How can I update a Roon Bridge on a ROCK NUC to Early Access?

[Glimmer]

I have just acquired a second NUC to act as a Roon Bridge, its currently running production whereas my Roon Server is running Early Access.

Could this be problematic? It is running fine at the moment.

How can i convert it to Early Access? It is not currently available on my network in the way that my Server is, i.e. not visible as a server.

Many thanks in anticipation.

[Wade_Oram]

Are you running RoonOS (ROCK) or are you just running the Roon Bridge application on Windows or one of the many Linux distributions?

The Roon Bridge application has not changed (production or early access) in years so there is no problem running the production Roon Bridge against an early access Roon Server.

In the case of a second NUC running RoonOS, the situation has the potential to be more complicated. However, if it being used solely as a RAAT endpoint, then I would imagine that it will work fine because the RAAT endpoint handling is still based on the same protocols (and downloaded stream handling scripts - which come from the active Roon Server which is, in your case, early access anyway) as that used in Roon Bridge.

If the new Nuc is running RoonOS and you really want to move over to the early access build, then you can follow the same instructions as you used to migrate your RoonOS Roon Server to early access. If needed, instructions can be found here:

Roon Early Access Program

For your information, the current Roon Bridge release is build 1125 which was released in September 2022 which was the same time as Roon 2.0 was released and, I believe still works with the Roon Legacy 1.8 servers as well as the latest production and early access.

[Glimmer]

Thank you for your very full and informative response (as always).

I have just come in from an hour in the storm, so, after my pint of tea i will interrogate the system and answer your questions and/or pose some new ones!

[mjw (Here I am with a brain the size of a planet and they ask me to pick up a piece of paper. Call that job satisfaction? I don't.)]

I don’t believe there is an EA version of Bridge. I’ve always run the latest production version alongside EA and Production servers.

In fact, it would be a showstopper if there were different versions as I switch between EA and production frquently, and wouldn’t want to lose an endpoint because of version conflict.

[Glimmer]

On the original NUC server i am running OS Version 1 (build 257) early access, with server software Version 2.58 (build 1600) early access.

On the “new” NUC bridge i am running OS Version 2.1 (build 271) production, with server software Version 2.57 (build 1598) production.

I would quite like to update the original NUC to Version 2.1, but i am not sure that i am comfortably confident to do it!

Interestingly when i added the “new” NUC it did not cause a conflict with the original one, and i have not been asked to authorise/de-authorise either machine.

Thanks again for your help so far.

[Glimmer]

@Wade_Oram

The Roon Bridge application has not changed (production or early access) in years so there is no problem running the production Roon Bridge against an early access Roon Server.

Excellent news, very reassuring; thank you.

[Glimmer]

I have just SMB’d into the “new” NUC and have added the Early Access mode which is now in place for the Server; hopefully i am not going to have this come back and bite me! It is playing nicely at the moment with a Lossless feed through to my KEF’s.

[Glimmer]

I think that i have been asking the wrong questions, i believe that i need guidance on how i can update my original NUC Bios so that i can access Tailscale. Tailscale is available on the “new” NUC, but this is only to be used as a Roon Bridge (its age and RAM means it is best suited to this role, rather than replacing the “old” NUC).

Apologies for the confusion, i blame the inclement weather causing brain fog!!

[bearFNF]

Converting Roon ROCK from Legacy to UEFI involves updating your NUC’s BIOS and then reinstalling Roon ROCK from a USB stick with UEFI settings enabled in the BIOS (disable Legacy, enable UEFI Boot, secure boot off) to get full functionality like Tailscale, with a crucial step being to backup your Roon database first, as it requires a fresh UEFI install.

Here’s a thread that discusses the process:

FYI: Move Roon ROCK NUC to UEFI boot

I thought I would give a brief description of my successful move to UEFI boot (and a minor niggle or question on something odd): Originally set up a NUC10i7FNH with ROCK - at the time only legacy boot was supported. No issues. My NUC has 32gb RAM, 500gb system SSD, and a 4tb internal SSD for local files. First thing was a backup of my Roon db. I auto-backup over the network every 4 days, but I wanted something faster in a USB key. I inserted a USB key in the front USB slot, it was FAT32 format…

Edit: tried to put this in a spoiler but it is not worker like it used to…
AI instructions, take with a grain of salt (Also, depending on your NUC and bios you may not need to do bios update part??)
Before You Start:

1. Backup: Ensure your Roon database is backed up (preferably to a USB key).
2. Connect: Attach a monitor and USB keyboard to your NUC.

Steps to Convert:

1. Update BIOS:

• Download the latest BIOS for your NUC model from the Intel or motherboard manufacturer’s site.
• Follow instructions to update (often involves putting the file on a USB, pressing F7 at boot).

2. Enter BIOS:

• Restart the NUC and repeatedly press F2 (for Intel NUCs) to enter the BIOS setup.

3. Reset Defaults: Press F9 to load factory defaults for a clean slate.
4. Configure UEFI Settings:

• Go to the Boot section.
• Disable Secure Boot.
• Enable UEFI Boot and Disable Legacy/CSM.
• Set the M.2 SSD as the primary boot device, with USB as a secondary option.

5. Create UEFI Installer: Use the Roon ROCK image to create a bootable USB stick (this will install the UEFI version).
6. Install ROCK:

• Boot from the USB stick.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to install ROCK onto your internal drive.

7. Restore Database: After installation, authorize Roon and restore your backed-up database.

Key Points:

• RoonOS 2.1+ is built for UEFI, offering new features like Tailscale, which isn’t available on older Legacy installs.
• You must reinstall ROCK to get the UEFI build; you can’t convert an existing Legacy installation directly.

[Glimmer]

Many thanks, i do appreciate this forum and its members!

[Wade_Oram]

Since you now have two NUCs running RoonOS, I would be inclined to migrate your active RoonServer to the new NUC by restoring a backup and then moving any internal storage device from the old to the new NUC.

Once this is done you should be able to connect to the Roon Server on the new NUC and de-authorize the old one.

This will still leave the old NUC in a good state (apart from the missing internal storage) so if the Server migration does not go well you will not have lost anything (although you will probably have to re-authorize the old server).

Once this is done and your new server is running satisfactorily, you can then upgrade the old Nuc to RoonOS build 271 by changing the BIOS to UEFI boot and then re-installing using the same ROCK installer that you used to setup the second NUC.

You can then use the old NUC as the Roon Bridge or you can migrate the server back to the old NUC using the same procedure as before (restore backup and move internal storage) - whichever you wish depending upon the relative performance of the two NUCs or anticipated reliability (hopefully a new NUC will have better longevity).

[Glimmer]

@bearFNF you are a star! Many thanks again

[Glimmer]

Hi Wade, you are also a star! Many thanks