Cannot figure out how to transfer files from Remote to headless

Support
1

Roon Core Machine

Machine 1(roon remote) :
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 19044) (19041.vb_release.191206-1406)
Processor: Intel(R) Core™ i5-3337U CPU @ 1.80GHz (4 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
Memory: 8GB RAM

Machine 2 (roon remote) : Model :LGv20
Operating System: ANDROID v7.0 kernal 3.18.31
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
Memory: 4GB RAM

Machine 3(roon server headless):
Operating system: Linux Mint
Processor: Ryzen 7900x
Memory :16gb RAM

Networking Gear & Setup Details

I am using both wifi and ethernet. And/or, both are available.
TP Link TL-SG105

Connected Audio Devices

I’ve got cheap amazon speakers attached to machine 1 using a 3.5mm audio jack.

Number of Tracks in Library

My music library is massive, i’m not going to count it because all my files are at home and this is a work project. I just need to know how to transfer any amount of files over from remote to headless.

Description of Issue

I’ve gone through the FAQ and searched the forums… I cant find any information on this.

I have 2 questions

  1. If i don’t have a monitor on my headless Linux Machine 3, how can i transfer my files from Machine 1 or 2 to machine 3?

I get a can plug in a USB drive and set that drive as a directory for my music files…
2) How do i transfer the files FROM the USB drive(machine 3) onto one of my SSD’s(machine 3) or HDD’s(machine 3) using Roon remote?

Thanks for reading this , i will appreciate any help you can offer.

2

There are no files on your remotes. Your Roon database is on your Roon core. Your music files are wherever you put them. They are connected to your core as a “watched folder.” I’m unclear what you are trying to do here.

3

Use a Samba network share, and copy over the network.

This guide is for Nucleus, but the same principles apply.

4

You need to set up a samba share on the cores music folder if it’s local to the core machine. This is nothing to do with Roon it doesn’t copy or move files you just point the core to a folder containing your music files this should be a central location or you can add network shares to other computers but that will cause more network hops as all music has to pass via the core.

5

Whats the difference between Roon Core and Roon server? Do i need to download and install something else to get files onto my roon server?

I’m trying to Build a remote ITX pc(machine 3) with lots of storage space on it. I’m just wondering how i can fill up the storage on my Linux(machine 3) pc without plugging in a monitor or going through SHH. I kind find any type of Transfer options in roon remote.

6

Roon server is your core. It’s the version normally installed on a headless computer. In Roon, go to Settings - Storage and you should see your music folder attached there. If not, you need to attach it. You can attach more than one “watched” folder, but don’t have the same music files in more than one “watched” folder.

7

So as I understand it, you basically need a method of reliably transferring music files from a Windows PC to your Roon Core server running Linux…

I am doing just that, with the only difference that I transfer my music files from an iMac to my headless Linux Roon server (Core). For this task I use several external USB hard drives: (1) one hard drive where resides the main music file collection, all organized in subfolders under a ‘Music’ folder. (2+3) two external USB hard drives which are synched to the main drive and only serve as backup drives.

When I add new local music files, the files will first be added to the main external hard drive (1) while connected to my iMac. I then disconnect the drive from the iMac and connect it to the headless Linux Roon Core. I use a terminal session from the Mac to open a ssh session into the Roon server and (a) mount the connected USB drive and then (b) use the rsync tool to sync the hard drive’s ‘Music’ directory to the corresponding Music folder on a SSD drive in the Linux Roon Core server.

I use rsync because it is very fast, it is easy to use, it is reliable, it keeps track of transferred files and permits to keep my Music collection on the Roon Core perfectly synchronized with my main external drive.

I also use rsync to synchronize the main external drive (1) with the backup drives (2+3), to maintain three exact copies of my music files on three external drives.

On Windows you can use any ssh client to open remotely a secure shell session on your Linux server. I haven’t used Windows for ages, but when I last had access to Windows, I used PuTTY.

If you use an external hard drive to transfer files from your Windows PC to your Linux Roon server, you must make sure the drive is formatted using a file system supported under both Windows and Linux. I would recommend formatting the external drive using exFAT, as it is well supported under Windows and can be easily configured on your Linux Machine.

Another option is to install samba on your Linux machine and make the folder with your music files on the Roon server network-accessible. I wanted to keep my Roon Core server with as minimal a configuration as possible and don’t use samba, nor do I expose any directory of the Roon Core server over the network. I find it easy enough to connect and mount an external USB drive and then synch its Music directory to the Core server’s internal SSD.

I don’t know how experienced you are managing your Linux box with a terminal, but the few things required for the task at hand are easy enough. If you need help with figuring out how to mount an external drive or with rsync, I can try and give some assistance.

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8

I’ve got no problem using SSH to transfer the files. However, Im trying to build a small amount of headless music servers for other people who may not be as comfortable in a terminal window as i am. I was trying to avoid SSH if possible.

So Roon remote or any other Roon software has no way to transfer files onto the headless roon server itself?
I am only able to “point” to files over a network and setup share locations using the roon software?

9

No…

Yes…

There are many ways to set up an easy process. Many Roon users hold their music files on external USB drives connected to the Roon Core. They can easily disconnect the drive and connect it to a Windows or Mac machine, copy new music on the drive and then bring it back to the Roon Core.

Another way is to set up a SMB share from the Linux Roon Core, and then drag and drop in Windows the new files in the Core’s shared music repository.

I personally like what rsync has to offer and use that to keep my external and internal drives in synch.

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10

How would those people keep their headless Linux Roon server updated, if not over a terminal session? Mint installs a default GUI… so would the user connect a monitor and mouse/keyboard to keep the OS updated? Not really a headless setup then…

I can certainly see the value of a headless Linux server, but I would then think you are better off using some minimal Ubuntu server installation and just teach the users how to connect to this server from Windows/Mac, and how to perform the basic admin tasks. A GUI isn’t really needed for a headless setup, and only adds software packages and processing overhead. Thankfully, under Linux this can be avoided. And for a really Linux or terminal-averse user, a headless Windows machine with remote desktop access or a headless Mac Mini would possibly make better solutions.

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11

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this all to me.

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12

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