A Complete Guide to setting up SubSonic (Windows/Android)

[darkuni]

A lot of my friends wanted a very detailed guide to installing SubSonic on Windows and using their Androids to hit it.

So, I took a stab. Maybe it will help someone else out too!

http://monroeworld.com/android/subsonic/

NOTE: LINK IS BACK UP!

Any feedback welcome!

Something happened with my host. I'm restoring the files to MW.com now.

The subsonic guide is back up already. Sorry about that.

[GJ51]

Great job! this should be a Sticky in the Tutorial section.

Just an update to address the most common issues:

Start with a fresh Java install to the latest version. If you have Java already, uninstall, then do a clean install of the latest version. If you use a 64 bit browser be sure to get both 32 & 64 bit Java.
http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp If you have SS installed, uninstall it and delete the Subsonic directory (Windows).

Disable any DHCP services in any VOIP equipment or other additional routers you have. Only ONE router/device per network should handle DHCP assignments.

Most problems are due to improper setup on the router. Setting a fixed internal ip address for the server and proper port forwarding rules on the router are essential for long term stability.

First read: http://monroeworld.com/android/subsonic/ This is the Windows tutorial but most of the concepts apply to any setup. Specific setup instructions for other Operating Systems are available in the Tutorials section. http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=6 and on the Subsonic website at http://www.subsonic.org/pages/installation.jsp

Set up port forwarding in your router to direct traffic on the selected port to your server. Try 8085 unless you have a specific reason not to.
Never use port 80 (or 443 for ssl) - ISP's often use it or block it. 8080,8081, work fine. 808X Always works. I've seen others use different port numbers that have caused failure.
Open (forward) the port you're going to use for Subsonic. If you don't know how to do this, try using http://www.simpleportforwarding.com/ to set port forwarding in your router.

If the tool doesn't set up your router you'll have to READ your router's manual and understand how to do it on your router. Every router is different and even routers from the same manufacturer can have very different looking administration pages.

In Subsonic Settings/Network - UNCHECK " Automatically configure your router to allow incoming connections to Subsonic (using UPnP or NAT-PMP port forwarding)." Be sure to hit the SAVE button, you may have to scroll down to see it depending on your screen size. UPnP or Plug & Pray works sometimes, but not very often and you're better off learning what's going on anyway. You're dipping your toe into the network mgmt. thing anyway, might as well learn what's going on as home networks don't get simpler as time goes on. As your network gets more complex, you're going to have to learn this stuff! No time like the present. uPNP might work, but most often it doesn't. Learing how to do it will be a skill you'll love having as your network grows.

Manually assign a fixed intenal IP and static route to your server at the upper end of the address range of the router, out of the way of DHCP, e.g. 192.168.1.254 Some router call this address reservation. I also set the settings on the network card of the host PC to use the same address I'm going to use on the router. This locks the connection at both ends.

Check the Subsonic Control Panel to make sure it's using the port you're going to use. I typically use 8080, 8081, etc. Use 8085 unless you have a reason not to.

Learn your external IP address assigned by your ISP. Go to http://www.canyouseeme.org/ enter your SS port number and click the Check box to be sure the Subsonic port is open.

Test your setup by entering your external IP:port# to see if it connects. e.g. http://108.17.27.224:8092/ If it works, you should be good to go.

If your still having problems. Clear browser cache. Reboot the server and the router. If that doesn't work, uninstall/reinstall Java. If still no joy, try reinstalling SS right over the top of the current SS using the latest version.

[sindre_mehus]

Wonderful, thanks a lot!

Moved and made sticky, and also added a link to it from http://www.subsonic.org/pages/documentation.jsp

Shane, thanks for writing and sharing the tutorial!
Sindre

[kkinderen]

Very helpful. I had gotten ahead of your tutorial and let the program automatically set up my router. It worked fine for me as far as I can tell.

[darkuni]

Thanks for featuring it! I'm glad it's helping people out.

[cork2win]

Thanks so much for writing your tutorial. It really helped explain a lot of the concepts I was missing. I'm happy to report that I'm now streaming music to my new tablet. Now to spend days reorganizing my music library.

I do have a question though. Early on we create access to the subsonic service for the administrator user in windows and you mention going back later on to fix any potential security issues. Do you have information for this somewhere that I missed?

[shenery]

Ok. Im a little comfused to which modem i will be configuring what to. Ill give you a breakdown of my setup.
I have a Netgear DG834G Adsl that i am getting internet from. That is connected by ethernet to My Netgear WNDR3700.
I then have as you know my usb drive connected to that and i have an ethernet cable coming from the WNDR3700 to the pc ive been working with.
Is the set up ok?

