Roon can't access files on Synology NAS (ref#JISMIW)

[Peter_Dawson]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· Roon can't "see" files on Synology NAS network share

MacBook running Tahoe (26.5.2), Synology DS212j running DSM 6, Roon v2.71

Settings>Storage shows network share "\\Diskstation\music" with message "This directory appears to be empty. Add some files or...."

Quit Roon and Roon Server. Go to Applications folder and show package contents for Roon.app. Navigate to file "Roonserver" (in folder MacOS with a Terminal icon, Screenshot attached in a later post), right click and Open it. Terminal window appears, Roon starts and begins to build a new database from the NAS. Terminal window remains open.

Open Roon app, Settings>Storage shows \\Diskstation\music with status underneath of: "Connected Scanning now xxx tracks imported yyy files scanned".

How to configure this system to make it work from restart as expected?

Tell us about your home network

· MacBook Air (Tahoe v26.5.2), Roon (v2.71), Synology DS212j NAS (DSM 6.2.4). MacBook and NAS in home office, BT router in another room, connected by 1200Mb Power Lines and gigabit switch

My library is approx 32,000 tracks of which approx 24,000 are local files. I also connect to Qobuz.

[Peter_Dawson]

[Peter_Dawson]

When setting up the Network Share in Roon this is what is displayed:

[Peter_Dawson]

I get an Authorisation error when I set up a File Share on another Mac which allows Everyone Read/Write access.

[Peter_Dawson]

This is a shot from the Mac where I set up the File Share. Am I doing something wrong or is it just that Roon doesn’t like File Shares from Synology NAS and Apple devices (it seems to be the same for v2.64 and v2.71) on macOS Tahoe (26.5.2)?

[vadim]

Hello @Peter_Dawson

The clue is in what you found yourself. When you launch RoonServer manually from Terminal it works, and when it starts normally it does not. A process started from Terminal inherits that session’s access to network volumes, while Roon Server started on its own does not have it. That also explains why you hit the same wall with a share from another Mac, so this is not something specific to Synology.

Rather than fight that, the reliable approach on macOS is to let the system mount the share and point Roon at the mounted volume as an ordinary folder.

Step 1, mount the share in macOS.

In Finder, choose Go, then Connect to Server, and enter smb://Diskstation/music. If the name does not resolve, use the NAS IP address instead, for example smb://192.168.1.50/music. Enter your NAS username and password, and tick the option to remember it in your Keychain. The volume should appear in Finder and at /Volumes/music.

Step 2, make it mount at login.

Open System Settings, then General, then Login Items. Click the plus button and select the mounted volume. This way the share is present before Roon Server starts, every time.

Step 3, add it to Roon as a folder, not as a network share.

In Roon, go to Settings, then Storage, and choose Add Folder rather than Add Network Share. Browse to /Volumes/music and select it. Roon will then read it as a local path and the SMB handling stays entirely with macOS.

Step 4, tidy up.

Once the new folder has finished importing, please remove the old \Diskstation\music network share entry so the same files are not counted twice. If you have already made edits or built up play history against the old entry, let us know before you remove it and we will advise, since those are tied to the storage entry rather than to the files.

One thing worth checking either way: open System Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Local Network, and make sure both Roon and Roon Server are enabled. Recent macOS releases are stricter here and it affects anything Roon needs to reach on your network.

Please let us know how you get on after step 3.

[Peter_Dawson]

Hi @Vadim,

Thanks for your support. I’ve configured my system as you suggested and I still get “Unauthorised”. Please see the following screenshots (noting that “\\Diskstation\music\” <edited later to correct a documentation mistake, “/” rather than"\" was entered previously> is being resolved successfully and so I used that form of the address). Not sure what to try next?

[benjamin]

Hey @Peter_Dawson,

We’re seeing both a Mac Mini as well as a Macbook Air running Roon Server tied to your account.

Which machine is your primary Roon Server? We’re attempting to review a fresh Roon Server diagnostic report to better understand the failures.

