For additional storage, USB drive vs Network drive

Channels DVR Server
#1

I have an older HP Z400 Workstation (Xeon W3680 CPU (12 cores)) running Windows 10 that I've been using to host ChannelsDVR. The problem is that this PC only has 2 HDD bays and a smaller SSD running the OS. Even with a 10 TB and 12 TB drive in these bays, I'm once again running out of room for the Library Storage. This PC is old enough that it doesn't have any USB 3 connections, so I would probably have to add a PCI card to give them.

That leads to my question: Given this hardware limitation, would it be better to add Library Storage using an added USB 3 drive or a large shared drive from another PC?

Also, is there a practical limit to how many storage locations are used?

#2

Recycle that 130watt dinosaur and get a 15watt n95 Beelink that will perform better and pay for itself in a year of electricity savings. Use usb storage if that’s what you have.

#3

So that notwithstanding, is USB then better than network storage for the library Database?

#4

This n100 is $169 with the coupon. Beelink n100
It has 4- usb 3.2 ports(you will likely need one of these for a keyboard mouse combo). It has a spot for another internal 2.5” drive inside the case and it includes a faster 500gb drive nvme drive for the windows operating system.
If you run usb drives you may want to consider a powered hub or powered enclosures. It would probably be fine without though.

Yes a usb would be better.

  • edit. The ones in link that have the 500gb or the n95 cpu only come with Ubuntu. If you want windows operating system chose the 256gb with the n100 or search for n95 or n100s with windows.
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#5

I've got one of those Beelink PCs running Windows 11 for basic office tasks, and it works very well for that, but I hadn't thought it would be very simple or make lot of sense to plug in a bunch of USB enclosures spinning my high capacity HDDs for our large Library Database Storage (currently using pretty much all of the 22 TB of the 2 drives being used now). I move a lot of things off to Local Storage drives elsewhere on the network, but some collections have proved to be quite time-consuming trying to rebuild the metadata to match what all was in the original library entries (like the source it was recorded from).
Is it a significant downgrade to add network storage paths to the Library Database Storage compared to using local (host PC USB) paths?

#6

Why is that Additional storage should keep the same metadata as the recording ? now if you use Import storage that is different ... I use Additional Network paths and have no problem moving recordings. In fact all my movies are moved to NAS's. To be accessed by EMBY. And still show up as recordings in ChannelsDVR.

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#7

What you are doing is exactly what I am asking about. Up to now I have about 50 TB of network storage that I've designated as "Personal Media" and have been able to get by with using only 2 paths (10 TB + 12 TB) on the host PC for the Library Database Storage.
Screenshot 2024-07-18 163237
(ignore the 5 minute scan frequency - that was for adding a batch of movies to personal media)

So it looks like you've been using network storage paths without any issues - is that correct? I was primarily concerned if adding network storage paths would bottleneck my network performance-wise.

#8

I use Robocopy to move my Movies when the DVR is Idle no recording, not watching, no guide update and no commercial detections. I am an automation freak hate to do anything manually if I can avoid it.

goto start
:loop
timeout 300
:start
CD /d "%~dp0"
curl http://127.0.0.1:8089/dvr | findstr  /I /C:"busy\":false"
set notbusy=%ERRORLEVEL%
rem set notbusy=1
if %notbusy% NEQ 0 goto loop
ROBOCOPY "W:\DVR\Movies" "\\MYCLOUDPR4100\MyShares\Imports\ChannelsDVR\Movies" /move /COPY:DT /minage:0 /e /R:2 /W:2
MD "W:\DVR\Movies"
goto loop
exit
#9

I've primarily used Beyond Compare for moving files, but I love the Idea of using Robocopy in a script that could be put in Task Scheduler to move things on a incremental basis. I haven't used curl for transferring files between resources, but I would love to learn.

#10

Nice! That makes two of us! :laughing:

We are officially friends now. :handshake:

I need to take a look at Robocopy then. Thank you for mentioning it. :slight_smile:

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#11

Curl in the case above is only used to check that the DVR is IDLE.

Here is a series move example ....

ROBOCOPY "W:\DVR\TV\Walker, Texas Ranger" "\\EDSYNOLOGY\Public\ChannelsDVR\TV\Walker, Texas Ranger" /move /COPY:DT /minage:0 /e /R:2 /W:2
#12

The database is maintained in the same directory path as you install channels. (It is possible to map and/or link to external storage yet not necessary this directory is relatively light on storage.) All of my videos reside on a NAS and a 1-Gb network connection to the Channels DVR server is more than enough to record and playback many videos at once. Each source at 1080p uses about 5-Mb in each direction (receive from source and then write to NAS). 4K video uses about 25-Mb so while more network intensive, it's still a small amount of a 1-Gb link. If your server is wired with 1-Gb you should be fine. A WiFi connected server will be limited by many factors and is not a good idea if you have a lot of streams being recorded or played simultaneously.

#13

I've used Robocopy (along with Shadowspawn for open Outlook files) for a daily backup to a server for many years, but didn't know how to limit it to executing only when Channels was Idle. I'm definitely going to consider it so I don't have to so closely monitor when I choose to move chunks of files.
Thanks!