Ubuntustudio vs 64studio?

[pkslot]

Recently i've migrated from Ubuntu 8.04 to 9.10 and on this switch discovered some problems with the rt kernel and jack. So i figured why not try a distro that's been built to handle audio and music.

So basicly i need some input about whether i should choose one distro over the other. I've pinned it down to either ubuntustudio or 64studio, but mostly because that's about all the audio/music distros i know about. Any hints towards other distros would also be appreciated indeed.

Some specs on my current hardware:

Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.00GHz
Creative Labs SB live EMU10K1 (rev7)
GeForce 8500 GT graphics card
2 gB ddr ram

Thanks in advance

[autostatic]

Recently i've migrated from Ubuntu 8.04 to 9.10 and on this switch discovered some problems with the rt kernel and jack.

Which problems? Maybe they could be solved so you don't need to switch. And Ubuntu Studio 9.10 has the same RT kernel as Ubuntu 9.10 so that wouldn't be an option I reckon.

[pkslot]

Which problems? Maybe they could be solved so you don't need to switch. And Ubuntu Studio 9.10 has the same RT kernel as Ubuntu 9.10 so that wouldn't be an option I reckon.

It's as if the rt kernel isn't running properly, and i'm not really all the expert it takes to fix it, apparently. On top of that i can't get the jack server running. Just get an error message no matter how well i setup jack control.

But putting another distro on isn't that big a deal. I'm running with a spare hard drive just to test stuff anyway.

[autostatic]

pkslot, you should really provide some more information like error messages and what kernel version you're using (System - Administration - System Monitor and then the System tab will show you your kernel version) to start with. You're surrounded by experts on this forum! It would be a pity if it turns out to be a simple issue that could've saved you another 2-3 hours installing and configuring. And big chance that Ubuntu Studio or 64Studio will have the exact same issues.

[pkslot]

pkslot, you should really provide some more information like error messages and what kernel version you're using (System - Administration - System Monitor and then the System tab will show you your kernel version) to start with. You're surrounded by experts on this forum! It would be a pity if it turns out to be a simple issue that could've saved you another 2-3 hours installing and configuring. And big chance that Ubuntu Studio or 64Studio will have the exact same issues.

Sorry, i just don't know where to begin, but you're right.

Here's my current setup:

Ubuntu 9.10 (karmic)
GNOME 2.28.1 (Ubuntu 2009-11-03)
KERNEL 2.6.31-9-rt (#152-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT RT Thu Oct 15 05:01:14 UTC 2009)

Errormessage from jack control message window:

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22:59:48.485 Startup script...
22:59:48.485 artsshell -q terminate
sh: artsshell: not found
22:59:48.888 Startup script terminated with exit status=32512.
22:59:48.888 JACK is starting...
22:59:48.889 /usr/bin/jackd -R -P1 -t5000 -dalsa -dhw:0 -r48000 -p64 -n3
22:59:48.909 JACK was started with PID=12829.
no message buffer overruns
jackd 0.116.1
Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Davis and others.
jackd comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details
JACK compiled with System V SHM support.
cannot use real-time scheduling (FIFO at priority 10) [for thread -1216399680, from thread -1216399680] (1: Operation not permitted)
cannot create engine
22:59:48.936 JACK was stopped successfully.
22:59:48.940 Post-shutdown script...
22:59:48.940 killall jackd
jackd: no process found
22:59:49.366 Post-shutdown script terminated with exit status=256.
22:59:50.917 Could not connect to JACK server as client. - Overall operation failed. - Unable to connect to server. Please check the messages window for more info.

Please ask, if there's more you need.

[autostatic]

Code: Select all

cannot use real-time scheduling (FIFO at priority 10) [for thread -1216399680, from thread -1216399680] (1: Operation not permitted)

You don't have sufficient right to run JACK in realtime mode. Adding two lines to /etc/security/limits.conf and adding yourself to the audio group should suffice.

- Open the file by pressing Alt + F2 and enter gksudo gedit /etc/security/limits.conf in the Run Command window
- Add the following two lines at the very end:

Code: Select all

@audio - rtprio 90       # maximum realtime priority
@audio - memlock unlimited  # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB)

- Make sure you're a member of the audio group: System - Administration - Users and Groups
Unlock, click Manage Groups and select the audio group. Tick your username if it's unticked. If the audio group doesn't exist yet you can create it and add yourself to it.

[pkslot]

Code: Select all

cannot use real-time scheduling (FIFO at priority 10) [for thread -1216399680, from thread -1216399680] (1: Operation not permitted)

You don't have sufficient right to run JACK in realtime mode. Adding two lines to /etc/security/limits.conf and adding yourself to the audio group should suffice.

- Open the file by pressing Alt + F2 and enter gksudo gedit /etc/security/limits.conf in the Run Command window
- Add the following two lines at the very end:

Code: Select all

@audio - rtprio 90       # maximum realtime priority
@audio - memlock unlimited  # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB)

- Make sure you're a member of the audio group: System - Administration - Users and Groups
Unlock, click Manage Groups and select the audio group. Tick your username if it's unticked. If the audio group doesn't exist yet you can create it and add yourself to it.

