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Installing SlimServer on Fedora Core 3 (FC3) with AlienBBC
SlimServer on Fedora Core 3 (FC3) with AlienBBC plugin. A ripcaster Step-by-Step Guide
This step-by-step guide is intended to allow someone with minimal Linux experience to install Fedora Core 3, Slimserver with AlienBBC and related files. After following these instructions you will be able to access your digital music collection and listen to streamed radio - including BBC Live and Listen Again services. Note that this guide is for a UK configuration. All links are chosen from a UK perspective - you may find faster links nearer to your location. The instructions are focused on function and not security!!
Lastly - there is no guarantee with these instructions - use at your own risk - they worked for us - they may not work for you. Please feel free to leave any comments you may have.
Last Updated: 2006-03-26
Author JJN
Copyright ripcaster.co.uk
Assumptions
This guide assumes that you have:
- An Internet connection.
- A (Windows, Mac or Linux) machine with sufficient free space to allow downloading of the required Fedora Core 3 (FC3) ISO image files and burn them to CDs. We will call this the "Slave" machine from now on.
- A target machine to install all the software on - these instructions assume an Intel based system.
Note. Following these instructions will erase all existing data on this target machine. - A basic Ethernet network (with DHCP ideally).
- You can read and type. Remember that Linux is case sensitive. yOu HaVe BeEn WaRnEd ;-)
Goals
- Simple to follow step-by-step instructions including verbose screen output.
- Produce a minimal command line Linux environment.
- Suitable for creating a dedicated SlimServer machine from modest specification hardware.
- AlienBBC plug-in configuration for BBC Listen Again services.
Hardware
We are using an old PIII machine with 128MB RAM for this test install with a mighty 12GB hard drive - and it works just fine. For a stable system that can serve a number of Squeezeboxes we would recommend at least a low end P4 celeron with a reasonable hard drive and 512MB or more memory. As always more processor power, hard disc or RAM will always improve things according to your budget.
The hard drive size dictates how many music files you can store. Hard disc storage is relatively cheap so buy the biggest drive for your money. We have 500+ CDs FLAC encoded occupying just 180GB of storage.
Note. If using an old PC to act as your Slimserver be aware that some old BIOSs have problems with large drives. Old BIOSs may not recognize drives above 80GB or 128GB. So check that your motherboard BIOS can be upgraded before purchasing, for example, a 500GB drive that either won't be recongnized by the system or will only allow the first 128GB to be used.
So we assume at this point that you have a small network with the Slave machine able to connect to and browse the internet. We also assume your target machine hardware includes a network card, CD/DVD ROM dive, screen and keyboard (only required for setup).
Start Here
Ok so lets get started! First we need to download the ISO images from the internet and burn them using your favourite CD writing software to 4 blank CDs (You can download and burn a single DVD image).
Using the Slave machine:
Browse to http://download.fedora.redhat.com/pub/fedora/linux/core/3/i386/iso/
Download the following images and save to the local hard drive on the Slave computer:
- FC3-i386-disc1.iso
- FC3-i386-disc2.iso
- FC3-i386-disc3.iso
- FC3-i386-disc4.iso
Now Burn the images to 4 blank CD roms using your favorite software. Here we will use Nero Express 6.
- Start Nero
- Select "Copy and Backup" from the graphical menu.
- Select "Burn Image to Disc"
- From the "Open" dialog select the download image to burn (FC3-i386-disc1.iso,...)
- Confirm the Device to be used
- Insert a blank CD-R into the drive.
- Wait for the CD writing to be completed (check no errors).
- Label the CD (you know it makes sense...)
- Repeat the above instructions for the remaining ISO images.
Now move to the target machine...
We need to boot from the first FC3 CD ROM to start the installation. You may need to check your BIOS settings to ensure that the system will boot from CD ROM. Insert the FC3-i386-disc1 in the CD ROM and re-start the computer.
Hopefully the system will boot from the CD ROM. If not you will need to restart the target machine and enter the BIOS, typically by pressing F2, F10 or F12 or the Del key whilst the machine is starting. All BIOS are different but look for "Boot" options and ensure that the CD ROM is selected as a Boot Device ahead of the hard disc.
For example our test machine displays "Hit DEL to enter SETUP" when booted. Once in the BIOS we have an option "Advanced CMOS Setup".
