Most reliable RPi OS for LMS

[mr-b]

Hi

I migrated LMS from my Windows server onto a RPi4B some while back and used PiCorePlayer OS with success (eventually). Since LMS is a server app (database, scanning, transcoding etc.) this means that it performs more reliably with such Reliability/Availability/Serviceability features e.g. NTPD (incorrect time caused lots of LMS head-scratching issues) and compression (so that sd-card image backups don't take ages). I've also been bitten by sd-card reliability issues, so I wondered if a different filesystem might be more reliable and possibly a local SSD. The library (100+k tracks) is currently stored on a Windows server and accessed via SMB.

The advice from the PCP devs is that the philosophy is to be a small as possible with no bloat to keep compatibility with Pi Zeros etc. (which is fair enough), their systems get restarted pretty frequently, and that there are good larger audio RPi distros out there.
My knowledge of those distros is minimal, so what would be the recommendation for a stable RPi OS for LMS that is more server-class and has a half-decent web interface (my Unix/Linux CLI days are long gone and I much prefer a web UI these days) and that would also act as a SB player?
Or should I just move LMS back onto my Windows server (or via a VM or docker image)?

[Man in a van]

mr-b

Which Windows server do you have, currently I have my LMS installed on a thin client running a copy of Win 10 2019 Enterprise.

RPI OS Bullseye Lite (64 bit and 32 bit) both work well on a rpi4b in my experience.

I have also run the Desktop versions without any noticable degradation of service.

The main difference, for me, at least, is that the Desktop versions automount an attatched usb drive, whilst the Lite versions require the mount to be configuresd manually

The Desktop versions also allow for easier update of the OS and the install of stuff like PiShrink (if one needs it). The RPI Imager Tool is also present along with the SD card copier facility.

A VNC Server also runs on the Desktop versions, this allows easy headless access.

Running LMS on a rpi, I have always configured a rpi reboot in the small hours to avoid any timing issues.

Like most of this stuff, one only finds out by empirical observation :-)

ronnie

[mherger]

I run LMS on two Pis: one pCP, one Raspberry OS. If I wasn’t a dev running plugins and server from git repositories I’d stick with pCP for both of them. It just works for me, and has done so for years without any hiccup.

[CJS]

The library (100+k tracks) is currently stored on a Windows server and accessed via SMB.

Is the Windows server with your Music collection running 24/7? If so, then why did you migrate LMS from Windows to RPi? For me the benefit of running LMS on a Pi would be the lower power consumption of the Pi compared to a server running Windows, but that argument is not valid when your music collection is on a Windows server that is always on.

[slartibartfast]

mr-b

Which Windows server do you have, currently I have my LMS installed on a thin client running a copy of Win 10 2019 Enterprise.

RPI OS Bullseye Lite (64 bit and 32 bit) both work well on a rpi4b in my experience.

I have also run the Desktop versions without any noticable degradation of service.

The main difference, for me, at least, is that the Desktop versions automount an attatched usb drive, whilst the Lite versions require the mount to be configuresd manually

The Desktop versions also allow for easier update of the OS and the install of stuff like PiShrink (if one needs it). The RPI Imager Tool is also present along with the SD card copier facility.

A VNC Server also runs on the Desktop versions, this allows easy headless access.

Running LMS on a rpi, I have always configured a rpi reboot in the small hours to avoid any timing issues.

Like most of this stuff, one only finds out by empirical observation :-)

ronnie

You don't need to worry about time issues with raspberry OS. It comes with timedatectl as standard which takes care of synchronization with time servers.

[Man in a van]

You don't need to worry about time issues with raspberry OS. It comes with timedatectl as standard which takes care of synchronization with time servers.

Thanks, good to know :-)

[mr-b]

mr-b

Which Windows server do you have, currently I have my LMS installed on a thin client running a copy of Win 10 2019 Enterprise.

[snip]

Running LMS on a rpi, I have always configured a rpi reboot in the small hours to avoid any timing issues.

Like most of this stuff, one only finds out by empirical observation :-)

ronnie

Tx Ronnie for the tips. I'm actually running Win10 Pro (on an Asrock J4105-ITX TDP 10W cpu/mobo with 6 JBOD drives) as I find it has all the features I want in a 'server' without the Windows Server's s/w and device compatibility niggles.
I was hoping to shorten the expedition somewhat, so all suggestions are very welcome!

[mr-b]

I run LMS on two Pis: one pCP, one Raspberry OS. If I wasn’t a dev running plugins and server from git repositories I’d stick with pCP for both of them. It just works for me, and has done so for years without any hiccup.

