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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Howdy,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I'm in the process of planning a
MythTV setup. I've never set it up before, and I wanted to pass my idea by
some smarties before I drop some cash into a new system. I'm still working
my way through various documentation, so I apologize if I'm about to ask some
really bonehead questions that make you see red.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I'm planning the following basic
system:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Asus Pundit</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Celeron 2.0 GHz</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 512/1024 MB RAM</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> WinTV PVR 350</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> At this point, I've seen enough
reports that that hardware is probably OK. But, here's where I go astray
from the usual crowd: I don't want a hard drive in this sytem.
That's right! I'm cheap!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Right now, I'm considering
putting a small compact flash card (16MB that I have laying on my desk) in as a
boot device. This will simply contain a kernel that will instruct the
system to do a "diskless" boot from the network (100 mbit) and load everything
from my server. (This hopefully explains my desire for 1Gb RAM, as I
may not have swap.) My server has nearly a half terabyte of storage, so
I'm not interested in adding a new drive to another system on the
network.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> The basic question is:
Will this work? That is, will the network be able to handle
recording/playback to/from a NFS server when there is absolutely no local
storage? It seems like there's allowance for this given that one of the
FAQs on the site regards NFS-based storage. (I'd be interested in knowing
how much bandwidth simultaneous record and playback will suck up from my
100mbit. If it's a lot of bandwidth, I can add a separate subnet and
connection for it's private use, or just jump to gigabit.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> If it's a Really Bad Idea (TM)
to skip local storage on the system with the capture device, would a 2.5
inch IDE device work? I've got a 10gig drive resting on the desk next to
the CF card that's waiting for an application.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Another option I was thinking of
was to have the backend situated on the server and have a diskless frontend, but
that comes with the trouble of routing cable (TV) to my server, so I'm none to
jazzed about that. An option that popped through my head was to have a
master backend without a capture device that will collect/organize shows, but
that doesn't seem to be allowed. Is there some way to fake a capture
device and make sure that it never gets touched?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> The last question I've got
is: If I add another frontend machine (say for another TV), will there be
any issues with sharing the shows stored on the NFS server? I'm guessing
that the various front/back ends just put their heads together and do the right
thing.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Thanks in advance for your
advice,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Jason</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>