network geeks... I need your help

M

mynewride

Registered
I'm in need of assistance. I currently have 2 machines in my house that I have networked using windows 7 ultimate and windows 8.1 pro. The windows 8 machine I am using like a server. It has 20 tb between 8 hard drives. They are packed full of Blu Ray movies ripped in iso containers. I will be beginning the slow process of converting them to uncompressed mkv containers so I can set up my plex server.

My problem is that when I stream the data to my windows 7 HTPC it stutters frame by frame. I have completed a quick network test and it shows 314MB download and 600MB upload. I would think that is sufficient to stream a movie. I have been streaming iso's for 2 years. Why would an mkv be any different.

Once I have this streaming problem solved I will be setting up flex raid to offer me some redundancy.

The Htpc is using xbmc for my movie needs while the plex is for everything else. The plex will transcode and send data to all portable devices and roku sets.

I believe my network is set up as windows smp. What would be the best and fastest solution to my problem?

Server : windows 8.1 pro
Intel I7 950 OC to 3.2ghz
MSI big bang xpower mb
6gb dominator ram
Gigabyte 5870 video card
Kingston hyper X 128gb ssd
Dual Realtek gigabit ethernet

HTPC : windows 7 ultimate
AMD 5600K APU 3.6ghz
Decent asus mainbord
8gb ram
128gb Kingston hyper X ssd
Realtek gigabit ethernet

Sent from the great Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Forum Runner
 
Why mkv? Why not avi or mp4? I use a lot if those formats for my wd media players. Lol mostly kid movies! Lmao
 
I want mkv because it is uncompressed and retains my dolby digital true HD and my dts master audio for my home theater. Mkv is the preferred container for plex and that will allow me to stream my movies from home to anywhere in the world.

Sent from the great Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Forum Runner
 
MKV is just a container. there are a couple formats like that.

if you have THAT much storage you need to move to UNRAID pro on a dedicated server. it will host your plex server among other geeky things. its a headless linux server. I run 2 XMBC units on openelec with a couple chrome-casts and cellular streaming with plex.
 
Actually I was looking at going with flexraid. Does the same thing but it's cheaper. I have been ripping movies for about 3 years now. I can't run Linux as this is my primary pc for business. It used to be my gaming rig. I don't have time for games anymore so it has served as my movie storage and my business documents. It's primary usage is storage.

Sent from the great Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Forum Runner
 
What I want is completely uncompressed video and audio for quality and plex to do my transcoding for me. Same thing iceman is doing only I cannot afford another machine now. Plus that would just use more electricity than needed when I already have one machine running 24x7.

Sent from the great Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Forum Runner
 
Server spins everything down when not in use. Low electricity usage. Looked at flex raid but unraid was better in the end. Split 2 pro licenses with a friend. You can run XBMC on openelec on raspberry pi. One of mine runs on an Acer Revo. Cheap low power and boots fast.
 
You can run XBMC on openelec on raspberry pi.
Click to expand...

That's what I was going to say! For about 50.00 bucks too!

If you can't afford a full server you could aways just go after a NAS device!
 
As of now i have the hardware i need. It's just a matter of getting it configured to do what i need. In the end i would love an 8 bay synology nas. But at 800 bucks it will have to wait. My first concern is my network setup. I'm currently using windows smp. Is it a good enough solotion? Tomorrow i will run a log on xbmc and try to find out where my bottleneck is. That will help you help me more than anything.

Thanks guys.

Sent from the great Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Forum Runner
 
is your router gigabit? and is everything hardwired? if hardwired how long are the cables? cat6 and cat7 should move data faster then cat5 and cat5e. the longer the cables the more mHz drop
 
5e is more than sufficient for home ethernet use. it will sustain 1 Gbps. Are you running any wireless? I have run into issues with too much frequency overlap in my neighborhood. I moved everything i could over to 5 Ghz but I have yet to find any way to run 5 Ghz on openelec.

A "full server" will cost you WAY less than any NAS on the market and they are essentially the same thing. The problem with Dorbo or Synology is you are restricted to their form factor. I have 10 drives in my UnRaid server.
1 full tower case
1 or 2 decent power supplies
2x of these SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SATA / SAS 8-Port Controller Card - Newegg.com
solid MB with 4 gigs of ram and a strong CPU and your done. You already have the expensive part - the HDs.
 
I've had em all and the easiest thing for the home user is the Synology or similar products. I have the 5 bay and it can be expanded 2 more times for a total of 60 TB (Heaven help us if we need it). The transfer rates are good and it runs on 51 watts which is HUGE! I ran a Dell 2950 with redundant everything on 8 cores for years but the power usage was expensive... There are lots of options out there and you can make your own with FreeNas or other solutions pretty cheaply but you should have a goal to strive for..

In the end i would love an 8 bay synology nas
Click to expand...

Agreed!
 
for right now I just want to use my old gaming pc as my server. My cost to set it up is minimal. it just has to double as a pc once in a while while I do some work in Microsoft office and it has to rip my movies. So it will be 95% server and 5% workstation duty. It will have to continue to run on windows 8.1 pro. I know I can make it work. I will upgrading the case so I can have up to 21 drives. I also bought the mentioned sas card and cable.

Cooler Master HAF Stacker 935 Two-Piece Mod-Tower Computer Case with Top Compartment for Extra Storage Space, Water Cooling Support, or Mini-ITX System - Newegg.com

This case is expandable with new stack modules. each module will house 12 hard drives. or a watercooling setup. There is a video on newegg's case page that is pretty cool.
 
So I went out and got that card. Windows will not see the card no matter what pci express 2.0 port I use. I only have like 6 available and none of them seem to see the card. Now I need your advice buddy.

icemansid said:
5e is more than sufficient for home ethernet use. it will sustain 1 Gbps. Are you running any wireless? I have run into issues with too much frequency overlap in my neighborhood. I moved everything i could over to 5 Ghz but I have yet to find any way to run 5 Ghz on openelec.

A "full server" will cost you WAY less than any NAS on the market and they are essentially the same thing. The problem with Dorbo or Synology is you are restricted to their form factor. I have 10 drives in my UnRaid server.
1 full tower case
1 or 2 decent power supplies
2x of these SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 PCI-Express 2.0 x8 SATA / SAS 8-Port Controller Card - Newegg.com
solid MB with 4 gigs of ram and a strong CPU and your done. You already have the expensive part - the HDs.
Click to expand...
 
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