Convert XP to Linux

[MattHelm]

All,
I have 1 SageTV server still running XP, and was wondering how easy it would be to switch to Linux, and which Linux to us? I'd switch SageTV to V9 at the same time.

The MB is a M2NPV-VM with 2G of RAM (see server 3, below), and I'm using the build-in video, hooked direct to the TV. They do use the PC to browse on the TV. SageTV is by a HD200. Any suggestion would be helpful.

[KeithAbbott]

With that many servers running, your electric supplier must love you. Probably send you Christmas cards every year.

[Taddeusz]

Is there a particular reason you are considering Linux rather than a newer version of Windows? I assume this is a client or family system.

Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with Linux but my experience is that there is usually a fairly steep learning curve that users generally don't like if they are used to Windows. Of course it depends on the specific use case.

The difficult part of converting SageTV over to Linux is getting the existing recordings and media over to Linux. While I think Linux may be able to write to NTFS file systems that would not be ideal.

Beyond the media itself it's just a matter of installing the product key for access to EPG and copying the wiz.bin file to retain their existing SageTV database.

What tuners are they using? That might be a different matter.

[Taddeusz]

I'm personally in the process of migrating from Windows to unRAID (a version of Linux). We have a strictly headless server for SageTV & Plex. A couple years a go I had purchased the hardware necessary to build a dual quad core Xeon system with 24GB of RAM. My intention was to virtualize SageTV but quickly discovered that it was going to be impractical with the vmware system I had selected to use. unRAID has made that dream a reality. It combines the virtualization capability I got from vmware with the drive capability of a NAS.

It is still a headless system but will be more fully utilized.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

With that many servers running, your electric supplier must love you. Probably send you Christmas cards every year.

That's 3 different locations. I'm just the support for 2 of them, only 1 is "mine".

[Fuzzy]

I second Taddeusz looking into unRAID. It really is the simplest way to get any media server up and running, and at this point, is the only thing I'd consider for a SageTV server.

[BobPhoenix]

+3 for unRAID.

I have 3 unRAID systems setup in my basement currently. One with SageTV Docker recording OTA (52TB capacity), 1 unRAID only for HD-PVR SageTV server (84TB capacity), 3rd where I WILL have another SageTV VM on it or docker (66TB capacity). It currently houses many VMs (WHS v1 VM to backup other Windows boxes), another VM where I access my financial data from, another VM where I access the internet from. another VM where I record News programs only, another VM where I will transfer my HD-PVR SageTV Windows server to unless I am able to successfully connect metadata from 2007 recordings to docker instance. I still have two other unRAID servers to setup. A 48TB capacity server for livingroom SageTV server and another 48TB server for a SageTV server that I have retired from service that was for SD recordings originally - will have SageTV docker or will import these records to a different server once I remove the airing IDs from files.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

+3 for unRAID.

I have 3 unRAID systems setup in my basement currently. One with SageTV Docker recording OTA (52TB capacity), 1 unRAID only for HD-PVR SageTV server (84TB capacity), 3rd where I WILL have another SageTV VM on it or docker (66TB capacity). It currently houses many VMs (WHS v1 VM to backup other Windows boxes), another VM where I access my financial data from, another VM where I access the internet from. another VM where I record News programs only, another VM where I will transfer my HD-PVR SageTV Windows server to unless I am able to successfully connect metadata from 2007 recordings to docker instance. I still have two other unRAID servers to setup. A 48TB capacity server for livingroom SageTV server and another 48TB server for a SageTV server that I have retired from service that was for SD recordings originally - will have SageTV docker or will import these records to a different server once I remove the airing IDs from files.

Wow, and I thought my total of 10TB was a lot of storage.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

+3 for unRAID.