I tried swapping the ethernet cable that connects to the pc from the wndr3700 back to the dg834g but that screwed up my readyshare as the pc i have doesnt have a wireless card in it on an ethernet port. Its the main pc anyway so id like it to have the faster transfer speeds.

Thanks for all your help so far btw

[rfielder]

I take it that the tutorial linked in the first post is no longer available? Seems like the user's website is gone completely.

Tried to get Subsonic running at home, just so I can stream music to multiple rooms and have all rooms playing the same song. Somehow, that just isn't happening.

All the instructions and tutorials I have found seem focused on getting music out to the internet, which is NOT what I am doing - all this stays within my home network.

First issue was installing it on my home server, running Windows Home Server V1. There are no WHS audio drivers for the motherboard, so Subsonic won't play anything.

Next, installed it onto my main machine. OK, I can get it to play music. Then installed the app only my Android phone - and I can find no way for the phone to see a stream coming from the server.

I can get the phone linked to the server, and I can play music from the server, and I can access any playlists I create on the server. However, that is not what I want to do - I want the server to play through a play list and the phone - as well as any other devices I attach - to play the music that the server is playing.

Is this possible? What am I missing?

[GJ51]

The OP link is back up - content deleted in the interest of keeping the thread readable.

[rfielder]

Gary J - many thanks for posting the document.

Sounds like I was right - Subsonic does not send music from the server to your phone. It allows your phone to see your music, and play the songs it sees.

That is sharing, not streaming, so I am confused as to why so many people talk about how good Subsonic is at streaming.

Maybe I am misunderstanding something, or missing something. What I want to do is:
1> install and configure the Subsonic server
2> build a play list of songs on the server
3> start the play list playing on the server
4> connect to the server with my phone, and hear whatever song is playing on the server
5> connect to the server with another PC. and hear whatever song is playing on the server

From what I have read, steps 4 and 5 are not what Subsonic is built to do. Am I correct?

[GJ51]

You are.

Subsonic is a great frontend for playing your music library from anywhere inside or outside your network on any platform.

When you use Subsonic on an Android phone the most common scenario is to use it while in your car connecting to bluetooth to the car audio system, or using the phone with earbuds.

It is not designed to be a radio station that anyone can tune in to and everyone hears the same thing. Rather, each user at any location can customize their own playlists and listen to whatever they want to.

[hakko]

You want Subsonic to be a broadcasting server, sending just one stream like an old-fashioned radio station to whoever connects to it. But in fact, it is a streaming server where each connected player has a separate playlist / stream.

I think you have a different idea of what "streaming" and "sharing" means than most other people, though.

[rfielder]

I think you have a different idea of what "streaming" and "sharing" means than most other people, though.

Actually, my understanding of "streaming" has come from a lot of research and reading. Obviously, it does not match the definition used when building Subsonic.

I have never understood applications that give you access to files on another PC. Sharing across the internet makes sense, but if you are on the same network, you can achieve the same thing by sharing a folder and just playing the songs or video or whatever. That is how my HTPC works - just map a drive to a shared folder, and everythings it is playing locally. Since that works well - why would we need something like Subsonic on a local network?

Guess I have to start my search over again.....

[GJ51]

You are right - and wrong.

The desktop application and the Android app do not work the same way. I'm not a programer , so don't ask me why, but the desktop "streams" in the normal use of the word in that it just plays the music directly from the source, whether your inside the network or connected over the internet.

The apps, on the other hand, actually copy the files onto internal sd storage and play back the music from the copy stored on the phone. This probably works better due to the inconsistent nature of cell connections and my guess is that is why it's designed this way. You can set the size and other parameters of how the caching works on the phone in the app settings.

Yes, there are other options for the local network that work just fine, but Subsonic's real strength lies in it's ability to allow access from outside your network. After you use it a bit, you just might find that it just makes a lot of sense to use it inside your network as well, but it's certainly just another option for inside playback.

Additionally, both the Music Cabinet and the Madsonic mods offer some nice features not found in other players.

[hakko]

I switch between using iTunes and my modded Subsonic server (MusicCabinet) when I'm at home. iTunes is way more aesthetically pleasing, while MusicCabinet offers features like artist biography, MusicBrainz discography, related artists, generating smart playlists based on genre / artist etc that iTunes doesn't have.