[mythtv-users] Where to dedicate processing power?

Steven Adeff adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com
Wed Mar 8 02:19:41 UTC 2006


On 3/7/06, Jim Minihane <min02jsm at minihane.tzo.com> wrote:
> If for example, I want to build an SD (no Hi Def) mythtv system with 2
> frontends, a backend with no tuner but runs MySQL and file storage, and 2
> slave backends with 2 tuners each (assume PVR-500), which one should have to
> most CPU? Most memory, Most HDD I/O.
>
> I'm really trying to find out what the processing/hardware
> requirements/desirables are for the different "nodes" of MythTV.
>
> I've got some old hardware lying around and will be buying a PVR-500 this
> weekend to begin experimenting.
>
> Specifically I have a PII-400, P3-600, and a P3-933. 256MB each. HDDs can be
> swapped around.
>
> Thanks again. I've been asking a lot of "what if" type questions so far but
> MythTV seems so impossibly flexible I just want to confirm what it can and
> cannot do before I try different things.

Let me make sure I understand properly. You have three computers, you
don't want to buy more. You need two frontends, and will have a
dedicated backend. You don't need HD so you will be using PVR-500's.

Here's my suggestion. Take the P3-933, suggested to buy more ram
(512MB should be enough, 256 should be ok as well, but if you can
afford it as a later upgrade?), use it as your master backend. Setup a
RAID 5 array for recordings (since you'll have 4 tuners total you'll
want the speed), and put both PVR-500's in this machine, no need or
reason to have them in the frontends if you have the two pci slots in
the backend machine. Make sure this machine has a good powersupply and
a UPS would be a good idea as well.

Setup the other two as frontends, you can even run slave backends on
them to increase your commercial flagging speed. They won't need big
harddrives, maybe find some cheap 20/40GB drives.

--
Steve


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