The boot order is set by selecting 1st Boot Device, 2nd Boot Device, 3rd Boot Device. Here we set 1st Boot Device to Floppy, 2nd Boot Device to CDROM and 3rd Boot Device to your hard drive IDE-0 (or SCSI or whatever). Exit the BIOS saving any changes. Insert the first CD ROM FC3-i386-disc1 and restart the machine. Hopefully the machine will now boot correctly from the Fedora Core 3 installation CD. The installation of the base Linux system took about 30 minutes to complete on our Pentium III 500Mhz test machine.
Basic Fedora Core 3 (FC3) Installation
Assuming the machine booted successfully from the first installation CD you will now be shown a Fedora Core boot screen.
We are going for a minimal install - so we had better get used to the keyboard. At the boot: prompt type
boot:linux text
The system will continue to boot from the CD ROM loading any hardware specific drivers found. After a short while the following screen will be displayed.
Testing the CD media takes an age, and our burning software never makes errors (joke),so skip this...
- "Welcome to Fedora Core!" is displayed - press OK
- "Language Selection" - select "English" and press OK
- "Keyboard Selection" - select "uk" and press OK
- "Installation Type" - selcet "Custom" and press OK
- "Disk Partition Setup" - selcet "Autopartition" and press OK
- "Automatic Partitioning" - select "Remove all partitions on this system" and press OK
THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO STOP YOUR TARGET MACHINE HARD DRIVE FROM BEING WIPED CLEAN....READ THE WARNING - "Warning" - if you are sure (which you are) press "Yes"
- "Partitioning" - just press OK to accept the automatic partition table.
- "Boot Loader Configuration" - Accept the default "Use GRUB Boot Loader" and press OK
- "Boot Loader Configuration" - press OK
- "Boot Loader Configuration" - no password, and press OK
- "Boot Loader Configuration" - accept the default Boot laabel and press OK
- "Boot Loader Configuration" - accept the default and install the boot loader to the MBR - press OK
- "Network Configuration for eth0" - we assume you are using DHCP so just press OK otherwise manually enter your ip information.
Example 1: ip address 192.168.1.100, netmask 255.255.255.0,
Example 2: ip address 10.1.1.100, netmask 255.255.0.0,
Example 3: ip address 172.30.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0 - "Hostname Configuration" - select "manually" and enter the name "SlimServer" and press OK
- "Firewall" - we are keeping it simple (and insecure) so select "No Firewall" and press OK
- "Warning - No Firewall" - read the warning. Press Proceed
- "Security Enhance Linux" - select "Disable" and click OK
- "Language Support" - select the Queen's finest English "English (Great Britain)" and press OK
- "Default Language" - select "English (Great Britain)" and press OK
- "Time Zone Selection" - select "Europe/London" and press OK
- "Root Password" - you guessed it - enter "password" twice and the press OK.
- "Package Group Selection" - unselect everything except
Editors Server Configuration Tools Web Server Windows File Server Network Servers Development Tools Administration Tools System Tools
- "Installation to begin" - click OK
- "Required Install Media" - if you have selected the options listed above you will need CD 1,2 and 3. Press Continue. The installation will now transfer the software to your machine. This may take sometime depending on your machine specification.
- Change CD when prompted by the system.
- "Complete" - press the Reboot button.
SlimServer First Boot
Hopefully the computer will reboot successfully and you should see:
Fedora Core release 3 (Heidelberg) Kernel 2.6.9-1.667 on an i686 SlimServer login:
So login as user root and our very secure password "password":
Fedora Core release 3 (Heidelberg) Kernel 2.6.9-1.667 on an i686 SlimServer login:root Password:password Last login: Fri Mar 31 15:19:31 on tty1 [root@SlimServer ~]#
Quick Connectivity Test
Just to make sure we have a valid network connection and can reach the internet enter:
[root@SlimServer ~]#ping -c 2 www.slimdevices.com
And hopefully you will see
PING web.slimdevices.com (64.71.155.211) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from web.slimdevices.com (64.71.155.211): icmp_seq=0 ttl=48 time=174 ms 64 bytes from web.slimdevices.com (64.71.155.211): icmp_seq=1 ttl=48 time=173 ms --- web.slimdevices.com ping statistics --- 2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1000ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 173.512/173.884/174.257/0.559 ms, pipe 2
If you get any error messages or anything other than "0% packet loss" in the response then you need to check your network settings.
