NFS Server for PVR

[Mucki]

When I press the Start-Button for the NFS-Server then TMS2100 freeze and the Telenet-Console was immediatly closed.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

I have noticed from the image that you posted that the NFS server is disabled. You could try logging on to the Telnet console and loading the NFS server manually. Change directory into Settings/TMSServer and run "sh 040-unfsd.control start" and see what happens.

I will add some logging to file in the next version and perhaps we can get some more useful diagnostics data.

[Mucki]

This is good, thank You !

[Mucki]

When I start the NFS-Server manually the Error is, that the unfsd-File was not found in the Folder.
(none) login: root
# cd /mnt/hd/ProgramFiles/Settings/
# cd TMSServer/
# sh 040-unfsd.control start
chmod: /mnt/hd/ProgramFiles/Settings/TMSServer/unfsd: No such file or directory
040-unfsd.control: /mnt/hd/ProgramFiles/Settings/TMSServer/unfsd: No such file or directory
0,NFS,NFS Server
#

It is my mistake. I delete all Scripts in the SettingsFolder and copy your new scripts in this Folder.
The unfsd-File was not in your Script-Zip.....

[macfan]

Der NFS-Server läuft jetzt. Kann ich in NASMount mein "normales" NAS und den Topf gleichzeitig konfigurieren?

Gruß, Horst

[Töppi]

Gegen Ende des Beitrags steht deine Antwort: Klick

[macfan]

Danke!

Gruß, Horst

[macfan]

I got my new 2401 today and connected it to the old 2100 via TMSServer and NASMount. All worked at once, great! Thank you!

Gruß, Horst

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

Status Update: I have not forgotten about this project. I have been working on a version of TMSServer that broadcasts the fact that it is sharing its HDD.

I have also written a new TAP called TMSClient that can listen for these broadcasts and automatically mount the HDD advertised by TMSServer. Once the 2 TAPs are loaded, PVR HDDs are shared automatically with very little user configuration required.

TMSClient will also work with FireBird's TMSRemote and allow the user to control the OSD of another PVR.

TMSServer will also tell TMSClient when its PVR is powering off so that TMSClient can unmount the drive cleanly. TMSClient also checks to see if TMSServer has crashed and also unmounts the drive cleanly.

All of this works perfectly for me when there is only 1 PVR with TMSClient and only 1 PVR with TMSServer. Unfortunately, if I run TMSServer and TMSClient on the same PVR so that both PVRs can share each others HDDs, both PVRs become unstable and reboot. This does not happen if I manually share and mount the HDDs, only when TMSServer/TMSClient are running on the same PVR.

Unfortunately, I won't release these TAPs in this condition because of the potential damage they could do. I am debugging this problem, but it is a long slow process trying to identify what is going wrong.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

This does not happen if I manually share and mount the HDDs

I decided to test this statement and I found it to be false. The mount does not fail, however, when I tried to play a recording from PVR A on PVR B and a recording from PVR B on PVR A at the same time, both PVRs froze.

Can I please ask for a volunteer to try and replicate these results? Warning, this test may cause your PVRs to freeze.

1. Run TMSServer on PVR A
2. Run TMSServer on PVR B
3. Mount PVR A's HDD on PVR B
4. Mount PVR B's HDD on PVR A
5. On PVR A, play a recording from PVR B
6. On PVR B, play a recording from PVR A (Both PVRs should freeze as soon as you navigate to PVR A's directory on PVR B.)

If this is confirmed, it will mean that I will have to reconsider how TMSServer and TMSClient operate. A PVR can be either a server or a client, but not both at once.

I may have to combine TMSServer and TMSClient into a single TAP with the ability to switch modes between server and client. All of the automatic broadcasting and mounting services would remain, but sharing would only work in 1 direction at a time.

[Twilight]

where can i get this taps to do the test for you?

twilight

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

Thanks twilight, the TAP is here.

You will need to use NASMount as the client or issue the mount command manually from a telnet session.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

I just did a test that suggests that the client and server can coexist on the same PVR as long as 2 PVRs don't try and mount each other's HDD.

• Centos Linux shared a directory (Simulating a NAS).
• PVR A mounted Centos and played a file.
• PVR A shares a local directory.
• PVR B mounts PVR A and plays a file.

PVR A is acting as a client to Centos and as a server to PVR B. It was only when PVR A <-> PVR B that the problem occurs.

[macfan]

The news about TMSClient sound great!

