by GJ51 » Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:37 am
As is common knowledge, "bit rot" can set in to any computer. One hard shutdown can leave minor but critical files improperly closed that cease to function, not to mention registry corruption. Then, of course, there are hardware failure issues due to age, heat, and just plain abuse and mfgr. defects. When something doesn't work the way it's supposed to, it's really easy to convince yourself that you think you know what the problem is, only to find that when you open the case, two years worth of dust has just decided to make a comfortable home in your CPU cooler. Who knows?
All I can tell you is that I have 3 servers on Windows Win7/Server08 code base. All of them are running version 4.2, recently upgraded from 4.1, which ran rock solid. They are all running steady and have been online 24/7 for months. No crashes, no shutdowns. They all run cool, quiet, fast, and reliable. I'm more than pleased with SS and the ver. 2.1 Android app. They all do what they are supposed to.
I only point this out to illustrate that getting Subsonic to run the way it's supposed to is doable. 3 years ago I bought an HP ex485 WHS. My reason for the purchase was because it advertised that you could use Twonky Media to stream your media to friends and family. Hence they were called "Media Smart Servers". Today, my ex485 is a bookend on a shelf, Twonky Media was a total waste of time, but at least it introduced me to servers and media streaming, albiet a rather costly introduction. Fortunately, the HP MSS is a thing of the past, both for me and apparently HP, as they recently announced they were dropping the product.
That led to motivating me to build my own servers and to find software that would accomplish my original goal of setting up media streaming, both internally and over internet when I'm outside my home. After playing around with a lot of software, I finally settled on Subsonic. It's not the easiest application I've ever set up, on the contrary it takes an above average experience level that many users will find discouraging. Most users won't even try to attempt setting this up, it's really for those who understand network basics, router function, ip addresses, port forwarding, and so on.
For that reason, there will be a wide range of results and a variety of difficulties encounterd. No two users are going to have the same experience. A lot of variables go into getting SS up and running successfully, the individual hardware platform, internet connecton speed, network equipment/configuration, raw processing power, and most importantly the experience of the person setting the whole thing up. Even with a ton of experience, it's easy to miss something that throws everything off kilter that makes you smack yourself up the side of the head when you realize what's causing all your problems.
After years of working with others on forums, the one thing I find most often is that when yor trying to get help on a forum, it's really hard to give enough information to identify a particular problem. It's more of a process of trial and error and elimination until you get lucky and hit the nail on the head.
Don't give up, try to provide as much relevant information as you can, even if it doesn't seem relevant. Ofentimes, I've found that forum posters withhold vital information needed to fix a problem because they didn't think it was important.
This is a great app and it's really worth it to put in the time and effort it takes to get it running.
Gary J
http://bios-mods.com
http://www.maplegrovepartners.com
http://theaverageguy.tv/category/tagpodcasts/cyberfrontiers/