Difference between revisions of "Alx9r's Network Attached Storage Setup"

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{{Alx9rSampleSetup}}
 
{{Alx9rSampleSetup}}
  
I opted to use a built-in (sata connected) secondary media storage drive for my hybrid core.   
+
I store all my media on a Network Attached Storage box. 
 +
 
 +
''Side Note: Originally I opted to use a built-in (sata connected) secondary media storage drive for my hybrid core.  That configuration was simple and cheap to set up but suffered from a few shortcomings.  You can read about that original setup in earlier versions of this page.''
 +
 
 +
===Description===
 +
Here are some details on my NAS setup:
 +
*Hardware:
 +
**D-Link DNS-323 ($180)
 +
**2x 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 hard drives ($225 each)
 +
*Firmware:
 +
**D-Link version 1.05
 +
**[http://wiki.dns323.info/howto:ffp ffp]
 +
*backup configuration: the 2 drives are entirely independent volumes (i.e. not a RAID configuration).  Only the second drive is used by LinuxMCE.  Every night, a script synchronizes the contents of the first drive with the second drive.
  
 
===Rationale===
 
===Rationale===
The two-drive scheme has two qualities:
+
Here are some reasons why I store all my media using this network attached storage scheme:
*The media drive can be formatted XFS so that LinuxMCE can "listen" for new media files that are copied to the driveOther filesystems don't allow for this.
+
*Having media on a separate drive drive from LinuxMCE ensures that media and its attributes are safe when installing LinuxMCE fresh.
*Fresh installations of LinuxMCE can be put on the primary drive without losing media.  If you have only a single drive, this is not possible without going through a less-supported multi-partition installation.
+
*The NAS box can be located away from my hybrid/core which cuts down on noise in the living room.
 +
*As compared to adding more hard drives to my hybrid/core, NAS offers the following benefits:
 +
**limitless expansion
 +
**much fewer overheating and power supply concerns
 +
*As compared to RAID1 on the DNS-323, syncronizing independent drives nightly is less buggy.
 +
*As compared to RAID1 or RAID5, having a backup provides a second ''independent'' copy in case a human, software, or hardware error corrupts, deletes, or otherwise destroys the media on the drive.
 +
*Unlike with RAID1, using one drive as a nightly backup only means that the two drives have a different usage pattern and are unlikely to fail simultaneously.
 +
*Unlike with RAID5, if the NAS box fails I can just plug either of the drives into a PC and recover the contents.
 +
 
 +
===Setup===
 +
There are a number of wikis and forums dedicated to the DNS-323I'll just provide the general steps that I took to prepare mine. Here is what I did:
 +
#With no hard drives in the slots, I upgraded the DNS-323 firmware to 1.05 using the DNS-323 admin web page.
 +
#Changed the name of the device to <tt>NAS-1</tt> from the DNS-323 admin web page.
 +
#Added the drives and used the wizard on the DNS-323 admin web page to format them in "standard" mode.  This mode results in two separate volumes called <tt>Volume_2</tt> and <tt>Volume_1</tt>.
 +
#Copied all my media to the LinuxMCE folder structure on <tt>Volume_2</tt>See the next section for folder structure details.
 +
#Installed [http://wiki.dns323.info/howto:ffp ffp (aka fun_plug)] following [http://nas-tweaks.net/CH3SNAS:Tutorials/fun_plug#Steps_for_installing_fun_plug these instructions].
 +
#Set up a nightly rsync to copy all of the data from <tt>Volume_2</tt> to <tt>Volume_1</tt> by following [http://forum.dsmg600.info/t1150-Tutorial:-Backup-Everything-from-once-night.html these instructions].
 +
#With the DNS-323 turned off, connected it to the INTERNAL network, then switched it on.
 +
#Once the DNS-323 completed booting, I performed a reload router.  After a what seemed like a long time (probably a few minutes), LinuxMCE detected the DNS-323 and asked me if I wanted to use the drive.  LinuxMCE prompted for each of three shares that the DNS-323 set up: <tt>Volume_1</tt>, <tt>Volume_2</tt>, and <tt>web_page</tt>.  I told LinuxMCE to use only Volume_2 with the LinuxMCE folder structure.
 +
#After this, LinuxMCE displayed that it was "Installing Software" for a few minutes and eventually hung indefinitely doing some sort of "Configuration".  I finally, forced reload router, and the DNS-323 was fully set up.
  
 
===Folder Structure and Media (Pre-Installation)===
 
===Folder Structure and Media (Pre-Installation)===
Before installing LinuxMCE, I formatted my secondary media drive to the XFS filesystem using the [http://gparted.sourceforge.net/ gparted LiveCD].  Then I created the standard LinuxMCE media drive folder structure on that drive.  The structure looks like this:
+
Before connecting the DNS-323 to LinuxMCE, I created the standard LinuxMCE media drive folder structure on the <tt>Volume_2</tt> drive.  The structure looks like this:
 
<code>
 
<code>
 
+
 
public
+
Volume_2
|-data
+
  |-public
    |-videos
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    |-data
    |-music
+
        |-videos
    |-pictures
+
        |-music
 +
        |-pictures
 
</code>
 
</code>
  
Also before installation, I moved all of my media to the appropriate folder on the media drive.
+
Also before connecting, I moved all of my media to the appropriate folder on the media drive.
 
