I must say... (and Hello from a newbie)

[colinjones]

DHCP clients don't request specific IP addresses.

Well, it depends. If it has received an IP address, it will ask for a renewal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Host_Configuration_Protocol#DHCP_discovery

Maybe this is a Windows/Linux difference.  Windows clients don't include option 50 in the DHCP discover.  Only during the DHCP Request is it included and is set to the IP address sent by the server during the DHCP Offer.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749902.aspx

Dale  - if you read my previous post you will see this is covered. Possy and I are talking about renewals at this point, nothing to do with DHCP Discover, the Windows client already knows where the DHCP server is and directs the renewal request to it. So this isn't relevent.

Possy - I wasn't aware that Win2k did not do this... I certainly haven't seen that behaviour, but I can say for sure that XP (and presumably Vista) do do this - and you can verify this, when you rebuild your core, all your XP machines will end up with the same IP addresses as before the rebuild, because they request a renewal (as long as the lease hasn't expired in the meantime, of course) and the core honours this request even though it no longer has the associated lease...

In any case, the main point was - under normal circumstances (ie not really trying to trick the system with rebuilds all over the place!) whether or not the Windows box is requesting renewals of the same IP address (which I believe happens 90% of the time because most would be using XP by now, and Vista is the flop that everybody knows it to be!) doesn't matter, as the core will see a MAC address that is already registered for a lease in its dhcpd.conf file and hand out the same IP. So the end result is that Windows boxes will have essentially a static IP address ... (btw, yes I was assuming that the windows boxes would have been detected as "file server", which is pretty much going to be the case)

[Pnuts]

ok, with the download getting close to finishing (not the Dual Layer disk, still a week out on that, lol) I am running into road block on what I should do regarding the Core system. The Dell Optiplex 755 I wanted to use is limited to 2 PCI slots. 1 of which has to be used by a 2nd NIC (unless I use a USB NIC). I have 2 older machines that i could use instead, but i might run into issues with each of them also.

1. P4 3.0 with HT processor, 2gb of RAM
2. AMD64 3800, 2gb of RAM

If I use either of those systems, I will have 3 PCI slots open after the 2nd NIC. They also have onboard raid controllers (hopefully not like the Optiplex, but actual hardware raid controllers) so i would not need to use the PCI raid controller. I would be limited to either of these 2 AGP video cards though: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra or Radeon X800 XT. Since this is a core system only, I am not sure if that matters at all since it will not have a disply connected once its configured.

The lack of PCI slots heavily limits growth it seems. I have a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card that i assume should go in the Core system (downsides to sticking it in another system?) and if i want to expand to make use of phone functionality, I would need to add a X100P card to use Comcast's VOIP. Thats 2 PCI slots there.

If you want to comment on the above, please do so, otherwise here are the specific questions i have for the experts:

1. Assuming when im finished that i have 5 MD's(3 initially, 2 more as time goes on. at most 1 of these will be network boot if that matters) would either of the 2 systems mentioned above be able to handle that without many issues, or should i stick to the Optiplex (Dual Core @2.33)

2. Can I have the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card on a machine that is not the core? Aside from that PC needing to be on to record or watch TV, are there any other down sides to doing this?

3. Would a USB NIC be a terrible choice for the external NIC? Should I stick to the PCI card?

4. If I end up using the Optiplex as the Core and I use the USB NIC (or spring and buy a pci-e 1x NIC, but i would rather not spend any money right now), what would be the best choices to stick in the PCI slots? the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card  and eventually the X100P or an additional capture card?

I know i could figure this all out on my own as i go, but if others already have experiance with it, it could save me a bit of time, so wh not ask right?

[darrenmason]

Pnuts,

If you are building a dedicated core then both your alternative options are fine. The core is not terribly processor or memory intensive and if you are not viewing content on it then they are probably overkill. I have a similar setup to what you are proposing (1 core under house and 4 MD's) and I use a 2.3 P4 with 1 GB RAM with no problems.
Video card does not matter in a core only. (note; I have mine setup as a hybrid which does not get used as an MD. It is running but it is under the house so nothing is ever played on it. I have a very old video card in it that I had hanging around. I think it is something like a Geforce2 or something)

Additonally, I would note the following;
* Go with the PCI network card rather than USB. Likely to be less headaches.
* All MD's need to be network boot and as mentioned the systems you mentioned won't have a problem with that.
* TV Cards can go anywhere in the network as a general rule
* X100P might not give the results you desire (Search forums)

Regards
Darren

[Pnuts]

Thank you for the info Darren.

Looks like ill go with one of the older systems then for the Core. I am going to be doing the installation\migration of my current network slowly as i am able to get time.

I couldnt find any mention of this, so it probably doesnt matter, but does doing the core installation while being not connected to a network cause any problems? Is there anything that is normally automated that i would have to do manualy afterwords by doing this? I do not want to just drop the current setup and plug this in right from the start. My initial roleout plan is as follows:

1. Install Core (Off network, assuming there are no conflicts doing this)
2. Change XP-MCE to use DHCP
3a. Reconfigure Linksys Router to act as a AP
3b. Connect Core external NIC directly to Modem
3c. Setup temporary Switch to connect XP-MCE and AP to Core's Internal NIC
4. Move XP-MCE Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card to Core
5. Schedule recordings based off of XP-MCE for Core
6. Archive any data off of XP-MCE
7. Install LMCE as an MD on the system

Assuming no issues, I would like to complete up to 5 this weekend and up to 7 by next weekend. I can always network boot the current XP-MCE until then if i need to so this shouldnt be to hard to start with. Then i can move the rest of teh network as needed. As long as wireless has internet access i can get buy for a week on laptops.

