Seriously..

[Clint07]

Thanks to both of you guys.

another option....if you want wireless....it may take up some more space...but....put in a regular network card....then get an adapter that would send that wirelessly to whatever you have....

something like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124126

as long as you have a pxe boot enabled network card that should work for you and youd still be wireless....hope this helps some.

I thought that too, but will it give me Wifi on PXE start up so I can connect to the core? If that's true, why can't I use the PCI adapter for Wifi? Maybe it has to do with the fact USB starts on boot up? I'm just guessing..

I think, in his own charming way, he meant this:

modem <---> [router] <---> (old nic) CORE (gb nic) <---> gb switch <===> rest of your network

the [router] is optional (some modems have them built in as well) they can avoid hassle with ppp etc.

But If I use Wifi for my MD, won't that conflict with the Router's DHCP server? Or was this setup made for a wired connection?


Once again, Thank you =).

[Zaerc]

To be honest, I think wifi is a PITA.  And from what I've heard, playing media over wifi is no picnic either.

Anyway, if you want to use wifi for media directors and such, make sure it's attached to the "inside" network of the core (where the gb-switch is attached in the example).  Firewalling (NAT/Masq) and DHCP should be turned off in the wifi router.  Having wifi on the [router] in the example is pretty much useless as that won't get your diskless MDs started.

[teedge77]

sorry...i didnt notice it was USB...i meant something like this....


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833203003

with this card (i wouldnt get it....get a better one) all you do is plug in your ethernet cable into the adapter and it receives it and sends it wirelessly for you. so that would relay the PXE boot request for you.

but like zerc said....wireless and streaming video is a crapshoot....youll need to be extremely close to your WAP and even over pre-N i think 720p might be the best you could do....if done some 720p at hoem on my laptop and it starts to stutter once any fast motion comes in...im gonna wire my house with cat5e or cat6 and get a Gb switch. if you dont expect to do any high definition then i think wireless (at least G with great signal) should be fine. we watch movies/tv shows like that on my laptop sometimes...

[Clint07]

In reality, Wires are a PITA =/.. My rooms are very far apart and it would take a lot of time and wires for the house to be fully connected.

I'll either buy that adapter or I'm just going to buy a small hard drive, install Kubuntu, and buy a compatible wireless adapter.. But wait.. The DHCP server uuuuuuuuughhhhhh stupid DCHP & routerssss. Couldn't I just disable my router's DHCP & Firewall so my MD to connect to the core =/?

Btw, how do you know if your computer supports Diskless boot?

Thx

[teedge77]

youd have to look up your motherboard or nic....if you use an onboard nic then it may say...if you use a pci card look it up on the manufacturers web site.

something like this one. the specifications will say if its PXE enabled.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106123

Intel 82541PI Gigabit Controller
Compatible with Fast Ethernet and Ethernet
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) 2.3 32-bit 33/66 MHz
Category-5 Cabling
Interrupt Moderation
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI),Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)/Desktop
Management Interface (DMI), Wired for Management (WfM)
Meets IEEE 802.3ab Technology
Advanced Cable Diagnostics
Support for Many Network Operating Systems (NOSs)

[Clint07]

Alright thanks. Someone should really write a step by step on making a core (and install av equipment too..) & a MD, installing plugins, a plugin section on the forums, give minimum requirements for hardware, options for networking and such, and how to go into PXE (Unless it's pretty easy). It would really help people like me who don't know a lot about Linux and don't have experience in setting up a Linux HTPC.

Thanks for everything guys. Still need that "disabling the router's DHCP" thing answered and that should be my last question for a while.

Thanks you guys =).

[dopey]

In reality, Wires are a PITA =/.. My rooms are very far apart and it would take a lot of time and wires for the house to be fully connected.

If that's the case then actually a wired solution is your best bet. The further apart your rooms are, the more likely wireless won't work...

If you disable DHCP on the core it won't allow you to boot diskless, which seems to not be what you want.

You can easily see if your motherboard/network card supports network boot by looking in the bios (you'll likely need to go in there anyhow to tell it to boot via network). Make sure that your integrated network card has the boot rom option enabled (usually in the Integrated Peripherals menu) and then change the boot priority to allow network boot (usually in the Advanced menu). Also some motherboards allow you to press a button (usually F8, but could be F10 or even ESC) on the POST screen (the very first screen on boot) to give you a menu to select how you want to boot (hard disk, network, etc.).

[Clint07]

If that's the case then actually a wired solution is your best bet. The further apart your rooms are, the more likely wireless won't work...

If you disable DHCP on the core it won't allow you to boot diskless, which seems to not be what you want.

You can easily see if your motherboard/network card supports network boot by looking in the bios (you'll likely need to go in there anyhow to tell it to boot via network). Make sure that your integrated network card has the boot rom option enabled (usually in the Integrated Peripherals menu) and then change the boot priority to allow network boot (usually in the Advanced menu). Also some motherboards allow you to press a button (usually F8, but could be F10 or even ESC) on the POST screen (the very first screen on boot) to give you a menu to select how you want to boot (hard disk, network, etc.).

I mean disable DHCP on my router, not my core. Thanks for the network boot tip =).

[dopey]

Sorry about that. The core is used as a router, so people often call the core the router...

