I was reading in multiple places (e.g. [here][1]) that the Music library should be “locally” (i.e. not over the LAN) attached.
My set up is:
music is a network-mapped folder on the Synology.When I look at the Storage setting in the Roon Controller on my Mac I see:
Is this a “local” storage setup?
You can store music anywhere you want , you just need to tell Roon where it is to be able to “watch” it for changes.
That can be a local drive on the PC , a USB drive or indeed a NAS. The only drawback to the NAS is that some NAS devices do not report changes that Roon can “see” so keeping automaticallly up to date.
I have used 2 methods ,
a Windows 10 PC with an internal 4Tb HDD with the core running on that PC
A NUC 10i7 running ROCK with a 4Tb Internal SSD
Both work flawlessly.
Using the NAS is fine but you may need to keep an eye on any new files added to make sure Roon sees them. I am not a NAS expert but many Roon users have the same system as you
The model you have has a Celeron processor which does not meet the Roon minimu spec
But others are using it with no issues . Try it and find out !!
Having your music files on a local network-attached LAN is fine so long as you experience no issues. Meaning that there’s nothing wrong with it per se and many people operate fine with it.
If however you experience network-related issues (dropouts, inter-track pauses/gaps, etc) one of the things people will tell you to do is to get your music topologically closer to your core. On an internal SSD or USB-connected SSD is zero hops. On a NAS connected to the same switch that the core is on is one hop. If you’ve got more than one switch between your core and your NAS that’s 1 hop per switch. Fewer hops is better. Though I was fairly stable for a while with my music on a NAS connected to the same switch, I did have glitches on occasion. One of the things I did to address them was to get an inexpensive SSD enclosure and connect it to my core via USB.
Now my NAS is one layer of backup, and I have sneakernet to a quarterly-ish offsite backup. So I’m better off in a number of regards.
My playback glitches are far less common than previously but I don’t know how much was attributable to getting my files “truly local” or zero hops away from my core. But it was inexpensive in the grand scheme of things.
If you are running the core on the Nas then yes.
Local, no matter where it is stored within one’s network, stands in contrast to streamed files. That’s the dichotomy.
There are the two different uses. Local in the LAN vs internet streams is one meaning. A local disk attached to the Roon core vs Ethernet-connected storage is the other. Both are valid usage and meaning depends on the context
I’ve never seen that meaning used that way by Roon, but okay.
I don’t know if in official docs or Roon staff posts, but in general forum usage it is certainly common. Random first hit for searching for local AND nucleus:
The context should usually make it clear which meaning is used 
If you look at the OP’s first post he asked if his NAS was considered “local” and in that context, or really any context, the answer is ‘yes’. After all, he realizes the storage is not directly connected to his Core device.
I’m done here.
To me:
Local media - files stored on your core or network
Local storage - the disk containing your files, accessible over SATA or USB
Remote storage - your files accessed over ethernet/wifi
Since you have mapped your storage location (even if it 's on the same machine and SATA connected) as a network path i would NOT call your storage “local”, rather “network attached”.
A bit confusing, i agree…
You made a general statement, and I commented on that:
This is simply not so. In the context of NAS vs directly attached, “local” frequently is used to refer to the latter.
As for the OP, I don’t think so. He was asking in the context (first sentence) of “that the Music library should be “locally” (i.e. not over the LAN)” and asked if his setup is considered local. The answer is simply that it depends:
Either usage is common on the forum, depending on context.
[sigh]
Roon support doesn’t differentiate between storage connected directly to Core vs. storage on a NAS by the term ‘local’, and nowhere in the KB is that distinction made.
If you can show me where Roon uses ‘local’ in the alternate sense that you want, then do so. Pointing to some post where the term is incorrectly used is not really much of a rebuttal.
Definitions count for clarity sake and Roon (through their doc) gets to decide how terms are defined.
Now, I’m really out. I know you need the last word, so here’s your time.
Sigh And where did the OP say that he is only interested in the usage in official documents? He didn’t link a specific KB either. If the OP is reading posts on the forum, he will find both usages of “local”. If the first random search hit is not enough to convince you, here is another:
There is absolutely nothing difficult about this, you have seen both usages as well.
Now, you’re just being absurd.
I think the OP got it
@Suedkiez @xxx I am sorry to have cause such a confusion! Thank you both for chiming in. I meant local in the sense that the connection between the music provider (the Roon Core) and its music files (the “storage”) goes not via the LAN, but is inside one system.
Not your fault! We have talked it out privately, all good
That’s exactly my worry! But how can I avoid it? When the Roon Controlle asked me to connect the music files, there was no other option then Tomo → Synology → music.
I do run the Core on the same NAS (Synology) where I host the music files. But my worry is that the data still goes through the network, because I had to connect the Synology Core with the music files via the Roon Controller on my Mac. But maybe that’s just a UI thing and underneath it all happens in the NAS…
The controller app is just a view to what is happening on the core. So, if you tell it to play something to a DAC attached to the NAS, then nothing leaves the NAS in terms of the music production chain.
