help with serving WHS audio files

[BigD25]

Hi all, I'm new here and new to Subsonic but so far it looks like Subsonic is exactly why I built my new Acer/WHS server. I would like to be able to host & backup my mp3/audio collection on a server with the capability of allowing remote access (with permission) over the internet as basically as possible for friends and family. My intent is to reduce the drives hosted in individual PCs, store all the files in one location, be able to produce back ups and serve files via the internet to select friends that are even less familiar with computers as I am.

It appears to me that the "stand alone" version will "serve" files from a host computer to the internet if ported correctly but I would like to store everything on my new server and have access from it and not bog down a desktop machine. I'm thinking that maybe I need the Java servelet WAR that could work within my server as an "add in" and manage file organization, up/downloads, back ups and access. Am I on the right track here? Do I need to install Apache Tomcat on my WHS machine to run the WAR version of Subsonic which I'm guessing is the slickest/easist version of the software.

I've seen some of the posts & tutorials on installing Tomcat and feel I can follow the lengthy directions well enough to make it through, but I'm curious to find out if this is actually the path I want to procede down. I want my friends accessing my server, not my desktop machines, in order to enjoy my collection. I want them to be able to download and upload files to me in a situation where I can scan them before deploying them to the rest of my home network. I would rather do the work up front than trying to "support" each friend's request for help.

Does Tomcat play well inside WHS? What issues might I be creating for myself installing it? Any security issues?

I haven't found too many posts about my specific concerns and hope to start a discussion and a "how to" that might encourage others to try what I'm attempting, which seems pretty basic to me, a simple desire to "share" and play files hosted on a server.

I hope everyone is still enjoying the music,
Tim

[delcypher]

By WHS, I take it you mean windows home server?

If so I don't have any experience using it but Subsonic should probably okay on it.

You don't need to go to the effort of installing Tomcat and using the WAR install.

Because Subsonic uses Java it is cross-platform compatible there is no porting to speak of.

The Stand-alone version is the simplest to use. You just extract the stand-alone files to where you want, edit subsonic.bat with the settings you want and then run subsonic.bat to start subsonic.

You will need to install the Java run-time environment first though.

I'm slightly confused by

It appears to me that the "stand alone" version will "serve" files from a host computer to the internet if ported correctly but I would like to store everything on my new server and have access from it and not bog down a desktop machine.

Any install of subsonic goes on the server, not your desktop/client machine. Your music should be on the server too.

As for security issues you should NEVER run subsonic with administrator privileges.

I'm actually in the process of writing a wiki for subsonic.

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/subsonic/index.php?title=Main_Page but I'm afraid it isn't anywhere near complete yet.

I hope this helps you a little.

[whimpyjones]

I have had subsonic installed on my homebuilt WHS for 2 years now with the war version and tomcat. Never any problems and a fairly easy install and config. I would be glad to help in any way if I can. I posted a step by step somewhere on how to do this but I can't find it right now. I will keep looking and good luck.

[whimpyjones]

Try this link for detailed instructions:

http://www.wegotserved.com/2009/10/08/h ... me-server/

as well as this however some of the details have changed with new versions of subsonic, i.e. transcoding:


Refer to installation instructions at http://subsonic.sour...llation.php#war
It was nice to have these open for reference.

Download current version of Java. I went to the Java website and chose the manual download option so I could install it from the WHS desktop after I remote in. I did actually use the web based installer on my 120 day eval copy and everything worked fine but Microsoft does not recommended.

Download the current version of tomcat from http://tomcat.apache.org/. I used the Windows Service Installer 6.0.18 version.

Download the WAR version of Subsonic from http://subsonic.sour...et/download.php

If you will need to transcode files, download a trascoding pack at: http://subsonic.sour...transcoding.php
It helps to refer back to this page as well for troubleshooting, great documentation.

I copied these four files to my “softwareâ€

[BigD25]

Wow, whimpy! Thanks. You did everything but make coffee for me while I wait for the installation. I had seen some of the installation tutorials scattered around. Hopefully, others will find this valuable too.

I'm brand new to the server world. I was looking for hints as to what to expect from Tomcat. Is it just Java for servers? What other cool tricks are people using it for? I was hoping to avoid any conflicts with software & WHS this soon into my exploration.