Yet another fan art speed question

[Fuzzy]

I've got 12GB on the server, and 8GB on each client. Not that the clients need it, but doing so allows me to not only run the 2GB cache, but I also have virtual memory disabled (not a problem with a fixed program footprint like what sage has, being limited by the JVM size). Memory is rediculously cheap at this point, and with this setup, I don't need to shell out for SSD's - this is faster than the SSD once it's cached anyways.

[Rob]

Based on a thread from several months ago I tried the ram disk solution, but only saw marginal performance gains and keeping it in sync was a hassle.

At the time I think Fuzzy was using super cache so I went with that and a 4GB cache and have been very happy with the results. Fast and easy.

So Fuzzy, why the switch to fancy cache. Is is faster or more reliable (not that I've had any issues with super cache)? Does it allow for the write through feature (turning lazy write off in super cache)?

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Rob

Based on a thread from several months ago I tried the ram disk solution, but only saw marginal performance gains and keeping it in sync was a hassle.

At the time I think Fuzzy was using super cache so I went with that and a 4GB cache and have been very happy with the results. Fast and easy.

So Fuzzy, why the switch to fancy cache. Is is faster or more reliable (not that I've had any issues with super cache)? Does it allow for the write through feature (turning lazy write off in super cache)?

At the time, FancyCache was missing a few features (it was relatively early development at the time), which is why i bought SuperCache. Since then, I did a rebuild on my server, and just went with FancyCache (free - at least for now).. and put supercache on my newer desktop. No reason to prefer one over the other, other than price.

[Rob]

Well since I've already paid for supercache, I better go with the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Thanks for the feedback.

[TwistedMelon]

Any setup tips for fancy cache? Do you just tell it to handle the entire drive Sage is installed on? Does it support sub-folders so that you can specify only the Sage hierarchy?

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by Rob

Based on a thread from several months ago I tried the ram disk solution, but only saw marginal performance gains and keeping it in sync was a hassle.

You're right, the latests script didn't copy the original fanart repository on the ramdisk any more as I discovered that wasn't introducing any benefit, in fact quite the opposite (keeping in sync was PITA), so in the end I kept the fanart (read only) on the HDD and the thumbnails (R/W) on the RamDisk and having the images optimized in size I achieved the best performance results as per the video on YouTube and without risks .

I guess you haven't installed SageTV on your OS disk as the Super Cache website clearly states that the usage of their product on the OS drive is highly not recommended.

Eddy

[Rob]

I do have sage installed on the OS drive. I recognized the potential risk, so as Fuzzy suggested, the cache is set up with lazy write disabled. I also take frequent images.

After 6 months of use on two different servers and no issues, the risk (for me) has been nothing.

[Fuzzy]

I have it set to the entire volume, but use LFU mode (Least Frequently Used). This will keep the most frequently used files in memory - which ends up being the fanart cache for the extenders, or in the case of the clients, their local fanart cache.

[Hunter69]

Which edition of fancy cache are you guys using?

Volume Edition or Disk Edition

I have been reading through this thread and have been looking for any special settings. I can give fancy cache 4gig or more of ram. I see you used LFU mode. Anything else I should know (other settings). I have sage installed to C: on Win 7 64 bit.

DO you resize your fanart also? I currently get my fanart through bmt?

I appreciate any feed back/help you can provide

[HokiePerogi]

Is anyone willing to whip up a quick guide on how to get Fancy Cache working on a SageTV server?

I'm want to take the plunge to see if it speeds up my Movie poster load times on my Movies pages and potentially fixes the random cover arts which do not appear when browsing my movie list.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by HokiePerogi

Is anyone willing to whip up a quick guide on how to get Fancy Cache working on a SageTV server?

I'm want to take the plunge to see if it speeds up my Movie poster load times on my Movies pages and potentially fixes the random cover arts which do not appear when browsing my movie list.

Don't you just cache the Disk Sage is installed on. There is really nothing special.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Don't you just cache the Disk Sage is installed on. There is really nothing special.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

[HokiePerogi]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Okay. And make use of LFU? Any other non-defaults settings which should be changed?

Sounds like since we're caching the boot drive, a rigorous backup regime is needed too.


Thanks

[Fuzzy]

Windows already caches the boot disk - so you've always had that risk. You can disable write caching in fancycache if you are worried about it.