[mythtv-users] storage directories

[Michael T. Dean]

  On 07/12/2010 05:17 AM, Mark Small wrote:
> On July 11, 2010 20:59:22 Michael T. Dean wrote:
>>    On 07/11/2010 06:56 PM, Mark Small wrote:
>>> On July 10, 2010 17:34:08 Raymond Wagner wrote:
>>>> On 7/10/2010 15:15, Mark J. Small wrote:
>>>>> So here's my question:  How do I stop recording to the third directory
>>>>> (the one on the slave)?
>>>> Remove that directory from any storage groups that it shows up on in
>>>> mythtv-setup on the slave backend, and then restart the backend.
>>> Sounds great, except that the directory isn't in any storage groups on
>>> the slave.  In fact there are no storage groups defined on the slave.
>>> Maybe I should create one?
>> It's inherited from the master backend.  Remote backend storage group
>> /directory lists/ simply override the lists defined on the master
>> backend.  Or, put another way, you can /define/ storage groups (SG names
>> and their associated list of directories) only on the master backend;
>> you simply (and only) override storage group directory lists on the
>> remote backends.  This is exactly why the /proper/ solution for the
>> majority of users is to do as you've done--define storage groups /only/
>> on the master backend.  Then, when you want to add or remove a directory
>> from a storage group, you only need to make that change in a single
>> location--the master backend's mythtv-setup.
>>
>> IMHO, the /only/ reason anyone should ever specify a list of directories
>> on anything other than the master backend is if the user has
>> misconfigured his/her system and for some reason wants to use a specific
>> directory name only on one system or another but--and here's the
>> "misconfiguration" part--for some crazy reason has created said
>> directory on the system that shouldn't use that directory.
>>
>> The master backend should have a list of *all* directories used by *all*
>> hosts.  You may add a directory path for a directory that exists on all,
>> some, or only one of the hosts (even if it doesn't exist on the master
>> backend).
>>
>> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/423104#423104 has a
>> much more extensive description.
> Since the mysterious storage directory is not listed in mythtv-setup on either
> the master or the slave, is there any way that I can find out where it came
> from and how to get rid of it?  Is it some old cruft sitting in the database
> from way back when (I don't remember what version I started with, maybe 0.14
> or so).

Yes, it's old cruft, but not from 0.14 (Since Storage Groups were added 
for MythTV 0.21, but I know what you were saying ;).  It's actually 
cruft from having overrides of the Storage Group directory lists on 
other hosts that you're no longer using, now.  Unfortunately, the only 
(supported) way to get rid of directory overrides for no-longer-existing 
hosts is to use mythtv-setup on the master backend and actually delete 
the entire Storage Group (highlight the Storage Group name and hit D).  
Remember that a Storage Group is a name--not a directory--so you're 
deleting something like "Default" or "My Recordings" or ... (not a 
directory entry in the Storage Group directory list).

Deleting a Storage Group from the master backend deletes the group *and* 
all directory list overrides on other hosts (i.e. you can't have a 
directory list override if the group doesn't exist).

Therefore, you can go through each existing SG that you want to keep and 
write down the directory list for each SG.  Then, delete all the SGs 
from the master.  Then, you can simply define the SG's on the master and 
add all the directories to them, as appropriate.  With this approach, 
you'll know for sure that you have things defined in the 
most-maintainable way--once on the master backend, meaning there's only 
one place to update the directory lists (that being on the master 
backend). Since you won't have any overrides adding confusion, it will 
be easy to see where the information is coming from.

Note, also, that some of the early SG code didn't clean things up this 
way, so it's possible that you did all the steps properly in the past 
with 0.21-fixes or something and it left garbage that's now causing 
issues.  Current 0.23-fixes will clean things up properly.

> The slave backend was my original master (and only) backend.  The mysterious
> directory only showed up with version 0.22 or 0.23, also around the time that
> I switched master backend duties with my new file server (an ARM based QNAP
> NAS device).  I may have originally and briefly used the mysterious storage
> directory when I was first testing mythtv, before I added a massive (for its
> day) 160 GB hard drive to hold recordings.
>
> Is it time to go digging in the database?

Ideally use the above approach.

Mike