How to install “Logitech MediaServer” on Ubuntu Trusty Tahr/Maverick/Lucid/Karmic
NOTE: If you’re currently running SqueezeCenter and wish to upgrade to Logitech MediaServer then you should really uninstall SqueezeCenter first. You can do this quite easily from a Putty Session or a Terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) by typing the following three commands:
sudo service squeezecenter stop
sudo apt-get remove --purge squeezecenter
sudo apt-get update
Installing Logitech MediaServer is really quite straightforward and the following guide works equally well for Trusty Tahr 14.04LTS, Maverick 10.10, Lucid 10.04, Karmic 9.10, Jaunty 9.04 and Intrepid 8.10.
There are 2 main “flavours” of Logitech MediaServer to choose from; the released version and the pre-released version. For the pre-released version of LogitechMediaServer you can either go with what they call “stable beta” or alternatively the “unstable beta”. I use the “stable beta” version of Logitech MediaServer personally but you can go with whichever version you prefer.
So, first off we need to make a simple change to add Logitech MediaServer as a valid Ubuntu “source repository”.
Install Logitech MediaServer using the Command Line.
Using either a Putty session or by typing directly onto the server issue the following command:
sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list
and type your Ubuntu password if prompted. This will open a file called sources.list which lives in the /etc/apt folder.
Scroll down to the bottom of the file and then press the [Insert] key once (to go into “edit” mode). Next type or paste one of the following strings onto a new line:
TIP: If you’re using Putty you can save yourself some typing by highlighting the required string below then right-click on it and select Copy. Then toggle over to your Putty session and right-click once more. The string you highlighted here should be pasted into the sources.list file in Putty.
For the released version of Logitech MediaServer you should type or paste the following string into the file:
deb http://debian.slimdevices.com stable main
For the “stable beta” type or paste: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com testing main
And for the “unstable beta” type or paste: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com unstable main
NOTE: At the time of writing the released version of Logitech MediaServer does not work on Trusty Tahr 14.04LTS so use the “stable beta” instead. So please use: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com testing main
Now press the [Esc] key once and type the following:
:wq
This should save your changes and bring you back to the command line. If you make a mistake editing the file then issue :q! instead of :wq to abort your changes.
For the installation of Logitech MediaServer itself type the following two commands:
sudo apt-get update
followed by:
sudo apt-get install logitechmediaserver
answer Y when prompted. You may receive a warning about the package not being authenticated. Just answer Y to continue with the installation.
Earlier releases of Logitech MediaServer require mysql-server and this will be installed automatically if it’s not installed already. When prompted for a password please leave it blank.
Install Logitech MediaServer using a Gnome desktop either directly or via VNC (See Install VNC guide)
So, from the gnome desktop menu go into System -> Administration -> Software Sources Repositories and select the Third-Party Software tab (in Lucid/Karmic this tab is called Other Software). Next click on the Add button. Then type or paste one of the following three strings into the APT line: on the dialog box:
For the released version of Logitech MediaServer type or paste: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com stable main
For the “stable beta” type or paste: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com testing main
For the “unstable beta” type or paste: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com unstable main
NOTE: At the time of writing the released version of Logitech MediaServer does not work on Trusty Tahr 14.04LTS so use the “stable beta” instead. So please use: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com testing main
Then click the Add Source button, then Close and then click the Reload button.
Next go into the Synaptic Package Manager (using the menus System -> Administration) and then type logitechmediaserver in the Quick Search box and then place a check against logitechmediaserver in the list of results returned and click Mark For Installation. Choose any additional packages too and then click the Apply button and then the Apply button once again for confirmation.
Logitech MediaServer requires mysql-server and this will be installed automatically if it’s not installed already. When prompted for a password please leave it blank.
How to access Logitech MediaServer once it has been installed
Once Logitech MediaServer has finished downloading and installing you can launch Logitech MediaServer by typing http://MyMediaServer:9000 into the address bar of your browser where MyMediaServer is the name you gave your server when you installed Ubuntu. The IP address of your server will work equally well if you can’t remember your server name.
The first time you launch Logitech MediaServer you’ll be asked a series of questions (eg. where your music is stored and where you keep your playlists etc). Just follow the prompts and you should be good to go.
Where is the Logitech MediaServer log stored?
If you ever need to consult the main log file then it can be found in: /var/log/squeezeboxserver/server.log
How to start and stop Logitech MediaServer
When you change settings in the Logitech MediaServer web GUI you’re sometimes informed that “the settings will become effective the next time you restart Logitech MediaServer”. With previous versions you had to do this manually. With this new version you are given the opportunity to perform the restart using the GUI.
If you ever wish to restart Logitech MediaServer manually you can do so from within a Putty Session or a Terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) by typing the following command:
sudo service logitechmediaserver restart
If you want to stop Logitech MediaServer for any reason then use stop instead of restart in the command above. To start the service again use start.