View Full Version : Possible new SqueezeBox server...
Tony Moore
01-01-2010, 20:50
Hi All,
There's a new kid in town who may be just the thing for use as a SqueezeBox server.
http://www.newit.co.uk/
This little "plug" computer is around £90 - £110 depending on the option and is quite capable of handling the SqueezeBox server software. Someone beat me to it setting it up and their description is here:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/SheevaPlug_Installation_guide
It really is dead simple though, far easier than with NLSU2 and it's responsiveness is fine.
NewIT are great to deal with and fast delivery.
Big thumbs up from me! :cool:
Cheers,
Tony
Interesting find, thanks.
Would probably be rendered redundant once the new Squeezebox Touch is released.
Tony Moore
02-01-2010, 11:14
Possible, although the Sheeva is only around £100 whereas the SB Touch seems to be about £250. Obviously you get way more with the SBT but if someone already has SB3/Duets then this box may be a way forward?
Has anyone got the SB Touch? I'm interested to know what it's web interface responsiveness is like. With the Sheeva it's adequate but nowhere near as lightening fast as with a dedicated PC that I'm using. (AMD dual core 2.4Ghz, Suse Linux 11) The tradeoff though with the Sheeva is quiet, very low power always on.
Cheers,
Tony
Stratmangler
02-01-2010, 11:22
Interesting find, thanks.
Would probably be rendered redundant once the new Squeezebox Touch is released.
Possibly not - Touch does not permit remote interfacing from a computer, 'cos the processor can't cope with the extra load.
Which leads on to another potential problem - can the Touch process the individual streams required for multiple synchronized players. Doubtful that one, as each player has its' own stream.
I've seen many posts on the Slim forum about player sync issues (not on the Touch, but in general).
Chris:)
Stratmangler
02-01-2010, 12:01
Has anyone got the SB Touch?Tony
That's a sore point around these parts Tony:) http://theartofsound.net/forum/showpost.php?p=88705&postcount=55
Have you actually got one of these Sheeva Plug units running SBS atm ?
Chris:)
Hmmm, neat little device. Without going into the tecnnicalities, could it be set up with two hard drives, one being a back-up of the other? My system is currently set up with a big noisy old PC running sqeezecentre on Debian, with two hard drives connected via the USB ports. (I have no idea how this was done, my daughter's boyfriend set it all up). The idea of replacing a huge whirring power-hungry box with this little thing is very attractive, but I wouldn't want to lose my back-up capability.
Stratmangler
02-01-2010, 12:37
Hmmm, neat little device. Without going into the tecnnicalities, could it be set up with two hard drives, one being a back-up of the other? My system is currently set up with a big noisy old PC running sqeezecentre on Debian, with two hard drives connected via the USB ports. (I have no idea how this was done, my daughter's boyfriend set it all up). The idea of replacing a huge whirring power-hungry box with this little thing is very attractive, but I wouldn't want to lose my back-up capability.
I'm also wondering about this - Tesco currently have Seagate 1TB drives at £65. If it's possible to connect 2 drives and run them as RAID 1 (back each other up) that would be great.
Chris:)
Tony Moore
02-01-2010, 13:52
Hi Guys,
Sorry, I didn't realise that the Touch is delayed. :doh:
Yes, I have the Sheeva working fine on SqueezeBoxServer 7.4.1. The instructions I posted the link for worked fine although I'd already loaded Samba, MySql and the client libs. It's all very smooth. I quite like the feature in SqueezeCenter/SqueezeBoxServer where you can switch the web interface between the available music servers and also switch the players between servers easily. Nice.
Unfortunately the Sheeva only has one USB port. I'm not sure if you can fan that out to multiple drives or not. I have an NLSU2 "slug" too which I used to do daily incremental backups of the music drive so I'm covered there.
I am planning on getting a new 1Tb USB drive and moving the music over, as all mine is currently on an internal SATA drive.
Cheers,
Tony
Stratmangler
02-01-2010, 14:59
The RAID 1 thing might be possible - the Sheeva has a USB mini-port on the side.
I've been looking at the possibility of getting one of these (http://qnap.expertsinstorage.com/nas/two-drive-s/qnap-ts-210.html) which comes in at around £50 (with the Samsung 1TB drives) more than the Sheevaplug plus 2 USB hard drives.
It would be a lot tidier than going the Sheeva route, does RAID 1 and only one power socket would be required.
It looks as though the unit might be a bit sluggish compared to the Sheevaplug, but it should be more than capable of dealing with the demands of music serving.
Chris:)
I have an NLSU2 "slug" too which I used to do daily incremental backups of the music drive so I'm covered there.
