SQL database on Ramdisk (How big a disk do I need) (3 Viewers)

[m0t0k0]

Hi everyone I would like to setup mediaportal at home but i have a couple of configuration questions first, if anyone is able to help me.

I have googled and searched the forum but could nopt find the information I was after.

I would like to run a central SQL server so i can have a multi client setup, browsing the wiki it seems there are various SQL server that can be used. I cannot find any information as this which is best. anyone aware of any pros and cons.

Secondly I would like to run my SQL server from a RAMdisk I would just like to know what sort of size it going to have to be? I know this depends on how much is in my database but if anyone has any rough figures I can work out how much RAM to buy.

guys

Jake

 

[Caesium]

Hey,

All I can offer you is the size of my MySQL database - it has a full Freesat EPG in it and comes to 18MB. 16MB of this is in the "Program" table which stores the EPG.

So I probably wouldn't worry too much about it, this is a fairly new fresh install but I can't see it bloating up that much since old EPG entries appear to be deleted automatically.

 

[mm1352000]

Hi and welcome Jake

I would like to run a central SQL server so i can have a multi client setup, browsing the wiki it seems there are various SQL server that can be used. I cannot find any information as this which is best. anyone aware of any pros and cons.

You can use either MySQL or SQL Server. For those that prefer free (libre) open source software, the choice is obvious: MySQL. Otherwise I'd actually recommend SQL Server. It will perform better for you with MP not necessarily because it is a better DB engine, but because the DB abstraction layer that we use doesn't support MySQL as well as SQL Server. There is a higher query overhead on MySQL. In most cases you'd be unlikely to notice the difference, but if you have *lots* of channels (1000+) then you might notice channel list loading is faster with SQL Server.

Secondly I would like to run my SQL server from a RAMdisk...

In my opinion this really is not necessary. The tuner driver, timeshifting/recording HDD speed, and OS HDD speed will *hands down* make the biggest difference to MP performance.

I would just like to know what sort of size it going to have to be? I know this depends on how much is in my database but if anyone has any rough figures I can work out how much RAM to buy.

My MySQL database is roughly 150 MB. If I were you I'd leave at least 0.5 GB if you insist on doing this.

mm

 

[m0t0k0]

Thanks Caesium

Another question where does MP keep all the metadata (fan art ect) for movies and such the like as far as I can tell this is stored on the local machine,

"Databases are located in the User files -> Databases Folder:"
MP 1.1.0 = ..\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\database

It would be beneficial to have this in RAMdisc also but I have a feeling this is going to be a lot larger. (could anyone shout out how big this for them is)

Ideally this would be run from the central server and all clients would access this one database,

Unfortunately "Some users have reported database corruption when more than one client access same database at a time. If you try this, ensure only one client is active at a time."

Is this a limitation of the SQL database built into MP? Can it be replaced.

Cheers

 

[mm1352000]

Thanks Caesium

Another question where does MP keep all the metadata (fan art ect) for movies and such the like as far as I can tell this is stored on the local machine,

"Databases are located in the User files -> Databases Folder:"
MP 1.1.0 = ..\ProgramData\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal\database

It would be beneficial to have this in RAMdisc also but I have a feeling this is going to be a lot larger. (could anyone shout out how big this for them is)

Ideally this would be run from the central server and all clients would access this one database,

Unfortunately "Some users have reported database corruption when more than one client access same database at a time. If you try this, ensure only one client is active at a time."

Is this a limitation of the SQL database built into MP? Can it be replaced.

Cheers

MP uses more than one database.
You need one database (either MySQL or SQL Server) for TV Server. This stores EPG, past recording details, schedules, channels, tuning details and various other TV related details. There is no problem whatsoever with multiple clients accessing this.
There are other SQL Lite databases for music, video, picture and folder metadata - one set per client installation. These are the databases that can easily get corrupted if shared. For me they are less than 1 MB in total, but my databases are exceptionally small.

You can't combine the SQL Lite databases. Nor can you merge them with the TV Server database.

mm

 

[m0t0k0]

Thanks for the reply mm its the SQL Lite database I'm after I think as these will directly effect how fast the fan art is displayed and data is populated when scrolling through movies/pics ect.

I will setup my client scan my movies ect in and see what size I'm looking at.