Make me a server please

[Sheldon_King]

Problem:

SSDs are small and motion pictures are large, and streaming (Netflix/Hulu) is being heavily throttled by our ISP. Solution is to leagally purchase the shows I like to watch and store them somewhere to watch on the laptops. Note, I do not want to destroy my OSes to do this either!

 

Hardware available:

2600(K, but at stock speeds). P8P67 WS. 16GB RAM. 3TB HDD and 250GB HDD (OS).

Netgear wirelessN roughter with 4 Gb RJ45 ports.

HP laptop 128GB SSD. (specs in siggy)

 

Software available:

Lubuntu 14LTS (desktop)

Stock firmware.

Crunchbang 11 32 bit.

 

Solution:

Install Lubuntu. Done!

Nvidia driver. Done!

Coolbits. Done!

buy movies/tv shows. Done!

Make server. ???

rip the movies onto the server. not done, but I know how.

ensure that server streams to laptop easily. ???

 

 

So... How do I make it work?

 

NOTE:

Please don't say search google. Linux fixes are massive and versions are many. I just want a fix for this os, and this specific problem without screwing up the OS that is already on it with steam and all the personalized setup I needed. Also it would not hurt if it is also windows compatible (as in a windows coputer could recieve the stream also.), but that can be dealt with later if necessary.

 

 

 

[Vitalius]

-snip-

wat

No really. wat

I'm confused. You want us to make you a server? Or fix an OS problem regarding Linux (which I don't see in your post other than you mentioning it twice but never stating what it is)? Or both?

Do you mean a media server like Plex Media Server? As in, install the plugin/program to the OS and make it run?

[Createinator]

Just install Plex media server in Lubuntu. Plex is very easy to set up and you will be streaming movies in no time.

[Sheldon_King]

wat

No really. wat

I'm confused. You want us to make you a server? Or fix an OS problem regarding Linux (which I don't see in your post other than you mentioning it twice but never stating what it is)? Or both?

Do you mean a media server like Plex Media Server? As in, install the plugin/program to the OS and make it run?

I am sorry for not being good at explaining the idea.

 

What I need to do is build a server ontop of the existing OS (Lubuntu 14LTS), that will allow me to view teh movies stored on its HDD on my laptop which is running Crunchbang 11. The easier teh better really. 

A side bit of wishing would be for it to double as a general file server to store downloads, music, documents or the like on it.

 

ACTUALLY, could I just mound the HDD over the network somehow? might be stupid, but that would fix it, as it would be no different than a local HDD, just click and it plays.

 

@Createinator

I will give plex a shot, but do I need it on both ends, or just the end holding the files? (Basically, do I need it on my laptop also?)

[Vitalius]

-snip-

It's cool.

That makes more sense. I suggest making a VM (if Lubuntu can do that, I haven't used it) and use Amahi file server OS. It's meant to be simple and you can install Plex Media Server to it. Or you can just install Plex to Lubuntu itself, but then you have to deal with the file server stuff through Lubuntu and not through Amahi (which is probably a lot simpler). Up to you. The VM is probably the hard part with Amahi, but then you don't have to deal with it again. Whereas, dealing with Lubuntu would be done every time you wanted to do something. 

You can do that. Ubuntu can share out drives using CIFS (Windows sharing protocol) with cifs-util. So I'm sure Lubuntu can too.

You would need Plex on the server thing itself. So it would run on whatever is running Lubuntu. Then you can access the Web GUI form anything with a web browser. Very simple to use. Even your phone (though it's hard to see if you zoom out, but the Web GUI doesn't scale very well for phones).

[Createinator]

No you do not need it on your laptop.

 

@Createinator

I will give plex a shot, but do I need it on both ends, or just the end holding the files? (Basically, do I need it on my laptop also?)

[Sheldon_King]

It's cool.

That makes more sense. I suggest making a VM (if Lubuntu can do that, I haven't used it) and use Amahi file server OS. It's meant to be simple and you can install Plex Media Server to it. Or you can just install Plex to Lubuntu itself, but then you have to deal with the file server stuff through Lubuntu and not through Amahi (which is probably a lot simpler). Up to you. The VM is probably the hard part with Amahi, but then you don't have to deal with it again. Whereas, dealing with Lubuntu would be done every time you wanted to do something. 

