Audiolinux Server configurations, Software, Hardware, and Listening Impressions

[bibo01]

48 minutes ago, bobfa said:

Many of us have been using Optane for boot and database storage on audio servers.  I have been testing it in two servers that I built.   I am also looking at it for storage in endpoints where we have been using USB sticks.  The goal there is to see if there is an audible difference to eliminate the USB stick reboot issue.  Most of the testing done so far appears to support that running AL in RAM improves audio quality.

 

From the little research I had time to do there are AMD boards that can use Optane as storage but not as hard drive cache. 

 

 I did a little blog post about this stuff.  Thanks for the idea!  I am behind on these.

 

 

Thanks for your reply. I just read your blog post.

You mention Optane's low latency benefits. Are they only achievable on Intel based systems?

In this NVMe SSD round-up it seems that Optane is slower in terms of writes/reads. 

To use Optane in an AMD system, as you say, as storage only, does it still make sense with a USB loaded RAM OS?

BTW, the AMD motherboard I am looking at for compatibility is Supermicro H11DSi.  

[bobfa]

17 hours ago, bibo01 said:

Thanks for your reply. I just read your blog post.

You mention Optane's low latency benefits. Are they only achievable on Intel based systems?

In this NVMe SSD round-up it seems that Optane is slower in terms of writes/reads. 

To use Optane in an AMD system, as you say, as storage only, does it still make sense with a USB loaded RAM OS?

BTW, the AMD motherboard I am looking at for compatibility is Supermicro H11DSi.  

I don't want to get too far off subject here.  I boot my server off of Optane into RAM.  I have no experience with AMD motherboards, but in this application the Optane is not being used and  drive acceleration system, it is used to boot and in my case Roon library.

[lmitche]

18 hours ago, bibo01 said:

Thanks for your reply. I just read your blog post.

You mention Optane's low latency benefits. Are they only achievable on Intel based systems?

In this NVMe SSD round-up it seems that Optane is slower in terms of writes/reads. 

To use Optane in an AMD system, as you say, as storage only, does it still make sense with a USB loaded RAM OS?

BTW, the AMD motherboard I am looking at for compatibility is Supermicro H11DSi.  

In the NVME roundup the three Optane drives are faster in the short 4k test. This is exactly the kind of traffic generated by Roon by it's DB operations during playback. In long file transfers Optane is no slouch, just not the fastest at all times. No traffic is best, but if you must have it, then service times at 25% of other options is a good thing.

[bibo01]

1 hour ago, lmitche said:

In the NVME roundup the three Optane drives are faster in the short 4k test. This is exactly the kind of traffic generated by Roon by it's DB operations during playback. In long file transfers Optane is no slouch, just not the fastest at all times. No traffic is best, but if you must have it, then service times at 25% of other options is a good thing.

The soon to be released Intel M2 Optane H10 seems an interesting solution as it has both types of memory and it comes at a cheaper price, more convenient MB/$.

[lmitche]

5 hours ago, bibo01 said:

The soon to be released Intel M2 Optane H10 seems an interesting solution as it has both types of memory and it comes at a cheaper price, more convenient MB/$.

With AL and a Roon database for 5500 albums my 32 gb NVME Optane is 2/3rds empty. Cost was $62.

 

The 3D-Xpoint doesn't have the sound quality killing high frequency noise of SSD flash.

[davide256]

Curious what folks are using for media storage at NUC server end? SSD?

[lmitche]

6 hours ago, davide256 said:

Curious what folks are using for media storage at NUC server end? SSD?

Checkout my post on page 520 on the "Novel" thread. Since then, there are further pages of dialog about ssds and hdds and ridicule by the inexperienced. LOL.

[Dutch]

1 hour ago, lmitche said:

Checkout my post on page 520 on the "Novel" thread. Since then, there are further pages of dialog about ssds and hdds and ridicule by the inexperienced. LOL.

 

This post? 

 

 

I tried to figure it out but one needs to combine multiple posts of yours to figure out what you’re using.

 

So you’re using a Startech PEXUSB314A2V USB3.1 card in your i7 6700K server, powered by 12V coming from a HDPlex PSU. To that USB card you have connected some self powered Startech USB3.1  3.5” HDD enclosure containing a 3.5” WD Black HDD. Couldn’t find a mention of the way you’re powering the HDD enclosure but you seem to be using many different types of DIY LT3045 regulators in many parts of your system so that could also be used here.

