Switching servers: What is the new behavior?

ezman · June 23, 2026, 7:01pm

I have two servers and one license. I often switch between them and have been doing so for years without a hitch once I got used to the variability of the UX flow.

There are similar but different personalizations on my two servers: playlists with the same names but that have diverged, different saved DSP presets, different grouped versions of the albums, similar but again divergent user tags. A small always-on server has a subset of the music that’s on a frequently turned off server. I specifically do not cross-mount any data storage between the two.

The 2.67 release notes say the switch process has been improved and simplified, to be less confusing. I’m no longer certain what it does and am newly confused so I haven’t yet switched servers, though I would like to do that today.

When I tried it, disconnecting from one and then selecting the other, this dialog shows up:

First, I’m not trying to “migrat[e]” from one to the other: they can and should remain independent.

Second and most worrysome is that I may lose stuff. It is unclear why I need to backup my playlist and other saved data just to switch between the servers. Is roon going to try to merge or sync my stuff between the two servers, changing them in the process such that I might need to restore them? Clicking the “Learn more…” link leads directly to an article leading with this paragraph:

Your Roon database contains your edits, playlists, favorites, play history, login information, and settings. When setting up a new dedicated Roon Server (like a Nucleus or a ROCK), or just moving between Roon and RoonServer, you may want to transfer the database from old to new. This will work regardless of what platform your Roon Server was previously running on. Your database will work on any platform that supports running a Roon Server.

This makes no sense in my situation. I want to keep the systems separate.

And if roon is going to alter any of my stuff when I switch, how can I make a backup first?

Also, since “settings” are mentioned in the article, is it possible to import ONLY specific settings from one server’s backup into the other, running server, and not the full catalog and/or other settings. That would make sense, say, for the DSP presets I created, but not necessarily for playslists.

Please clarify exactly what pressing “I’m all set” button will do and won’t do.

Thanks,
- Eric

Carl · June 23, 2026, 7:23pm

Hi @ezman,

Roon’s comment should be read in the context of a typical user wishing to migrate Roon to a different server.
Migrate in this context means to transfer all the existing Roon databases information over from the current active server to the new server.

Your case is atypical, so this advice doesn’t apply.

Agreed, that’s why Roon’s comments starts with “If …”

You don’t require any data moved over, thus you don’t have to restore a backup… Just click on “all set” and switch over to the new server which will use it’s existing, independent, database (as it did before).

Hope this clarification helps.

ezman · June 23, 2026, 8:12pm

The release notes indicate this change is still in flux. My comments are now feedback for roon.

If this flow is intended for migration, it should be started by a button called “Migrate server” somewhere in roon. If it were, there could be more guidance than simply “backup your settings if you want to keep your stuff…”

Rather, it is invoked from the place in roon where one logs into and switches between servers by pressing the “disconnect” button in the first section of the first tab of the first screen in Settings:

Many users have two systems, some at home and on vacation, or at a workplace. Disconnect/reconnect is for them and folks with other dual-server use cases. Migration assistance is welcome, but changing servers and system migration are two entirely different concerns and should have different flows.

- Eric

Carl · June 23, 2026, 8:21pm

Topic moved to Feedback where Roon’s product management team will see it.