Overview/Design question - Frontend Mac Mini, Backend Linux

[carpenike]

Hey All,

I just saw the video and was quite impressed with the features of Linux-MCE! Looks like a really slick product. I started thinking about possible design scenarios and wanted to get thoughts on whether or not this seems worthwhile or not. I primarily work with Gentoo Linux and I'm pretty comfortable with Linux overall.

One of the things I thought was real neat was the use of thin clients mounted onto the back of TVs/Media centers. I got to thinking, what's the possibility of building a backend system with hardware RAID (3-ware card + 6 HDDs of 320gigs or more each - ~$1,000-$1,200 total not including PC hardware), 4 HD TV Tuner cards and gigabit Ethernet, and than using Mac Minis for front end systems? The Mac Minis would have the DVI output to plug into an HDTV and the optical output to plug into the entertainment system with maximum audio quality. All that would need to be run is an Ethernet line to the TV area along with Power. Perhaps do surge protection in the power box room so as to reduce the need for any other pieces save the Mac Mini and the TV/Media setup.

Using a setup like this, would I be able to access all the content and tuner cards on the backend server? Would I need to install Linux-MCE on both the backend and the MacMini? I believe I would than put an IR blaster dongle on the MacMini to be able to talk to IR boxes nearby, along with the backend server...

Thanks for your thoughts!

[tschak909]

(1) you really don't need hardware raid.. in fact, it will be a bottleneck. Use LinuxMCE's built in RAID functionality, put LinuxMCE on the system disk, and have either a sata back plane or a bunch of sata ports to drop in disks. Keep in mind, that you can also drop in external USB disks (on either the core or any media director), and NAS appliances, and LinuxMCE will use them as well.

(2) for Tuner cards, use the HDHomeRun for HD tuning. Trust me on this. We are also adding support for the Hauppauge HD-PVR unit, for cable boxes, or other AV devices that have Component out.

(3) yes, use ethernet.. furthermore, use 1000-baseT ethernet, with Cat6 cabling. Also use a good switch.. the switch will make or break your setup when multiple HD tuners and bouncing streams across the house.

(4) use something else other than the Mac Mini. We do not support it currently. I recommend the MSI Media Live barebone..drop in ram, drop in a BE2400 CPU, done.

(5) IR Blaster, use the USB UIRT, with a Xantech 286 double-IR emitter to start off with, attach to at least your TV, and/or your amplifier.. If you need to control other A/V devices, look into Xantech IR distribution blocks.

Oh, btw. You need to understand our required network setup. You must use two network cards in the core. Read that again. One network card is connected to your DSL modem, the other NIC is connected to your internal switch. LinuxMCE handles DHCP, Firewall, Gateway, etc. Don't argue, we have a lot of reasons for doing this, the first of which is to make this system as easy to set up as possible, while providing all the functionality needed (such as network booting, and automatic detection of network devices that hop on and off the network)

Other recommended pieces:

* Nokia N800 as an orbiter control
* Windows MCE as a TV remote if wanted
* A supported cell phone (Symbian, Windows Smartphone 2003/2005, Java based cell phones with JSR082)
* Cisco 7970 IP phone
* Z-Wave or Insteon for lighting, security, and climate control
* GC-100, for connecting to doorbells, contact sensors, sprinkler valves, smoke alarms etc.
* Panasonic IP camera

Welcome to LinuxMCE. Yes, we do have stringent hardware requirements, but the pay-off is enormous. We do wish to support as much hardware as we can, but we need help from more people to make that possible. In the mean time, we know precisely what hardware works with this system, and what doesn't. :-)

-Thom

[carpenike]

Thom -

Thanks for your response! I imagine plenty of people argue the Router/Firewall point. I can see the rationale though and it does eliminate 9/10 of the potential problems associated with networking issues. I'm assuming there's some type of IPTables integration with either a GUI or config files that can be used from the command line (IE: Shorewall).

(1) How would hardware RAID be a bottleneck? I believe the OS wouldn't see anything past the single RAID drive on the array... The RAID provided by the OS would be software RAID. This solution wouldn't require any software overhead in managing a RAID array which should improve performance there as well. It'd be a RAID 5/10 setup.

(2) I assume that the Linux-MCE box would detect this device type and know how to use/manage it after the HDHomeRun grabbed a DHCP address from the system?

(4) The MSI Media Live box looks great. What would you recommend for locations where you don't have the amount of space to be able to install something that large? IE: A kitchen with a small TV. I suppose a problem that I might run into here would be a TV that doesn't have a VGA/DVI input but traditional RCA... Any Thin Client that you'd recommend that either supports RCA or perhaps a converter box that works  well in that setup?

Do you guys support Windows Mobile 6.0/1 yet?

Thanks again for your help!
Ryan

[tschak909]

1. Hardware RAID? basically the storage radar has problems dealing with the hardware raid cards that we've thrown at it. Unless you're willing to diagnose these problems and help us fix them, I wouldn't go in this direction.

2. correct. it is literally plug and play.

4. you might want to look at the Motion XN1 all in one TV and PC then. They have compatible hardware and it's all collapsed into a single form factor. consider this when adding up cost of both a TV and a PC for a media director setup.

and no, we dont' yet. We don't have anyone with the required SDKs to do the necessary porting.

-Thom

Thom -

Thanks for your response! I imagine plenty of people argue the Router/Firewall point. I can see the rationale though and it does eliminate 9/10 of the potential problems associated with networking issues. I'm assuming there's some type of IPTables integration with either a GUI or config files that can be used from the command line (IE: Shorewall).

(1) How would hardware RAID be a bottleneck? I believe the OS wouldn't see anything past the single RAID drive on the array... The RAID provided by the OS would be software RAID. This solution wouldn't require any software overhead in managing a RAID array which should improve performance there as well. It'd be a RAID 5/10 setup.

(2) I assume that the Linux-MCE box would detect this device type and know how to use/manage it after the HDHomeRun grabbed a DHCP address from the system?

(4) The MSI Media Live box looks great. What would you recommend for locations where you don't have the amount of space to be able to install something that large? IE: A kitchen with a small TV. I suppose a problem that I might run into here would be a TV that doesn't have a VGA/DVI input but traditional RCA... Any Thin Client that you'd recommend that either supports RCA or perhaps a converter box that works  well in that setup?

Do you guys support Windows Mobile 6.0/1 yet?

Thanks again for your help!
Ryan