How to replace hard drives ?

[Ken C]

Currently there are two 300 gb hard drives in the HTPC. I am going to build a server and wish to move the old 300 gb drives to the server. And install two new 750 gb drives in the HTPC.

Do I have to move all the video recordings from the old to the new or can Sage find the recordings located on the new server ?

Ken C

[GKusnick]

Just so we're clear: you're going to build a new SageTV server, and you want to migrate your existing SageTV installation, including video storage drives, to that machine? And then you're going to install SageTVClient on the existing HTPC?

Or are you going to leave your SageTV setup as is, and just move those two drives to a plain old file server?

Either way, there's probably a FAQ that applies.

[Ken C]

Plain old file server. Sage will run on the HTPC only. I will add the server hd's unc paths to the SageTV video directories.

Ken C

[teknubic]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Plain old file server. Sage will run on the HTPC only. I will add the server hd's unc paths to the SageTV video directories.

I don't see why this wouldn't work. Might have to be careful of the order of events after power-on but all you're doing is basically moving your video recording directories from local to network.

[blade]

I believe you'll need to setup the new 750 gig drives using the same recording directory paths the 300 gig drives used and you'll have to of course add the 300 gig drives as a recording directory at their new location (I'm assuming you're planning to use them as recording drives, if not I'm not sure what happens if you try to set them up as imported videos).

Basically what Sage needs to do is see the recordings at their new location and be able to check the old location to confirm they are no longer there.

[Ken C]

Thanks, guys. I just wanted to be sure I didn't have to transfer all the video files from the old drives to the new ones. The new drives in the HTPC will have exactly the same paths as the old. The old drives in the server will be added to the Sage video directories using UNC paths.

Of course, the more I think about it, is there really a need to move the drives ? I will end up with exactly the same amount of storage space regardless of where the drives are located. So, there really isn't a good reason to mess with the HTPC drives at all. Hmmm ...

Ken C

[lovingHDTV]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Thanks, guys. I just wanted to be sure I didn't have to transfer all the video files from the old drives to the new ones. The new drives in the HTPC will have exactly the same paths as the old. The old drives in the server will be added to the Sage video directories using UNC paths.

Of course, the more I think about it, is there really a need to move the drives ? I will end up with exactly the same amount of storage space regardless of where the drives are located. So, there really isn't a good reason to mess with the HTPC drives at all. Hmmm ...

Ken C

Some benefits you could see, not sure if any of these matter to you:

reduced heat in the HTPC
reduced noise in the HTPC
if you use a client, reduced work load on the HTPC (as a client can access the file directly via UNC paths)

I'm sure there are more reasons, but these are the ones that prompted me to move all my SDTV drives out of the HTPC to a file server.

[blade]

I wasn't going to say anything, but since you brougth it up. I've never seen the point of a seperate storage server. I know there are situations where one is necessary, but honestly very few people actually need one. When your recording across a network you're introducing a lot more potential points of failure and network traffic.

The only real benefit IMO is reducing the noise and heat in the HTPC. If you're using a server/client setup with a dedicated server tucked away somewhere this shouldn't be a problem. If you're not I'd suggest using the storage server as a dedicated Sage server and let it handle all of the capturing duties.

Why capture the video on one computer and send it across the network to another for storage when it can all be done on one computer?

[hemicuda]

A less elegant option might be to have the file server in a separate location and use Dirmon2 to move the files across the LAN after recording. I just thought of this so I don't know the full ramifications of such an implementation.

whew... 2 16-cylinder words in one post. I need to go rest my brain.

[Ken C]

The reason for the server is just the need for more storage. The HTPC can handle 4 drives but two is all that will fit into the case. The servers are just an inexpensive method to add storage, at least for me, using older machines.

I already have one server and it seems to work fine, no problems with the network, so far. It's an old Gateway and can only handle two drives, plus the power supply is minimal. This new server, with a Promise card, will handle 4 SATA drives and a PATA boot drive. It's an Abit TH7-II mb with a damaged RAID controller bus (it's a long story). So, for the price of a controller card and the drives, away we go.

Ken c

[blade]

I guess I'd just rather get a bigger case and throw the old parts in there and have one large server, but that's just me.

I picked up a 10 drive bay case for around $40 once and swapped out the PS with one I already had. It's a cheapo, but works great.

[hemicuda]

I didn't look when I first built the system, but I checked last night after adding a 3rd HD and the +12v feed is registering about 11.3-11.5v. Anyone know what the lower limit is on the 12v rail? Since we're talking PS upgrades and such.

[blade]

Originally Posted by hemicuda

I didn't look when I first built the system, but I checked last night after adding a 3rd HD and the +12v feed is registering about 11.3-11.5v. Anyone know what the lower limit is on the 12v rail? Since we're talking PS upgrades and such.

ATX specs say give or take 5% so anything from 11.4-12.6 volts is within tolerance. Tolerance is 5% for all rails except -12vdc which is 10%.

[hemicuda]

Looks like I might be overloaded then... MBM says it's 11.25 right now (11.19-11.43)