Runnign Slimserver on NSLU

[matek994]

Hi,

anyone knowledgeable about running SlimServer on LinkSys NSLU2 box, and how to optimize performance?

I'm running Debian (etch) on the NSLU2 (266MHz, 32Mb), and have managed to install and run SlimServer 6.5.2, and I stream both FLAC and MP3 from my so far very limited music repository.

Performance is just acceptable. Remote control is not very responsive (takes seconds), browsing is quite slow, FLAC's are not playing smoothly ...

I modified the configuration of MySQL server to fit small memory and I think it improved browsing speed.

Can anyone advice how to go ahead to boost performance?

For example, can more be gained by doing some proper configuration? How about a memory upgrade? Is there a SlimServer Lite?

Thanks,
Mats

[aerosol]

I'm running slimserver on my slug with Debian and I've experimented a bit to get it working without lagging. The fix for me was to run an older version of slimserver. I guess it wass between version 6.3 and 6.4 the slimserver changed its database backend from SQLite to MySql. The MySQL is somewhat more resourcedemnading, and as the slug barely manages to run slimserver wiith a couple of other lightweight services, it was too much to handle. The CPU was speinding most its time in idle mode, with slimserver waiting for mysql and vice versa, and the slug memory-swapping as crazy.

The solution for me was to stick with the 6.3 version, which handily was availiable in the debian sid repository.

This is kind of a lame fix, i know, but it gets rid of the lag. This was to me more important than some minor functionality updates.

cheers!

[watskooo]

I'm running slimserver 6.5.4 on an Unslung NSLU2. The biggest limitation is the memory, assuming the slug has been de-underclocked to 266. From what I've seen Slimserver requires approx 45MB and not counting anything for MySql, so the slug is constantly swapping. My experience so far has been very acceptable: slow browsing, slow library scans (complete scan of 3300 files in 45 minutes), however I haven't had any hiccups wirelessly streaming my FLAC files yet. I use slimremote to browse the library though, not the web interface.

I did go through quite a few steps to see what I could do to improve the performance though:

1. Increase swap size (probably only necessary for library scans)
2. Minimize MySql
3. Use xinetd for: telnet, samba
4. Kill: thttp, do_umount, USB_Detect, QuickSet, CheckPowerButton, CheckResetButton
5. Disable: quota checking, ssh, onetouch_detect, inetd
6. Mount options: "-o remount,rw,async,noatime,nodiratime" for /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2
7. klogd and syslogd can also be disabled if wanted
8. Disable unused plugins and music types
9. Move unused plugins out of plugin directory (careful with this, moving some of them can cause the web interface to die)
10. Use samba2 not samba3
11. schedule library scan at 2AM to lessen its impact

ToDo: move swap to flash drive, spin down hard drive when not in use

I'm not sure how much of this will help if you're running debian, but it should point you in the right direction. I'm not sure how much performance can realistically be expected from one of these devices. I think adding memory would make a fairly dramatic difference, but I'm not about to try it.

[watskooo]

I'm now running 6.5.5 and there are a couple more ways to make the NSLU2 Slimserver performance livable.

1. Run the library scan at a lower priority and run slimserver at a higher priority.
2. Using xinetd, lower the priority of telnet, smbd and nmbd. I use nice values of 1 for telnet, 5 for nmbd and 10 for smbd. (Don't restart slimserver from a low priority telnet session though, it'll inherit the priority).
3. Use a faster hard drive. Moving from an older 120GB ximeta netdisk to a new 500 GB Seagate seemed to improve performance for me.
4. Use one of the minimal web interface skins.

[TheRoadrunner]

Being a newbie, I could use a little elaboration on setting priority on the different processes.
I'm running a Turbo-Slug with V2.3R63-uNSLUng-6.8-beta and:
SlimServer Version: 6.5.1 - 11206 - Linux - EN - iso-8859-1
Perl Version: 5.8.8 armv5b-softfloat-linux
MySQL Version: 4.1.20
I think things are very unstable. Scans only finding part of my tracks, log file showing lots of hiccups etc.

Any help appreciated

[neu242]

I gave up running slimserver on my NSLU2, and created a light-weight music streamer in PHP instead.

It has support for playback via slimserver: The slimserver must be running, but you don't have to use the heavy slimserver GUI.

Check it out at http://musicbrowser.sf.net/

[TheRoadrunner]

Hi neu242,

Thanks for your input, but you've got me confused on a higher level.
I'm using Slimserver to support my SqueezeBox.
Lately the scheduled nightly rescans, have crashed the library, so now I have no tracks in the library.

I have a suspicion that the total RAM consumption of MySQL and Slimserver is killing off my (Turbo-)slug. I am considering adding more RAM, but it is not a trivial task as i understand it.

Installing Webserver and PHP doesn't exactly lighten the load of my slug.
You say it has support for playback via slimserver, what is it excactly, Music Browser replaces?
I can live without the slimserver GUI, how is it disabled?

Thanks in advance.

[neu242]

Hi neu242,

Thanks for your input, but you've got me confused on a higher level.
I'm using Slimserver to support my SqueezeBox.
Lately the scheduled nightly rescans, have crashed the library, so now I have no tracks in the library.

I have a suspicion that the total RAM consumption of MySQL and Slimserver is killing off my (Turbo-)slug. I am considering adding more RAM, but it is not a trivial task as i understand it.

Have you tried adding or increasing swap space on your NSLU? My slimserver indexed 30000+ songs. It took a long while, but it worked.

Installing Webserver and PHP doesn't exactly lighten the load of my slug.
You say it has support for playback via slimserver, what is it excactly, Music Browser replaces?
I can live without the slimserver GUI, how is it disabled?

It replaces the use of the slimserver GUI. The GUI cannot be disabled, but you will use Music Browser instead.

Just to compare: clicking "Browser Music Folder" in Slimserver could easily take 15-20 seconds for me. The Music Browser GUI took only a second to display all folders.

[bulletmark]

Have you done these little tips to reduce memory usage?

http://www.cyrius.com/debian/nslu2/reducing-memory.html