With that a few additional troubleshooting steps:

• Re-add the network share with credentials. Path \Diskstation\music (or smb://192.168.1.x/music by IP), username music_sync (or whichever DSM account has read access to music), password filled in. The blank-credential mounts are the direct cause of the Authentication error / “Unauthorised”.
• Let the scan finish. ~4,800 tracks took 2m30s on this NAS; a full ~24k-track library will take considerably longer, and the library reads as empty until it’s underway. Try to to leave it for 30+ minutes before judging.
• Fix the dual-homing: one active interface on the Roon Server, wired preferred.
• DSM 6.2.4 side: Control Panel → File Services → SMB → Advanced, set max protocol SMB3 / min SMB2, confirm the account has read permission on music, and confirm guest access is off (which is consistent with what the mount errors show).

Thank you, Peter!

[Peter_Dawson]

Hi @Benjamin,

Thanks for your reply and continued support. This reply is to provide additional information only. I’m afraid I have other commitments tomorrow so I will double check my installation later this week and post my results.

I can understand the confusion. I have two Roon Server configurations, one on an old Mac mini and one on a new MacBook Air. I’m switching Roon Servers between them.

I had been running on my Mac mini (a 2014 model running Monterey v12.7.6) until I thought that I had a fatal error after upgrading to Roon 2.71. I couldn’t get it to work (at that time) and decided to switch to my MacBook which was already running v2.71 as a client.

Note that only one Mac is running as a Server at any one time and I’m using the startup dialogue when starting Roon for the first time on each machine to switch to that machine from the other. As well as this, when running my MacBook Air as a Roon Server my Mac mini is powered down so that I can be absolutely sure that it’s not interfering with the installation on my Macbook.

When configuring my MacBook Air as a server I hit this authentication error and could go no further. So, after I had raised my support request, I went back to the Mac mini. I installed Roon v.2.64 and managed to get it working again. It’s now working successfully on v2.71. I’m afraid I can’t understand why 2.71 works now on the Mac mini when it didn’t before.

I am sure that I added the credentials when adding the network share (many times). I suspect that the fact that they are blank on the original screenshot I supplied is down to me trying to show you the “Unauthorised message” post creation and the credentials fields being displayed blank.

I don’t understand “dual homing”. As explained before, only 1 Roon Server is active at any time. Both Macs have wired connections.

I will repeat the installation on my MacBook Air later this week to double check that I still have an issue. I haven’t read anything you or Vadim has said earlier which makes me think that I’m going to be doing anything other than repeating myself. However, I know that it’s necessary and will happily double check it.

Many thanks again for your help.

With best wishes,

Peter

[Peter_Dawson]

DSM 6.2.4 side:

Control Panel → File Services → SMB → Advanced, set max protocol SMB3 / min SMB2,

I’ve tried this previously and had set it back to the default (SMB1/2). I have now set it to SMB2/3 as requested.

confirm the account has read permission on music,

User music_sync is the owner for all files and directories in /music

and confirm guest access is off (which is consistent with what the mount errors show).

the guest user account is disabled

Re-add the network share with credentials.

Path \Diskstation\music (or smb://192.168.1.x/music by IP), username music_sync (or whichever DSM account has read access to music), password filled in. The blank-credential mounts are the direct cause of the Authentication error / “Unauthorised”.

Running on my MacBook Air with my Mac mini shutdown:-

I removed the previous Roon network share to the NAS /music share and shutdown and powered up my MacBook.

To confirm user music_sync has access to the files on the NAS: I connected to my NAS as user music_sync using the password saved in my Password file. I created and deleted a new folder in /music. I found a flac file under /music, renamed it and renamed it back as it was. I logged out of this NAS user session.

Note: I noticed that Roon and RoonServer had started in spite of neither being a LoginItem, presumably it was open when I shut down. I exited Roon and checked for Roon processes in Activity Monitor, there were two - RoonAppliance and RoonServer. I killed them both and shutdown the MacBook. On restart there were no Roon processes running (process names matching “roon” in Activity Monitor.

I restarted Roon (I.e. Roon.app). The application started, as did Roonserver.app (Roon logo in the menu bar).

The application is displaying albums from my Qobuz favourites only.

In Settings>Storage there are two folders configured, one disabled and one empty. See attached screenshot 1.

“+ Add folder”>“Add network share”

I configured the network share, see screenshot 2.

The share was created with the message unauthorised, see screenshot 3.

Press “Select this folder”, next screen, see screenshot 4

Press “Add”, screen returns to Settings>Storage, three folders are displayed. One is disabled, \Volumes\music is shown as being empty, so is the new network share “The directory seems to be empty. Add some files or ‘edit this folder’ if it’s been moved”

Click on the ‘edit this folder’ link, “Edit storage location” is displayed again. See screenshot 5

Roon still only displays Qobuz favourites in My Albums

Then this happened: “Server connections interrupted” dialogue displayed, screenshot 6.