The following commands will be helpful:
ifconfig - displays the current network settings
setup - launches the text mode Setup Utility - choose the "Network Configuration" tool.
You will not be able to proceed unless your network is working properly and you can connect to the internet.
Secure Shell Client (Putty, NiftyTelnet)
Instead of typing all of the remaining commands in this document at the Linux command prompt you may wish to install a secure shell client like Putty on PCs or NiftyTelnet for Macs.
Putty can be downloaded from here.
Putty (SSH) is highly recommended to install as you will be able to administer the SlimServer machine from any other machine on your network. You may disconnect the keyboard, mouse and display on the target machine and administer everything through your Slave computer.
You will then be able to access the target machine command line interface from the Slave machine.
Start Putty, enter the hostname of the target machine (or the ip address from ifconfig)
The first time you connect you will be prompted to confirm the keys used to encrypt traffic - just click the Yes button.
Login as normal now...
With Putty you will be able to copy commands from this document using the following key combinations. Copy CTRL + C or SHIFT + INS, Paste into the Putty terminal window with CTRL + INS)
Update the System
The first thing will be to get the system with the latest patches and kernel:
Install the Fedora Core GPG keys
The keys allow updates to be applied. Enter the following commands:
[root@SlimServer ~]#rpm --import /usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEY [root@SlimServer ~]#rpm --import /usr/share/rhn/RPM-GPG-KEY-fedora
Enter the command below to update all installed software to the latest patch levels. This will take sometime as all the updates are downloaded from the internet. Go and have a nice cup of tea now (several). On our test target system the update completed in 90 minutes.
[root@SlimServer ~]#yum update Setting up Update Process Setting up Repo: base repomd.xml 100% |=========================| 1.1 kB 00:00 Setting up Repo: updates-released repomd.xml 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 Reading repository metadata in from local files primary.xml.gz 100% |=========================| 797 kB 01:17 MD Read : ####################### 1247/2623 . . . ---> Package openldap-clients.i386 0:2.2.29-1.FC3 set to be updated ---> Downloading header for libpcap to pack into transaction set. libpcap-0.8.3-9.FC3.i386. 100% |=========================| 13 kB 00:00 ---> Package libpcap.i386 14:0.8.3-9.FC3 set to be updated ---> Downloading header for rp-pppoe to pack into transaction set. rp-pppoe-3.5-22.1.i386.rp 100% |=========================| 15 kB 00:00 ---> Package rp-pppoe.i386 0:3.5-22.1 set to be updated ---> Downloading header for slocate to pack into transaction set. slocate-2.7-12.fc3.1.i386 100% |=========================| 7.9 kB 00:00 ---> Package slocate.i386 0:2.7-12.fc3.1 set to be updated ---> Downloading header for iptables to pack into transaction set. iptables-1.2.11-3.1.FC3.i 100% |=========================| 18 kB 00:00 ---> Package iptables.i386 0:1.2.11-3.1.FC3 set to be updated ---> Downloading header for gzip to pack into transaction set. . . . Dependencies Resolved Transaction Listing: Install: kernel.i686 0:2.6.12-1.1381_FC3 Update: NetworkManager.i386 0:0.3.4-1.1.0.fc3 Update: Omni.i386 0:0.9.2-1.1 Update: Omni-foomatic.i386 0:0.9.2-1.1 . . . Update: net-tools.i386 0:1.60-37.FC3.1 Update: nfs-utils.i386 0:1.0.6-52 Update: nscd.i386 0:2.3.6-0.fc3.1 Update: ntp.i386 0:4.2.0.a.20040617-5.FC3 Update: openldap.i386 0:2.2.29-1.FC3 . . .
