Roon becoming unusable several times a day

Core Machine: Windows 10, Intel i7-6700@4.0Ghz, 64GB RAM, System+Roon Database on M2, Library on external SAS-RAID+USB RAID

Network Details: TP-Link TL-SG1024DE Switch, DSL Modem provided by Servicer, several Airport Base Stations, multicast TV directly attached to DSL Modem, all other devices to switch

Audio Devices: Auralic Polaris via Wifi (as direct network leads to dropouts), iPad and other devices as controller

Description Of Issue: at least once a day Roon becomes unusable. Clicking anything leads to minute long display of logo with nothing happening

2 Likes

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

Does this happen on only one/specific controllers or on all of them? Does this occur on the Core itself as well?

Yes on all controllers as well as on the core

Can you give us a timestamp the next time this happens?

We’ll be able to enable some diagnostics and have a closer look at what’s happening when you run into this issue.

15 Feb, 21.30 local time

1 Like

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

Thanks for sharing that timestamp.

I have activated diagnostics mode for your account and what this action should do is automatically upload a log set to our servers for analysis.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for the diagnostics report but it seems to not have reached out server yet.

Can I please request that you send me a manual copy of your Roon logs via Dropbox / Google Drive by using these instructions? If you don’t have either service just let me know and I can provide an alternate upload location.

Thanks!

I was away for a couple of days. Slowing down again happened today 20.2. at about 10.05 local time. Unfortunately, I do not have either service. Thank you!

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

Thanks for letting me know the new timestamps. I have re-checked our diagnostics servers and I do see that you log package was delivered to our servers.

I am looking over the log and I’m seeing quite a bit of library activity at the February 15th timestamp you mentioned.

I have a few follow-up suggestions here:

  1. Is there any change in behavior if you temporarily set Background Audio Analysis to off? You can access this setting in Roon Settings -> Library.

  2. Are you seeing any “Activity Spinner” in the top right-hand corner of Roon when this behavior occurs? This is what the activity spinner looks like for reference:
    image

  3. Can you let us know how large your Roon library is? What is the number of tracks/albums reported on the Overview screen?

Thank you for getting back so quickly! As to your questions:

  1. No
  2. No
  3. Very large > 1 Mio tracks, 65k albums

In addition, I often see the behavior that the Activity Spinner spins without any progress when adding new content. This also happens when Background Analysis is off. Timestamp for this issue today 21.2. around 10.30.

Timestamp 25.2. 7.06 locals time. Had to restart the server

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

Thank you for letting me know the new timestamps.

If your library is larger than 1 million tracks, I just want to be clear that this size is larger than 99% of our other customers, and might have different requirements needed than a typical Roon setup. We will of course still try to assist further, just wanted to mention this to you.

Can you please share a screenshot of what you’re seeing when you open up the “Activity Spinner”? Which stage of adding the content is it in?

For this timestamp, may I kindly request a log package from your Core? The instructions on how to access the logs can be found here, and I will send you a link to a folder where you can upload these files.

Thank you!

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

I spoke to the technical team regarding your setup. We have a few suggestions for you considering the size of your database:

We would suggest using RoonServer instead of the “All-in-one” version of Roon to host the Roon Core. You can still keep both RoonServer and the All-in-one version of Roon on the same PC, but the Core duties should be left to RoonServer as RoonServer does not have a UI and will be more efficient in the long run.

You can use our Migration Knowledge Base Article to make the switch from the All-in-one to RoonServer, but the overview of the process would be to create a backup of the database, install RoonServer and restore the backup there.

You should be aware that having a slow internet connection might be a factor in this behavior since the large amount of tracks will also require a large amount of metadata updates. If you have the option to upgrade to a higher network speed with your ISP, it is suggested that you upgrade it.

How are you DNS servers set up? If you are using your ISP DNS servers, we would suggest switching to Cloudlfare/Quad9 to ensure that Roon metadata requests are processed faster.

If you are getting dropouts on your Auralic DAC via WiFi, it is suggested to try connecting this over Ethernet to see if there’s an improvement in behavior.

How old is this database? Do you recall which version of Roon you started off on? Are there any database entries that need to be cleaned up? I would create a Backup of your current database and then navigate to Roon Settings -> Library -> Clean Up Library to see if there are any unused database entries.

Do note that it is important that you have any active storage locations visible and online in Roon before performing a library cleanup, because if Roon can’t currently see the media files, it would be labeled as an old file not associated with a storage location and remove it from the database.

Hope that these suggestions help, but if you have any questions, do let me know!

As to your suggestions:

  1. I am going to try using the standalone server version. One quick question after studying the kba: what do I have to to with the current Roon complete installation with regard to not interfering with the new installation on the same PC?

  2. Internet connection speed is definitely not the bottleneck …

  3. I was already using the cloudfare as well as Google DNS before.

  4. No dropouts because of Wifi-connection. I tested both and the Wifi actually worked better …

  5. I started with Roon 1.2 if I recall correctly. I have often used the “Clean Up Library” function in the past.

Thank you!

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

You can have both Roon and RoonServer on the same PC, the only caveat here is that the Roon database is currently living in your Roon “All-in-one” install and after you install RoonServer this will have a fresh database.

To transfer the database over, I suggest following our Migration Knowledge Base Article. Essentially you would need to:

  • First create a Backup of your Roon database
  • Install RoonServer
  • In the “All-in-one” version of Roon go to Roon Settings -> General -> Disconnect
  • Select the RoonServer instance from the list
  • If prompted to unauthorize the previous Core, you can go ahead and do so
  • Restore the backup you made from step 1 in Roon Settings -> Backups

Can you give this switch a try and let me know if it helps with performance?

I did manage to install the standalone Server Version. Around 19.10 on 11 Febr again nothing happening. One thing I noticed in the resource monitor is that the “Roon.exe” and the “RoonAppliance.exe” processes display in the wait chain analysis that they are waiting for Network-E/A (while the "RoonServer.exe does not display something like this)?

And after a restart I get the message: “The new version of Roon you istalled requires a database update.” ?

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

We released a new version of Roon yesterday, so if your PC is just upgrading now that’s possibly why you are seeing this message.

RoonServer has no graphic interface, after you install it and start it, it should appear in the system tray with a Roon icon. Can you check to see if it is in the tray or open RoonServer again?

After that you should be able to use the remaining steps above to connect to it and transfer the database over.

Thank you for getting back so quickly. I successfully moved the database over, let Roon finish all its processes. After that I played around and added some music and after quite a while the problems described above reappeared. Including Roon getting unusable at the above timestamp. At that time I found the described notice within the wait chain of the process monitor.

As a side note, neither the CPU nor the RAM nor the disks are showing a usage above 25% percent when the problem occurs.

Hi @Little_Wurlitzer,

Thank you for your patience while we looked into this further. I spoke to the QA team again regarding your case and they believe that it would be best to verify if the database size is actually the main factor why this issue occurs or if it’s due to something else regarding your setup.

Would it be possible to temporarily set your current Roon database aside and try importing less than 100k tracks to the new database as a test? To set the current Roon database aside, you can use these instructions:

  • Make a Backup of your current Roon Database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “RoonServer”
  • Rename the “RoonServer” folder to “RoonServer_old”
  • Reinstall RoonServer from our Downloads Page to generate a new Roon database

Once you have the new database up-and-running and you have imported less than 100k tracks, please try using the setup for at least a few days and let us know if the same behavior is still occurring.

Thank you!