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Move to new master backend

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msmall at eastlink

Nov 18, 2009, 11:10 AM

Post #1 of 9 (490 views)
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Move to new master backend

Hi everybody,

I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the best
method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new box, copy
the existing recordings and restore the database there?

Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store, /mnt/big,
and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for now. Do I have to
recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the file location in some
way, or just the file names.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mark
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mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

johnnyjboss at gmail

Nov 18, 2009, 11:13 AM

Post #2 of 9 (494 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

One of the great things about most Linux distros is that you can
simply move the HDD into the new box and it will most likely boot
right up. There's no complicated HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)
workaround needed to migrate an install to new hardware.

Is this what you were asking?

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
>
> Hi everybody,
>
> I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the best
> method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new box, copy
> the existing recordings and restore the database there?
>
> Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store, /mnt/big,
> and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for now. Do I have to
> recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the file location in some
> way, or just the file names.
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Mark
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

stichnot at gmail

Nov 18, 2009, 11:23 AM

Post #3 of 9 (479 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
> I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the best
> method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new box, copy
> the existing recordings and restore the database there?

Basically correct, except you need to do something special if the
hostname is changing.
http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-23.html#ss23.14

> Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store, /mnt/big,
> and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for now. Do I have to
> recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the file location in some
> way, or just the file names.

I assume you're saying you currently have recordings in a storage
group consisting of 3 directories. The recordings in the DB are only
tied to the file name. You can experiment by moving recordings from
one directory to another and see that they still play back fine.

Jim
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

gbr at majentis

Nov 18, 2009, 11:38 AM

Post #4 of 9 (486 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

----- "Jim Stichnoth" <stichnot [at] gmail> wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
> > I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the best
> > method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new box, copy
> > the existing recordings and restore the database there?
>
> Basically correct, except you need to do something special if the
> hostname is changing.
> http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-23.html#ss23.14
>
> > Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store, /mnt/big,
> > and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for now. Do I have to
> > recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the file location in some
> > way, or just the file names.
>
> I assume you're saying you currently have recordings in a storage
> group consisting of 3 directories. The recordings in the DB are only
> tied to the file name. You can experiment by moving recordings from
> one directory to another and see that they still play back fine.
>
> Jim
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

Hi,

I just did such a move. The poster above, by mentioning hostname, means the hostname entered into mythtv-setup, and not necessarily the systems hostname. I, for example, always used the systems IP address instead of the hostname, so I didn't do anything special when I went to a new IP. However, myth uses the data in the hostname field for look ups in recordings, rather than going directly to any storage. It is this hostname that must stay the same, and resolve to the current (even different) IP address.

Gerald

msmall at eastlink

Nov 18, 2009, 12:03 PM

Post #5 of 9 (478 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

On November 18, 2009, Johnny Walker wrote:
> One of the great things about most Linux distros is that you can
> simply move the HDD into the new box and it will most likely boot
> right up. There's no complicated HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)
> workaround needed to migrate an install to new hardware.
>
> Is this what you were asking?
>

That's what I did on my last 2 upgrades, but now I'm changing architectures so
a drive swap won't work for me. The new frontend is an ARM powered NAS (QNAP
TS-219P, same processor as the sheevaplug) The old backend will become a
slave backend, powered on demand to do the heavy lifting (commflagging, some
recording).

BTW, I'm running debian stable, using the debian-multimedia.org repos for now.
I may have to roll my own for 0.22.

