[mythtv-users] Back-end Virtualization

Nathan Hawkins nateh at thfcom.com
Fri May 11 18:34:42 UTC 2012


@Ray - you mention several  good reasons why virtualization isn't desirable, and I agree that for the majority of people its not the way to go because they simply don't have the raw computing needs that some others do. In my case its ALL about efficiency... Strictly from a power perspective (which translates to TCO), it costs less to virtualize. I, however, demand my hardware to actually/continually work rather than sitting idle 99.9% of the time. Virtualization allows me to get far more efficiency for the same hardware, thus TCO goes down while pushing my gear to do the same amount of work on less hardware and power. I do have a windows domain and I have several linux servers... They all have their function, but you simply cannot have one huge beefy master server doing it all... I've tried it and it simply doesn't work. If you take that same beefy server and dice it up into VM's...you get soooo much more out of that hardware. In my case I can add even more efficiency into taking some spare CPU cycles and left over RAM and build a Myth Backend server. The spare cycles my servers have are by far enough to handle Myth and its necessities. Linux efficiencies in memory make it very easy on resources and when you store everything on a RAID 5 array, you get all the disk I/O Myth requires. So, the real question is why NOT virtualize? These days, computers are becoming so much more necessary in day to day life that I find it increasingly necessary to become increasingly more efficient.

@Zarthan - at this time I have a v6 LinHES Myth backend on its own platform which has been running for at least 5 years straight. The thing just simply will not die... I have two PCI Hauppauge 350 tuner cards (used to be three but a couple of years ago one died...so I'm down to two...). I've tried to virtualize a PCI card thru to the VM's, but its been my experience that VM's don't do well with that kind of shared resource. I've had far more success with USB resources, and I need my hardware to be 64 bit compliant. Combine that with I really like Hauppauge and the answer is this USB 64 bit 950 (now the 950Q). You folks seem to like that Homerun network tuner and I have to say that sounds VERY intriguing. So I'm gonna give Myth a go as a VM and try to get the 950 to work. If I can, then I'll prolly just keep it that way. If I cannot, then the Homerun sounds like the next stop in virtualization.

@All - I have to do something, cuz the Myth server is taking too much rack space so the never say die back end is soon to be replaced. Anyway, I love hearing everyones successes. It encourages me more that this not only can be done, but is gonna work. I'm excited to try, but I have bigger fish to fry at the moment before I start that project.


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