Update 20220117 - Shared Library

[ceejayemm]

@rern

Thanks for this latest update, it seems to go someway to improving the time it takes to update the Library when using multiple instances of rAudio-1.

I have a question about how this works though. I have updated the Library with some new albums on my office installation (RAOffice). Once this was done I enabled the new Shared Data option on this instance, having created a new folder (database) on my existing NFS music share. I can see that the existing database etc from RAOffice has been copied to the new shared database folder.

I then updated one of my other rAudio instances (raconservatory), enabled the Shared Data option and rebooted (just in case). After the reboot I do not see the new albums in the Library on raconservatory. Both instances share the same NFS shared music library (music files and shared database).

I originally had the Shared Data NFS share on raconservatory set up using the 'ro' option as I guess this might be safer on this instance as there should be no need for this instance to update the shared database . I have subsequently disabled Shared Data on raconservatory and then re-enabled it with the same NFS share setup but with no options specified. The Library on raconservatory now seems to have updated itself (as I might have expected in the first setup) BUT I cannot access the actual music files to play them - no error is displayed when I select the new albums for the shared Library on raconservatory.

Do I still need to do a Library update on raconservatory in order to be able to access the new shared database in the Shared Data area ?

Can you clarify the most appropriate way to use this new feature please ?

Thanks

Chris

[ceejayemm]

Having been using the new Shared Data option for the last few days I thought I would share my findings.

First my setup

4 x RPi (2x RPI3B+, 1 x RPI3A+_ and 1x RPI 2)
Network: One RPI3B+ is hard wired ethernet and all the rest connect via wifi
All flashed to base i20211203
Music store: OpenMediaVault 5.x which provides the NFS share for Music and the new shared database

The new Shared Data option first became available with update 20220107 but this had a number of problems, particularly with configuring the shared data location and PHP errors with a TouchScreen. These were fixed by Rern in the 20220107 UPDATE branch after Jan 09, 2022 and you will need this updated version in order to fixed most (see below) of the Shared Data issues. You should also note that Rern uses the UPDATE branch to issue other fixes so you might get more than you bargained for!

After applying the 20220107 UPDATE branch the NFS mount errors and the PHP problems, for me, went away and I was able to set up the Shared Data area on my NFS share. Click the Question Mark next to System / Settings and Data for details. I decided to use the RPI which is hard wired ('Use data from this rAudio') as the basis of Shared Data setup. This took seconds to complete and my Shared Data area was populated as expected. I moved on to the second RPI and did the same - except for not using it as the source of the Shared data obviously. The 3rd and 4th RPI were similarly connected. Checking around I had the same albums etc in the Library on all RPI BUT all my WebRadios had disappeared.

It turns out that WebRadios are stored locally on each RPi, and the very last RPi I had attached to the Shared Data was newly flashed and did not have any WebRadios configured, I expected it would to pick up the Shared Data radios (as it did for Albums etc) but it DID NOT (@rern please note) it copied the 'blank' web radios from this last RPI (despite the 'Use data from this rAudio' NOT being selected) and effectively deleted all my existing WebRadios setup on the Shared Data area. I had to go back and re-enter all my WebRadios details on one of the existing RPI's and this then shared the data with all the rest. I don't have a lot of WebRadios fortunately but this was still a pain to have to do.

Once the Shared Data was set up it seems to work as expected (apart from the slight glitch noted above). I can add items (albums, radios etc) on one RPi and update the Library (Only Changed Files) to see the new items on all the other RPi's - sometimes it is necessary to refresh the browser (F5 or Ctrl-F5) or switch to another page and back before the new files update the Library counts etc. Now I understand how the WebRadios work I can cope with that too.

Thanks to @rern for his efforts and excellent support to get this working. It will certainly make maintaining the Library across all my RPi much easier and quicker - if I don't add another RPi with no WebRadios configured !

I hope this helps anybody else who might be trying to use the Shared Data options.

Chris