Euphony OS w/Stylus player setup and issues thread

[fajita]

It seems that most people here are using Euphony Stylus, but I am interested so know if there are any using Euphony with Roon Server, as I am having some issues that are likely related to the combo.

 

I have a dual PC setup, with Euphony running Roon Server on a dedicated machine, and a streamer using Euphony with either Roon Bridge or Stylus EP. My issue is on the Roon Server machine, characterized by somewhat random system hangs every 24 to 48 hours or so.

 

Originally thinking it was a hardware issue, I have replaced every piece of hardware excluding the processor and hard disks, including ethernet cables, the HDPlex linear power supply, the DC-ATX converter, memory and the mainboard. The exact phenomenon has persisted through all of these changes.  I have run the system with Stylus instead of Roon Server for up to two days without any incident - I am currently extending this to be confident it is a Roon - Euphony interaction problem, and am at the 2 day mark without issue yet.

 

The current system consists of an Asus Strix B450-i gaming MB, Ryzen 1700 processor, 16 GB of crucial DDR4 2666 Ram, Samsung NVME boot disc, Western Digital m.2 ssd music storage all in a fanless HDPlex case (although previously used a high end active cooling solution).  I have an nVidia GT 710 graphics card, but I only physically connect it to problem solve, running graphics free else-wise.

 

I have been in contact with Euphony support and provided system logs (which I can reproduce here), but they apparently don't show anything suspicious.  I am currently working with Roon to see if anything can be done.

 

Anyone here have any similar experience or thoughts?

[fajita]

16 hours ago, flkin said:

I have a single box streamer with Euphony. From time to time I run, and leave running, Roon Server as Roon Core + StylusEP.

 

After a day or a few days, the system hangs and I have to reboot. Reply from Željko is to check whether it hangs if left on Stylus instead of RC+StEP. It doesn't. So something to do with Roon and Euphony (or that version of Linux).

 

Same problem occurs for me using AudioLinux in the past during version 2 and after months of troubleshooting with Piero still couldn't discover the issue. 

 

So I've given up now and after each session of listening, I simply reboot to Stylus after switching off the DAC

 

I am at once both relieved and frustrated at this response.  Relieved as in it is not a hardware issue, but frustrated that I will not likely find a solution.  For interest, I got the following response from Roon Support regarding whether they have seen this issue before:

 

"Generally, Roon shouldn’t cause the entire machine to hang/crash. It is possible that Roon is using drivers that have an issue / are corrupt that other applications aren’t using (we’ve seen this happen on Windows), but the underlying issue in these cases isn’t Roon, just what Roon is trying to interact with."

 

It would seem that Roon is not playing well with some part of the Linux OS that is common between Euphony and Audio Linux.  In my case, with a whole home Roon based system and fickle users that will readily give up rather than restarting the server, I will likely have to switch back to a Windows Server environment.  If I learn anything more, will update.

[fajita]

44 minutes ago, bobfa said:

I have run Roon on Linux for several YEARS and never experienced this.  Roon ROCK is linux.  There are many Linux variants out there that run this just fine.  My current hardware is running Roon on linux with no issues.  

 

There is something "special" going on in your environment.   There are a lot of simple debugging steps to try yet.  That is if you want to try!

 

 

 

Not being a Linux guy, I can only imagine what debugging is like.  I like working on computers (have been doing so on Windows for a long time), but time has become something more precious lately, and experimenting has thus far interfered with the enjoyment of listening.  There is also the principle question of who should be doing the debugging - me, or the manufacturer of a product that advertised an integrated Roon experience.

 

So... I don't know.  I'll see what I can learn about debugging a linux machine and maybe I'll become inspired.

[fajita]

On 2/24/2020 at 8:13 PM, bobfa said:

Actually I doubt it is linux.  I am betting on some other items.

 

I would shut down the whole network first.

 

I would startup the linux machine clean, new install.  I would make sure it works with Stylus first.

 

I would then swap over to Roon and create a new test/demo account.  That gives you a couple of weeks to test and does not effect your existing system at all.

 

Then when we can debug from there.

 

Bob

 

 

Bob, you are very gracious, and I will accept any help I can get.  I will tell you that I have both someone from Roon willing to run diagnostics on the machine and Željko from Euphony offering to remote in and have a look at some point.

 

To update you nonethless, I have been at this for around 3 months.  The network has been reset several times, switches replaced, and ethernet cable from main switch to the Euphony machine running Roon Server replaced.  Fresh install with a fresh download of Euphony OS 2 weeks ago, still with occasional hangs.  Has been running Stylus with Roon Server off for 4 days without a hiccup, which is far more than when running Roon Server.

 

The Roon demo account is an interesting idea that I have not tried yet.  I will try to do this next.

 

I discovered an item in my BIOS that was on which, in Windows anyway, installs an Asus update service that is annoying.  I doubt this would have been the culprit, but I have turned that off and am now running Euphony directly off of the USB stick with Roon Server enabled just to see.

[fajita]

23 hours ago, flkin said:

Try unplugging the lan cable from your streamer when it is resting and see if that helps. It did for me. 

 

By help, do you mean that the issue resolved?  I have made some changes, as above, and am awaiting the next crash.  I will try this thereafter.

[fajita]

On 2/26/2020 at 9:47 AM, davide256 said:

The hang is mostly likely a network caused phenomena. If you are using the mac as server it really should be a wired connection.

 

I think wires are crossed as far as my issue - I have no MAC, and no wireless connections.

 

I also accept that there could be a network issue, however, most network elements have been changed for troubleshooting and I have another dedicated PC acting as a streamer which is on the same network and runs Euphony as an endpoint with Roon Bridge without a single issue.

 

Ryan

[fajita]

On 2/24/2020 at 8:13 PM, bobfa said:

Actually I doubt it is linux.  I am betting on some other items.

 

I would shut down the whole network first.

 

I would startup the linux machine clean, new install.  I would make sure it works with Stylus first.

 

I would then swap over to Roon and create a new test/demo account.  That gives you a couple of weeks to test and does not effect your existing system at all.

 

Then when we can debug from there.

 

Bob

 

 

Bob,

 

Just closing some loops here... I believe I have the system hangs with Euphony figured out, although I will need to let the system run for a few more days to confirm it.

 

I tried the trial Roon account, but it didn't work.  Did some further research and discovered that AMD processors may have an issue with Linux related to idle power supply current or C-states (specifically the C6 state).  For anyone interested, the most helpful thread I have found is:

 

https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=196683#c194

 

I have an option to disable power supply idle control in BIOS, which didn't work.  However, disabling global C-state control and enabling Asus' performance enhancement (which raises core voltage a titch) has resulted in the system now going the longest it ever has.  There are some who have used kernel parameters to help mitigate this.

 

I would honestly like to enjoy the energy savings of C-state control, and may switch to an Intel system when Comet Lake products are introduced, but for now I may have a workaround.