Continue at the prompt
Performing the following to resolve dependencies: Install: fonts-xorg-75dpi.noarch 0:6.8.2-0.FC3.1 Is this ok [y/N]:Y Downloading Packages: tar-1.14-5.FC3.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 331 kB 00:00 . . . openssl-0.9.7a-42.2.i686. 100% |=========================| 1.1 MB 00:01 mkinitrd-4.1.18.1-1.i386. 100% |=========================| 92 kB 00:00 initscripts-7.93.7-1.i386 100% |=========================| 1.0 MB 00:01 libxml2-python-2.6.16-3.i 100% |=========================| 439 kB 00:00 system-config-printer-gui 100% |=========================| 107 kB 00:00 rmt-0.4b39-1.FC3.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 208 kB 00:00 openssh-clients-3.9p1-8.0 100% |=========================| 318 kB 00:00 words-3.0-2.3.noarch.rpm 100% |=========================| 1.4 MB 00:01 system-config-users-1.2.2 100% |=========================| 295 kB 00:00 system-config-services-0. 100% |=========================| 133 kB 00:00 pygtk2-2.4.1-fc3.1.i386.r 100% |=========================| 643 kB 00:00 pygtk2-libglade-2.4.1-fc3 100% |=========================| 13 kB 00:00 dbus-0.22-10.FC3.2.i386.r 100% |=========================| 454 kB 00:00 dmraid-1.0.0.rc8-FC3_2.i3 100% |=========================| 334 kB 00:00 ipsec-tools-0.5-2.fc3.i38 100% |=========================| 303 kB 00:00 openldap-clients-2.2.29-1 100% |=========================| 120 kB 00:00 . . . Running Transaction Test Updating: libgcc 100 % done 1 / 310 Updating: hwdata 100 % done 2 / 310 . . . Updating: hwdata 100 % done 310 / 310 Updating: initscripts 100 % done 105/310 . . . Completing update for cups-libs - 306/310 Completing update for glibc-common - 307/310 Completing update for nfs-utils - 308/310 Completing update for krb5-workstation - 309/310 Completing update for libgnomeui - 310/310 Installed: kernel.i686 0:2.6.12-1.1381_FC3 . . . Complete! [root@SlimServer ~]#
As we have just updated the kernel so reboot the system now using:
[root@SlimServer ~]#shutdown -r now
When the system restarts login again as root.
Fedora Core release 3 (Heidelberg) Kernel 2.6.12-1.1381_FC3 on an i686 SlimServer login:root Password:password Last login: Fri Mar 31 15:19:31 on tty1 [root@SlimServer ~]#
Set the Hostname
Enter the following commands:
[root@SlimServer ~]#echo SlimServer > /etc/hostname [root@SlimServer ~]#/bin/hostname -F /etc/hostname
Set the service we want to auto start at boot time
We need the web server (Apache) to start automatically when the system boots using the command:
[root@SlimServer ~]#chkconfig --levels 235 httpd on
Start Apache Web Service manually now
[root@SlimServer ~]#service httpd start
Update the repositories used by package installer yum
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://www.fedorafaq.org/fc3/samples/yum.conf [root@SlimServer ~]#cp /etc/yum.conf /etc/yum.conf.backup [root@SlimServer ~]#cp -f yum.conf /etc/yum.conf [root@SlimServer ~]#cp: overwrite '/etc/yum.conf'? y
Download and Install SlimServer
Now get the latest Slimserver software from Slim Devices website.
Note: The url here (http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SlimServer_v6.2.1/slimserver-6.2.1-1.noarch.rpm) is very likely to change as new versions of Slimserver are released. Check by browsing using the Slave machine to http://www.slimdevices.com. Select menu "Support", then "Downloads", choose "Linux RPM" from the option list. Cancel any automatic download and position your mouse over the "here" link in the first paragraph ("Your download will start automatically. If it does not, please click here."). You can see the actual file url of the latest Slimserver software displayed in the status bar of your browser.
Enter the following commands on the target machine to download and install the SlimServer software.
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SlimServer_v6.2.1/slimserver-6.2.1-1.noarch.rpm
=> `slimserver-6.2.1-1.noarch.rpm'
Resolving www.slimdevices.com... 64.71.155.211
Connecting to www.slimdevices.com|64.71.155.211|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 9,290,635 (8.9M) [application/x-redhat-package-manager]
100%[===============================================================================>] 9,290,635 396.26K/s ETA 00:00
21:02:00 (380.36 KB/s) - `slimserver-6.2.1-1.noarch.rpm' saved [9290635/9290635]
[root@SlimServer ~]#
Now install the downloaded SlimServer software.