Gruß, Horst

[Twilight]

sorry I have just mounted the first device

for my understanding: if I mount reveiver A to B and B to A and the filer tap search in all directorys when I start it, it must have a feedbackloop

twilight

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

[quote="Twilight"]the filer tap search in all directorys when I start it, it must have a feedbackloop[/quote]
Perhaps you could use the standard PVR file list for the test.

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

An Australian friend with 3 PVRs just tried: A -> B, B -> C, C -> A, and the 3 PVRs foze when the last client connected. It sounds like something to do with an NFS loop.

[Twilight]

twilight

[DeltaMikeCharlie]

Well, it has been a few months, but I think that I have progressed TMSServer and TMSClient to a stage where they can be tested more broadly.

TMSServer and TMSClient are a pair of TAPs designed to allow multiple Topfield PVRs to communicate with each other and share recordings and other media.

Before you start TMSClient anywhere, TMSServer needs to be given a name. Load TMSServer and then enter the config page using TMSCommander. The name should not contain spaces. If you are already using WebControl, you can skip this step because WebControl and TMSServer share the same name file.

TMSServer

TMSServer provides services that allow users to remotely access the PVR from other network equipment using a variety of protocols:

Telnet - Command line access to the underlying operating system. This is mainly for "power users" and is disabled by default.

NFS - Allows the recordings on your PVR to be accessed by other PVRs or networked computers. (I use NekoDrive on my PC to access my PVR)

FTP - An alternate file transfer protocol server that has higher throughput and better stability than the built-in FTP server. This is also disabled by default and requires busybox.

TMSServer is a flexible framework designed to be expandable and to be able to accommodate additional network services without significant effort in the future.

By default, TMSServer advertises the services that it provides at regular intervals. Other systems, like those using TMSClient can receive these broadcasts, learn which services are available and connect automatically.

When a PVR running TMSServer receives a shutdown command from the user, it will automatically advise all TMSClient PVRs attached that it is about to shutdown so that they can automatically disconnect cleanly and safely.

Acknowledgements

TMSServer consolidates the functionality of several other TAPs, namely: KMTelnet, TMSTelnetd and StartFTPd. TMSServer was also inspired by "Script". I acknowledge and recognise the contributions of the authors of these TAPs.

TMSClient

TMSClient allows a PVR to connect to another PVR running TMSServer and play recordings and other media stored from that device. TMSClient can automatically learn about other PVRs that are using TMSServer and attach to them immediately.

When TMSClient connects to TMSServer, new folders will be created on the client PVR with the name of the server PVR in /DataFiles, /MediaFiles, /PhotoFiles and /MP3Files. If the name allocated to a server is "LoungeRoom", then the new folders will be called "@LoungeRoom".

If a PVR running TMSServer is also running TMSRemote (v4.1 or higher), then TMSClient can take control of the server's on-screen-display and operate the PVR remotely for tasks like reading the EPG and setting recording reservations.

To control the OSD of another PVR running TMSServer. Activate TMSClient via the TMSCommander menu. Locate the PVR that you want to control and press the yellow button. To exit a remote control session, press the "Mute" button.

It does not matter if the client and server have different remote control types, TMSClient learns the remote control type of the server and ensures that the client's remote control codes are translated to the server's remote control codes before sending them.

A PVR can run both TMSServer and TMSClient at the same time. This means that both PVRs can share recordings and control each others GUI.

You can manually download TMSServer and TMSClient from here.

Test this at your own risk. The system is by no means perfect and in the interests of full disclosure, there were some issues encountered during testing:

During testing with my 2 PVRs, I sometimes found that the TMSClient PVR went into a connect/disconnect loop that made the client PVR unresponsive, but recodings were unaffected. If this happens to you, stop TMSServer on the server PVR and the client PVR will dismount and stop looping.

I have one user who has tested with 3 PVRs and can have 3 servers running but only 2 clients. It does not matter which 2 of the 3 PVRs are clients, but the total is 2. If he tries 3 clients, all 3 PVRs reboot spontaneously. By contrast, I have another test user who has had the system running on 8 PVRs simultaneously without any looping or reboots.

There was also 1 user who lost the contents of the /DataFiles directory. The exact circumstances are unknown and efforts to recreate the event have failed. However, the incident appears to have happened when the user attempted to rename a mount point and deleted something by accident. This incident was most likely the result of finger trouble. If you need to rename a mount point, stop the server, change the server's name and then restart the server.

[Twilight]

big to you that sound realy good!!

one question: do you have a solution for the "loop back directory tree" and reboot when you connect SRP1 to SRP2 and also SRP2 to SRP1 at the same time?
when I read your posting it sounds for me that this could work now...

twilight