 

I don’t see any ridicule BTW but perhaps I did not read far enough after the page you mention. In any case I would not blame the readers here for no being able to follow what you’re doing considering the bits and pieces of information scattered everywhere.

[davide256]

2 hours ago, lmitche said:

Checkout my post on page 520 on the "Novel" thread. Since then, there are further pages of dialog about ssds and hdds and ridicule by the inexperienced. LOL.

1 TB SSD has gotten to be pretty affordable, ~$150 vs adding a bigger (more costly) SDXC card to my Lexar USB3 stack. The question in my mind is whether an external USB3 enclosure would be better than putting it inside the NUC? Some sacrifice in access speed there but seems to me that independently powering the drive would be a good thing...

[lmitche]

3 hours ago, davide256 said:

1 TB SSD has gotten to be pretty affordable, ~$150 vs adding a bigger (more costly) SDXC card to my Lexar USB3 stack. The question in my mind is whether an external USB3 enclosure would be better than putting it inside the NUC? Some sacrifice in access speed there but seems to me that independently powering the drive would be a good thing...

Well a 1tb WD black drive and usb3.1 gen 2 Startech enclosure costs $120 in total plus you avoid the music crushing SSD noise. Add a 12 volt linear power supply and you have a great solution for a NUC server. Even better add a double or triple regulated lt3045 chain.

[lmitche]

18 hours ago, bibo01 said:

The soon to be released Intel M2 Optane H10 seems an interesting solution as it has both types of memory and it comes at a cheaper price, more convenient MB/$.

I wouldn't want to have any flash memory in my system.

[Dev]

7 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Well a 1tb WD black drive and usb3.1 gen 2 Startech enclosure costs $120 in total plus you avoid the music crushing SSD noise. Add a 12, or 15 volt (3 amp lt3045 to 12 volt ) linear power supply and you have a great solution for a NUC server.

 

Larry, have you experimented with the USB cable from the Startech enclosure to your server ? Though I don't have the Startech enclosure (I am using owc enclsoure), I swapped out the stock usb3 cable with an wireworld usb 2.0 cable that I had laying around and it sounds different.

[lmitche]

1 minute ago, Dev said:

 

Larry, have you experimented with the USB cable from the Startech enclosure to your server ? Though I don't have the Startech enclosure (I am using owc enclsoure), I swapped out the stock usb3 cable with an wireworld usb 2.0 cable that I had laying around and it sounds different.

I've got a Startech USB 3 cable with a handmade lush 2 type jssg360 shielding configuration.

[lmitche]

5 hours ago, Dutch said:

 

This post? 

 

 

I tried to figure it out but one needs to combine multiple posts of yours to figure out what you’re using.

 

So you’re using a Startech PEXUSB314A2V USB3.1 card in your i7 6700K server, powered by 12V coming from a HDPlex PSU. To that USB card you have connected some self powered Startech USB3.1  3.5” HDD enclosure containing a 3.5” WD Black HDD. Couldn’t find a mention of the way you’re powering the HDD enclosure but you seem to be using many different types of DIY LT3045 regulators in many parts of your system so that could also be used here.

 

I don’t see any ridicule BTW but perhaps I did not read far enough after the page you mention. In any case I would not blame the readers here for no being able to follow what you’re doing considering the bits and pieces of information scattered everywhere.

You get what you get. Take it or leave it.

[Dutch]

21 minutes ago, lmitche said:

You get what you get. Take it or leave it.

 

Fortunately I’ve heard you’re treating your paying customers better than these people here in this community asking you questions (not me, I’ve never asked you anything) or tryi g to converse with you. All the best! Just remember where you’re from.

[lmitche]

56 minutes ago, Dutch said:

 

Fortunately I’ve heard you’re treating your paying customers better than these people here in this community asking you questions (not me, I’ve never asked you anything) or tryi g to converse with you. All the best! Just remember where you’re from.

That's right, you get what you give.

 

You are new here, what will you be giving this community?

[Dutch]

16 minutes ago, lmitche said:

That's right, you get what you give.

 

Huh..You get what you give? You’re now talking about me? I just wrote I never asked you (for) anything.

 

Looks like you entirely missed my point but it doesn’t matter. I guess, bottomline, I just wanted to say that I think you’re a bit pretentious and not really as helpful as you think you are. I also don’t see any of your ‘contributions’ mentioned in the index of the massive thread. That’s all, no harm done by you, except perhaps a little to the people who you brush off or call unexperienced. They’ll get over it. 

