Is there ANY advantage to having all the music stored on an external USB drive attached directly to the SB?
The main advantage already pointed out is that it is independent of a separate server.
You didn't ask, but here are some disadvantages:
- If you add another Squeezebox (Radio, Boom, etc.) then you find yourself wanting to switch to a central Squeeze Server.
- Every time you get new music (download or CD rip) you have to manually copy it to the drive.
- Library operations (browsing, indexing, etc) are slower and can get pretty slow if your collection is huge.
If I install SB Server on a network PC, does it have to be on the same machine where the music is located? Is it "better"?
The music just needs to be accessible as a directory from the PC running the server. This means a network-mounted "drive" is fine.
Locally stored music is "better" in that it does not depend on yet another machine being on and accessible. If the network drive is slow to access then the speed of library operations can become a factor, especially for huge music collections.
For SB server to run, does a user have to be logged in to that machine, or is it enough for it to be "on"?
It enough for it to be "on" if you install the SB server as a service. This is the way I run mine. I also have my PC set to Wake On Lan (WOL) which means the PC powers itself up when I turn on my SB Touch and access music.
Do you have advice about tools, methods or procedures to make sure the SB Library is tidy and robust?
I use MediaMonkey, but this is a personal thing. I have configured MediaMonkey to auto-rename and organize files by artist, album, title, etc. I also use it to play music when I am at my PC (which is not where my Touch + Axioms are).
Are there indispensable third-party apps for this environment?
I use Mp3tag (free) to tweak mp3 and flac tags. I use dbPowerAmp to rip CDs.
