Melco Audiophile NAS

[simoncn]

Using your numbered steps:

0. Make sure you are on firmware 3.92 with MinimServer 2 installed before you start.

1. Use the Melco backup facility to do the backup to an external USB drive. This might take a long time.

2, 3, 4. As you said. The Melco asks you to format the drives. This is where you specify spanned. The format will be ext4.

5. Use the Melco backup facility to do the restore. Select Restore Settings rather than Restore Data. This might take a long time.

After 5 has finished, MinimServer 2 should still be installed with your previous settings. Your music files should also be restored. (This is not completely clear from the Melco manual.) If your music files have not been restored, repeat step 5 again and choose Restore Data.

You need to ask Melco whether a machine with nonstandard disks will be eligible for the EX upgrade. If not, you could get the EX upgrade done first and then replace the disks.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, great info, thanks very much. And if I go for it, is this the specific SSD I should buy?:

https://www.crucial.com/ssd/mx500/ct2000mx500ssd1

Thanks.

[simoncn]

Yes, this is the correct model. If you have any problems or questions while doing this, please post here. The steps I have recommended ensure that you have the old HDDs available to restart the process if anything doesn't go accordng to plan. You should mark the old HDDs as left and right in case you need to do this.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Roger that, Simon, thanks again!

[maikeru]

(28-01-2020 09:40)simoncn Wrote:  Until a few weeks ago, my setup was as you describe except that the N1A to N1Z connection was not by direct Ethernet cable but using optical isolation. This isolation was provided by a pair of TP-Link MC210CS optical-to-Ethernet converters powered by plugtop linear power supplies, connected like this:

N1A player port -> Ethernet cable -> MC210CS -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1Z LAN port

The N1A was connected to an optical port on my Cisco switch like this:

Cisco switch -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1A LAN port

My current setup uses a Melco S100 switch. This has two optical ports and is connected like this:

Cisco switch -> optical cable -> S100

S100 -> Ethernet cable -> N1Z LAN port

S100 -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1A LAN port

The addition of the S100 connected as above has been a jaw-dropping moment for me.

Hello Simon,

Which switch do you recommend as your start point (presumably from the router?). I see you have a cisco but any specific recommendations?

Also does it matter what optical cable is used ?

[simoncn]

My Cisco switch is an SG 300-10P. This might no longer be a current model. The optical cable connectng the S100 to the Cisco switch is LC/LC LSZH Duplex Single-mode 9/125 SM Fibre 2 metres. It doesn't matter which brand you purchase. You also need need a pair of mini-GBIC (SFP) modules. I am using TP-LINK TL-SM311LS.

[maikeru]

It seems that’s hard to find in Japan. Is the Cisco model critical? I did find this one: Cisco Systems (Small Business) SG112 – 24 – JP SG112 – 24 Compact 24 – Port Gigabit Switch.

Generally are the cable type choices (LC-LC etc) determined by the model?

Lastly - is the TL-SM311LS an external use device? I would this this instead of say a single mode FBA_MC210C?

[simoncn]

Any Cisco switch with an optical port should be fine. The cable type choice is determined by the ports (LC or SC) at both ends of the cable.

The TL-SM311LS plugs directly into the SFP/miniGBIC optical port on the switch and the cable plugs into the TL-SM311LS. The make and model of this item is not critical. It just happens to be what I used.

[nfnc]

Thank you for suggesting this.

I have tried Synology 918+ (without LPS) -> ethernet cable -> Cisco 2960 -> ethernet cable -> LAN port -> Melco N1Zh/60 -> Player port -> ethernet cable -> ethernet input Weiss DAC502.

Running Minimserver on the Synology and the Melco. The same files on the Synology sounded more rounded, had better hall decay with a better sense of the acoustic while the Melco sounded quieter (thinner?) with more truncated decay. This was surprising as I had always thought that running direct from the Melco's Player port would be better.

Have an "S100" on order and plan to connect using the fiber optic setup that you had described, and will add an LPS to the Synology and "S100" too.

The fiber isolation of the S100 from the rest of the network must have worked wonders.

(28-01-2020 09:40)simoncn Wrote:  Until a few weeks ago, my setup was as you describe except that the N1A to N1Z connection was not by direct Ethernet cable but using optical isolation. This isolation was provided by a pair of TP-Link MC210CS optical-to-Ethernet converters powered by plugtop linear power supplies, connected like this:

N1A player port -> Ethernet cable -> MC210CS -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1Z LAN port

The N1A was connected to an optical port on my Cisco switch like this:

Cisco switch -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1A LAN port

My current setup uses a Melco S100 switch. This has two optical ports and is connected like this:

Cisco switch -> optical cable -> S100

S100 -> Ethernet cable -> N1Z LAN port

S100 -> optical cable -> MC210CS -> Ethernet cable -> N1A LAN port

The addition of the S100 connected as above has been a jaw-dropping moment for me.

[simoncn]

It is helpful for us all to share our experiences. I have never tried a setup like yours. Perhaps the Cisco 2960 is providing some benefit. (I have a different Cisco model.) I have heard good things about the 2960.

One more thought: as a "fair test", could you try the following:

Synology 918+ (without LPS) -> ethernet cable -> Cisco 2960 -> ethernet cable -> ethernet input Weiss DAC502.

Melco N1Zh/60 -> LAN port -> ethernet cable -> Cisco 2960 -> ethernet cable -> ethernet input Weiss DAC502.