+
===Symlink and Permissions===
+
Once LinuxMCE is installed, there are some steps that I performed to prepare the media drive: I created a symlink to the drive and set appropriate permissions to it.
+
 
+
I wanted the drive to be accessible as <tt>/media/bi</tt> (<tt>bi</tt> short for built-in).  I created a symlink accordingly using this command:
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ln -s /mnt/device/XX /media/bi
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Where <tt>XX</tt> is some sort of ID number for the media drive that seems to change each time I install LinuxMCE.
+
 
+
I wanted the default user, <tt>linuxmce</tt> to be able to do things at will on that drive, so I made that user the owner:
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sudo chown -R linuxmce /media/bi
+
 
+
Everyone should be able to delete, rename, and copy stuff to the public folder, so I changed the permissions accordingly:
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chmod a+w -R /media/bi/public
+
 
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These permissions pass through on the samba shares, which means that I can put stuff on the media drive folders from a Windows computer by browsing to <tt>\\mce\public</tt><sup>1.</sup> and logging in as a LinuxMCE user.
+
 
+
 
+
===Footnotes===
+
<font size=-1>1. The string <tt>mce</tt> in the path <tt>\\mce\public</tt> is mapped in my router's <tt>hosts</tt> file.  See [[Alx9r's Router Setup|my router setup]] for details.</font>
+
  
 
{{Alx9rSampleSetupNavbox}}
 
{{Alx9rSampleSetupNavbox}}

Latest revision as of 23:42, 20 September 2015

Alx9r's Sample Setup
System Diagram

I store all my media on a Network Attached Storage box.

Side Note: Originally I opted to use a built-in (sata connected) secondary media storage drive for my hybrid core. That configuration was simple and cheap to set up but suffered from a few shortcomings. You can read about that original setup in earlier versions of this page.

Description

Here are some details on my NAS setup:

  • Hardware:
    • D-Link DNS-323 ($180)
    • 2x 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 hard drives ($225 each)
  • Firmware:
    • D-Link version 1.05
    • ffp
  • backup configuration: the 2 drives are entirely independent volumes (i.e. not a RAID configuration). Only the second drive is used by LinuxMCE. Every night, a script synchronizes the contents of the first drive with the second drive.

Rationale

Here are some reasons why I store all my media using this network attached storage scheme:

  • Having media on a separate drive drive from LinuxMCE ensures that media and its attributes are safe when installing LinuxMCE fresh.
  • The NAS box can be located away from my hybrid/core which cuts down on noise in the living room.
  • As compared to adding more hard drives to my hybrid/core, NAS offers the following benefits:
    • limitless expansion
    • much fewer overheating and power supply concerns
  • As compared to RAID1 on the DNS-323, syncronizing independent drives nightly is less buggy.
  • As compared to RAID1 or RAID5, having a backup provides a second independent copy in case a human, software, or hardware error corrupts, deletes, or otherwise destroys the media on the drive.
  • Unlike with RAID1, using one drive as a nightly backup only means that the two drives have a different usage pattern and are unlikely to fail simultaneously.
  • Unlike with RAID5, if the NAS box fails I can just plug either of the drives into a PC and recover the contents.

Setup

There are a number of wikis and forums dedicated to the DNS-323. I'll just provide the general steps that I took to prepare mine. Here is what I did:

  1. With no hard drives in the slots, I upgraded the DNS-323 firmware to 1.05 using the DNS-323 admin web page.
  2. Changed the name of the device to NAS-1 from the DNS-323 admin web page.
  3. Added the drives and used the wizard on the DNS-323 admin web page to format them in "standard" mode. This mode results in two separate volumes called Volume_2 and Volume_1.
  4. Copied all my media to the LinuxMCE folder structure on Volume_2. See the next section for folder structure details.
  5. Installed ffp (aka fun_plug) following these instructions.
  6. Set up a nightly rsync to copy all of the data from Volume_2 to Volume_1 by following these instructions.
  7. With the DNS-323 turned off, connected it to the INTERNAL network, then switched it on.
  8. Once the DNS-323 completed booting, I performed a reload router. After a what seemed like a long time (probably a few minutes), LinuxMCE detected the DNS-323 and asked me if I wanted to use the drive. LinuxMCE prompted for each of three shares that the DNS-323 set up: Volume_1, Volume_2, and web_page. I told LinuxMCE to use only Volume_2 with the LinuxMCE folder structure.
  9. After this, LinuxMCE displayed that it was "Installing Software" for a few minutes and eventually hung indefinitely doing some sort of "Configuration". I finally, forced reload router, and the DNS-323 was fully set up.

Folder Structure and Media (Pre-Installation)

Before connecting the DNS-323 to LinuxMCE, I created the standard LinuxMCE media drive folder structure on the Volume_2 drive. The structure looks like this:

Volume_2
 |-public
    |-data
       |-videos
       |-music
       |-pictures

Also before connecting, I moved all of my media to the appropriate folder on the media drive.



Alx9r's Sample Setup
Materials Network Gear · Hybrid Core (living room) · AV Gear (living room) · Orbiters · Glue
Preparation Router Setup · Aquos TV Power-on
Hybrid Core pre-LinuxMCE Setup Assembly · BIOS Tweaks · Hardware Testing · NAS Media Drive Setup
Hybrid Core LinuxMCE Installation Bare-metal Install · AV Wizard · Sarah (Setup Wizard) · Special Steps · PVR-150 Remote · Aquos TV · Denon Receiver · Media Drive Setup · Laptop Orbiter · Webpad Orbiter
Hybrid Core Additional Software Bittorrent · Synergy
Toolkit Laptop · telnet/ssh client · Remote Mouse and Keyboard · Partition Tools
Design Rationale Network Topology · NAS