What Windows Server for SageTV?

[makko]

Hi Guys,

Currently planning my new SageTV server build. A little unsure of what OS to go with?

I had initially planned on going with Windows Server 2008 as I can get that for free on MS DreamSpark (CS Student).

Somebody on here previously advised against this as I might have issue with compatibility...

Should I stay away from Server 2k8? If so would Windows Home Server be safe??

Cheers!!

[PGPfan]

I love WHS, at least the first version. The upcoming "Vail" also known as WHS v2 is based on Windows Server 2008 which is both good and bad. Good since it is 64-bit, but bad if you are looking for capture card support. I still have a need for analog capture device (limited to SD) but I haven't found any driver support for the 64-bit server OS's. Essentially, that is where your issues will be, otherwise Server 2008 should be a good choice.

-PGPfan

[makko]

Cool..ok.

Well I plan on running 2 Hauppauge HVR4400's.

Is the general issue/concern to do directly with the hardware (ie capture card) not working with the OS as opposed to a SageTV concern?

Will SageTV runn flawlessly on Server 2k8 64Bit.

Server 2008 is my preference as this is free. I'll have to buy WHS!

Cheers!

[davephan]

WHS may not be a good option if you need to recover quickly. There are hundreds of configuration settings and dozens of accessory programs that could be installed, each with their own sets of configuration parameters. Supposedly WHS Vail will have the ability to backup and recover itself, which is a serious drawback with WHS. Poor results have generally occurred, including failed recoveries using Microsoft backup software. That is the reason there are so many third party backup solutions. When Vail is released, it will need some serious testing to make sure that recoveries are consistent, not unpredictable and unreliable.

Why do you need a 64 bit system for SageTV? It seems that you don't really gain anything that SageTV software needs to function, but you can run into driver problems.

XP or Windows 7 might be a better option if you want to have the ability to recover your system back to a point in time when everything worked using disk imaging.

Dave

[Nelbert]

Also bear in mind that Windows 2008R2 doesn't include the BDA system files. It's a server OS, not a desktop OS, so you need to graft the Win 7 x64 BDA files into 2008R2.

Both WHS V1 and Vail, while based on the Server OS, are aimed at the home market and include all the necessary components for BDA (ie to allow Windows Media Centre to work).

Unless you have a need for > 4Gb of ram (which SageTV won't use) or have some 64 bit specific apps to run on the server, I don't understand why everyone says 2008Rx/Vail/Win 7 being 64 bits is an advantage.

If the hardware manufacturer doesn't provide 64 bit Windows Certified drivers, you'll need to hack the registry to enable test mode at boot and self-sign the 64 bit drivers, otherwise the MS 64 bit OS (Win 7 onwards) will refuse to use the driver even if it loads it. dseo13b.exe avoids manual hacking. The driver will need signing everytime it's updated and if you don't sign it before install the version windows caches and reuses on new hardware install is the un-signed version.
If you've ever installed 64 bit Win in a Linux KVM with VirtIO/Net you'll already have been through the un-signed driver issues.

[valnar]

The most compatible OS for Sage (or more importantly, any potential supported hardware) would be WinXP followed by Win7 32-bit. Server 2003 might work too if the XP drivers loaded on it. I'd put Windows 2008 R2 and WHS last.

[Bizarroterl]

Using a dedicated system with no driver considerations (Using HDHR) does any Windows OS have an advantage over another? What if you run Showanalyzer?

[mguebert]

Originally Posted by valnar

The most compatible OS for Sage (or more importantly, any potential supported hardware) would be WinXP followed by Win7 32-bit. Server 2003 might work too if the XP drivers loaded on it. I'd put Windows 2008 R2 and WHS last.

I understand the choices you made up till WHS..... I use WHS with 2 HDHR and 2 HDPVR running 1 client, 2 extenders, and placeshifter and it has been very stable and no problems getting it working.

Most hardware compatible with XP should work with WHS.

[Fuzzy]

I certainly wouldn't recommend any of the server OS's, as frankly, the don't really get you something that you can't get in win7. Heck, for a headless server, you could use Win7 Basic and it would perform sagetv functions every bit as well as server 2008R2.

XP does work, but at this point, starting out with a new server, I'd opt for a new OS. Any future tuner cards, as well as other hardware, may stop providing XP support.

[makko]

I would've liked a Server OS but I think i'll go with 32-bit Windows 7. I think XP has just run its course at this stage.

How do you guys handle remote desktop on your servers. I currently use RDP on my server 2003 box. I'm thinking for Windows 7 i'll just set up a secure flavour of VNC (if one exists!).

[Fuzzy]

There are patches out there to enable RDP on Win7 Home, and it works great. Though for many years, I got by just fine with VNC. If you really want security, you could always use a VPN tunnel and VNC through that, though I do believe there are encrypted VNC protocols out there as well.

[PGPfan]

Originally Posted by valnar

The most compatible OS for Sage (or more importantly, any potential supported hardware) would be WinXP followed by Win7 32-bit. Server 2003 might work too if the XP drivers loaded on it. I'd put Windows 2008 R2 and WHS last.

I certainly wouldn't put WHS last - it is based on Server 2003 so it's compatibility should be very close to that of XP. As for Windows 2008 R2, I think at this point your marking it last would be correct - it's way to new to have much of an established track record.

-PGPfan

[valnar]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

I certainly wouldn't put WHS last - it is based on Server 2003 so it's compatibility should be very close to that of XP. As for Windows 2008 R2, I think at this point your marking it last would be correct - it's way to new to have much of an established track record.

-PGPfan

Does WHS support WMP11? I don't remember.

I was turned off by its front-end and backup system, so I never delved too much into it. I run Playon and some other things on my Sage box which works best with a workstation OS.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by valnar

Does WHS support WMP11? I don't remember.

There is way to install it and have it fully functional. It doesn't out of the box.

Gerry

[valnar]

Originally Posted by gplasky

There is way to install it and have it fully functional. It doesn't out of the box.

Gerry

Well, the same is true of Windows 2003 Server, but you could just run WinXP to avoid the hassle. That was my point.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by gplasky

There is way to install it and have it fully functional. It doesn't out of the box.

Gerry

Originally Posted by valnar

Well, the same is true of Windows 2003 Server, but you could just run WinXP to avoid the hassle. That was my point.

True. I was just saying for the benefit of others who may wish to do that but didn't know you could.

Gerry