[root@SlimServer ~]#rpm -i ./slimserver-6.2.1-1.noarch.rpm Point your web browser to http://SlimServer:9000/ to configure your server.
Create the Music folder
Create the main folder where your digital music files will be uploaded.
[root@SlimServer ~]#mkdir /var/Music
Find the target machine IP Address
Assuming your target machine has been allocated an IP address via DHCP then use the following command to find the address:
[root@SlimServer ~]#ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
inet addr:172.30.1.186 Bcast:172.30.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx/xx Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:20649 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:19517 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:19854487 (18.9 MiB) TX bytes:2606103 (2.4 MiB)
Interrupt:5 Base address:0x4c00
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:22 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:22 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:7045 (6.8 KiB) TX bytes:7045 (6.8 KiB)
As can be seen in this example the ip address of our example is 172.30.1.186 (as shown inet addr). Make a note of your ip address.
Test SlimServer
On your Slave machine open your favorite web browser and try navigating to either of
http://Slimserver:9000/
or
http://your_ip_address:9000
i.e. in our setup we would use
http://172.30.1.186:9000
If all has worked so far you will see the main SlimServer web interface.
Basic SlimServer Configuration
- On the Slave machine Click on the "Server Settings" option on the SlimServer web interface.
- Set the "Music Folder" entry to
/var/Musicas shown
The remaining sections of this document are related to making AlienBBC function. If you don't want to listen to BBC services from your SlimServer then you can stop here.
AlienBBC Pre Requisites - LAME, mplayer and codecs
AlienBBC allows playback of live BBC radio feeds and also access to the Listen Again services (amongst other things). AlienBBC relies upon LAME, mplayer and codecs so these need to be installed as follows:
Lame
We need LAME so download and install with:
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://dag.wieers.com/packages/lame/lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm
http://dag.wieers.com/packages/lame/lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm
=> `lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm'
Resolving dag.wieers.com... 217.22.63.77
Connecting to dag.wieers.com|217.22.63.77|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Moved Temporarily
Location: http://apt.sw.be/packages/lame/lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm [following]
=> `lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm'
Resolving apt.sw.be... 193.1.193.67
Connecting to apt.sw.be|193.1.193.67|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 663,935 (648K) [application/x-redhat-package-manager]
100%[====================================================================================>] 663,935 1.15M/s
13:37:29 (1.15 MB/s) - `lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm' saved [663935/663935]
[root@SlimServer ~]#rpm -i ./lame-3.96.1-2.1.fc3.rf.i386.rpm
mplayer
mplayer does the bulk of the work for AlienBBC. Install the keys from the download site with:
[root@SlimServer ~]#rpm --import http://rpm.greysector.net/greysector-pubkey.txt
Now download the mplayer software:
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://rpm.greysector.net/yum/3/i386/mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm
http://rpm.greysector.net/yum/3/i386/mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm
=> `mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm'
Resolving rpm.greysector.net... 193.219.28.2
Connecting to rpm.greysector.net|193.219.28.2|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 4,626,889 (4.4M) [text/plain]
100%[====================================>] 4,626,889 1.18M/s ETA 00:00
09:06:24 (1.25 MB/s) - `mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm' saved [4626889/4626889]
Install the downloaded file:
[root@SlimServer ~]#yum install ./mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm Setting up Install Process Setting up Repos livna-stable 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 livna-unstable 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 updates-released 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 livna-testing 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 base 100% |=========================| 1.1 kB 00:00 extras 100% |=========================| 951 B 00:00 Reading repository metadata in from local files livna-stab: ################################################## 732/732 updates-re: ################################################## 910/910 base : ################################################## 2622/2622 primary.xml.gz 100% |=========================| 802 kB 00:03 MD Read : ################################################## 2297/2297 extras : ################################################## 2297/2297 Parsing package install arguments Examining ./mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm: mplayer - 4:1.0pre7try2-2.i386 Marking ./mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm to be installed Resolving Dependencies --> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait. ---> Package mplayer.i386 4:1.0pre7try2-2 set to be updated --> Running transaction check --> Processing Dependency: SDL >= 1.1.7 for package: mplayer --> Processing Dependency: libSDL-1.2.so.0 for package: mplayer --> Restarting Dependency Resolution with new changes. --> Populating transaction set with selected packages. Please wait. ---> Downloading header for SDL to pack into transaction set. SDL-1.2.7-8.i386.rpm 100% |=========================| 9.3 kB 00:00 ---> Package SDL.i386 0:1.2.7-8 set to be updated --> Running transaction check Dependencies Resolved Transaction Listing: Install: mplayer.i386 4:1.0pre7try2-2 - ./mplayer-1.0pre7try2-2.i386.rpm Performing the following to resolve dependencies: Install: SDL.i386 0:1.2.7-8 - base Total download size: 12 M Is this ok [y/N]:Y Downloading Packages: (1/1): SDL-1.2.7-8.i386.r 100% |=========================| 202 kB 00:01 Running Transaction Test Finished Transaction Test Transaction Test Succeeded Running Transaction Installing: SDL 100 % done 1/2 Installing: mplayer 100 % done 2/2 Installed: mplayer.i386 4:1.0pre7try2-2 Dependency Installed: SDL.i386 0:1.2.7-8 Complete!