Thanks though,

Mark

> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
> > Hi everybody,
> >
> > I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the
> > best method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new
> > box, copy the existing recordings and restore the database there?
> >
> > Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store,
> > /mnt/big, and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for
> > now. Do I have to recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the
> > file location in some way, or just the file names.
> >
> > Any advice would be appreciated.
> >
> > Mark
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

msmall at eastlink

Nov 18, 2009, 12:05 PM

Post #6 of 9 (479 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

On November 18, 2009, Gerald Brandt wrote:
> ----- "Jim Stichnoth" <stichnot [at] gmail> wrote:
> > On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink>
wrote:
> > > I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is
> > > the best method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the
> > > new box, copy the existing recordings and restore the database there?
> >
> > Basically correct, except you need to do something special if the
> > hostname is changing.
> > http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-23.html#ss23.14
> >
> > > Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store,
> > > /mnt/big, and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for
> > > now. Do I have to recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to
> > > the file location in some way, or just the file names.
> >
> > I assume you're saying you currently have recordings in a storage
> > group consisting of 3 directories. The recordings in the DB are only
> > tied to the file name. You can experiment by moving recordings from
> > one directory to another and see that they still play back fine.
> >
> > Jim
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
> Hi,
>
> I just did such a move. The poster above, by mentioning hostname, means the
> hostname entered into mythtv-setup, and not necessarily the systems
> hostname. I, for example, always used the systems IP address instead of
> the hostname, so I didn't do anything special when I went to a new IP.
> However, myth uses the data in the hostname field for look ups in
> recordings, rather than going directly to any storage. It is this hostname
> that must stay the same, and resolve to the current (even different) IP
> address.
>
> Gerald
>

Thanks that's good to know. The beauty of a well designed system is that
complicated tasks are easier than expected.

Mark

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

johnnyjboss at gmail

Nov 18, 2009, 12:11 PM

Post #7 of 9 (477 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

I think in that case the only diferrence is the actual kernel. If my
memory serves me, I was advised in debian to use aptitude to download
the new kernel on the old hardware and then set the boot.1st file to
point at that new kernel and shutdown. After that you can move the hdd
(or use dd to create an image and move that) to the new machine and
boot back up with the new kernel.

You'd have to recompile anything that was based on your previous kernel sources.

You still don't have to start from scratch.

Hope this helps.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 2:03 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
> On November 18, 2009, Johnny Walker wrote:
>> One of the great things about most Linux distros is that you can
>> simply move the HDD into the new box and it will most likely boot
>> right up. There's no complicated HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)
>> workaround needed to migrate an install to new hardware.
>>
>> Is this what you were asking?
>>
>
> That's what I did on my last 2 upgrades, but now I'm changing architectures so
> a drive swap won't work for me. The new frontend is an ARM powered NAS (QNAP
> TS-219P, same processor as the sheevaplug) The old backend will become a
> slave backend, powered on demand to do the heavy lifting (commflagging, some
> recording).
>
> BTW, I'm running debian stable, using the debian-multimedia.org repos for now.
> I may have to roll my own for 0.22.
>
> Thanks though,
>
> Mark
>
>> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
>> > Hi everybody,
>> >
>> > I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is the
>> > best method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the new
>> > box, copy the existing recordings and restore the database there?
>> >
>> > Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store,
>> > /mnt/big, and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for
>> > now. Do I have to recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to the
>> > file location in some way, or just the file names.
>> >
>> > Any advice would be appreciated.
>> >
>> > Mark
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > mythtv-users mailing list
>> > mythtv-users [at] mythtv
>> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> mythtv-users mailing list
>> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
>> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

mtdean at thirdcontact

Nov 18, 2009, 12:22 PM

Post #8 of 9 (463 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

On 11/18/2009 03:05 PM, Mark J. Small wrote:
> On November 18, 2009, Gerald Brandt wrote:
>
>> ----- "Jim Stichnoth" wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, Mark J. Small wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is
>>>> the best method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on the
>>>> new box, copy the existing recordings and restore the database there?
>>>>
>>> Basically correct, except you need to do something special if the
>>> hostname is changing.
>>> http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-23.html#ss23.14
>> I just did such a move. The poster above, by mentioning hostname, means the
>> hostname entered into mythtv-setup, and not necessarily the systems
>> hostname. I, for example, always used the systems IP address instead of
>> the hostname, so I didn't do anything special when I went to a new IP.
>> However, myth uses the data in the hostname field for look ups in
>> recordings, rather than going directly to any storage. It is this hostname
>> that must stay the same, and resolve to the current (even different) IP
>> address.
> Thanks that's good to know. The beauty of a well designed system is that
> complicated tasks are easier than expected.

