[mythtv-users] Remote backend wackyness

Fri May 22 17:05:18 UTC 2009

Good day, All:

I've been struggling with a remote backend for a while, and I wondered if
anyone else has seen similar behavior.  To be sure I get all pertinent
information, here are the hardware specs as best as I know for both systems,
and the network used to connect them:

General system info:

Master Backend/Frontend:

OS - Ubuntu 9.04

Master Backend Hardware:

 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380815AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive -
OEM<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148231>
1 x LITE-ON USB 2.0 External 20X DVD Burner with LightScribe Model
eHAU220-08 - Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106278>
1 x Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052>
1 x i-rocks IR-4100 4-ports Aluminum USB Silver Hub w/ Power Adapter -
Retail <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817201601>
1 x AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor Model
HD960ZWCGDBOX -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244>
3 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Hard Drive - OEM<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148134>
1 x BIOSTAR TPower N750 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD
Motherboard<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138108R>
1 x CHIEFTEC BRAVO BA-01B-B-B Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case -
Retail <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811160008>
 1 x Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2K2/4GR -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104038>
2 x bgears b-flexi120 120mm Multi-Color LED Case Fan -
OEM<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835132010>
3 x Rexus TopMotor DF128020BH 80mm Case Fan -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835705038>
1 x Anyware HA-IR01SV Infrared Certified MCE VISTA Remote
Control<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880121001>
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive -
OEM<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288>
1 x MSI N9600GT 512M OC GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video
Card<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127333R>
1 x PVR-500 Tuner
1 x Sound Blaster Live! Value

Master Backend Display:

SAMSUNG 46" 16:9 6ms 1080p LCD HDTV w/ Touch of Color Design -
LN46B550<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102260>

Master Backend Audio:
Some old Pioneer 5.1 system I bought 5 years ago; works with the
Soundblaster digital out and SPDIF in.

Master Backend Summary:

Primarily, this machine is used as a backend, but I will use it for light
internet surfing, and some gaming (Nexuiz is awesome on a 46" display).  It
has 1 SD dual tuner card, and a dedicated 500gb drive to record to.  The
machine also holds my 3x 750gb RAID 5 array, which has my music, video,
photgraph collection.  This data is shared via NFS and is mounted by my
remote frontends this way, and by other devices on my network through
Samba.  The OS runs on an 80gb drive.  The only display for the machine is
my 46" Samsung diplay, which is connected via DVI-HDMI cable.  The sound is
handled by the SoundBlaster Live! Value card, via digital out, and goes
directly to my 5.1 receiver.  A USB MCE remote is used to control myth, as
well as a Logitec wireless mouse/keyboard, and are connected via 4-port USB
hub.

Remote Backend/Frontend:

OS - Mythbuntu 9.04

Remote Backend Hardware:

 1 x ASUS P5KPL-CM LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel
Motherboard<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131288R>
1 x ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/256M GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI
Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121240>
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Model BX80571E7200 -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052>
1 x CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop
Memory Model VS2GBKIT667D2 -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098>
1 x ASUS P5KPL-CM LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel
Motherboard<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131288R>
1 x ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/256M GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI
Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121240>
1 x Antec Silver/ Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel/ Aluminum plate front bezel
Veris Fusion 430 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case with IR receiver -
Retail <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129029>
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Model BX80571E7200 -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052>
1 x CORSAIR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop
Memory Model VS2GBKIT667D2 -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098>
1 x Microsoft A9O-00007 WinXP Media Center Infrared Remote
Control<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16880100851>
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive -
OEM<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288>
1 x ASUS 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black PATA Model DRW-1814BL -
OEM <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135148>
1 x PVR-500 Tuner
1 x Sound Blaster Audigy SE
Remote Backend Display:

Sharp 32" CRT, connected via Component-Out

Remote Backend Audio:

Connected to TV internal stereo speakers via stereo 1/8" jack - dual RCA

Remote Backend/Frontend Summary:
This machine is used as a backend/frontend.  It has 1 SD dual tuner card,
and a dedicated 500gb drive to record to.  The OS runs on an 80gb drive.
The only display for the machine is my 32" CRT diplay, which is connected
via Component cables.  The sound is handled by the SoundBlaster Audigy SE
card, via Analog stereo out, and goes directly to my TV.  A USB MCE remote
is used to control myth.
Network:

1 x Roadrunner Cable Modem
1 x NETGEAR WGR614L IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Open Source Linux Wireless
Router - Retai<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122223>
 1 x NETGEAR GS105 10/100/1000Mbps ProSafe Gigabit Desktop Switch with Jumbo
Frame support -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122128>
1 x NETGEAR GS116 10/100/1000Mbps ProSafe Gigabit Desktop Switch with Jumbo
Frame Support -
Retail<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122139>

The network consists of my Roadrunner cable modem going into the uplink port
of the WGR614L.  The Uplink port of my GS105 plugs into a port on the
WGR614L.  The GS105 has my remote frontend connected to it, as well as a
drop cable to my GS116, which has my master backend connected to it (among
other things).  I use the WGR614L as my DHCP server, using the LAN-IP setup
to assign specifig IP adresses to each machine on my network.  The cable
used in the wired network are all CAT6, and run to wall ports.  I had a few
bad ports in the system to work out, but after sorting that out, my network
behaves as I believe it should; speeds/latencies are quite good, regardless
of where connected to the network.

MythTV configuration:

My master backend hosts the database (obviously...I think).  I'm running
MythTV .21-fixes from the Ubuntu/Myhtbuntu repositories.  Regardless of
whether I'm running a Mythbuntu or Ubuntu install, all myth configuration
(besides mythbackend/mythfrontend specific details) has been done using
Mythbuntu Control Centre, and my NFS/Samba configuration was handled
manually.

Assuming you've read the previous information, you'll have some idea of what
I'm trying to do...but feel free to ask if more clarifacation is necessary.
The problem I'm experiencing concerns the two backends communictating with
each other.  When I finally had both systems up and running, and configured
in a way that I believe to be correct, the tuners in my remote frontend fail
to work.  They fail to work regardless of whether I'm attempting to connect
to them from either machine.  The remote backend in this case will be unable
to display live tv of any kind, but will be able to display videos &
recordings.  The strange thing is that after a week or so, and a few
reboots/mythfilldatabase runs, the tuners begin to work in the remote
backend. I verified yesterday that all 4 tuners were working by watching
4 different channels on 4 different frontends simultaneously.  They
generally continue to work for a while (days, assuming I leave everything
running), but at some point, one of the tuners on my master backend will
show up as "unavailable" but 3 tuners will continue to work (I'm not sure
how long it takes for this behavior to manifest itself).  I'll reboot the
master & the remote backends, and then I'll be in the situation where the
remote backend will fail to work, but both tuners in my master backend will
work...until all 4 start working again, some time later.  One issue that I'm
unclear of, is what order the machines must boot.  I would assume the master
should be running first, so the remote machine has something to connect to.
It should also be noted that while I am currently running Mythbuntu/Ubuntu
9.04, I experienced the same symptoms/behavior while running 8.10.

My goal here is to find someone willing to help direct me on what steps I
should take to identify the problem, and find a solution.  I've done lot's
of googling, and searched the wiki, and I've had little success finding a
relevant example of how to solve my problem.  While I am away from my home
at the moment, I can gather whatever logs seem necessary at a later time,
but I would require help determining what logs these would be and where to
find them.  If there are any obvious problems based on my hardware, or the
configuration that I've described, I'd appreciate notes on that as well.

I apoligize for the length of this post.

Thanks for any help,

-Josh
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