Windows Share folders Mystery [i find a way but any question about it ?]

[francky34]

 Hi everybody,

Before begining, thanks all a lot for this magic distrib.
I 've performed many install of LinuxMCE and i have trouble with windows share folders, you'll see details below  :

Here HardWare Context :
ISP router : Livebox Pro Orange
Wifi router : NetGear

SERVER CORE : AMD Athlon 2800+
                     2 Go Ram
                     HD 20 Go
                     Graphic Nvidia TV out
                     Old WinTV PCI (not plug yet)
                     LinuxMCE 8.10

FILE SERVER: P4 3.4 Ghz
                   2 Go Ram
                   6 HD (80 Go to 250 Go)
                   Graphic ATI Radeon all in wonder 8500 DV
                   Windows XP pro

Orbiter: PC portable, Nokia N95

Devices : SONY CD 400 Disc MegaChanger (not plug yet), INFOCUS X1 Projector (not plug yet), ATI remote wonder (not plug yet)

For my first test à put only one share folder on XP, i disable DHCP on core and put the same subnet for all device connected to the ISP router. When internal core network see my File server it detect it and then my share folder like it's discribe in wiki. Here all seems to be all right.
-Then i launch the Web Admin and i synchronize file & media. All seems to be all right media are in database with correct attribut (LINUXMCE VIDEO) and coverart (IMDB and Amazon).
-Then I launch Orbiter click on Video and i was surprised seeing nothing.
- I click on search button and one caracter and then i see my media but not in my principal screen. But when i put the movie directly on the core file system i saw it  

I spent more day trying to solve this trouble but i didn't manage. My share folder is correct because i tryied it with ssh (write/read) . So i decide to put the correct network schema (describe in wiki) you'll see below

schema :



I had got the same trouble, and more because now core detect device i don't have like Ip camera, hard drive which is the same as current core file system and if i create new share folder on my file server it don't detect it .  

I'm very interesting in this product.
Any help please   ?

(Sorry for my poor English because i'm french)




 

[_if_]

the schema looks like your core has 2 NICs and you have them both conntected to the same router. This is hopefully not what you are doing, right?

[francky34]

Yes i have both connected to the same router but with different subnet :
- 192.168.2.X -> ISP network (red)
-192.168.1.X -> Core network (green)
-10.0.0.X -> Wifi network (blue)

What i don't understand his my windows share folder seems to work so good when i use it in KDE or putty, i can read/write do everything.
In Core Web Admin also the same thing when i synchronize media only orbiter doesn't show database media.
I performed many test like moving out file of the share, Web admin show me database difference. Deleted them from database. Put them in share again then web admin show me them again etc...
Share was in /home/public/data/other/Windows share folder-name

But yesterday i 've wanted to destroy and create share again, so i delete File Server device but now Core doesn't find it.

If it's a NIC's trouble could it work better with only one NIC using ISP router DHCP ?

I'm lost, i don't know any issu 

[_if_]

as you have 2 routers anyway, try this: web -> ISP Router -> Core -> Netgear Router -> Notebook/Fileserver/PCs/MDs
(use DHCP for both routers)

this is the usual way to do in Linuxmce!

[francky34]

Thank you i will perform this test, I'll tell you later

[francky34]

Hi _if_ ,

I've performed your test, you can see below what was happening with the correct schema network.

- My Notebook has been detected has Windows File servers share also but i have skipped to accept them (there is no media on it only orbiter)
- My Windows File server hasn't been detected but i known why (Firewalling so i trusted all the network ).
- Then i declared manualy the file server following wiki procedure. At this step, all seemed to be so good, my XP shared folders were detected.
- I went to the Web admin and i synchronzed file & media adding them to the database with good attribute.
- I rebooted the core
- I launched Orbiter on my notebook clicket on video button but i've only seen the local movies. I clicked on the search button then i' ve seen my windows shared  movies files.
- I inspected the core folders and i 've seen my shared folder in ./public/video/windows shared-name, I tested it, i could read/write.

It looks to be stange don't you ? 

Any idea ? 

[_if_]

hi,

ok, sometimes it just takes a little time and after a while the videos show up automatically, just as an info.

You could check if you put some stuff from the fileserver to the cores harddrive, will it then show up in orbiter? This would at least point you to the fileserver having a problem...

[francky34]

Ok, I'll see tonight after work if there are movies from my windows shared.
Local File are enabled in orbiter, there is no trouble with them.  More they are enabled immediatly after file sync.
I wonder what kind of trouble i could have with my share because it 's working find outside the orbiter 
I 'll performe a test sharing file from my notebook (also under Xp pro) in order to see if i have the same trouble.

