'[FAQ] Twonky DLNA Media Server Setup & Use

Question

Some Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Twonky, And Some Answers The MyCloud includes a Twonky DLNA Media Server.  Sadly it doesn't seem very well integrated into the MyCloud, and the two fight for supremacy.  I've spent a long time trying to understand how it works, and reading the forum, I see many other people also have trouble with it. So I thought that, rather than trying to answer these questions individually, I'd try to write an FAQ covering the things I've found, and the problems I or others have encountered, and the solutions.
I'm not a member of WD staff.  I'm not a MyCloud, Twonky or Linux expert (but I'm moderately competent).  But I am stubborn, and determined to find out how to make the thing work the way I want it to.  If more expert users find fault in this FAQ, or have other insights to offer, then feel free to post comments.  I'll edit this first post and make corrections and add any FAQ&A that are added.
Where I am unsure of something, I'll enclose it in [brackets].  Feel free to investigate and confirm or disprove my observations... Where I mention control settings, I use a | to indicate a level of hierarchy in the menu system.  This is to distinguish control settings and file system paths.
Ideally, we'd shame WD into doing a better job of integrating Twonky into the MyCloud, so it's not such a struggle, and doesn't require Linux administrator-level skills to make it work properly. Starting the Media Server and setting up a Media LibraryQ. What is a Media Server?
Q. How do I start the Twonky Server?
Q. How do I control the Twonky server properly?
Q. Where should I put my media so Twonky finds it?
Q. Why doesn't Twonky find my media?
Q. Can I stop Twonky searching in certain folders in my media storage folders?
Q. What are the 'Shared Media' folders for?
Q. Why can people using DLNA clients see media in my private share?
Q. How do I control when Twonky rescans the media store? Optimising operation of the Media Server
Q: How does the Twonky service work on the MyCloud?
Q. Where is the Twonky database stored?
Q. Where are the Twonky settings stored?
Q. What do all the settings in Twonky's configuration file do?
Q. How do I clear Twonky's database and start again?
Q. Where can I find debug log files for Twonky?
Q. How do I stop MyCloud breaking the Twonky Server?
Q. Can I change to location of the 'Shared Media' folders?
Q. Why does setting a Twonky access control password prevent the MyCloud from sleeping?
Q. Can I replace Twonky with another Media Server?
Optimising behaviour for Media Clients
Q. Why does my media player not show the right track information?
Q. How can I get Twonky to provide full size artwork to clients, rather than crude thumbnails?
Q. How can I change the media 'views' I see in my DLNA client?
Q. Can I add my own category to the Music/Photos/Videos categories?
Some Prerequisites
You'll need to know how to use the WD Dashboard browser interface to control the MyCloud:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10420
You'll need to know how to use the Twonky UI browser interface to control Twonky:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3299
You'll need to know how to use SSH to log in as root to the MyCloud:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10435
Note the big warning signs about warranty.  IMHO, it's a bit off to make dire threats like this when you often NEED to SSH login to get the advertised services to work properly.
Some Unix experience will help, but I'll try to explain all the commands you'll need.  Experience with a Unix text editor such as vi or nano is assumed.

Answer 1

Q. How does the Twonky service work on the MyCloud?
A: [Twonky is installed as a Linux service.  Like other such services, there is a service control file in the /etc/init.d directory]:
/etc/init.d/twonky
This is called when the twonky service is invoked, and there are a number of options for the control of Twonky using an SSH root login:
service twonky start
service twonky stop
service twonky restart
service twonky status If you execute the start or stop commands with Media Streaming turned on in the Dashboard, you are likely to confuse the Dashboard; you may get an 'Error 400162'.
'start' calls writeTwonkyContentDir.sh, which, as we'll see later (Q: How do I stop MyCloud breaking the Twonky Server?), reads the /etc/contentdir file and modifies the twonkyserver.ini file to set the media search paths and types, and then starts the Twonky server.
