Can some one please help this minimserver noob?

[Lebouwsky]

In my current setup I have sms200 running in mpd/dlna mode, music is on a NAS. The plan is to build a dedicated music server that offers the music to the sms200

 

The idea behind it is to

* connect the server / sms200 in bridged mode

* cool passively/ no fans

* picopsu/ lpsu

* run audiophile optimiser on the Windows 10 server

* run minimserver on the server

* store music on the server, making the nas unnecesary.

 

Before pulling the complete financial trigger I want to experiment / test first with my laptop.

 

The laptop is connected by wifi, the music stored locally on C drive laptop. The first test is to offer this small library to the sms200 (no bridged connection yet). Therefore I've installed minimserver and added the small library in minimserver. All is running well, but I have no qlue what to do next.

 

Does this turn the small library on my laptop into a network drive that can be accessed in the entire network?

 

How can I make my sms200 see this small library on my laptop?

 

Help is really appriciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dan Gravell]

Minimserver shares its music using something called UPnP: http://minimserver.com/upnpav.html

 

It's a bit like shared folders, except with more smarts about music, media etc. Rather than simply sharing a file structure, information about albums, artwork, etc etc are all shared.

 

Part of UPnP is automated discovery. So you can connect the sms200 using DLNA (a related technology, see the manual) which should auto discover the Minimserver. You have to use a separate DLNA control point for this, e.g. a mobile app. I'm guessing SotM can recommend one.

[Lebouwsky]

Thank you for your reply Dan. I 've already used LUMIN as a control point succesfully icm with sms200/ synology DSM in mpd/dlna mode.  And I've red the minimserver link about UPnP a couple of times.

 

I just don't know what to do next.

* how can I check if the library is accesable in the network for other devices.

* how do I acces this library specifly with the sms200

[Dan Gravell]

If your Win 10 server is on the network, there's no reason other devices including the sms200 shouldn't connect. I'm not sure what you mean by "bridging" in this context (sorry, not familiar with the sms200 setup so not sure if this is a concept introduced there).

[Cebolla]

I believe the OP is referring to having a direct ethernet connection between the NAS & the sms200, with a network bridge established within the NAS itself between that ethernet connection and another ethernet connection to the rest of the network (via a switch or router), presumably as discussed in the long running thread on the subject in the Music Server's section:

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-the-sms-200-and-microrendu/

[Cebolla]

3 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

The laptop is connected by wifi, the music stored locally on C drive laptop. The first test is to offer this small library to the sms200 (no bridged connection yet). Therefore I've installed minimserver and added the small library in minimserver. All is running well, but I have no qlue what to do next.

 

Does this turn the small library on my laptop into a network drive that can be accessed in the entire network?

 

How can I make my sms200 see this small library on my laptop?

 

Help is really appriciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi Lebouswsky,

 

MinimServer is a UPnP media server, just like the default built-in UPnP/DLNA media server provided by the DiskStation Manager software in your Synololgy NAS. Just like DSM's UPnP/DLNA media server, MinimServer provides access to the media files managed by it to any UPnP/DLNA supporting streamer (aka renderer) on the network, such as the sMS-200 in MPD/DLNA mode.

 

The sMS-200 in MPD/DLNA mode, in common with all UPnP/DLNA renderers, doesn't actually 'see' the UPnP/DLNA media server. Instead it gets 'told' by the UPnP/DLNA controller (aka control point), such as the Lumin app, what media file(s) to stream (ie fetch and play) over the network from the chosen UPnP/DLNA media server. If anything it's the UPnP/DLNA controller that 'sees' the UPnP/DLNA media servers (as well as the UPnP/DLNA media renderers) on the network.

 

Is your problem that you cannot 'see' MinimServer and therefore access its audio file library on the Lumin app?

[Cebolla]

4 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

In my current setup I have sms200 running in mpd/dlna mode, music is on a NAS. The plan is to build a dedicated music server that offers the music to the sms200

 

The idea behind it is to

* connect the server / sms200 in bridged mode

* cool passively/ no fans

* picopsu/ lpsu

* run audiophile optimiser on the Windows 10 server

* run minimserver on the server

* store music on the server, making the nas unnecesary.

 

Before pulling the complete financial trigger I want to experiment / test first with my laptop.

BTW, before you pull that "financial trigger", you do realise that the networked machine running the UPnP/DLNA media server has nothing to do with decoding and playing the music files? All it does is supply the music files completely unaltered over the network for the UPnP/DLNA renderer.

 

As an UPnP/DLNA renderer, all the decoding and playing of the music files is done by sMS-200, specifically by its MPD (Music Player Demon) software.

[Lebouwsky]

29 minutes ago, Cebolla said:

Hi Lebouswsky,

 

MinimServer is a UPnP media server, just like the default built-in UPnP/DLNA media server provided by the DiskStation Manager software in your Synololgy NAS. Just like DSM's UPnP/DLNA media server, MinimServer provides access to the media files managed by it to any UPnP/DLNA supporting streamer (aka renderer) on the network, such as the sMS-200 in MPD/DLNA mode.

 

The sMS-200 in MPD/DLNA mode, in common with all UPnP/DLNA renderers, doesn't actually 'see' the UPnP/DLNA media server. Instead it gets 'told' by the UPnP/DLNA controller (aka control point), such as the Lumin app, what media file(s) to stream (ie fetch and play) over the network from the chosen UPnP/DLNA media server. If anything it's the UPnP/DLNA controller that 'sees' the UPnP/DLNA media servers (as well as the UPnP/DLNA media renderers) on the network.

 

Is your problem that you cannot 'see' MinimServer and therefore access its audio file library on the Lumin app?

Your explenstion about minimserver makes it more clear for me and you've hit the nail on the head in your last statement. Thanks for that

[Lebouwsky]

14 minutes ago, Cebolla said:

BTW, before you pull that "financial trigger", you do realise that the networked machine running the UPnP/DLNA media server has nothing to do with decoding and playing the music files? All it does is supply the music files completely unaltered over the network for the UPnP/DLNA renderer.

 

As an UPnP/DLNA renderer, all the decoding and playing of the music files is done by sMS-200, specifically by its MPD (Music Player Demon) software.

Yes I'm aware of that, but but thanks for reminding me. Some forummembers have claimed sonnic improvement with the Audiophile optimiser and minimserver, besides the bridged connection on the server. No fans and a lpsu can only make things better.

 

And the nice thing of this approach is that you can take it step by step. The first step is this issue we're talking about: making the sms200 see my minimserver library on a simple laptop

[Lebouwsky]

Problem solved. It actually was far more simple than I could have imagined. When minimserver is running in the server within the network the LUMIN control point saw it automaticly. I can now switch between the synology nas and the minimserver.

 

The next experiment is to run the server's lan in bridged configuration and the sms200 connected directly to the server. If this works and it results in better sound I can pull the trigger and start building a dedicated fanless server, replacing the nas and the laptop.

 

exciting!!!!

[Lukasluis]

With the new firmware, you can now run Minimserver on the SMS-200. I tried and it sounds promising. Noticed clearer sound as compared to my NAS-Streamer-SMS200 setup.