You can do that. Ubuntu can share out drives using CIFS (Windows sharing protocol) with cifs-util. So I'm sure Lubuntu can too.

You would need Plex on the server thing itself. So it would run on whatever is running Lubuntu. Then you can access the Web GUI form anything with a web browser. Very simple to use.

Just a note: anything Ubuntu can do, Xubuntu and Lubuntu can do also. They are the same OS with different window managers.

How hard would it hit the system running Amahi in a VM? Knowing I have 16GB RAM, and an i7, could it make due with something like 2 cores/threads and 4GB of RAM? Or would it need most of the resources? (My main concern is I don't want it to interfer with other system operations like gaming (I only play ETS2 on here, so not very heavy. Looking for a VT-d capable processor to get COD back via VM.)

 

Would sharing the drive work for what I need though? I mean, the laptop if fully capable of Wireless G and N (it generally sits about 80Mbpsconnection speed), and the processor and GPU are viable for watching video, word processing and the like, but the SSD is small (128GB). So the idea would be to present the laptop with the 3TB over the network, yes? (I am sorry, I think I am confusing myself here).

 

No you do not need it on your laptop.

okay, noted. 

It is working on installing right now, I will post back if I run into issues.

[Vitalius]

-snip-

Cool.

Probably not much at all. Amahi has very low requirements. Here they are from the wiki:

 

In general, follow system rquirements for the base operating system of the Amahi version you wish to use, but otherwise...

• The machine should be at least Pentium 4 or AMD CPU running at 1.0 GHz minimum
• Recommended RAM is 512MB or greater
• 4GB Free disk space minimum
• CD/DVD Boot device (DVD preferred)
• One network connection (MUST be a hard wired connection to router; wireless connection is unofficially supported)

NOTE: USB installs are possible, but not currently supported.

So giving it 2GB of RAM and 1 core should be fine. The only thing that might suffer is Plex's transcoding. You would be fine with a single 1080p stream, but more would probably cause major buffering. Since it's a VM, you could just up the resources until it's satisfactory. I doubt you'd need more than 2 cores with 4GB though and I doubt that would interfere with your gaming very much, if at all (other than temperatures).

Depends. If you want your media on anything other than a normal computer (i.e. tablet, phone, etc.) then that wouldn't work. If you only intend to stream to a desktop or laptop, then sharing the drive should be 100% fine.

 

... Wait. Is the laptop the server? Like, is the laptop the thing running Lubuntu and Amahi/Plex? If so, streaming over wifi would suck. If not, then yeah, it would be fine to share the 3TB drive over the network to stream to the laptop.

[Sheldon_King]

Cool.

Probably not much at all. Amahi has very low requirements. Here they are from the wiki:

 

So giving it 2GB of RAM and 1 core should be fine. The only thing that might suffer is Plex's transcoding. You would be fine with a single 1080p stream, but more would probably cause major buffering. Since it's a VM, you could just up the resources until it's satisfactory. I doubt you'd need more than 2 cores with 4GB though and I doubt that would interfere with your gaming very much, if at all (other than temperatures).

Depends. If you want your media on anything other than a normal computer (i.e. tablet, phone, etc.) then that wouldn't work. If you only intend to stream to a desktop or laptop, then sharing the drive should be 100% fine.

 

... Wait. Is the laptop the server? Like, is the laptop the thing running Lubuntu and Amahi/Plex? If so, streaming over wifi would suck. If not, then yeah, it would be fine to share the 3TB drive over the network to stream to the laptop.

To the last line, no. As I stated above the desktop is running Lubuntu. The Laptop is running crunchbang. The desktop is hard wired to the roughter, and I have a free ethernet port I could run with it if double gigabit would help. 

 

Okay, so I would probably start with 2 cores (which should give it a core and a HT thread) and in the area of 2GB of RAM, but I am going to finish setting up plex first to see if it will work. It sounds as if Amahi is a file server OS, so it may be possible to just use a VM of it to share the files (documents, pictures and the like), and use plex for movies and music.

