It seems that my QNAP HS-453DX with 4Gb RAM running the latest updated software has issues I haven’t seen before.
After extended listening (I usually see this error after many hours), memory usage for the Roon server app on the NAS goes above 2GB, which means it uses up all the total available system memory. In such a scenario it often happens that playback stops, skips tracks, reports media loading slowly, network issues etc. Before I haven’t seen memory usage above 1GB. Note that memory usage in itself is correlated but is not a sure trigger for the problems.
However, I must add, that sometime along the way I have also started using DSP for upsampling to DSD256 and EQ-ing for my Mojo + headphones, which also has an impact. However, 4GB should be enough for this too. CPU usage is usually now 40-60%, but that is also OK, I don’t really use the NAS for anything else.
Also, Roon memory usage is very inconsistent. Sometimes it goes up to 2.06Gb, sometimes it goes down to 1.6, 1.2. Also, it does not care that much in cases when I try to do something on the NAS if other apps are running, it just seem to reduce the memory footprint and it does not seem to effect playback. I am just guessing here, but as I always find something updated or done on the NAS when I check after Roon manifests this behaviour, it gives me the impression that Roon Server has issues managing memory (or even CPU?) when the OS is trying to something automatically instead of me doing it manually. It is certainly not a general performance issue (although this specific NAS is below recommended specs) as when I do anythinig manually I cannot force Roon Server to screw up.
You will probably disagree with me but 4GB is not enough memory to run Roon reliably on a QNAP NAS. I run mine with 16GB and have never had an issue. Last year the memory I added started giving me problems so I reinstalled the 4GB that came with my NAS to see if that helped me find the issue. It did but the performance was so bad that I immediately ordered another 16GB kit and now my NAS runs great. You mentioned that you stared upsampling. Don’t you think that this uses memory? You know the answer, you just don’t like it.
Um. In terms of music data usage 2Gb is an insane amount. 768khz at 32 bits is 3Mbytes per second, which means you can cache 5+ minutes of data easily, something that is not offered by Qobuz or Tidal streaming. Also, Roon suggests 4Gbytes and not more. I can imagine that it will help, but this should not be an issue according to software specs, so this needs to be a bug. (Note: if Roon really needs 4Gb+ then this is going to be a major issue in terms of supporting existing and widely used hardware).
I told you that you would not like my answer. You need more memory. You came here because you were having a problem since you turned on upsampling. You were provided with an answer from people with experience. Continue to ignore and and continue to enjoy your problem. Have a nice day.