Is there somebody with the same trouble ?

[francky34]

Nothing was happening ...
I inspected my share mount point with putty, and what i've seen is surprising. My mount point appear when i call ls command and disappear just after.
I found a solution but i wonder if it's a good one. I explain.
I make an smbmount on my share folder manualy under on other directory (/mnt/Newmountpoint). I tryied it and it worked very good.
Then i put manualy symbolic link to this mount point in my /home/public/videos directory. I put my smbmount command in my rc.local file in order to do if when booting.
Then i was surprising my movies in my share have been detected and displayed in my orbiter. I began to implement my LinuxMCE media database and it seemed to work so good .
So i found a by pass way  to use my share (if someone of communauty need it  ).
But I think LinuxMCE have a bug on windows Share. Is there somebody trying to fix it ? If so, i 'll be happy to contribute testing this way with you're result when i 'll be less newbies with LinuxMCE or if i've got support from somebody here to do it.

[Marie.O]

Nothing was happening ...
[..]I make an smbmount on my share folder manualy[..]I put my smbmount command in my rc.local[..]

A slightly better way would have been to just open a screen'd session that chdir into any of the mount points subdirs.

[..]But I think LinuxMCE have a bug on windows Share.

Sounds like a bug where it is unable to scan the dirs, as UpdateMedia probably times out to quickly when trying to change to the relevant directory.

[francky34]

Thanks administrator to answer me

A slightly better way would have been to just open a screen'd session that chdir into any of the mount points subdirs.

I'm not really sure i understand you... (sorry for my bad English) but here is my mind when i change directory to the mount point there is no trouble, when i list (ls -al) the directory's mount point (/mnt/device/39) one time i see it, one time not (39 invisible) without doing anything else. When i use /mnt/device/39 under KDE it works also good.But if i mount the same share with smbount //X.X.X.X/myshare /mnt/mymountpoint -o username=user,password=pass there is no trouble with my share but of course it 'not managed by the core automatically.

How LinuxMCE mount this device ?
I don't think it's exactly the same way (all attributes user and password are in database of course). On the other hand, i think link put by linuxmce are the same i put manualy.
I have performed a lot of test around this trouble with differents NIC schema but always the same result.
Am i alone with this trouble ?

I know it's strange 

Regards

[Marie.O]

LinuxMCE uses the automounter to mount devices. When you start a screen'd session, and cd into /mnt/device/<device-id>/public for example, it will probably mount the device and keep it mounted.

In theory, this should not be needed, but it seems there is still buglet someplace in UpdateMedia, which causes the automounting to fail.

[francky34]

Ok thank you very much posde.

I will keep my manualy procedure until bug will be solved. If some developpers need help for testing their issu, it will be a pleasure for me helping them. They can ask for my email in PM.
Now i follow the rule (for LinuxMCE - Be Patient) and i 'm going to follow learning about LinuxMCE because i find it very interresting concept.
If i become better in LinuxMCE, i never miss to help this communauty using the forum.


Waiting for an issu, i 'm sure this topic could help others, don't you think ?

By the way, now i'm interresting in technicals documents about database model and DAO from LinuxMCE.
Also (good) link to multi-language communauty issu .

Is it possible ?

[merkur2k]

i am one of the devs that has been doing a lot of work with the storage device scripts lately, but I don't really understand what the problem here is. normally LinuxMCE mounts the shares on demand any time something needs access to files on it (such as UpdateMedia).
as for documentation, it can be pretty sparse. however there is plenty of source code to read.

[francky34]

Hi merkur2k,

That is the reason why i'm surprise, because i have no problem with my share access when i mount it manualy. Here is the mystery of my topic.

Now, I 'm modifying pluto rip script in order to use dvdcvt script to make automaticaly divx of my dvd directly by clicking the rip orbiter button. During my test i see my shared device appaer and disappear  in the orbiter, i really don't understand why. Then, for my purpose, i used th local core filesystem using my own symbolic link to save them to the sharefolder.
It's amazing but real. What is the command used for mounting share in the dev ?
Maybe i would do unit test with this command in order to find a good way to explain my trouble.

By the way, when i'll finish experiment my dvdcvt script, i thing i'll put the result here. Maybe someone will be interrested in making DVD2divx using LinuxMCE  .
At my state, it works but it is not very clean programming. I 've the job process handle in my orbiter working fine but I must think about how to modify dvdcvt script in order to have a progress bar in the orbiter.
Is there someone interreted in this tweak ?
It would be a pleasure receiving some goodies