I was using an NSLU2, but it died recently, so I got my Guru to reconfigure the Squeezebox server computer to connect the hard drives directly to it's USB ports. Result? Everything runs much quicker! The only thing I miss is the auto back-up facility, but he's working on that at the moment.
Excuse me for maybe going a little off topic here, but I'm reading a lot about Squeezeboxes on AOS. I still don't understand what the point of them is.
My Pc is audio connected to my 'Hi-Fi' by S/PDIF coax. I play something on my PC via Foobar or Winamp, or streaming over the web whatever, and it comes out over the Hi-Fi speakers. Simple. Why does anyone need a Squeezebox?
:scratch:
Ali Tait
27-01-2010, 17:26
Well the thing about the Touch is you can connect hard-drives directly to it,so since it has a screen,you can access your music without turning the computer on.
Stratmangler
27-01-2010, 19:32
My Pc is audio connected to my 'Hi-Fi' by S/PDIF coax. I play something on my PC via Foobar or Winamp, or streaming over the web whatever, and it comes out over the Hi-Fi speakers. Simple. Why does anyone need a Squeezebox?
My music files are on a desktop pc in another room.
Using this machine near my system is not an option - apart from the size issue the thing is relatively noisy (well it is compared to my laptop).
Squeezebox makes it easy to get the music files to my system.
Then there is another scenario - multiple Squeezebox devices in different rooms. It is possible to have up to 6 independent streams from the serving machine, or if you want you can sync up all the players to play the same music throughout the house.
Lastly, it is possible to access internet radio via the Squeezebox without the serving machine being turned on.
Chris:)
Ok, makes sense, thanks for your answers :)
My Pc is in the kitchen (it's a small house!) and Hi-Fi in the lounge (long co-ax!). But it's an open plan house (too small for dividing walls) so it's not a problem. Also, I have a bedroom system and when I want to listen to stuff on my PC I just burn a CDR and play in the bedroom.
But I can understand now why it would be useful for others :)
Why does anyone need a Squeezebox?
:scratch:
1. I will never put a PC in my living room.
2. My wife and children much prefer a Harmony remote than a PC with keyboard and mouse
3. I don't like PC frontends : I much prefer a server in the garage.
4. My children love Squeezebox Boom
Are these enough reasons ? :eyebrows:
Covenant
28-01-2010, 16:48
The other thing of course is the nice interface on the Squeezebox. Its great haxing your favourites set up and then scrolling to the one you fancy.
technobear
30-01-2010, 00:08
For those wondering how best to maintain a backup copy of their music collection, you might be interested in Microsoft SyncToy:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en
I've been using it for years and it's very good. It can be run automatically in the background at regular intervals from the Windows Task Manager too.
For those wondering how best to maintain a backup copy of their music collection, you might be interested in Microsoft SyncToy:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en
I've been using it for years and it's very good. It can be run automatically in the background at regular intervals from the Windows Task Manager too.
There is always Raid for this purpose. A simple 2 port raid card can be had for not much now and ensure all your music is backed up on the fly and safely.
It gets a bit more expensive the more discs you add to a single raid card mind you. For instance, i've got to get a raid card soon which will take up to 8 discs and there pretty darn expensive.
technobear
31-01-2010, 23:11
There is always Raid for this purpose.
You seem to say that as if all PCs can support a RAID card :scratch:
Mine can't ;)
You seem to say that as if all PCs can support a RAID card :scratch:
Mine can't ;)
Any vaguely modern pc can. (Assuming its not a laptop of course.)
Its just a case of finding the right type of Raid card (PCI, PCI-Express, etc and also Parrallel or SATA) and drivers.
technobear
31-01-2010, 23:37
Any vaguely modern pc can. (Assuming its not a laptop of course.)
Its just a case of finding the right type of Raid card (PCI, PCI-Express, etc and also Parrallel or SATA) and drivers.
You have a very limited definition of PC. I can assure you that my Tranquil PC T7's are bang up to date, are not laptops and yet will not accomodate a RAID card.
I can think of many other examples of modern PCs that will not accomodate cards of any kind.
RAID is of course a good solution if your PC will support it.
You have a very limited definition of PC. I can assure you that my Tranquil PC T7's are bang up to date, are not laptops and yet will not accomodate a RAID card.
I can think of many other examples of modern PCs that will not accomodate cards of any kind.
RAID is of course a good solution if your PC will support it.
Ok, my bad. :(
My definition of a PC in this instance is simply the collection of hardware inside a modern computer. (Motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc)
I was talking in a more general term about PC's supporting them, not so much about the RAID card actually fitting inside the cases or whether the appropriate motherboard slot has already been filled.
I probably should have made that clearer at the start. :lol:
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