I added the two suggested lines with no problem, and i already were a member of the audio group. But i still cant start jack. I still get an error message:

Code: Select all

23:48:57.990 Startup script...
23:48:57.990 artsshell -q terminate
sh: artsshell: not found
23:48:58.394 Startup script terminated with exit status=32512.
23:48:58.394 JACK is starting...
23:48:58.395 /usr/bin/jackd -R -P1 -t5000 -dalsa -dhw:0 -r48000 -p64 -n3
23:48:58.399 JACK was started with PID=2823.
no message buffer overruns
jackd 0.116.1
Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Davis and others.
jackd comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details
JACK compiled with System V SHM support.
loading driver ..
apparent rate = 48000
creating alsa driver ... hw:0|hw:0|64|3|48000|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
control device hw:0
configuring for 48000Hz, period = 64 frames (1.3 ms), buffer = 3 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: cannot set period size to 64 frames for capture
ALSA: cannot configure capture channel
cannot load driver module alsa
23:49:00.179 JACK was stopped successfully.
23:49:00.180 Post-shutdown script...
23:49:00.180 killall jackd
jackd: no process found
23:49:00.498 Could not connect to JACK server as client. - Overall operation failed. - Unable to connect to server. Please check the messages window for more info.
23:49:03.557 Post-shutdown script terminated with exit status=256.

[autostatic]

Code: Select all

configuring for 48000Hz, period = 64 frames (1.3 ms), buffer = 3 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: cannot set period size to 64 frames for capture
ALSA: cannot configure capture channel
cannot load driver module alsa

Apparently your soundcard does not support this setting. Try raising the period size to 128 and lowering the buffer to 2.

[pkslot]

Ok, i've done some fiddling around with jack control. I added myself to audio group from terminal

Code: Select all

sudo gpasswd -a <myname> audio

And it seems to work better, for some reason, than adding me through System - Administration - Users and Groups. But still couldn't get jack started properly anyway.

Apparently your soundcard does not support this setting. Try raising the period size to 128 and lowering the buffer to 2.

With the new settings i'm getting a bit closer, but still cant use real-time scedueling :

Code: Select all

12:52:39.732 Startup script...
12:52:39.733 artsshell -q terminate
sh: artsshell: not found
12:52:40.139 Startup script terminated with exit status=32512.
12:52:40.139 JACK is starting...
12:52:40.140 /usr/bin/jackd -R -P1 -t5000 -dalsa -dhw:0 -r48000 -p128 -n2
12:52:40.155 JACK was started with PID=11082.
no message buffer overruns
jackd 0.116.1
Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Davis and others.
jackd comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details
JACK compiled with System V SHM support.
loading driver ..
apparent rate = 48000
creating alsa driver ... hw:0|hw:0|128|2|48000|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
control device hw:0
configuring for 48000Hz, period = 128 frames (2.7 ms), buffer = 2 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for capture
ALSA: final selected sample format for playback: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for playback
12:52:41.289 Server configuration saved to "/home/peter/.jackdrc".
12:52:41.290 Statistics reset.
12:52:41.292 Client activated.
12:52:41.294 JACK connection change.
12:52:41.301 JACK connection graph change.
cannot use real-time scheduling (FIFO at priority -4) [for thread -1239418000, from thread -1239418000] (22: Invalid argument)

[StudioDave]

@pkslot :

Please post the output from this command:

uname -a

Thanks,

dp

[pkslot]

@pkslot :

Please post the output from this command:

uname -a

Thanks,

dp

I get

Code: Select all

Linux peter 2.6.31-9-rt #152-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT RT Thu Oct 15 05:01:14 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

[StudioDave]

Please post the output from this command:

uname -a

I get

Code: Select all

Linux peter 2.6.31-9-rt #152-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT RT Thu Oct 15 05:01:14 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

Okay, you have exactly the same kernel as I do. Now post the output from this command:

cat /proc/asound/cards

And also, please post the contents of /etc/security/limits.conf:

less /etc/security/limits.conf

You should have the following lines in limits.conf, with *exactly* the same syntax:

@audio - rtprio 90
@audio - memlock unlimited
@audio - nice -19

IIRC the nice setting isn't so important, but add it anyway, I don't think it'll hurt anything.

Is Realtime checked in the QJackCtl setup dialog ?

Best,

dp

[pkslot]

Okay, you have exactly the same kernel as I do. Now post the output from this command:

cat /proc/asound/cards

And also, please post the contents of /etc/security/limits.conf:

less /etc/security/limits.conf

You should have the following lines in limits.conf, with *exactly* the same syntax:

@audio - rtprio 90
@audio - memlock unlimited
@audio - nice -19

IIRC the nice setting isn't so important, but add it anyway, I don't think it'll hurt anything.

Is Realtime checked in the QJackCtl setup dialog ?

