piCorePlayer/LMS music/playlists files backup

[rgro]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'll start here. I'm totally new to the Pi/Linux world with no code or programming experience. Nonetheless, thanks in great part to the excellent piCorePlayer "how to", I've just managed to get an RPI4 up and running with LMS as my new music server---replacing a microjukebox/vortexbox from Small Green Computer. I also have two RPI4 Pi's operating solely as Squeezelite players which are now happily connected to the LMS server and all is running just fine.

So, on the Pi/LMS server, I have a 1tb SSD connected to one of the USB ports. That SSD was formatted, per the instructions, as EXT4 and I then transferred all of my music files from the spinning hard drive in the microjukebox to the SSD over my home network (bit of a lengthy process!).

Now, I would like to be able to easily make backups. I have a couple of 1tb Western Digital external MyPassport USB hard drives laying around and figured to use one of those to backup the SSD. So, I have a couple questions for the experts here:

1. To start, what is the fastest/best way to backup the entire SSD contents to the MyPassport? Do I need to reformat the MyPassport to EXT4, first?

2. After that's done, I would like to be able to easily back up just the changed or newly added music files from the SSD to the HD. I'm planning to leave the Pi/LMS server on 24/7 and my preference is not to leave the HD powered on 24/7, too. I'd like to be able to just plug the HD into the second USB port of the Pi (without having to turn the Pi off and on again) and have it run some sort of automated process to back up the new/changed files from the SSD, but don't know if that's possible and, if so, how to make that happen.

Alternative #1: it'd also be workable to plug the MyPassport HD into my Windows computer and, somehow (no idea how) have my Windows computer find the SSD on the Pi and then back up new/changed files over the network to the MyPassport HD that is plugged into my Windows computer.

Alternative #2: people much cleverer than I, no doubt, have already figured out an even better way to do all this. If so, please give this very low-tech newbie, a step-by-step how to. I'm pretty good at following directions and I do know how to open a Putty session.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

[kidstypike]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'll start here. I'm totally new to the Pi/Linux world with no code or programming experience. Nonetheless, thanks in great part to the excellent piCorePlayer "how to", I've just managed to get an RPI4 up and running with LMS as my new music server---replacing a microjukebox/vortexbox from Small Green Computer. I also have two RPI4 Pi's operating solely as Squeezelite players which are now happily connected to the LMS server and all is running just fine.

So, on the Pi/LMS server, I have a 1tb SSD connected to one of the USB ports. That SSD was formatted, per the instructions, as EXT4 and I then transferred all of my music files from the spinning hard drive in the microjukebox to the SSD over my home network (bit of a lengthy process!).

Now, I would like to be able to easily make backups. I have a couple of 1tb Western Digital external MyPassport USB hard drives laying around and figured to use one of those to backup the SSD. So, I have a couple questions for the experts here:

1. To start, what is the fastest/best way to backup the entire SSD contents to the MyPassport? Do I need to reformat the MyPassport to EXT4, first?

2. After that's done, I would like to be able to easily back up just the changed or newly added music files from the SSD to the HD. I'm planning to leave the Pi/LMS server on 24/7 and my preference is not to leave the HD powered on 24/7, too. I'd like to be able to just plug the HD into the second USB port of the Pi (without having to turn the Pi off and on again) and have it run some sort of automated process to back up the new/changed files from the SSD, but don't know if that's possible and, if so, how to make that happen.

Alternative #1: it'd also be workable to plug the MyPassport HD into my Windows computer and, somehow (no idea how) have my Windows computer find the SSD on the Pi and then back up new/changed files over the network to the MyPassport HD that is plugged into my Windows computer.

Alternative #2: people much cleverer than I, no doubt, have already figured out an even better way to do all this. If so, please give this very low-tech newbie, a step-by-step how to. I'm pretty good at following directions and I do know how to open a Putty session.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Alrernative #1 - Install SAMBA on the pCP (LMS page > Setup Samba Share) and use a backup programme such as freefilesync to backup one drive to the other over your network.

[d6jg]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I'll start here. I'm totally new to the Pi/Linux world with no code or programming experience. Nonetheless, thanks in great part to the excellent piCorePlayer "how to", I've just managed to get an RPI4 up and running with LMS as my new music server---replacing a microjukebox/vortexbox from Small Green Computer. I also have two RPI4 Pi's operating solely as Squeezelite players which are now happily connected to the LMS server and all is running just fine.

So, on the Pi/LMS server, I have a 1tb SSD connected to one of the USB ports. That SSD was formatted, per the instructions, as EXT4 and I then transferred all of my music files from the spinning hard drive in the microjukebox to the SSD over my home network (bit of a lengthy process!).

Now, I would like to be able to easily make backups. I have a couple of 1tb Western Digital external MyPassport USB hard drives laying around and figured to use one of those to backup the SSD. So, I have a couple questions for the experts here:

1. To start, what is the fastest/best way to backup the entire SSD contents to the MyPassport? Do I need to reformat the MyPassport to EXT4, first?

