USB Drive attached to WiiM Ultra: access it to copy files from/into it (SSH, FTP, Samba)...

[pjorgenunes]

Hi,

Several media servers allow to mount the USB drive attached to it in windows / linux. This is an awesome feature, since it allows to copy, upload, delete and change files on USB drive, without having to disconnect it from the media server and connect it via USB on PC.

I'm getting my CD to flac (over time) and it's annoying to allows have to do this phisycal process.

For me the USB drive on WiiM Ultra should also be a kind of connect and forget (physically) and should be managed remotedly from a PC on local network.

Thanks for your attention.

 

[jfbuk]

Hi,

Several media servers allow to mount the USB drive attached to it in windows / linux. This is an awesome feature, since it allows to copy, upload, delete and change files on USB drive, without having to disconnect it from the media server and connect it via USB on PC.

I'm getting my CD to flac (over time) and it's annoying to allows have to do this phisycal process.

For me the USB drive on WiiM Ultra should also be a kind of connect and forget (physically) and should be managed remotedly from a PC on local network.

Thanks for your attention.

see this thread

I want to use Wiim Ultra USB memory like NAS

Hi. I am using Wiim Ultra with USB Memory. I want to up and down load song files freely like NAS. Can I do it like shared folder or do it with Filezila? Cause It's quite troublesome to take out and plug in the USB memory evertime I add new songs.

forum.wiimhome.com

 

[pjorgenunes]

see this thread

I want to use Wiim Ultra USB memory like NAS

Hi. I am using Wiim Ultra with USB Memory. I want to up and down load song files freely like NAS. Can I do it like shared folder or do it with Filezila? Cause It's quite troublesome to take out and plug in the USB memory evertime I add new songs.

forum.wiimhome.com

Thank you for your quick answer and link. I've read it and I believe it didn't come to any feature like ftp server, samba server or similar from WiiM (correct me please if I'm wrong).
So I believe it would be nice to have this as a request feature.

 

[jfbuk]

You are correcct.
You can of course access a NAS or DLNA/UPnP server on your network using the Wiim app and send the audio to your Ultra as a renderer.

 

[pjorgenunes]

You are correcct.
You can of course access a NAS or DLNA/UPnP server on your network using the Wiim app and send the audio to your Ultra as a renderer.

I do have a NAS server (two disks with mirror 0 configuration) that I use mainly for backup home stuff (pics, videos, music library) and I've done it already (works very well by the way). The only thing is that I use it from times to times to backup new stuff and in between this backup periods I disconnect it. I believe it has some power consumption equivalent to 5€-10€ a month... but I may be wrong

 

[shuppatsu]

I second this. FTP is a really handy way to sync up backup libraries, and it would be nice to have the USB Drive serve that role. I don't have NAS in my house. I used to, but it was a janky router-based solution and more trouble than it was worth. I can play files from my PC using Plex, but it would be nice to have something that works while my computer is hibernating.

 

[d6jg]

Definitely having a way to access a connected USB and writing, editing and deleting stuff while it is still connected is vastly superior to constantly pulling the USB stick out but you’d be far better off with a NAS and a proper music server on lots of counts.

 

[harkpabst]

I wouldn't want to have it. Too dangerous. The drive should be mounted read-only to avoid accidental changes to the contents.

Music stored on the attached USB drive should ideally be backed up on some other medium, but I see people starting to use this feature like the NAS they don't have (as far as music storage goes).

Using a protocol with no additional access control, even the casual party guest could manipulate the files inadvertently or on purpose. Implementing access control within WiiM's OS seems like an overly complex and tedious task for me, given that this whole support of (interchangeable) USB drives is just a supplementary feature.

 

[shuppatsu]

I wouldn't want to have it. Too dangerous. The drive should be mounted read-only to avoid accidental changes to the contents.

Music stored on the attached USB drive should ideally be backed up on some other medium, but I see people starting to use this feature like the NAS they don't have (as far as music storage goes).

Using a protocol with no additional access control, even the casual party guest could manipulate the files inadvertently or on purpose. Implementing access control within WiiM's OS seems like an overly complex and tedious task for me, given that this whole support of (interchangeable) USB drives is just a supplementary feature.

