Linux Server Instructions?

[jchiso]

In the past, I was able to install Sage v9 on a Ubuntu Desktop system, but now I've installed/tried to install, the 64-bit debian file on a Ubuntu server, for a headless setup.

I used the install script that has been available for a few years now, and it appears that the Sage server has installed. I also added the openJDK runtime. I am able to execute a Sage stop and start command and connect via SSH. The problem is that when I start the Placeshifter window, the new Sage server does not appear in a list.

Are there any instructions that could show what I'm missing in my attempt to run v9 from a headless Ubuntu server?

[Striker:WG]

Anything useful in the log files? That would be the first place to check.

If it's starting up properly, then maybe it's a firewall / security issue.

[wnjj]

Pardon my SageTV on Linux ignorance but are

enable_server=true

and

enable_media_extender_server=true

set in sage.properties by default in a Linux install?

On Windows setups at least, you usually connect with a local client first to enable those settings via the GUI (enable server & enable placeshifter).

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by Striker:WG

Anything useful in the log files? That would be the first place to check...

I don't know where the log files are stored; I no longer have a functioning SageTV Linux server, so I'm stitching things together from general Linux knowledge and Windows Sage instances.

Originally Posted by wnjj

Pardon my SageTV on Linux ignorance but are

enable_server=true

and

enable_media_extender_server=true

set in sage.properties by default in a Linux install?...

The existing Sage.properties file was really stark:

encoding_discovery_port=8271

network_encoder_discovery=true

I added the two lines, stopped and started the Sage server, and rebooted the system, but the server does not show up in the Placeshifters list ...

[stuckless]

Since you are running linux... You could likely just use the Docker containers that have sagetv and comskip already setup. These are containers that the unRAID server uses, but, you can use them in any Docker enabled environment. To start it... you'd use a command like this...

https://github.com/stuckless/sagetv-...nServerTest.sh

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Since you are running linux... You could likely just use the Docker containers that have sagetv and comskip already setup...

I was trying for a simple build with this server; something with fewer features and add-ons than a Linux desktop distribution. I don't know what "Docker", "containers", "comskip", or "unRAID" are, and I can't find any links to "Docker containers[?]".

It may be that the combination of distribution (Ubuntu Server 20.04 64) and SageTV server (v9.1.10 64) is not agreeable, for some reason. The last desktop distribution on which I ran a Sage server was Ubuntu 18.04 32-bit ...

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by jchiso

I was trying for a simple build with this server; something with fewer features and add-ons than a Linux desktop distribution. I don't know what "Docker", "containers", "comskip", or "unRAID" are, and I can't find any links to "Docker containers[?]".

It may be that the combination of distribution (Ubuntu Server 20.04 64) and SageTV server (v9.1.10 64) is not agreeable, for some reason. The last desktop distribution on which I ran a Sage server was Ubuntu 18.04 32-bit ...

It's sad that you don't know about unRAID... everyone should know about unRAID, especially if you have TB of data that you want protected

Docker is like a VM (it's not), in that it runs a Linux distro in a "container" (ie, sort of like a VM), and that image has sagetv, java, etc, and it's all configured. It has comskip but if you are not using it, then you won't use it

The nice thing about "docker" in this sense, is that it removes the "something changed in ubunut 2020 and nowit doesn't work" because the container/image has what it needs. It's sort of like (but not) the snap stuff that exists in Ubuntu.

[wayner]

unRAID is the way to go. I used to use WHS but unRAID really is a great config for SageTV. I also run dockers for Plex, Unifi, OpenVPN, etc. And I run Ubuntu in a VM on my unRAID server as well.

[jchiso]

In checking the Sage log, there seemed to be an error related to JRE Assistive Technology dependencies. Apparently this is an issue where the headless JRE is installed, but can be overcome by commenting out the "assistive_technologies" line in the openjdk accessibility properties file.

After making the change and rebooting the Linux server, the SageTV server appears on the Placeshifters menu, and becomes configurable, as expected.

Now, my next challenge will be getting the distribution to recognize the installed Colossus 2 card, as it (apparently) is now recognized by the current kernel ...