2. After that's done, I would like to be able to easily back up just the changed or newly added music files from the SSD to the HD. I'm planning to leave the Pi/LMS server on 24/7 and my preference is not to leave the HD powered on 24/7, too. I'd like to be able to just plug the HD into the second USB port of the Pi (without having to turn the Pi off and on again) and have it run some sort of automated process to back up the new/changed files from the SSD, but don't know if that's possible and, if so, how to make that happen.

Alternative #1: it'd also be workable to plug the MyPassport HD into my Windows computer and, somehow (no idea how) have my Windows computer find the SSD on the Pi and then back up new/changed files over the network to the MyPassport HD that is plugged into my Windows computer.

Alternative #2: people much cleverer than I, no doubt, have already figured out an even better way to do all this. If so, please give this very low-tech newbie, a step-by-step how to. I'm pretty good at following directions and I do know how to open a Putty session.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

I assume that you have a fairly decent library with a lot of files.
The key to successful backup is to have at least two, one of which should be offsite if it can be arranged and I’d avoid using Windows in any part of it if I were you.
IMHO the best hardware and tools are provided by NAS devices as that’s what they are designed to do.
I have 3 x NAS, 2 of which are at least 5 years old.

My Production and Dev LMS servers use one of them as their file store mounted in the same way on both via NFS. This NAS is the master copy. I rip CDs from dbPoweramp directly to it and all changes and edits are done here.

I have a second NAS at a remote location via site to site VPN and every night I use the inbuilt sync tool to replicate any changes from the master to the offsite slave. At this location I also run a pCP LMS with the NAS mounted identically (means the playlists still work).

Because I run an instance of LMS it’s very easy to check that the backup is working. A quick glance at New Music on this LMS is usually all that is required.

I have a third very old NAS on site and once a week I replicate changes from the master to this 3rd NAS again using the inbuilt sync tools.

Personally I don’t see any point in wasting an SSD for file storage. I run my OS and LMS on an SSD but file storage is still on spinning disks - but then none of my NAS are anywhere that mechanical sound can be heard.

[rgro]

Alrernative #1 - Install SAMBA on the pCP (LMS page > Setup Samba Share) and use a backup programme such as freefilesync to backup one drive to the other over your network.

Thanks kidstypike! Hmmm....I kinda' like the sound of this. As part of the LMS and SSd install with piCorePlayer, I actually did get Samba Share up and running and the contents of the SSD drive are, indeed visible on my PC. I'll look into that freefilesynch program.

Do you happen to know whether I need to reformat the existing MyPassport HD using EXT4 to match the SSD, or can I just leave the HD as is and freefilesynch would still work if, say, the HD was formatted with NTFS and the SSD is EXT4?

[kidstypike]

Thanks kidstypike! Hmmm....I kinda' like the sound of this. As part of the LMS and SSd install with piCorePlayer, I actually did get Samba Share up and running and the contents of the SSD drive are, indeed visible on my PC. I'll look into that freefilesynch program.

Do you happen to know whether I need to reformat the existing MyPassport HD using EXT4 to match the SSD, or can I just leave the HD as is and freefilesynch would still work if, say, the HD was formatted with NTFS and the SSD is EXT4?

Every drive I own is formatted NTFS, whether SSD or HDD, whether connected to Windows, NAS or Pi.

[Tony T]

Use rsync to backup your SSD to your WD. No need to format the WD as Ext4
After the initial backup it will go faster as only changed files will be copied then.
IIRC, there is a Windows implementation of rsync, but I never used it, i have a Mac and use rsync to backup my Music Files.

[rgro]

Use rsync to backup your SSD to your WD. No need to format the WD as Ext4
After the initial backup it will go faster as only changed files will be copied then.
IIRC, there is a Windows implementation of rsync, but I never used it, i have a Mac and use rsync to backup my Music Files.

Thank you, Tony T. That's just the right solution for me. Got it and it's running the backup as I write this.

Thanks again.

[rgro]

Use rsync to backup your SSD to your WD. No need to format the WD as Ext4
After the initial backup it will go faster as only changed files will be copied then.
IIRC, there is a Windows implementation of rsync, but I never used it, i have a Mac and use rsync to backup my Music Files.

Hey Tony T...

It worked fine on Windows. I also have one last question about rsync. Does the basic sync/backup function continue to work after the 30 day free trial period or do you have to pay to keep it functioning???

[Tony T]

Hey Tony T...

It worked fine on Windows. I also have one last question about rsync. Does the basic sync/backup function continue to work after the 30 day free trial period or do you have to pay to keep it functioning???

I use the open source (free) rsync from https://rsync.samba.org/ for my Mac and Linux Pi
If the Windows variant requires payment, then you’ll need to (and should) pay after 30 days.

Another option is to use the rsync in pCP (you will need to d/l the package first from
Main->Additional Functions->Extentions
You can the SSH into pCP and try to run rsync from the Pi

[slartibartfast]

Hey Tony T...

It worked fine on Windows. I also have one last question about rsync. Does the basic sync/backup function continue to work after the 30 day free trial period or do you have to pay to keep it functioning???

Freefilesync as mentioned in an earlier post is free as the name suggests.

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