Adding NAS to Roon & Core Recommendations

Support
1

I’m brand new to the Roon system and am having trouble creating the correct path to my NAS drive where my music files are stored. I am using a Mac, and have attempted to used the suggestions in the documentation, but have yet to come up with the correct syntax.

Any help would be appreciated …

Bill
@support

3

Hello @Bill_J,

What NAS do you have and what path are you trying to use? Some screenshots would help here and you can use the image upload button to post screenshots to Community:

Upload%20Image%20Button

I would try following our Adding folders by Path Guide and our NAS FAQ for additional suggestions but the general format should be smb://IP_ADDRESS_OF_NAS/SHARE_NAME and then the credentials alongside it.

Thanks,
Noris

4

Thanks for your prompt reply.

I was just now able to get it to work by copying the file path from my Bluesound Node configuration.

\bjqnap\Multimedia\Music

But I do have another question. What is the Roon Server app which can be created directly on the Qnap NAS drive, and how does this differ from running the Roon server on my Mac?

Thanks

5

Hello @Bill_J,

If you decide to put Roon on your QNAP you can use these instructions, but you would basically be setting the QNAP as the “Core” machine. I am not sure what QNAP version you have but I would guess that your Mac has more processing power. Moving the Core to the QNAP would provide an “always-on” machine that Roon would make use of but depending on the QNAP specs, it may be a slower experience than hosting the Roon Core on your Mac.

Thanks,
Noris

6

Thanks for this helpful information.

Q. I’m currently using a QNAP TS-251+. Is this powerful enough to run Roon on?

I would like Not to use my Mac, and would prefer to use my QNAP NAS instead, but I don’t want poor performance.

Q. How much would adding RAM to my QNPA improve performance?

Q. How much would using an SSD drive improve QNAP performance?

Thanks

7

Hello @Bill_J,

I looked up the QNAP model you have and it contains a Celeron processor which is not that great, it is also not listed in the QNAP + Roon Recommendations, and we recommend at least an i3 CPU. You can give the QNAP a try but we can’t make any guarantees regarding it’s performance.

The most important factors for your QNAP would be the CPU type and yes, adding an SSD would greatly improve performance. 4GB of RAM should also be fine if your library is not over 100k tracks. Since upgrading the QNAP CPU is not an easy feat, I would personally take a look at other dedicated Roon devices such as Roon ROCK.

Thanks,
Noris

8

Much appreciated …

I give the Roon ROCk a look.

Thanks,
Bill

9

Roon ROCK looks intriguing …

I happen to have a Fry’s within 5 minutes and they are offering the:

Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) Pentium Barebone PC BOXNUC7PJYH1

How does this rate with the NUC you recommended? They are currently selling this for $149.

Thanks,
Bill

10

I wouldn’t get anything below an i3, just to be safe. An i3 NUC, without RAM or M.2 (like the box you pointed at), will probably run $150 more.

Here’s a barebones -

11

Hello @Bill_J,

I would not use that NUC as it doesn’t meet our minimum recommendations.
We have tested ROCK models listed on this page and I would suggest getting a model from there.

Thanks,
Noris