Yes, you can disable your router's dhcp if you are using the Core to serve the internet (needs to network cards). However, that's dependant on how you set things up. What kind of router device and modem to you have? If it's all in one then you need to keep dhcp enabled and just connect the router to network card in your core. However, you won't be able to use anymore of the the network jacks on your router as it would bypass LinuxMCE. If you have a modem and a router then you connect the modem to the external network card in the core and then the router to the internal network card in the core. You would need to disable DHCP on that router, but it would turn it into a switch (just don't use the network port for the external network on the router).

[Clint07]

Thanks! I'll try the second option since I have a Linksys router and a modem =).

[Clint07]

Just a quick question,

Will 256 mb of ram will be ok for an MD? or should I splurge on a 512 mb? Thanks!

[totallymaxed]

I've been reading the forums for the past week and Linux MCE has seriously interested me and I've decided to start building LinuxMCE core with 4 or so thin clients.

Quick Questions:

Can this do Skype?
Can you use a Bluetooth headset for when answering calls?
How do diskless thin clients work (I've been wanting to do something like this for a while and I can't figure it out!)
How should my set up be? (I want a cheap set-up but I also want it to do it flawlessly. I also have a ton of media. Should I put it all on the Hard drive of the core or should I use NAS?)
Can two or more thin clients access the core without interfering with each other? (i.e. one thin client is watching a recorded tv show another is watching a DVD from the Jukebox)
and One of the most important question is, can I access this through the internet (A la Slingbox or so?) If so I have a great project in mind .

Thanks for reading and responding  ,
Clint

Hi... you've had a lot of response to your questions already but I thought I'd put my '2 cents' worth in too ;-)

- Skype
I believe there is some work going on to integrate Skype as a backend Voip provider (or at least there was). But right now you can install the Skype client as a KDE desktop app and use it there just as you would under Windows/Mac.

- Bluetooth Headset integration
As far as I know you can't just attach a Bluetooth dongle to a MD and then use a Bluetooth headset directly connected to it. However you could use a Voip enabled mobile phone (eg Nokia N95 etc) running a Voip app and use a Bluetooth headset paired to the mobile (cellular phone...sorry I'm a Brit ;-)) connected back to the Core/PBX over WiFi. In this scenario the Core would be the PBX and the Mobile phone would work just like any 'normal' voip phone would. We have tested this and it works very well.

- Diskless PXE booted Clients
Essentially when a PXE booted client boots it is using a directory on the Core as its boot drive. All the processing and code execution happens in the clients processor/memory. It means that the client only needs minimally a processor & 512mb ram and no local HD and optionally an optical drive if you want to play local CD/DVD content direct from discs. The delivers a low cost, low energy & low maintenance solution.

- Core's Hard Drive or NAS?
Well lmce-0704 is a very flexible platform and offers numerous options here. You could 'load up' your Core with drives (and they could be RAIDed too) or you could add a low cost self contained NAS, or build a NAS using something like FreeNAS or as you could add HD's to one of you MD's and make that the main storage solution in your system. All would work independently or mixed together in pretty much any way that suited you. Whether one is better than the other will depend on your needs etc... there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way though!

- Can two or more thin clients access the core?
The simple answer is yes they can. But as with any system there will be limits on how smoothly performance is delivered as you 'load up' your system. In our experience using a 2.8 ghz Celeron M/i915/1Gb based Core using a 10/100 network we can smoothly handle 4 PXE booted MD's all playing media or streaming UK standard PAL TV concurrently (even while the Core is say ripping a DVD). But in the end it comes down to making sure your LAN is setup correctly and configure optimally as well.

- Can lmce-0704 be used like a SlingBox?
Well as of today not really. However in the short term you could attach a Slingbox to your Core or an MD and use it to stream/control the Core/MD from outside your house just like you would a TV or DVR. We have not tested this... but I can't see any reason that this might not work in principle.

Hope the above helps you!

Andrew

[Clint07]

Wow thanks! You really did help!

Wow a Celeron M Core handled 4 MDs while ripping a DVD?! I thought I need something powerful like a Core 2 Duo and If needed a Quad Core, But If a Celeron M can do that then I guess the cost should go down a bit .

I think I'm going to go with NAS so my media can be safe and secure.  The core can write to the NAS right?

Anyways this thread really has helped me and I hope this can help other people too !

[totallymaxed]

Wow thanks! You really did help!

Wow a Celeron M Core handled 4 MDs while ripping a DVD?! I thought I need something powerful like a Core 2 Duo and If needed a Quad Core, But If a Celeron M can do that then I guess the cost should go down a bit .

I think I'm going to go with NAS so my media can be safe and secure.  The core can write to the NAS right?

Anyways this thread really has helped me and I hope this can help other people too !

If you have an a little PC or one that doesn't have the graphics 'grunt' to be a good MD then a low cost way to build a NAS would be to install a low cost HD inside it and add it to your core as a PXE booted MD (ie just use the drive for Data) and then accept the option to add the drive for storage when the Core auto detects it. Instant NAS!

Alternatively buy an off the shelf NAS and add that as a Windows share when your Core auto detects it.

[Clint07]

I was looking around New Egg and found a perfect motherboard for my MD (I found a good one but I want it to be small) but than I remember reading a thread that AMD processors don't work well with LinuxMCE.. Or was that ATI graphics? I get them both confused since it's now one company.