Codecs
We need the codes for the various streams we are going to receive. Download all the codecs with:
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://www1.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/releases/codecs/all-20050412.tar.bz2 => `all-20050412.tar.bz2' Resolving www1.mplayerhq.hu... 192.190.173.45 Connecting to www1.mplayerhq.hu|192.190.173.45|:80... connected. HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK Length: 12,963,387 (12M) [application/x-tar] 100%[=====================================================>] 12,963,387 1.09M/s ETA 00:00 14:10:31 (1.12 MB/s) - `all-20050412.tar.bz2' saved [12963387/12963387]
Now unpack the codec files and copy to a location where mplayer wíll find them:
[root@SlimServer ~]#tar -xvjf all-20050412.tar.bz2 [root@SlimServer ~]#mkdir /usr/lib/codecs [root@SlimServer ~]#cp ./all-20050412/* /usr/lib/codecs
Test mplayer
Now if you happen to have a sound card in your target machine (and speakers attached) you should be able to hear the BBC by issuing the following command. This is still a valid test if you have no speakers as mplayer will complain if the correct codecs cannot be found.
Radio 4 live stream should be heard at:
[root@SlimServer ~]#mplayer -bandwidth 10000000 -cache 128 -playlist http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/realplayer/media/fmg2.rpm
For BBC Radio 2 types try:
[root@SlimServer ~]#mplayer -bandwidth 10000000 -cache 128 -playlist http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/shows/rpms/radio2/paul_jones.rpm
Either way you should see something like:
MPlayer 1.0pre7try2-Fedora-GS-3.4.4 (C) 2000-2005 MPlayer Team CPU: Intel Pentium III Katmai/Pentium III Xeon Tanner (Family: 6, Stepping: 3) Detected cache-line size is 32 bytes CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 0 Compiled with runtime CPU detection - WARNING - this is not optimal! To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with --disable-runtime-cpudetection. Resolving www.bbc.co.uk for AF_INET6... Couldn't resolve name for AF_INET6: www.bbc.co.uk Resolving www.bbc.co.uk for AF_INET... Connecting to server www.bbc.co.uk[212.58.224.35]:80 ... Cache size set to 8192 KBytes Connected to server: www.bbc.co.uk Playing rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/paul_jones.ra. Resolving rmv8.bbc.net.uk for AF_INET6... Couldn't resolve name for AF_INET6: rmv8.bbc.net.uk Resolving rmv8.bbc.net.uk for AF_INET... Connecting to server rmv8.bbc.net.uk[212.58.224.53]:554 ... Cache size set to 8192 KBytes Connected to server: rmv8.bbc.net.uk Cache fill: 0.98% (81920 bytes) REAL file format detected. Stream description: audio/x-pn-multirate-realaudio logical stream Stream mimetype: audio/x-pn-realaudio Clip info: name: Paul Jones author: BBC Radio 2 copyright: (C) British Broadcasting Corporation 2006 ========================================================================== Opening audio decoder: [realaud] RealAudio decoder opening shared obj '/usr/lib/codecs/cook.so' Error: libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory opening win32 dll 'cook.so' Win32 LoadLibrary failed to load: cook.so, /usr/lib/codecs/cook.so, /usr/lib/win32/cook.so, /usr/local/lib/win32/cook.so Error loading dll ERROR: Could not open required DirectShow codec cook.so. Read the RealAudio section of the DOCS! ADecoder preinit failed :( ADecoder init failed :( Opening audio decoder: [realaud] RealAudio decoder opening shared obj '/usr/lib/codecs/cook.so.6.0' Audio codec: [21] 32 Kbps Stereo Music High - RA8 Audio bitrate: 32.041 kbit/s (4005 bps) AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 32.0 kbit/2.27% (ratio: 4005->176400) Selected audio codec: [racook] afm:realaud (RealAudio COOK) ========================================================================== Checking audio filter chain for 44100Hz/2ch/s16le -> 44100Hz/2ch/s16le... AF_pre: 44100Hz/2ch/s16le AO: [oss] 44100Hz 2ch s16le (2 bps) Building audio filter chain for 44100Hz/2ch/s16le -> 44100Hz/2ch/s16le... Video: no video Starting playback... A: 19.6 (19.6) 4.7% 0%
No Sound?