[It is assumed that the MyCloud Dashboard uses these Twonky service calls to start and stop the Twonky server].  Q. Where is the Twonky database stored?
A: Since Twonky is a service running on MyCloud, it is not visible in the shared space, so you have to log in via SSH, and navigate around the MyCloud's Linux file system.
Once you have logged in, use the cd command to change directory to Twonky's area:
cd /CacheVolume/twonkymedia Now see what's there with a directory list:
ls -l  Q. Where are the Twonky settings stored?
A: One of the files listed above is the Twonky configuration file:
twonkyserver.ini This file contains all the settings that control how Twonky works.
Now, this is where some of the fighting occurs, because both MyCloud and Twonky can modify this file...
When you are happy that Twonky is working correctly, I'd recommend making a copy of the file in your Public area, where it won't be mangled by MyCloud firmware upgrades or restarts.  For instance:
cp /CacheVolume/twonkymedia/twonkyserver.ini /shares/Public/twonkyserver.ini
If things go wrong, you can reinstate this file by swapping the source and destination.  Q. What do all the settings in Twonky's configuration file do?A: [Most of them are provided with comments that explain their purpose].
[There are some 'magic numbers' embedded in the configuration file that seem to cause problems, and I don't know what changes those; I suspect that a firmware upgrade does it.  If anyone can monitor these values before and after a MyCloud firmware upgrade and report any changes, I'd be obliged:
# UserID Please Do NOT change it manually
userid=<redacted>
# twonky info for Media Feeds Please Do NOT change it manually
twonkyinfo=<redacted>]  Q. How do I clear Twonky's database and start again?
A: If Twonky doesn't seem to be behaving correctly (not finding media correctly, or partially, or finding unwanted media), then it may be useful to clean up the database. There are a number of escalating actions you can take.  Starting with the mildest, and increasing in severity, these are as follows:
1. Initiate a library rescan, using either Settings|Media|DLNA Database|Rescan in the Dashboard, or Settings|Advanced|Server Maintenance|Rescan Content Folders in the Twonky UI.
2, Initiate a library rebuild, using either Settings|Media|DLNA Database|Rebuild in the Dashboard, or Settings|Advanced|Server Maintenance|Restart Server in the Twonky UI.
3. Finally, you can completely clear out Twonky's working area. [This can be useful if you notice the '[Error] - LOG_SYSTEM: Error: 2 No such file or directory' report in the Twonky logfile.  I don't know what causes this error, or whether it has serious consquences, but I have found it to be associated with periods of diffcult behaviour.] Turn Twonky off using the Settings|Media|DLNA Media Server|Media Streaming control in the Dashboard.  Then SSH root login, and hide the entire Twonky working area:cd /CacheVolumemv twonkymedia twonkymedia_bak Restart the Twonky Server using the Dashboard; it will re-create Twonky's working area with a clean version with default settings.  You can then use the Twonky UI to put your settings back in place.  You might try doing this one-by-one, saving the settings and restarting the Twonky server from the Twonky UI each time, then checking the logfile after the Twonky UI has re-appeared. Once you're happy with the operation of the clean startup, you can delete the old Twonky working area:
rm -f -R /CacheVolume/twonkymedia_bak
The -f -R flags mean 'delete EVERYTHING from here down... yes, I mean it'.  nb. it will only delete the Twonky database; it won't delete any of your media.  But do be careful that you type the command in correctly; rm -f -R is a powerful command (-f means force, -R means recursive), and could do a lot of damage if you get it wrong...
Q. Where can I find debug log files for Twonky?
A: You can enable activity logging using the Settings|Advanced|Logging control in the Twonky UI.  You can also open the logfile from there.
Alternatively, the logfile is stored in Twonky's area:
/CacheVolume/twonkymedia/twonkymedia-log.txt
There's also a MyCloud system logfile that records actions on the Twonky server, such as start and stop:
/CacheVolume/update.log  Q. How do I stop MyCloud breaking the Twonky Server?
