Migrating to a new computer AND a new storage solution

[Helios2]

I will be installing channels on a new Intel Core i7 NUC here soon. Currently I have CDVR running on a full size desktop pc with internal SATA drives. I have 4 internal SATA drives each with their own drive letter (about 40TB of storage space).

When I install CDVR on the new NUC, I also want to change the storage to my NAS (setup in Raid 5 for some fault tolerance). I do not want to run CDVR on my NAS (it's an ARM processor anyway). My concern is how will this storage change will affect the migration and existing Database? I will be going from 4 drives with different drive letters, to new Raid Array that consolidates all the storage. In other words, the paths to the data will need to change.

I would appreciate any insight on what the best way to make this transition. While I don't mind having CDVR rebuild the new database from the NAS, I would prefer not to lose my passes, collections, watched/unwatched markers, comskip info, etc. Will that be possible?

I would also appreciate any feedback from users who store all their data on a NAS and run CDVR on another device. Does putting the data on the NAS make the shows load slower or feel sluggish when fast forwarding/skipping, etc.?

-Doug

[racameron]

The first place to check is the documentation. Then, follow up with any unanswered questions you have.

How do I move Channels DVR Server to a new computer?

@Helios2

feedback from users who store all their data on a NAS and run CDVR on another device. Does putting the data on the NAS make the shows load slower or feel sluggish when fast forwarding/skipping

Storing OTA video across the network is never a great idea, but it can work. You may run into issues with sluggish seeking, and initial playback may be slow depending upon how you have your mounts configured. But overall, it is not a horrible experience as I used a network mounted NAS for DVR storage for several years (both via NFS and SMB).

[Helios2]

@racameron

The first place to check is the documentation. Then, follow up with any unanswered questions you have.

Thank you @racameron I should have noted that I have migrated CDVR from computer to computer before and have already read those instructions. Always good to point out the proper support channel regardless. I also searched the other topics, and while there are many on CDVR migration, I don't find anything that explains the storage change.

The problem is, the support guides do not even mention the topic of what to do when you are migrating (and) changing the file structure. So my question still remains.

Have you ever done a migration with changing the storage at the same time? Hopefully @tmm1 or @maddox or @eric can shed some light on it for me and any other users who might be considering the same thing. I don't mind doing the research and work, but I can't find any info as of yet.

I wouldn't mind picking your brain on the NAS. I haven't messed around much with NFS or SMB, but I see the options on my QNAP NAS for both. From what I have read, it sounds like SMB may be the best option in a Windows environment (which I am in) and NFS is better for unix. Would you agree? I can also add an SSD Cache to my NAS if there is any chance that could speed things up. It will be connected to my network via a 10Gbps fiber link so there shouldn't be any bandwidth issues.

[racameron]

@Helios2

what to do when you are migrating (and) changing the file structure

The file structure doesn't change. Just point the newly restored DVR instance to the DVR folder you just moved. The directories under that parent don't change, and Channels doesn't care about anything above the DVR directory (as long as it has the permissions to access it).

@Helios2

Windows environment (which I am in)

Afraid I can't offer you any help there. I avoid Windows like the plague, and only keep a copy around in a VM to offer some troubleshooting follow-along for family, or for a particular accounting package.

[Helios2]

@racameron

The file structure doesn't change. Just point the newly restored DVR instance to the DVR folder you just moved. The directories under that parent don't change, and Channels doesn't care about anything above the DVR directory (as long as it has the permissions to access it).

I don't mean to doubt you, I've read enough comments from you on these forums to know you are not only knowledgeable, but are also very active. However, I have a Channels DVR folder on my D: drive, and a Channels DVR folder on my E: drive, and one on my F: drive. If I combine these folders into one on my NAS Raid isn't channels expecting them to be on the D, E, and F drive? My fear is when I go to restore the database, it is expecting to see files in those locations (i.e. a database field has the storage location hard coded). If that isn't the case, then maybe it won't be much of an issue.

