(Details of my setup/spec are attached at the end.)
Yesterday, I upgraded the RAM of the synology DS255+ unit from 16GB to 32GB, as I noticed the Roon server takes up more than 80% of the total RAM; I have a huge library. The memory install itself went OK as the unit rebooted with 32 GB memory! But… I apparently had switched off the external USB HD Bay before properly ejecting it from the Control Panel > External Devices panel of the synology DSM during the upgrade as I found later a warning message in the Log Center saying:
Warning: The external device was not ejected properly.
The problem with the Roon server after the memory upgrade is as follows:
When I start the Roon Server from the Package Center of the DSM, it starts, but after a few seconds, it stops. I verify that the server is not running from the following observations:
The synology resource monitor indicates there is no process running whose name contains Roon.
Furthermore, the memory monitor indicates only 4 GB of memory is used by the DSM system. (It used to reach 14 GB or more when Roon server was running before I have this trouble.)
Also, the Roon client apps (iPhone or mac) cannot connect to the server. They say: “Waiting for your Roon Server” indefinitely long.
Nothing is output into the RoonOnNas.log.txt file. The last time the log file was modified remains as the last day when the server was running fine which is two days ago.
All of above symptoms still hold true no matter how long I allow after re-starting the server and check 1-4 again.
I suspect Roon Server cannot successfully start on the synology box for some reason. What I want to figure out are the following:
Is it an issue with a damaged Roon database or Roon configuration?
Is it an issue related to network or license issue? (I doubt based on all the symptoms observed above and the fact that my roon account indicates my license is valid, and there is one client session running which is the Roon client on my mac trying to connect to the server).
As the server doesn’t have any user interface, I don’t have a clue at which point it is failing. I have backups of Roon DB stored in a shared folder in the synology box. So, I considered a fresh reinstall of the Roon server, but I don’t know whether it is safe to uninstall and reinstall the Roon server without losing all the details I made to its database to fix metadata for the huge number of albums and tracks already. It’s been a lot of work… So I consider it a last resort.
Any clue or help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you. Seungoh Ryu
Basic system info
Synology DS1522+ with 32 Gb RAM
DSM 7.2.2-72806 Update 2
The Roon server and database are installed in an external USB SDD drive.
Roon DB contains a huge library with about 12+ GB of data.
@Seungoh_Ryu I moved this to the Synology category where other Synology users may be able to provide guidance. If you need technical support from Roon, please fill out the form in the Support catwgory.
Yes, you might have corrupted your Roon database. On a 1522+, I recommend using bays 1-4 for DSM and your music (SHR2 recommended), and bay 5 for an SSD to host your Roon database. Much better and more reliable than an external USB SSD.
Locate your database backup and create a copy on a separate drive. Reinstall Roon and after that load your backup. This should get you spinning again. As to the other recommendations in reference to multibay NAS, I can only say that my low spec 720+ with 16 Gb RAM runs Roon database and program from an external SATA-SSD to my satisfaction for 2 years now.
I wish I could, but I already filled the 1522+ with five disks and they are all part of a single volume of storage in SHR1 mode. The last time I checked, there was no easy solution to change the configuration other than backing up the whole data elsewhere and reconfigure everything…
Many thanks. This sounds like the solution for me. I will give it a try. One question: the backup is in a separate shared folder in the 1522+ and looks like a folder with cryptic numerical name as shown in the attached image. So when I do a fresh install of the server, I will be just pointing there and the install creates a new database in the SSD (assuming I fixed or replaced the damaged one already)?
pick a file that goes back a few days to avoid loading a corrupted file again.
Or simply try to point to the top folder and see what happens. It cant do anything bad.
Good luck
I successfully managed to re-install the roon server. When first asked to locate the database, I tried to use the original SSD as it seemed intact after I remounted the whole USB unit. And it restored the whole thing in a few minutes.
The use of the backup would have been the next step if this hadn’t worked out. And it gives me peace of mind knowing what to do if a worse situation happens in the future. Until then, back up and back up, here I go!
Sure looks that way from the Roon GUI. With a new Roon installation you do not have this history and you have to go and look for the file location on your computer. Mine resides on a shared drive on my NAS with a backup copy on a USB disc.
Note: Don’t get confused by my path. I made a folder called “Roon Backup” (in purple above), but the Roon created folder is RoonBackups where the arrow is pointed.
I think using the GUI interface should work fine (and more intuitive) but it would work when you have a roon server up and running and a client is able to connect to the server. In my situation, I didn’t have access to the GUI interface until I luckily have the corrupted SSD back online and the newly installed server proceeded to complete initialization steps and go online. If I was not so lucky, I would have been forced to either go with a fresh install creating a new empty (?) database, and then try to restore the old database content through GUI, or, point to the backup folder or an earlier file in it if such an option is offered during the install process, I suppose?
My original problem was solved as indicated. I want to comment on the cause of the incident. As mentioned in the original posting, I was using an external USB SSD to host the Roon DB, and made a mistake of improperly shutting down the DS1522+, i.e. switching off the USB SSD before it is ejected properly. There was a warning notification about this from DSM. Unlike in OS X where such an incident gets often resolved automatically when you attach the drive back, I found out later that the DSM locks the SSD in the Read-only state. Not being familiar with the linux system or inner workings of DSM, I initially thought that the disk was damaged beyond repair, even after the SSD’s content came back in tact after multiple shut-downs and restarts of the whole setup.
In retrospect, it would have been nice if the roon server’s initialization process was a bit more verbose indicating something like “your drive is locked and roon server cannot start”. Also even after the SSD was unlocked, it required a unintall-reintall process, even though I suspect it probably requires resetting a flag somewhere in its directory.
But anyway, reinstallation was not as daunting and risky as it seemed first, and I appreciate those of you who offered kind explanations to save me a lot of trouble because, left alone, I tend to further break things on my own
Yes, on a new installation you will have a history of one backup if you have made one. They are in the RoonBackups folder created by Roon when you do the first backup. Access it by clicking on Select this folder.