Actually, you don't specify a hostname in mythtv-setup. You specify an
IP address. Myth always pulls the hostname of the current system using
libc and uses it as a unique system identifier for the settings
(including the IP address you specify).

There is, however, a (poorly-named) LocalHostName /override/ in
config.xml/mysql.txt that allows you to say, "Use this value as a unique
identifier of my system instead of using my hostname." Unless you
specify this override, you /must/ do a hostname change as described if
your hostname--or even the /value/ returned by the hostname
command--changes.

What do I mean, "or even the value..."? Well, depending on how you or
your distro has configured your system, your hostname may be reported as
a "short hostname" (i.e. myhost) or a fully-qualified hostname (i.e.
myhost.mydomain). If you go from a system that returns fully-qualified
to a system that returns short, you /must/ do a hostname change.

Mike
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

msmall at eastlink

Nov 18, 2009, 3:16 PM

Post #9 of 9 (459 views)
Permalink

Re: Move to new master backend [In reply to]

On November 18, 2009 16:11:51 Johnny Walker wrote:
> I think in that case the only diferrence is the actual kernel. If my
> memory serves me, I was advised in debian to use aptitude to download
> the new kernel on the old hardware and then set the boot.1st file to
> point at that new kernel and shutdown. After that you can move the hdd
> (or use dd to create an image and move that) to the new machine and
> boot back up with the new kernel.
>
> You'd have to recompile anything that was based on your previous kernel
> sources.
>
> You still don't have to start from scratch.
>
> Hope this helps.

Since ARM is completely different from X86, all binaries would need to be
replaced, not just the kernel. A drive swap just won't do the job.
Thankfully I've gotten some good hints from the list. I'll do the transfer
sometime in the next week or so.

This whole project should allow me to turn off the 110W backend for about 20
hours a day and run a 10-15 W backend in its place. At that rate, the new
box will pay for itself a few years. My office will be a whole lot quieter
too.

Thanks,

Mark

>
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 2:03 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink> wrote:
> > On November 18, 2009, Johnny Walker wrote:
> >> One of the great things about most Linux distros is that you can
> >> simply move the HDD into the new box and it will most likely boot
> >> right up. There's no complicated HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)
> >> workaround needed to migrate an install to new hardware.
> >>
> >> Is this what you were asking?
> >
> > That's what I did on my last 2 upgrades, but now I'm changing
> > architectures so a drive swap won't work for me. The new frontend is an
> > ARM powered NAS (QNAP TS-219P, same processor as the sheevaplug) The old
> > backend will become a slave backend, powered on demand to do the heavy
> > lifting (commflagging, some recording).
> >
> > BTW, I'm running debian stable, using the debian-multimedia.org repos for
> > now. I may have to roll my own for 0.22.
> >
> > Thanks though,
> >
> > Mark
> >
> >> On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Mark J. Small <msmall [at] eastlink>
wrote:
> >> > Hi everybody,
> >> >
> >> > I'm planning to move my current mythtv backend to a new box. What is
> >> > the best method? Do I simply back up the database, install myth on
> >> > the new box, copy the existing recordings and restore the database
> >> > there?
> >> >
> >> > Also, I currently have 3 disks for storage, set up as /mnt/store,
> >> > /mnt/big, and /mnt/huge. On the new box, I will only have 2 disks for
> >> > now. Do I have to recreate all 3 folders? Are the recordings tied to
> >> > the file location in some way, or just the file names.
> >> >
> >> > Any advice would be appreciated.
> >> >
> >> > Mark
> >> > _______________________________________________
> >> > mythtv-users mailing list
> >> > mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> >> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> mythtv-users mailing list
> >> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> >> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > mythtv-users mailing list
> > mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

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