Pnuts

[Ray_N]

ok, with the download getting close to finishing (not the Dual Layer disk, still a week out on that, lol)

Hey P...if you want the Dual Layer download you may want to try the other direct downloads not dependent on BitTorrent. I started last night with the BT downloads and noticed the 2 week thing (not a good sign). So I went to the partial downloads and just finished this afternoon (had some network issues on the way). I just finished burning the DVD right now.

Anyway, if you are US based. Try this: http://mirrorlinux.net/distros/mce710rc2/

Enjoy,
R

[colinjones]

ok, with the download getting close to finishing (not the Dual Layer disk, still a week out on that, lol)

Hey P...if you want the Dual Layer download you may want to try the other direct downloads not dependent on BitTorrent. I started last night with the BT downloads and noticed the 2 week thing (not a good sign). So I went to the partial downloads and just finished this afternoon (had some network issues on the way). I just finished burning the DVD right now.

Anyway, if you are US based. Try this: http://mirrorlinux.net/distros/mce710rc2/

Enjoy,
R

If you are downloading via a mirror rather than torrent, it is critical that you use md5sum and make sure the checksum is correct after downloading. A common issue when downloading such large files is corruption, and this will kill your install. This does not happen with the torrents, which is why it is always preferable to use the torrent if possible (and leave it seeding afterwards!!)

[Ray_N]

A common issue when downloading such large files is corruption, and this will kill your install.

Thanks colin...
   I was wondering why I'm getting a "Unknown keyword in config file" when trying to boot... Aaaarg! 
will check the MD5s... there goes another DL DVD...

Thanks, 
R

Edit: Strange...no MD5s to compare with...where can I find them? They aren't on the website that I recommended...

[colinjones]

A common issue when downloading such large files is corruption, and this will kill your install.

Thanks colin...
   I was wondering why I'm getting a "Unknown keyword in config file" when trying to boot... Aaaarg! 
will check the MD5s... there goes another DL DVD...

Thanks, 
R

The other angle is, if the md5's match (meaning the download was OK), then it is critical to burn the DVD on the slowest possible speed. Most of the content is in a single, monolithic tar file, so even a single bit error in the burn can fatally damage the installation...

[Ray_N]

Thanks again...as typical I burned on the fastest speed...
Now...anyone know anything about finding those MD5s?
R

Well now I feel weird...just found the MD5s here:http://www.linuxmce.org/news.php?id=25
Should have looked better...
For the record, the individual .part files MD5s are not there. Just the final .iso files.

[Pnuts]

thanks for the link, but ill just let the DL run its coarse. I had a few good spurts of high download today and made it to 38%. Ill see how tonight and tomorrow goes, if its close ill go overnight tomorrow and see if it finishes in time, if not ill just use the single layer dvd.

Edit:

ok, decided on the AMD64 3800+ but noticed ill run into a possible problem, it has the A8V Deluxe board and I saw it was noted in the Wiki I will not be able to use the AGP slot with the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card. I have an old ATI 7000 PCI card, so ill give a test install tomorrow and see how it goes with that. Hopefully it wont matter since this machine is a Core installation.

[Pnuts]

Well, after the nice wait for the DL disk, the dvd drive i have in the system will not boot it, go figure. The disk boots in the laptop that burned it so I assume it is a drive issue, maybe needs a firmware update or so. I just decided to go with the standard 32bit install DVD. Maybe I can pull the extra's off of the disk later or something.

Also during the install (just started) it seems LMCE is again seeing each drive individually and ignoring the onboard Raid controllers. Im going to let the installation finish and see if i can configure software raid afterwards, but I might as well look for a way to make it see it corretly during installation. While im at it i might as well look into the dvd drive.

I started a Wiki page to outline everything as i go along and ill create additional pages if I find any good workarounds for problems i run into.

Edit:

So after the restart asking me to remove the disk, i get Error 2 and a flashing cursor after it tries to load GRUB. I am thinking I should reconsider using the Optiples 755 as the Core until I learn a bit more about linux in general. So tonight I will start there and see where I go.

[tschak909]

Deal with the drives individually, let LMCE manage them as software raid.

or...

not listen to me, and continue banging your head against the wall.

-Thom

[Pnuts]

Heh, actually already ahead of you on that, but that is exactly what i am going to do.

I ended up running into several issues trying to get Kubuntu even installed on the A8V machine so I just went ahead and am loading it on the optiplex 755, instead doing 3 hard drives with the intent to make 2 of them a raid1 after installation. CD 1 is caching right now.

edit:

Has anyone tried getting an ATI TV Wonder Pro to work as an additional capture card within LMCE? I have one laying around and figured now would be a good time to put it to use. I know the CPU handles the processing unlike the Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE card. I found a site that has a driver with it working under mythTV. I am thinking if i stick it in a media director, it will puts its procesor to use and not tax the Core. It would be nice to have 3 TV tuners, especially as more Media Directors get added in the future.

Also as a question assuming i end up putting the TV Wonder Pro in my MD. Do the recorded shows still end up on the Core system? If im installing LMCE on the system and not doing network boots, is it possible to have its recordings stored locally and still have the Cores recordings stored on the Core? Or am I limited to storing the recorded TV from all sources on the Core?