If you do have speakers attached to your SlimServer machine and the output of mplayer looks good as shown above (no errors about missing codecs for example) you may need to check the configuration of your sound card. On our test machine we needed to run the alsamixer command to set the output levels on the in-built sound card.
[root@SlimServer ~]#alsamixer
Use the PgUp and PgDn keys to increase the volume and the "<" key to turn on/off the mute
AlienBBC Plugin
We have almost finished the hard work now - just the AlienBBC plug in to download and configure in the SlimServer web interface.
First download AlienBBC
[root@SlimServer ~]#wget http://www.x2systems.com/alienbbc/alienbbc_1.01.linux.tar.gz
http://www.x2systems.com/alienbbc/alienbbc_1.01.linux.tar.gz
=> `alienbbc_1.01.linux.tar.gz'
Resolving www.x2systems.com... 213.171.193.30
Connecting to www.x2systems.com|213.171.193.30|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 40,959 (40K) [application/x-gzip]
100%[====================================================================================>] 40,959 --.--K/s
14:57:19 (16.64 MB/s) - `alienbbc_1.01.linux.tar.gz' saved [40959/40959]
Expand the AlienBBC Plugin
[root@SlimServer ~]#tar -xzf alienbbc_1.01.linux.tar.gz
Move the files used by the plugin to the Slimserver folders:
[root@SlimServer ~]#mv ./Plugins/Alien /usr/local/slimserver/Plugins [root@SlimServer ~]#cp ./Bin/mplayer.sh /usr/local/slimserver/Bin [root@SlimServer ~]#chmod 777 /usr/local/slimserver/Bin/mplayer.sh [root@SlimServer ~]#cp ./slimserver-convert.conf /usr/local/slimserver [root@SlimServer ~]#cp ./custom-types.conf /usr/local/slimserver
Restart Slimserver
[root@SlimServer ~]#service slimserver restart Shutting down SlimServer: [ OK ] Starting SlimServer: [ OK ]
Configure AlienBBC Plugin in SlimServer
On the Slave computer use your web browse to the SlimServer installation as before:
http://Slimserver:9000
From the main Slimserver Interface click on "Server Settings"
Hopefully you will see the new "AlienBBC" option appear on the menu...
Squeezebox or Softsqueeze Test
Now try listening to the BBC from your Squeezebox or SoftSqeeze music client.
Select "Internet Radio", right arrow to "AlienBBC", down arrow to "Radio 4" (for example), right arrow to "Radio 4 Live FM", then press "Play".
The player should display "Connecting...", then "Connecting to Play".
Now sit back, enjoy and listen.
Feedback
Please let us know if you have any comments on these instructions.
Plug
Please consider purchasing Squeezebox or Sonos music players from ripcaster.co.uk. We provide additional support for customers who purchase equipment from us.
Acknowledgments and Links
More information on AlienBBC can be found at http://www.x2systems.com/AlienBBC/ and http://www.mrtickle.org/alienbbc.html.
Slim Devices main website for Squeezebox and Slimserver http://www.slimdevices.com
The very useful Slim Devices discussion forums can be found here http://forums.slimdevices.com/. See the "3rd Party Plugins" forum here.