Tx Michael, I may well have to re-assess platform reliability via horizontal availability i.e. by having a warm standby PCP ready to run LMS with a recent prefs backup ready to restore. Not sure if the db is portable though (and it takes a few hours to scan the library).
But at least having the library on a network share helps a lot with this type of thing. As does having a database that is very restricted with respect to write times! ;-)

[mr-b]

Is the Windows server with your Music collection running 24/7? If so, then why did you migrate LMS from Windows to RPi? For me the benefit of running LMS on a Pi would be the lower power consumption of the Pi compared to a server running Windows, but that argument is not valid when your music collection is on a Windows server that is always on.

Not until recently but I've just started using it for an SFTP repository for CCTV images (and for which I'm trying to find an ultra low power NAS for e.g. using RPi). If I could find the latter that supported replication (e.g. robocopy/rsync) and proper drive health diagnostics (HD Sentinel) then I could ditch the Windows 'server' completely. TrueNAS needs revisiting ...

[CJS]

I'm actually running Win10 Pro (on an Asrock J4105-ITX TDP 10W cpu/mobo with 6 JBOD drives) as I find it has all the features I want in a 'server' without the Windows Server's s/w and device compatibility niggles.

Well, if I were you I would move LMS move back to the Win10 server, since in this case I don't see the benefit of running LMS on a separate RPi4B. The extra RPi4 only gives extra power consumption.

[Roland0]

Since LMS is a server app (database, scanning, transcoding etc.) this means that it performs more reliably with such Reliability/Availability/Serviceability features e.g. NTPD (incorrect time caused lots of LMS head-scratching issues) and compression (so that sd-card image backups don't take ages). I've also been bitten by sd-card reliability issues, so I wondered if a different filesystem might be more reliable and possibly a local SSD.

afaik no general purpose OS is universally compressed on-disk (performance issues). using a content-aware backup solution greatly speeds up the process, as only the used space will be backed up.
there is the F2FS file system which is designed for SD cards etc. Ironically, it's also the one file system I've ever used which completely failed on a perfectly fine SD card for no apparent reason and rendered the OS unbootable, so I switched back to ext4
A local SSD would certainly be more reliable
That being said, I've been using SanDisk Ultra/Extreme cards for years (in SBCs and phones), and none has failed yet.

My knowledge of those distros is minimal, so what would be the recommendation for a stable RPi OS for LMS that is more server-class and has a half-decent web interface (my Unix/Linux CLI days are long gone and I much prefer a web UI these days) and that would also act as a SB player?

afaik no popular server OS has a web interface out of the box, but there is webmin (and many alternatives)
You can always install squeezelite on any OS for local playback.

[Roland0]

Not until recently but I've just started using it for an SFTP repository for CCTV images (and for which I'm trying to find an ultra low power NAS for e.g. using RPi). If I could find the latter that supported replication (e.g. robocopy/rsync) and proper drive health diagnostics (HD Sentinel) then I could ditch the Windows 'server' completely. TrueNAS needs revisiting ...

The challenge with SBC based NASes always seems to be a suitable enclosure for the drives.
The odroid hc4 may be an option (2 drives). I've been using the HC-1 for several years and am quite happy with it.
There are loads of linux based NAS solutions, pretty sure rsync is universally available

[mr-b]

Well, if I were you I would move LMS move back to the Win10 server, since in this case I don't see the benefit of running LMS on a separate RPi4B. The extra RPi4 only gives extra power consumption.

It's used as a player as well so the power issue is moot.

afaik no general purpose OS is universally compressed on-disk (performance issues). using a content-aware backup solution greatly speeds up the process, as only the used space will be backed up.
there is the F2FS file system which is designed for SD cards etc. Ironically, it's also the one file system I've ever used which completely failed on a perfectly fine SD card for no apparent reason and rendered the OS unbootable, so I switched back to ext4
A local SSD would certainly be more reliable

Ah I should have clarified that the compression aspect was about PCP's very good sd-card image backup feature (presumably via something like DD) to a remote share - that could use compression but it's not loaded into TinyCore by default, so it takes ages. Once the compression extension is loaded it works really well and has saved me a lot of time at least a couple of times.

I found an interesting (but rather old) article on filesystems for flash storage. https://superuser.com/questions/2480...-on-an-sd-card .

That being said, I've been using SanDisk Ultra/Extreme cards for years (in SBCs and phones), and none has failed yet.

I'm on my third SanDisk Ultra now which develops lots of bad sectors after a while - not v. impressed even its 10y warranty, so will switch shortly to an SSD.

I like the look of that Odroid HC4, I've got an N2+ already for Coreelec. I wonder if I could use my old eSATA enclosures ...

[dizzysnakepilot]

I built a Pi-based LMS server just over 5 years ago using Debian Wheezy as the OS and it has worked perfectly since then with no changes.

The Pi has a wired connection to a 2T hard drive which holds the music files. It's my understanding disks have better longevity than SSD's or SD type cards.