FTP is typically password protected over a secure socket. And I have some pretty nerdy former sysadmin friends but I’m not worried that they would think of accessing my usb drive via FTP at a party.

In all likelihood, the Wiim already has FTP. It’s hard for me to imagine a Linux distro without it. You can run the server so that it can just access the directory that the usb drive is mounted to. Pretty straightforward.

 

[Burnside]

…but you’d be far better off with a NAS and a proper music server on lots of counts.

Entirely. I see the usb drive as a convenience for the casual user and not a proper medium for your main media library.

 

[harkpabst]

And I have some pretty nerdy former sysadmin friends but I’m not worried that they would think of accessing my usb drive via FTP at a party.

That was just one example. You could also delete the contents yourself in error, if you prefer to.

Should different USB storage devices be remembered and use different credentials, which had to be managed through WiiM Home? Or is it one set of credentials for whatever one sticks into the WiiM device? Which MIME types should be disallowed? And generally speaking, the fewer exposed ports, the better.

I still don't think that it's worth the effort, but I do think that quite some effort would have to go into this feature.

 

[d6jg]

Entirely. I see the usb drive as a convenience for the casual user and not a proper medium for your main media library.

Indeed. I suspect that is what WiiM thought also and may have been caught out by the demand for effectively a full DLNA server implementation and access app.

 

[shuppatsu]

That was just one example. You could also delete the contents yourself in error, if you prefer to.

You can do that when you’re adding files to your usb stick regardless of whether you’re doing it via FTP or pulling the stick and doing it on your PC.

Should different USB storage devices be remembered and use different credentials, which had to be managed through WiiM Home? Or is it one set of credentials for whatever one sticks into the WiiM device?

The latter. Solved.

Which MIME types should be disallowed?

None? I’m not sure why MIME is relevant to FTP.

And generally speaking, the fewer exposed ports, the better.

Maybe as a matter of general hygiene, but a streaming device is going to have a ton of ports open by design. FTP is an ancient, battle-tested, and ubiquitous protocol. It’s easy to implement. I just don’t see the downside.

What percentage of Wiim households do you think have a NAS or always-on media server? I’d guess maybe 30%. How many households do you think have an effective backup solution for their media? I’d guess 40-60%. An FTP-accessible USB stick would obviate both issues.

 

[harkpabst]

What percentage of Wiim households do you think have a NAS or always-on media server? I’d guess maybe 30%. How many households do you think have an effective backup solution for their media? I’d guess 40-60%. An FTP-accessible USB stick would obviate both issues.

A WiiM streamer should not be expected to act as a replacement for either. I agree on that with @Burnside.

I accept that I cannot convince you of my point of view. Your arguments didn't change it, though. My vote remains unchanged.

 

[d6jg]

A WiiM streamer should not be expected to act as a replacement for either. I agree on that with @Burnside.

I accept that I cannot convince you of my point of view. Your arguments didn't change it, though. My vote remains unchanged.

Clearly it’s almost trivial to implement an FTP server (or should be) but by doing so WiiM would be encouraging people to try to use the device as a server which it’s not and never will be. Occasional use for a few local files yes. Use with TBs of files no.

 

[shuppatsu]

Clearly it’s almost trivial to implement an FTP server (or should be) but by doing so WiiM would be encouraging people to try to use the device as a server which it’s not and never will be. Occasional use for a few local files yes. Use with TBs of files no.

Honestly why not? Maybe because scope creep would pull them then away from their core competency. But the hardware is already there. The software is basically already there. It’s not rocket science. So long as they KISS I think it’d be fine.

…Or they could go whole hog and support multiple drives in a raid. I can see it now: the Wiim NAS Plus Ultra. /joke (edit: originally spoiled the joke by not knowing my French)

 

[harkpabst]

Honestly why not? Maybe because scope creep would pull them then away from their core competency. But the hardware is already there. The software is basically already there. It’s not rocket science. So long as they KISS I think it’d be fine.

…Or they could go whole hog and support multiple drives in a raid. I can see it now: the Wiim NAS Ultra Plus. /joke

I like you humour so much better than your feature requests.

Yes I know, it's not even your own request.