Is it possible to add an external sound module to an Unraid box?

[arretx]

I'm not sure how sound cards work with VM's in Unraid, or Docker Containers for that matter.  I have an Unraid box running on the ASROCK X470D4U motherboard which does not have built-in sound.

 

If I wanted to add sound capabilities to my Unraid box, could I add an external USB Audio Interface that could be used by any of the VM's or Docker containers running in Unraid?

 

If so, if the interface has multiple channels, is it possible for one VM to send audio to one L/R output while another sends to a different output on the same interface?

 

Just learning about how to do this type of stuff.  

 

Perhaps there's a PCI audio interface that has more than one sound card built in?  Anyway, your expertise is appreciated.  Thanks.

[Squid]

Unraid does not include any drivers for audio, for the simple reason that they're not needed (which means that your containers will not use it).

 

You would need to pass through the audio card / usb to the VM.  And generally an audio card would only have a single "card" in it, so it cannot be used simultaneously with multiple VMs

[arretx]

I would presume that there's a way to expand a motherboard to have external PCIe slots that could be populated with additional expansion cards, yes?

[BRiT]

Most folks simply use HDMI Audio feature of the Graphics Cards instead of using separate audio cards for their VMs.

[Uncle09]

Hi,

 

any news on this ?

 

I would like to have a Firefox Docker with sound available on guest system. (Youtube, etc.)

[arretx]

Hmm...well, I abandoned this idea a long time ago because I haven't had the resources or time to tinker with it, but I'm still interested in whether or not it will work.  I'm short on USB ports on my host system, so before I can even attempt to test an external sound module, I need to add USB ports.

[Uncle09]

Hi,

 

my case do differ a little. My Mainboard has on  onboard soundcard.
So I would like to know if its possible to use it with lets say an firefox docker build, to stream  videos with sound from youtube etc.

 

Sorry for not making this clear in my first post.

Edited August 9 by Uncle09

[arretx]

The limited knowledge I have won't help.  I would probably try to install a Windows VM or some other VM and passthrough the audio to that VM and see if it would deliver audio output to my amplifier.  Or, maybe pass it through to the Home Assistant VM and see if it becomes a media player inside of Home Assistant.  Not sure.

[Uncle09]

yeah that should work at least.

But I would love to see a sound passthrough also for dockers 🙂