Adding storage without moving recordings?

[pfile]

is it possible to add storage without moving recordings? i am in the midst of a server rebuild onto a new machine; i have consolidated all my recordings onto a single disk (previously had one additional storage area which i had moved recordings to bit by bit.) since there's only about 1TB free on that disk, i'd like to add another disk before i bring the new server online.

if i were to move the Database directory to a new disk, then point the server at that new disk as the primary recording directory, then add the almost-full disk as additional storage, would that work?

thanks.

[Edwin_Perez]

Here

@racameron

After attempting to follow my own directions, I see all options go away when the DVR is disabled. So, you can do it beforehand.

From the DVR's web UI:

1. Navigate to Settings > DVR Database > Storage Paths.
2. Click on the icon, and select your current DVR directory. (Yes, it will now show up twice, the second instance with a trash icon next to it.)
3. Under Settings > Basic Setup > DVR, un-check DVR.
4. In the path selector below where it now says Enable DVR, select your new location.
5. Check Enable DVR.

Under the DVR Database section, you should now see your newly added new primary location, and listed below that will be your old/original location, with the trash icon beside it.

[pfile]

thanks, so that will automagically copy over the Database directory to the new primary storage disk? or does it continue to live on the old primary storage disk?

i guess my situation is slightly different as there will initially be no storage configured. but it sounds like i might have to start by selecting the old disk first as primary, then do the switcharoo described above.

[Edwin_Perez]

No need to copy anything it will create a new DB Backup.

[chDVRuser]

@pfile

if i were to move the Database directory to a new disk, then point the server at that new disk as the primary recording directory, then add the almost-full disk as additional storage, would that work?

Yes.
In your case, make a backup before you shut it down, then move the Database directory to the new disk, then just restore that latest backup.

[pfile]

OK. the only hitch here is that the old machine crashed so i don't know when the last database backup was made. but assuming i only lose a few recordings i'm OK with that. i should be able to find them and add them back as library shows.

i still have the 2 original disks untouched, so if something goes wrong i can start over again, at the cost of 2 days of rsync. hopefully though if something gets borked up it's only a matter of copying the Database directory again.

[chDVRuser]

@pfile

i don't know when the last database backup was made

They're automatically made at least once per day.
So just restore from the latest one from your old disk.
When you install Channels DVR, it will create new backups, so make sure you restore the newest of your older ones from your old disk.

[pfile]

OK, i see now - i misunderstood. i thought the Database directory contained the actual database but it only contains backups. this makes sense as you probably don't want the actual database out there in case the storage directory is a network share or some other slow/unreliable device.

anyway it may not have been necessary, but i rsynced everything except the directories containing media to the new disk. then i restored the database from the latest backup, deleted the old secondary storage pointer and then added in the other disk with all the merged recordings from the old server's disks. everything seems to be in order. there are a handful of missing recordings that i had forgotten that i moved to the internal disk of the old server, so i have to dig that disk out and see if i can get the recordings. that machine won't boot anymore.

the new server knows that it missed a bunch of recordings. it turns out that i have those recordings on a backup server i established to run while this project was underway. i wonder - if i copy those recordings to where they would have been placed on disk, would the server pick them up somehow? if not i guess i'll try the personal media import and see if they slot in to the library properly.

one thing i'm not sure of is what would have happened to Logs/ and Images/ if i hadn't copied them over. i'm not even sure the new server has picked up everything that's in those folders. maybe it would/did see the same directories over on the new expansion disk, which is where those directories came from in the first place. or maybe all that stuff is just ephemeral?

[chDVRuser]

@pfile

the new server knows that it missed a bunch of recordings. it turns out that i have those recordings on a backup server i established to run while this project was underway. i wonder - if i copy those recordings to where they would have been placed on disk, would the server pick them up somehow? if not i guess i'll try the personal media import and see if they slot in to the library properly.

If the old or new server didn't record those, they won't be in the Channels DVR database, so you'll have to Import them.

[chDVRuser]

@pfile

one thing i'm not sure of is what would have happened to Logs/ and Images/ if i hadn't copied them over.

Images would get regenerated. The Logs would be lost.

[pfile]

yeah - ok. i thought maybe because the new server knows it was missed that there was some partial database entry for it. it's just a few recordings so if they don't get merged in properly it's OK. i'll try the Import after i edit the commercials from them.

edit: might be a fool's errand but i assume the DB is just sqlite3? might be interesting to try to do surgery on the db to add in a recording. could try this on the backup server. must... stop... fiddling...

[chDVRuser]

Don't mess with the Channels DVR database files. They're Bolt.
If you want to play with them, do it with copies.
That is, if you want your Channels DVR to continue working.

[pfile]

yeah i dont have any experience with Bolt so probably a non-starter for me, oh well.

[tmm1]

If the recordings are listed in the interface it means they're in your database. Just put the associated mpg file in one of your dvr storage locations.

Anything else you can put into the Imports folder

[pfile]

well to be clear they are listed as "missed recording" in the schedule tab only.

is there still a DB entry for them?

[chDVRuser]

@pfile

is there still a DB entry for them?

NO

[pfile]

maybe @tmm misunderstood what i was saying or i was not clear enough

[chDVRuser]

The only database entry for a missed recording is a job (scheduled recording) entry.
There is no file# created until it starts recording, so it won't appear under recordings or in the library.
Channels DVR knows it didn't record.
The only way is to import it.