[racameron]

@Helios2

I have a Channels DVR folder on my D: drive, and a Channels DVR folder on my E: drive, and one on my F: drive. If I combine these folders into one on my NAS Raid isn't channels expecting them to be on the D, E, and F drive?

If your plan is to combine all of these into a single directory on your NAS, and one of your existing folders is the primary DVR location, and the other 2 are setup as additional storage paths, then there won't be a problem. Just merge all 3 directories into one when you move it to the NAS, and delete the references to the additional storage paths.

(For shows that Channels recorded, it doesn't really care about the actual path, and it doesn't actively check/scan files until it tries to play it. If you're playing a TV show it recorded, it looks in the DVR's TV Shows directory for the program; if it doesn't find it there, it will sequentially attempt the same place in each of your additional storage paths.)

If your other data on the other drives were added as imported personal media, that is a whole different situation, and you will likely have path issues that require re-importing the content.

[chDVRuser]

If you're a Windows user then yes, SMB would be the best choice.
As far as the file structure changes you're concerned about, you should post images of your current setup showing these settings from
Settings > General

Settings > Sources

As far as file paths changing, the only thing that might be affected are local content imports (imported Movies, Shows and Videos)

[Helios2]

@racameron

If your plan is to combine all of these into a single directory on your NAS, and one of your existing folders is the primary DVR location, and the other 2 are setup as additional storage paths, then there won't be a problem. Just merge all 3 directories into one when you move it to the NAS, and delete the references to the additional storage paths.

That's good to know, thank you.

@racameron

If your other data on the other drives were added as imported personal media, that is a whole different situation, and you will likely have path issues that require re-importing the content.

I use Playon and Streamfab and import those as well. Most everything else has been recorded by CDVR but I am using the personal media due to the different drives (see images below).

@chDVRuser

If you're a Windows user then yes, SMB would be the best choice.
As far as the file structure changes you're concerned about, you should post images of your current setup showing these settings from
Settings > General

Thank you @chDVRuser , I will explore SMB. Do you notice any delays, sluggishness, or other side effects of having the media be on your network instead of the local machine?

Here are the screenshots:

[chDVRuser]

@Helios2

Do you notice any delays, sluggishness, or other side effects of having the media be on your network instead of the local machine?

All 5 of my Channels DVR Servers are running on my Synology NAS. I only use SMB to access files on my Synology NAS from my Windows PC.
I have seen other users having issues when using a network storage location for Channels DVR to record to and don't want that headache. It might work, but I don't want to take the chance.

[Helios2]

In an effort to simply things, would this work....

1. Create the Raid on my nas and copy all of the TV Shows, Movies, and Personal media over to the Channels DVR folder (all in the same folder).

2. On my current setup (before I switch PC's), I would then remove all personal media folders and change the primary storage location to my network share on the nas.

3. Let CDVR scan all the media and make sure everything is working before backing up the database and starting the migration to the new PC.

I imagine I might lose some watch status on the shows I am copying, but hopefully all my passes and other info would work. Does this sounds like a viable solution?

[chDVRuser]

No.
Actually after you restore the database onto the new PC, it will still make you select a new DVR recording directory

@Helios2

And none of your imports will come over from the backup if they're on a different path.

Best to copy your Movies and TV folders from E:\ChannelsDVR, L:\ChannelsDVR and L:\Emby\Movies to your new ChannelsDVR directory on your NAS you'll be using. So the TV Shows you copy will end up in the new ChannelsDVR/TV folder and the Movies will end up in the new ChannelsDVR/Movies folder. Once you restore your latest backup on the new PC, it will see all of them there and your tuner sources, passes and schedules will still be there (might just have to reload the guide data if it doesn't do that automatically)

For your Imports in L:\Playon Home, N:\Channels and N:\Channels\StreamFab you can copy them to the new ChannelsDVR/Imports/Movies, ChannelsDVR/Imports/TV and ChannelsDVR/Imports/Videos on your NAS if you want. Wherever you put them, you'll have to re-import them since they don't allow editing the paths yet.