And that completes my test.

Hope this helps, I’ve tried to document exactly what I did and show you the results.

Kind regards,

Peter

Screenshot 1:

Screenshot 2:

Screenshot 3:

Screenshot 4:

Screenshot 5:

Screenshot 6:

[vadim]

Hello @Peter_Dawson

Peter, thank you for documenting that so carefully. Two things, and the first one may change what you want to do at all.

Why 2.71 failed on the Mac mini and now works

That was a fault on our side, not on yours, and it is already fixed. Build 1680 of 2.71 stopped Roon Server from starting on macOS 12 and 13 specifically. Your Mac mini is a 2014 Intel model on Monterey 12.7.6, so it was squarely affected. When you rolled back to 2.64 and later came forward again, you landed on build 1683, which carries the hotfix. That is the whole explanation for “why does it work now when it didn’t before”. Nothing you did differently, and nothing wrong with the machine.

The tracking thread is here if you want to see it: RoonServer 2.71 crashing on startup on Intel Mac Mini, hotfix released

So you can keep using the Mac mini for as long as you like. Monterey 12.7.6 meets our requirement of macOS 12 or later, your library is working there now, and there is no deadline hanging over you. Moving to the MacBook Air is a choice, not a repair. If you would rather stop here, that is a perfectly good outcome and you can leave the MacBook Air as a remote.

If you do still want the MacBook Air as your server

Your screenshots answer why it fails, and the answer is not Synology and not SMB.

Look at your first screenshot. Roon is showing Macintosh HD > Volumes > music and reporting it empty. So Roon can see the folder and cannot see inside it. That is the same failure as the “Unauthorised” you get when adding the share directly, and it is why launching Roon Server from Terminal works: a process started from Terminal inherits Terminal’s permissions, whereas Roon Server started normally has to hold its own. Our macOS guidance describes the symptom exactly, that Roon Server “may fail silently” when macOS blocks this.

Roon Server is a separate binary inside the Roon app, so it has to be added by hand:

1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access.
2. Click + and unlock with your password or Touch ID.
3. Go to Applications, right-click Roon, choose Show Package Contents, then Contents → MacOS, and select RoonServer. This is the same file you have been launching from Terminal.
4. Make sure its switch is on.
5. In the same Privacy & Security section, open Local Network and confirm both Roon and RoonServer are enabled.
6. Quit Roon completely, confirm in Activity Monitor that no Roon processes remain, then start Roon normally rather than from Terminal.

One thing to check before judging the result. Please confirm in Finder that music is actually mounted at that moment. If it is not, /Volumes/music will be an empty leftover folder and Roon will correctly report it as empty whatever the permissions are. macOS leaves that stub behind after an unclean disconnect and it looks identical to a mounted volume in Roon’s browser.

Housekeeping, once access works. Your Storage list holds three entries: a disabled “Music Folder”, /Volumes/music, and the network share. Please keep only one, or the same files will be imported more than once. Tell us which you want to keep, and whether you have edits or play history to preserve, and we will give you the safe order to remove the others.

[Peter_Dawson]

Hi @Vadim,

Thanks for the reply. I’m all set now, the new installation on the Tahoe MacBook is now scanning the files on the NAS. Brilliant, thanks very much for your support.

I made the changes you suggested and all was quiet. But (and I’m still not sure whether I needed to do these things to make it work) I then did the following and the Tahoe installation burst into life:-

a) Toggle the Local Network settings for Roon.app and Roonserver.app

b) Remove the Roon Storage areas and recreated the UNC path version (including the credentials which Roon seemed to remember) (note: I also removed the “/Volumes/music” entry from Login Items but I presume that this isn’t relevant now because I’m not using that form of the Share).

It’s great to have an explanation for why the Mac mini installation has started to work too. I’m now confident to keep using it and so I will safe in the knowledge that I have a fallback if required.

If and when the time comes to retire the Mac mini then I’ll be wanting to migrate my database rather than recreate it from scratch but I now know that that’s what I need to do and so am better prepared.

Many thanks and kind regards (both to you and @benjamin ),

Peter