I have read that it’s advisable to run Roon server on a PC with an SSD for the software and a spinning disk for music files.
I have been running the Linux version Roon server for quite a while on an old Dell Precision server with a single spinning hard disk, a
Vortexbox actually.
I’m using an iPad Air for the controller. It works just fine, but I was getting a little fed up with having to wait 8 to 10 seconds for the Roon black screen on my iPad to go away before the Roon app started.
I decided to build another Vortexbox with a 120GB SSD for the operating system and a 2TB spinning disk for the music files.
I installed the Roon server on the SSD. However now it’s up and running it’s no faster than my old Vortexbox server when starting The Roon app, even if Roon is already opened when I go back to it I still have to wait up 8 seconds for the black screen to go away.
I was under the impression that running Roon server from an SSD would greatly improve things, but actually it hasn’t.
If everything is running optimally on modern hardware (network included) then the move from spinning disk to SSD does make a difference. But an eight second lag suggest the cause wasn’t that. That delay is way too long!
An ssd speeds up Roon’s database searches and probably server startup. But, in your description, the server is already started. What is taking the time is for the iPad Air’s Roon App to connect and load. To me that suggests the WiFi environment.
Is the Roon Core wired or wireless on the network. If wireless, that is also a potential slow down.
For what it is worth, I have the same problem with an iPad Mini I use as a controller - its a real pain. However, using either my partner’s or my iPhone 8+ or my PC as the controller and everything is immediate.
So, I just assumed it was my iPad that was the problem - it is pretty old.
I have to conclude it’s my iPad Air. I put the Roon controller on my wife’s new iPad and it’s much quicker, about 2 seconds delay from the black screen to the album listing.