[mythtv-users] backend performance question

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Sat Apr 8 22:16:56 UTC 2006


On Apr 8, 2006, at 3:18 PM, Azmat wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm getting ready to attempt my first foray into setting up a
> decoupled backend system, but I wanted some advice on what kind of
> hardware to use to ensure the most reliable performance.
>
> Here's the HW configuration I'm aiming for:
> Case: Dell Poweredge Server 1300
> MB: Dual processor Slot 1, currently has a single Pentium II in it,
> but I will be installing dual Pentinum III's
> CPUs: Dual Pentium III  600-800 MHz
> RAM: 512MB (4x128MB) PC100 DIMMs
> Hard Drives: 200 GB, 300 GB IDE ATA/100 LVM grouped
> Optical Drive: Generic CD-ROM
> Video Card: Onboard video (headless system)
> Sound Card: None
> NIC: 10/100
> Video Capture Devices:
>      Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350
>      ATI TV Wonder Pro
>      Firewire capture from Motorola DCT-6200
>
> Assuming simultaneous capture on all 3 devices (not likely, but would
> still like to plan for it), as well as commercial flagging, nuvexport
> post-processing, and also simultaneously streaming to a front-end;
> does it seem likely that this system would be able to keep up?

The only thing your backend needs to do is move data from the capture  
cards to the hard drives, with enough left over to run Mysql, system  
housekeeping and whatever networking you need to talk to your F/Es,  
doesn't really take much. Commflagging you can nice to whatever point  
you need to to prevent problems.

I don't think you are going to get much if any benefit from the  
second CPU, you might be better off putting in more RAM instead of  
that CPU, but you should be fine with 512MB.

I don't think I'd try it with the PII, though it might work, but I  
would guess that a single PIII would be OK.

I think some Dells of that vintage used Via mobo chips, I'd watch out  
for possible DMA bugginess as well, also make sure your power supply  
can handle 2 capture cards, two HDDs and the dual CPUs, although you  
might have a hard time upgrading the PSU as Dell used non-standard ones.


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