Configuration Issues

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skuuby
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:31 am

Configuration Issues

Post by skuuby »

I installed a headless copy of UMS 6.6.0 on Ubuntu Server LTS 16.4 on a Dell PowerEdge 1900. I was able to get it up, and running, but have only been able to make one change to the configuration, and that is the port. No other change, including a port change since, has had any effect.

It is installed to /opt/UMS, and I have added UMS_PROFILE=/opt/UMS, but this has had no effect so far.
The only locations there is a UMS.conf file is
~/UMS/UMS.conf (from extracting the original installation files)
~/.config/UMS/UMS.conf (only holds a uuid and cert entry)
/opt/UMS/UMS.conf

I don't know where I am going wrong, I have read through previous threads and tried anything listed there (including changing the UMS.conf from the installation folder), and am seeking help.

Thank you.
Nadahar
Posts: 1990
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:57 pm

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by Nadahar »

I don't know if we have a proper Linux "install" documentation. I've heard that it should be something in our Wiki, but I'm not very familiar with its content and couldn't find much useful when I took a quick look. We have an unmerged PR where we have attempted to improve our Linux install information which you can find here.

I'm not familiar with UMS_PROFILE - I see that it's in the code, but I don't know if it actually works. There's a Java system property you could set that's called "ums.profile.path", but it's just as easy to give the profile path as an argument when launching UMS.sh.

The default profile folder is $HOME/.config/UMS, which means that ~/.config/UMS/UMS.conf should be the one being used. It's blank by default, and is filled in when values are changed in the GUI. Since you don't have one, you should probably simply replace it with the default UMS.conf and then configure that as you want.

While using UMS this way is definitly possible, I'm sad to say its not the easiest way to configure it. One option could be to start UMS on a computer with a GUI available, do the configuration, quit UMS and then use that configuration file as a template, but the default UMS.conf also has documentation for the most used options.

One important thing to note is that, unlike most Linux software, UMS keeps the configuration file in memory while it's running and then writes it on exit. That means that any changes you make while UMS is running will be overwritten, so stop UMS before you make changes to UMS.conf.
skuuby
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by skuuby »

Thank you for giving me somewhere new to look for info. The UMS_PROFILE is an environmental variable that is added, hopefully to tell UMS to look in that location for the UMS.conf file. I will try replacing the UMS.conf with one from the /opt/UMS location, and post results.
Nadahar
Posts: 1990
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:57 pm

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by Nadahar »

I know what UMS_PROFILE is, I'm just not sure if it still works - as this is old code rarely used. In any case, you don't have to specify a profile folder if you're satisfied with using the default folder. If not, as said above, the simplest way to specify another location is by simply giving the folder path as the only argument.
skuuby
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by skuuby »

I tried copying a full UMS.conf to ~/.config/UMS/UMS.conf, while the server was shut down, without success.
I'll admit, I haven't touched JAVA in 21 years, so please excuse my rustiness/lack of knowledge.
In the /opt/UMS/UMS.sh, under #Execute the JVM, I tagged on -ums.profile.path="opt/UMS", again without success. If I have the location or syntax wrong, it sounds like you know what it should be, and where.
Also, I don't know how to append environmental variables to the existing service, outside of possibly modifying the UMS.sh file. While I do know a little of linux, most of my knowledge is windows based.

I really appreciate your assistance.
Thank you.
Nadahar
Posts: 1990
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:57 pm

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by Nadahar »

How do you conclude that copying the file was unsuccessful?

I'm sorry, I misinformed you. What you have to run is:

Code: Select all

./UMS.sh profile=<path to profile folder>
I should also mention that there's some dependencies you should install for UMS to work optimally:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install mediainfo
sudo apt-get install dcraw vlc
If you want to use tsMuxer with UMS, you also need to install it. It should be something like:

Code: Select all

    # Install tsMuxeR dependencies on 64 bit Debian/Ubuntu and derivates:
    sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install lib32z1 lib32ncurses5 libbz2-1.0:i386 libstdc++6:i386
tsMuxer is closed source and abandoned, with quite a few bugs. I've never used it, but there's some specific situations that some users prefer it for.
skuuby
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by skuuby »

Sorry for not being more specific. The UMS.conf file that I copied, was the modified file from /opt/UMS. From your previous comment, all changes that I am making are being done with the UMS service stopped.
Your code did allow UMS to run properly, now I just need a way to keep it automated.
Oh, and I do have vlc-nox, dcraw and mediainfo installed.
Let me chew on this for a few minutes, and I'll get back to you.
skuuby
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2017 9:31 am

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by skuuby »

Yes! Success!
Your code appended to UMS.sh did the trick. Now I just need to delve into some of the other quirks that are there.
Time to research.

Thanks are very much given, and don't seem like enough, Nadahar.
Nadahar
Posts: 1990
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:57 pm

Re: Configuration Issues

Post by Nadahar »

FYI: I was planning to do the same once upon a time (letting UMS run 24/7 on a headless server), but there are some problems. UMS slowly degrades over time, I'm not sure if there are multiple causes, but there's a known problem with a "memory leak" over time. It's not actually a memory leak, but the effect is the same. UMS isn't able to release all the memory it allocates (it has to do with the fundamental design, no easy way to fix it) so over time it will run out of memory. "Scanning" media is what causes the "leak", basically UMS will keep some metadata for any media scanned in memory until it's stopped. To make it worse, when you "browse" UMS using a renderer or the web interface, each folder you enter is "scanned", and if you browse using multiple renderers there will exist one such metadata instance per media file per renderer. If you have a huge library which you run a manual scan on, the leak can be "significant", but in normal use cases the amount of memory "wasted" is quite modest. But, running 24/7 it will run out eventually.

I'd make sure that the "automation" restarted UMS from time to time, maybe one or twice per week.
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