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HiFiBerry OS - switch off webserver temporarily?

Glorifyday

July 21, 2023 13:51

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Hi,

is it possible to switch off and back on the web server without affecting the whole HiFiBerry OS operation?

The web server has a huge processor usage on Pi 3 and raises the temperature a lot, sometimes makes the system hang.

I used the web interface to set up the speakers and the parametric equaliser and that's all... I do not use it normally. When I am using the built-in MPD, this is controlled via a controller application, not via the web interface.

Temporarily switching the web server off (without affecting the volume/equaliser/sources settings) to conserve the power and the hardware would be a nice feature.

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13 comments

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 23, 2023 05:59

  systemctl stop beocreate2

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 25, 2023 01:52

  Thanks, but this does not change a lot.

  This process consumes most CPU before I stop the service:

    966 root      20   0  256.7m  86.2m 145.6   9.6   3:33.83 R /usr/libexec/wpe-webkit-1.0/WPEWebProcess 8 16

  But after stopping the service it is still there:

    966 root      20   0  259.3m  86.4m 149.0   9.6   6:07.87 R /usr/libexec/wpe-webkit-1.0/WPEWebProcess 8 16

   

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 25, 2023 04:44

  That simply the web browser. You can simply disable it in the UI ("Use connected display").

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 25, 2023 09:27

  Is it possible to disable (and then reenable) it from the command line? The pi is not connected to any display, so if I disable it in the GUI, this will be a one-way ticket.

  The other CPU consuming process that I don't need is the python script that downloads the artwork.

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 25, 2023 13:15

  Just check the "systemctl" services. However, if just want to turn off most of the stuff, you're probably better off with a minimal installation of the stuff you need on Raspberry Pi OS. 

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 26, 2023 06:51

  In fact I don't want to turn off most of the stuff. HiFiBerry OS gives me a nice and easy way to set up the speakers, including the volume limit and equaliser / room correction.

  But once it is all set up, I would like to temporarily switch off the most CPU consuming web GUI. I use it only for the setup, not for the playback. For the playback, I use external LMS / airplay / spotify connect and MPD controllers.

   

  Do you think "systemctl stop cog.service" will do the job for me?

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 26, 2023 10:52

  I have identified the cog.service, because:

  # systemctl | grep web
    cog.service         loaded active running Local web brower to display web interface

  I have stopped the service and the WPEWebProcess is no longer running - the processor usage is A LOT lower (in fact it should get near 10% as soon as mpd finishes updating its database). This caused the CPU temperature to drop about 10 C.

  What is surprising... the web GUI is still accessible :-O.

  What is WPEWebProcess used for, then? Maybe its high CPU usage is a bug and should be addressed in the future system maintenance?

  Edited by Glorifyday July 26, 2023 10:57
• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 26, 2023 11:25

  WPEWebkit is a local web browser running on the Pi. If you stop this (as I wrote you can do this via the GUI), the Web UI is still available over the network.

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 26, 2023 14:30

  OK, I misunderstood you then. So when I stop it from the Web UI, the Web UI will still be available, right?

  Where is it in the menu?

  What's the use of the WPEWebkit anyway?

• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 26, 2023 14:35

  > Where is it in the menu?
  
  "General" / "Display" / "Use connected display"
  
  > So when I stop it from the Web UI, the Web UI will still be available, right?
  
  Yes
  
  > What's the use of the WPEWebkit anyway?
  
  It's a web browser that displays the UI on a display that's directly attached to the Pi. 

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 26, 2023 14:48

  OK...

  General > Use connected display

  That's a good news: I don't need it at all. My Pi is not connected to any display, all the control is headless.

  And the system warns that this is an experimental feature, this explains a lot and gives a hope that it will work better in the future in case I need it.

  So let me just report the bug: this feature has a very high processor usage on Raspberry Pi 3B, raises the temperature by about 10 C and causes the system to hang after a few hours of system runtime.

  Edited by Glorifyday July 26, 2023 14:53
• 0
  
  HiFiBerry team July 26, 2023 14:55

  While you can report this, there is nothing we can do about this. There is no other web browser available that'll work in our setup.

• 0
  
  Glorifyday July 26, 2023 15:02

  Anyway, this is nothing critical, at least to me. I just wanted you to know.

  Thanks a lot for your assistance, it helped a lot!