Best,

dp

Ok, cat /proc/asound/cards gives me:

Code: Select all

0 [Live           ]: EMU10K1 - SB Live! 5.1
                      SB Live! 5.1 (rev.7, serial:0x80641102) at 0xdf00, irq 18

And here's the /etc/security/limits.conf:

Code: Select all

@audio - rtprio 99
@audio - memlock unlimited
@audio - rtprio 90       # maximum realtime priority
@audio - memlock unlimited  # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB)

Should i change them to:

Code: Select all

@audio    -    rtprio    90
@audio    -    memlock    unlimited
@audio    -    nice      -19

And yes the Realtime is checked in the QJackCtl setup dialog.

[StudioDave]

cat /proc/asound/cards gives me:

Code: Select all

0 [Live           ]: EMU10K1 - SB Live! 5.1
                      SB Live! 5.1 (rev.7, serial:0x80641102) at 0xdf00, irq 18

Okay, I have one of those too, but my primary interface is a Delta 66. Your settings for the SBLive do look correct. You might already know that its performance is definitely degraded with JACK at a sampling rate of 44100 Hz. The SBLive is hard-wired to prefer 48000 Hz.

What information does this reveal:

cat /proc/interrupts

Check to see if anything else is on IRQ 18.

And here's the /etc/security/limits.conf:

Code: Select all

@audio - rtprio 99
@audio - memlock unlimited
@audio - rtprio 90       # maximum realtime priority
@audio - memlock unlimited  # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB)

Should i change them to:

Code: Select all

@audio    -    rtprio    90
@audio    -    memlock    unlimited
@audio    -    nice      -19

Try it, you've nothing to lose.

You should at least remove the repeated lines. I don't know if the repetitions matter, but play it safe and just get rid of the extras.

And yes the Realtime is checked in the QJackCtl setup dialog.

Good, thanks.

After making these changes you should at least log out, but you might just want to reboot to make sure your changes are persistent.

Let us know how things turn out.

Best,

dp

[pkslot]

cat /proc/interrupts gives me:

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  0:        186          0   IO-APIC-edge      timer
  1:        118          0   IO-APIC-edge      i8042
  3:          2          0   IO-APIC-edge    
  4:          2          0   IO-APIC-edge    
  6:          5          0   IO-APIC-edge      floppy
  7:          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      parport0
  8:          1          0   IO-APIC-edge      rtc0
  9:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   acpi
 12:      35895          0   IO-APIC-edge      i8042
 14:     118719          0   IO-APIC-edge      ata_piix
 15:          0          0   IO-APIC-edge      ata_piix
 16:      20475          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   uhci_hcd:usb5, nvidia
 18:     337744          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   uhci_hcd:usb4, EMU10K1
 19:      38303          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ata_piix, uhci_hcd:usb3
 23:          0          0   IO-APIC-fasteoi   ehci_hcd:usb1, uhci_hcd:usb2
 27:      18820          0   PCI-MSI-edge      eth0
NMI:          0          0   Non-maskable interrupts
LOC:   16885970   17077469   Local timer interrupts
SPU:          0          0   Spurious interrupts
CNT:          0          0   Performance counter interrupts
PND:          0          0   Performance pending work
RES:       2444     185593   Rescheduling interrupts
CAL:      14927      20940   Function call interrupts
TLB:       3433       4102   TLB shootdowns
TRM:          0          0   Thermal event interrupts
THR:          0          0   Threshold APIC interrupts
MCE:          0          0   Machine check exceptions
MCP:         56         56   Machine check polls
ERR:          0
MIS:          0

And this is with

Code: Select all

@audio    -    rtprio    90
@audio    -    memlock    unlimited
@audio    -    nice      -19

instead of

Code: Select all

@audio - rtprio 99
@audio - memlock unlimited
@audio - rtprio 90       # maximum realtime priority
@audio - memlock unlimited  # maximum locked-in-memory address space (KB)

But jack still gives me a hard time. Now i have xruns:

Code: Select all

19:28:25.191 artsshell -q terminate
sh: artsshell: not found
19:28:25.594 Startup script terminated with exit status=32512.
19:28:25.594 JACK is starting...
19:28:25.595 /usr/bin/jackd -R -P1 -t5000 -dalsa -dhw:0 -r48000 -p128 -n2
19:28:25.602 JACK was started with PID=11260.
no message buffer overruns
jackd 0.116.1
Copyright 2001-2005 Paul Davis and others.
jackd comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details
JACK compiled with System V SHM support.
loading driver ..
apparent rate = 48000
creating alsa driver ... hw:0|hw:0|128|2|48000|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
control device hw:0
configuring for 48000Hz, period = 128 frames (2.7 ms), buffer = 2 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for capture
ALSA: final selected sample format for playback: 16bit little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for playback
19:28:26.628 Server configuration saved to "/home/peter/.jackdrc".
19:28:26.629 Statistics reset.
19:28:26.728 Client activated.
19:28:26.729 JACK connection change.
19:28:26.733 JACK connection graph change.
cannot use real-time scheduling (FIFO at priority -4) [for thread -1238631568, from thread -1238631568] (22: Invalid argument)
19:28:33.483 XRUN callback (1).
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 0.082 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 0.508 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 1.089 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 0.497 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 1.447 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 0.172 msecs
**** alsa_pcm: xrun of at least 3.531 msecs
19:28:34.756 XRUN callback (6 skipped).