A: Firstly, go to the Settings|Firmware page in the Dashboard, and disable Auto Update: firmware upgrades completely destroy the /CacheVolume/twonkymedia area, and replace it with new, default version, so you'll be back to square one.
Secondly, we can stop the problem of Media Streaming restarts overwriting the Twonky UI settings.  Using an SSH root login, enter the following commands:
cd /usr/local/sbin
mv writeTwonkyContentDir.sh writeTwonkyContentDir.sh.old
This disables the script that MyCloud calls when it starts Twonky, which overwrites your settings.
Another way of fixing the settings is to leave this script alone, but change the file it uses as the source of the settings.  Admittedly, this will still override any changes made via the Twonky UI.  The file is found here:
/etc/contentdir
Replace this with a single control line, with no line terminator, e.g.
+M|/Public/Music,+P|/Public/Pictures,+V|/Public/Videos This will select my earlier settings.
The format is a comma-separated list of shares and media search and aggregation control flags:
+ enable media searching on the share
- disable media searching on the share
A look for all media types
M look for music
P look for pictures
V look for videos
lower case letters enable aggregation of these media types.
The | terminates the media type string [you can search for multiple types in a share].  Q: How can I change the location of the 'Shared Media' folders?A: This brings us deep into the guts of the twonkyserver.ini file...  There are a number of settings that control where Twonky stores uploaded files and 'servermanaged' media, [which are used for aggregation], and there is no control setting for them in the Twonky UI.  To change the location of the folders we have to do an SSH root login and edit the twonkyserver.ini file.  The lines in question are as follows:
uploadmusicdir=/shares/Public/Shared Music
uploadpicturedir=/shares/Public/Shared Pictures
uploadvideodir=/shares/Public/Shared Videos
servermanagedmusicdir=/shares/Public/Shared Music
servermanagedpicturedir=/shares/Public/Shared Pictures
servermanagedvideodir=/shares/Public/Shared Videos
You can change these locations to suit your desired file system.  For instance, you could create a single 'Shared' folder in the Public area, with sub folders for the different media types, e.g.
uploadmusicdir=/shares/Public/Shared/Music
Or you could create a Shared sub folder within each of your main media folders, e.g.
uploadmusicdir=/shares/Public/Music/Shared
However, if you choose that option, you will need to stop Twonky searching there, by adding 'Shared' to the list of ignored directories discussed above.  Q. Why does setting a Twonky access control password prevent the MyCloud from sleeping?
A: It has been reported that if a username and password are set using the Settings|Advanced|Secured Server Settings control in the Twonky UI, that the MyCloud then never sleeps.  [It appears that the MyCloud continues to interrogate the drive in some way, hoping to get status of the Media Server from Twonky, but Twonky won't talk to it because it doesn't have the required permission.].
I don't think this is very important, since the MyCloud is mainly intended for home use, and the Twonky control UI isn't visible external to your local network, and all users on your local network must be trusted*, since you've given them the network access code, [and they have access to the Public area, and could wreak havoc there...] If you need to make your music library available to visitors who cannot be trusted, create a private share and put all your media under that, then enable media serving on that share, and get Twonky to search for media in that private share. DLNA ignores acces control, so DLNA clients will be able to see the media on your private share, but visitors will not have access to your private share via network file access. [However, if you feel that secured access to the Twonky UI is necessary, then I would suggest that you disable the Twonky server using the Settings|Media|Media Streaming conrol, then SSH login as root, and start Twonky using the command:service twonky start You won't get the media scan status in the Dashboard, but the Twonky Server and UI will be running.]
* Breaches of this trust should be punished in an appropriate manner...
Q. Can I replace Twonky with another Media Server?A: Yes; forum users hvalentim and Nazar78 have posted good threads about this:MiniDLNA for V3 firmwareMiniDLNA for V4 firmware Kudos to them :-)