I have 3 unRAID systems setup in my basement currently. One with SageTV Docker recording OTA (52TB capacity), 1 unRAID only for HD-PVR SageTV server (84TB capacity), 3rd where I WILL have another SageTV VM on it or docker (66TB capacity). It currently houses many VMs (WHS v1 VM to backup other Windows boxes), another VM where I access my financial data from, another VM where I access the internet from. another VM where I record News programs only, another VM where I will transfer my HD-PVR SageTV Windows server to unless I am able to successfully connect metadata from 2007 recordings to docker instance. I still have two other unRAID servers to setup. A 48TB capacity server for livingroom SageTV server and another 48TB server for a SageTV server that I have retired from service that was for SD recordings originally - will have SageTV docker or will import these records to a different server once I remove the airing IDs from files.

I'm currently at 30TB. I only have two words:

Storage envy.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

I'm currently at 30TB. I only have two words:

Storage envy.

There is the problem. Before my old company eliminated my position last November and I had to find a new one - I wasn't worried about having to replace 10-20 drives a year - now I am. I am planing to get to only 2 of my unRAID servers being up all the time. Hopefully by winter I can eliminate all but one of the duplicates of those recordings that have duplicates and I may not need more storage than those two servers. I do have 30.9TBs of HD-PVR movies recorded and many of those don't have any backups so I might end up having to use the retired space as off line backups for them. I just haven't had any time to do that yet - what with the job search and then learning the new position but I hope by Winter I will get some time to consolidate.

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

+3 for unRAID.
or will import these records to a different server once I remove the airing IDs from files.

Would this be importing into another Sage system (wiz.bin) and would be seen as recordings?
if so, would be interested in the process/methodology.
What version of Sage?

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by graywolf

Would this be importing into another Sage system (wiz.bin) and would be seen as recordings?
if so, would be interested in the process/methodology.
What version of Sage?

The airingIDs can cause problems if you import into a new instance of the SageTV Wiz.bin at least it was for me. I got recordings with the wrong metadata. Now that may have been just on recordings that I re-encoded or v6 recordings (those that don't have metadata written in the file). I just don't remember now. But all the recordings in question are from my oldest SageTV server. I still have recordings on it that could be from v5 as well as 75% were re-encoded to avi and mkv so no metadata in the files and thus would be prime candidates for bad airingIDs matches. Most of the files have properties files but I've found the property file would get ignored if the airingID existed in the EPG with the new server and I would get said property file re-written with the bad data. I don't know if it was because some of the properties files got written to a different drive in unRAID and it didn't get them combined or if it was something else I did. But when I removed the airingIDs I would either get videos that showed up as imported videos or they would show up as recordings with the correct metadata. I don't think this is as likely to come up with v7 or later recordings that haven't been modified. I just do it now because I still have old or modified recordings to deal with especially with that server.

So that long ramble helpful?

[graywolf]

yes it is.
definitely something to consider once I get to Sage 7+

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I second Taddeusz looking into unRAID. It really is the simplest way to get any media server up and running, and at this point, is the only thing I'd consider for a SageTV server.

unRAID with only 3 Drives totaling 2TB?

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

unRAID with only 3 Drives totaling 2TB?

Honestly, even if you only had a single drive, I think I'd still recommend unRAID for the OS, simply because the docker and vm configuration is so easy and polished with it.

[MattHelm]

Can unRAID be used as a desktop? They use it once in a while to browse the web.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Can unRAID be used as a desktop? They use it once in a while to browse the web.

That it cannot do. You'd need desktop Ubuntu for that.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

That it cannot do. You'd need desktop Ubuntu for that.

Technically you could (browse the web) if you booted up the GUI mode of 6.2 or so I've read the complaints about being able to do that - never tried myself.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Can unRAID be used as a desktop? They use it once in a while to browse the web.

Not directly. You can, in many cases - hardware dependent, run a Guest OS in a VM on it, and assign a video card to that guest (would also have to pass through whatever HMI devices are involved to the guest OS as well. This really isn't what unRAID is designed for though - it's meant to be tucked away and rarely if ever interacted with directly.