) and in this case I think it is better to have a new package for MinimServer 2 so that users are making an explicit choice to install it, bearing in mind that some features that were previously free of charge now require payment.

[simoncn]

(24-12-2019 14:28)DavidHB Wrote:  In theory, I could manage my current workflow with just the three instances of MinimServer, but it would also be very useful to be able to install one or two more instances temporarily for use in experiments of various kinds. So, from my perspective, if MinimStreamer could be installed on up to 4 or 6 devices, that would be very helpful.

Thank you for this helpful feedback. To meet your needs, I think it would make sense to provide an option for installation on up to 6 devices for a single user. I suspect not many people will need this and I would be interested to hear from any others in a similar situation.

Edit: Another option is to provide a license for 5 devices instead of 6 (it is common for applications to have a license option for 5 devices) and enable an experimental installation on a sixth device by activating a 30-day free trial for that device. This would probably be a better way to handle the situation you have described.