[jchiso]

More problems, after hours of probing: I cannot get Sage to import media from a network share. I tried NFS and then SMB formats, and while I can mount either to points on the system, the SageTV program fails to import from the shares. The directories are available and files display from a list command.

No idea what the problems are ...

[jpwegas]

Which install script did you use that you mentioned in the first post?

Regarding your media import issue - is the local path of network share you mounted included in the Video paths list under Detailed Setup -> General -> Media Center Import Directories? I don't think Sage will find videos if it's not included in that list.

--John

[jchiso]

I used the SageWizdom script. The server installation worked without issue. I installed a headless version of JRE.

The Imported Media issues relate to actually accessing them with SageTV, meaning they don't play. They appear in the list, but generate an error implying that the file is no longer available. It's not just the imports. Attempted playback of files from network (SAMBA) shares produce the same error. There seems to be an issue with the Linux server getting anonymous access to SAMBA shares ...

[jchiso]

I tried to do a workaround by setting mount points on the server and mounting the (SAMBA) Imported Videos directories. Kind of a pain, and clunky, but figured it would be a one-time configuration. The files appear, and most of them "seem" to play okay, but the Time Scroll is completely dead; the files all show as being at "0:00", with a file run time of "0:00". As such, fast forward, rewind, and time scrolling do not work.

That being said, live and recorded video playback function as expected; no issues with time scroll or run time. The Generic Plugin Tuner works fine, and the capture devices encode 720p with AC3 (Dolby Digital 5.1) audio, as expected. I've set a mount point on the server to a SAMBA share on a NAS for video recording and it also functions perfectly.

I've connected to, watched live, and played back content from this server on two different Windows systems, two HD300s and an HD 200.

Two lingering issues: the aforementioned Media Center playback and channel tuning, where this server is used as a Network Encoder. For me, the second issue is a major problem ...

[wnjj]

Check out this thread regarding 0 timeline issues: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65862

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by wnjj

Check out this thread regarding 0 timeline issues: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65862

The suggestions in the thread don't fix the issues for Imported Media. Moreover, the "Browse Media Files" operation does not allowing streaming at all ...

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by jchiso

The suggestions in the thread don't fix the issues for Imported Media. Moreover, the "Browse Media Files" operation does not allowing streaming at all ...

Did you enable logging to see what ffmpeg was concluding?

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by wnjj

Did you enable logging to see what ffmpeg was concluding?

I did not. I thought the proposed solution related to updating permissions and doing a re-scan of the imported data.

I've added a line to enable ffmpeg logging, but i don't know where I'd need to look for diagnostics ...

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by jchiso

I did not. I thought the proposed solution related to updating permissions and doing a re-scan of the imported data.

I've added a line to enable ffmpeg logging, but i don't know where I'd need to look for diagnostics ...

After you set debug_ffmpeg_format_info=TRUE in sage.properties and restart SageTV, import a new file and then look in the normal log file (sagetv_0.txt) for a line with "FFMPEG Info:" in it. It should come after a line that says "Now using external format detector for:".

That particular user didn't have execute permission on ffmpeg so it failed completely. ffmpeg is what SageTV uses to determine the length and format of newly imported videos.

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by wnjj

After you set debug_ffmpeg_format_info=TRUE in sage.properties and restart SageTV, import a new file and then look in the normal log file (sagetv_0.txt) for a line with "FFMPEG Info:" in it. It should come after a line that says "Now using external format detector for:".

That particular user didn't have execute permission on ffmpeg so it failed completely. ffmpeg is what SageTV uses to determine the length and format of newly imported videos.

I don't have a line with "ffmpeg.info" in it, but all of the lines with ffmpeg have error messages that read:

ffmpeg: error while loading shared libraries: libfaad.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by jchiso

I don't have a line with "ffmpeg.info" in it, but all of the lines with ffmpeg have error messages that read:

ffmpeg: error while loading shared libraries: libfaad.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

That would be the problem then. libfaad.so.2 is a library that ffmpeg uses. Either it's not installed or the directory it's in is not part of LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The result is ffmpeg cannot run and detect the file formats. You should be able to run ffmpeg directly at the prompt to test if it can work. With no arguments you should get a usage statement back.