 

19 minutes ago, lmitche said:

What will you be giving this community?

 

Whatever I see fit. But I’m not in it with a commercial hat as well.

[lmitche]

LOL, here is further proof of the existence of Inevitable Internet Entropy Theory. How sad!

 

If I can help anyone in the future, you can reach me at the address below.

 

All the best,

 

Larry

 

[Dutch]

11 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Inevitable Internet Entropy Theory.

 

“The theory that given time everything on the Internet will devolve into poor quality content designed to drive advertisement revenue through clickbait, stolen, and/or inflammatory content.”

 

OK

 

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[Dutch]

33 minutes ago, lmitche said:

How sad!

 

If I can help anyone in the future, you can reach me at the address below.

 

All the best,

 

Larry

 

I now see you edited this in. This didn’t need to have escalated to this.

 

C’mon, as far as I know it’s just the opinion of one person: me. Just forget it and as I see you started this topic; feel free to delete these posts and/or have an admin ban me.

[FredM]

17 minutes ago, lmitche said:

If I can help anyone in the future, you can reach me at the address below

As the topic starter, can I ask what the purpose of this topic is? I would like to get a clear understanding of your intentions (when it is to generate business for your company, I guess a topic over at the sponsored section whould be more appropriate). In my view the open topics [non-commercial] are here to learn and help each other, as a community.

[lmitche]

Fred, this thread is all about running the Audiolinux headless OS on servers, a NUC or a regular server. It digresses into peripherals at times.

 

Nuckleheadaudio offers an integration service and was created after people on this website begged me for such an offering. I don't manufacturer anything. Think of it as a DIY outsourced service. As such I am not tied to any particular solution except that I can't recommend or offer anything I haven't first heard here.

 

I am pretentious enough to have an opinion about many things and you can expect me to chime in with what I have learned are best practices. These best practices, whether or not developed by myself or others, have all been tested and validated by others. As most of the details have been posted about many, many times I am not going to write the full detail over and over when a new member joins the site. People are just going to need to search for the detail. I have no time for more. As I said above, take it or leave it.

 

My signature shows my "commercial" interests so you have been warned.

 

At times it can be very frustrating watching someone post about and others support a solution that is just not going to sound good. I have to get better at keeping my mouth shut and let them learn.

 

People don't bother reading the good information available here and we seem to always start from the beginning. Due to this, expect me to post less and less over time. It used to be fun, but has become more and more painful.

 

 

 

[bobfa]

I think we have learned a lot from the discussions here.  Lets keep the technical stuff going.  The more people who have these systems to listen to and experiment with the better the community will be.  

 

Larry has been here a very long time and has contributed a lot to AS.  There are a lot of ways to bring more folks into this little corner of our world.  

 

We have had some folks get too wound up around here lately.  Let's try to slow down just a bit.

 

 

[Dutch]

@lmitche, my sincere apologies. Now with your post explaining these matters I actually feel/recognize your frustration from a past where I used to be active on a forum where similar things happened with me.

 

It shows me/it makes me think it’s all because you actually care, a lot. So I’d like to take back the mentions of me thinking you’re a bit pretentious or you not being helpful. Uncalled for, I realize now.

 

I’ll stay out of your hair and hope you will find a way to regain the fun you once had here and can set the frustrations inherent to a relatively ‘volatile’ or ‘fleeting’ (from a shared knowledge perspective) medium like a forum aside.

 

Also you’re absolutely right you don’t owe anyone anything!

[lmitche]

7 hours ago, Dutch said:

@lmitche, my sincere apologies. Now with your post explaining these matters I actually feel/recognize your frustration from a past where I used to be active on a forum where similar things happened with me.

 

It shows me/it makes me think it’s all because you actually care, a lot. So I’d like to take back the mentions of me thinking you’re a bit pretentious or you not being helpful. Uncalled for, I realize now.

 

I’ll stay out of your hair and hope you will find a way to regain the fun you once had here and can set the frustrations inherent to a relatively ‘volatile’ or ‘fleeting’ (from a shared knowledge perspective) medium like a forum aside.

 

Also you’re absolutely right you don’t owe anyone anything!

Hi Dutch,

 

Thanks for your apology. No worries, it's a new day. Let's move on.

 

Thanks,

 

Larry