[Helios2]

@chDVRuser

Best to copy your Movies and TV folders from E:\ChannelsDVR, L:\ChannelsDVR and L:\Emby\Movies to your new ChannelsDVR directory on your NAS you'll be using. So the TV Shows you copy will end up in the new ChannelsDVR/TV folder and the Movies will end up in the new ChannelsDVR/Movies folder. Once you restore your latest backup on the new PC, it will see all of them there and your tuner sources, passes and schedules will still be there (might just have to reload the guide data if it doesn't do that automatically)

For your Imports in L:\Playon Home, N:\Channels and N:\Channels\StreamFab you can copy them to the new ChannelsDVR/Imports/Movies, ChannelsDVR/Imports/TV and ChannelsDVR/Imports/Videos on your NAS if you want. Wherever you put them, you'll have to re-import them since they don't allow editing the paths yet.

I'm following you now, thank you. I'm consuming storage space quickly, and it will be nice to be able to just expand my Raid when I need more (and not have to worry about running out of SATA connections or physical drive space in my PC.

[chDVRuser]

Just make sure to do a manual database backup of your old one after copying/moving the files to the NAS. I wait until I'm ready to restore on the new system before backing up the old one to get the most current backup files to restore. Then I copy that newest backup folder to the new installation and restore.

[chDVRuser]

One thing I forgot to mention.
If you currently have imported media in your E:\ChannelsDVR\Imports or L:\ChannelsDVR\Imports Movies, TV or Videos folders, you should copy those to your new ChannelsDVR\Imports Movies, TV or Videos folder and I think they will come over from the database restore with the correct paths and won't have to be re-imported.

@tmm1 is that correct?

[Helios2]

Thanks for all the help and input. It will a week or two before I actually migrate, but now I have a plan

[Morris_Altman]

I agree with racameron advice. I've run channels from a Windows machine and had the storage on a SMB share on my NAS. It works quite well.

I suggest you copy all your files to the NAS. Then bring up your new server and point to the NAS for your storage. Then backup the database on your old server and shut it down or disconnect it. Then restore your database to the new server. You may see some strange errors pointing to the SMB share yet it will work. Depending on the errors you get, you may need to restart the server and then it will work. The nice thing about doing this is if the migration goes bad, you can shut down the new server and bring the old one back online.

Good luck!

Morris

[Helios2]

@Morris_Altman

I suggest you copy all your files to the NAS. Then bring up your new server and point to the NAS for your storage. Then backup the database on your old server and shut it down or disconnect it. Then restore your database to the new server. You may see some strange errors pointing to the SMB share yet it will work. Depending on the errors you get, you may need to restart the server and then it will work. The nice thing about doing this is if the migration goes bad, you can shut down the new server and bring the old one back online.

Sounds like the best plan, thank you Morris.

[Helios2]

Following back up on this as I started setting up the RAID and will be transferring my movies and TV to the NAS here soon.

I did a quick test and moved a TV Series from my local drive to the NAS and then added the NAS drive as a source in CDVR. After doing a media scan, the TV Series shows up in Channels, but so does the old (now deleted) TV Series (see image below). How do I prevent this from happening?

[jasonmcroy]

If I understand what you're saying occured, you need to hit "Prune Removed Media".

It is unders Settings>Sources - Look for the little gear icon over the window where you see all of your Personal Media sources. If you click that gear icon you'll see what I mentioned in the first line.

[Helios2]

@jasonmcroy

If I understand what you're saying occured, you need to hit "Prune Removed Media".

It is unders Settings>Sources - Look for the little gear icon over the window where you see all of your Personal Media sources. If you click that gear icon you'll see what I mentioned in the first line.

Thank you, I think you are correct.

In fact, I noticed that CDVR ran a re-indexing video process automatically and eventually the duplicate TV shows were automatically pruned (before I clicked Prune Removed Media). CDVR must take care of them automatically now when media is scanned?