[Vitalius]

To the last line, no. As I stated above the desktop is running Lubuntu. The Laptop is running crunchbang. The desktop is hard wired to the roughter, and I have a free ethernet port I could run with it if double gigabit would help. 

 

Okay, so I would probably start with 2 cores (which should give it a core and a HT thread) and in the area of 2GB of RAM, but I am going to finish setting up plex first to see if it will work. It sounds as if Amahi is a file server OS, so it may be possible to just use a VM of it to share the files (documents, pictures and the like), and use plex for movies and music.

Amahi is a file server OS. That's why I suggested it. You asked about that possibility in the OP. That would work fine. 

Cool. Good luck.

[Createinator]

okay, noted. 

It is working on installing right now, I will post back if I run into issues.

Hi, I see you following @Vitalius 's instructions. I would suggest you to try using Plex before going into any virtual solutions. Amahi is a great way to share files but it is not made to deliver media content. You are better off using Plex.

[Vitalius]

Hi, I see you following @Vitalius 's instructions. I would suggest you to try using Plex before going into any virtual solutions. Amahi is a great way to share files but it is not made to deliver media content. You are better off using Plex.

Amahi has plugin support. You can have Plex added to Amahi. 

[Createinator]

Amahi has plugin support. You can have Plex added to Amahi. 

I know. But Amahi is not required to stream videos to his laptop. He does not need to take the extra pains to setup VM.

[Sheldon_King]

Hi, I see you following @Vitalius 's instructions. I would suggest you to try using Plex before going into any virtual solutions. Amahi is a great way to share files but it is not made to deliver media content. You are better off using Plex.

Right now, It (plex) is installing.  I understand (and from only a breif look around teh web) that plex is for media. That is great, but does not solve all my problems, so I considered using plex for media and Amahi as a was to share/save/backup documents, pics (very few of those, mostly screenshots) and the like. Movies on plex, documents on Amahi.

 

Again, just mounting the hdd over the network would be easier most likely, but plex is already installing, so sticking with that right now.   (and it is streaming to the laptop. The Desktop is the server).

[Createinator]

Right now, It (plex) is installing.  I understand (and from only a breif look around teh web) that plex is for media. That is great, but does not solve all my problems, so I considered using plex for media and Amahi as a was to share/save/backup documents, pics (very few of those, mostly screenshots) and the like. Movies on plex, documents on Amahi.

 

Again, just mounting the hdd over the network would be easier most likely, but plex is already installing, so sticking with that right now.   (and it is streaming to the laptop. The Desktop is the server).

I usually do not suggest VM solutions to home users as they can be a pain to manage, take up limited system resources and offer little benefit in a home environment. Plex will do all you want to do with a media server. You can connect all kinds of net enabled devices such as Xbox, PS, mobile, tablets, tv and PC to it. It is only limited by your network's bandwidth and your CPU/RAM combination. Although an old Core 2 Duo can handle 2 1080P streams simultaneously while backing up data.

For a good backup solution I would suggest you to switch your OS(lubuntu) to something more server oriented such as Amahi and ditch using VM all together.

[Sheldon_King]

I usually do not suggest VM solutions to home users as they can be a pain to manage, take up limited system resources and offer little benefit in a home environment. Plex will do all you want to do with a media server. You can connect all kinds of net enabled devices such as Xbox, PS, mobile, tablets, tv and PC to it. It is only limited by your network's bandwidth and your CPU/RAM combination. Although an old Core 2 Duo can handle 2 1080P streams simultaneously while backing up data.

For a good backup solution I would suggest you to switch your OS(lubuntu) to something more server oriented such as Amahi and ditch using VM all together.

It only needs to handle a single 720p or 1200p/1080p stream at a time, I am not too worried about that.

 

I understand what you are saying, but I don't really have the resources to run a different OS also at this time UNLESS it is in VM. The reason being is the desktop is not only a server at this point, but also the gaming computer, and a general use machine. If I change the OS, it is going to be deciding between file server or a computer, and I can't fisically justify it being only a server right now.

What I could do for file serving though is get a HDD/SSD for my injured M90/M6300 laptop and use it as the fileserver. The only downside of that is Its a core 2 duo 2GHz with 2GB of RAM. I could see it being worth the investment for a low power server, but is it really necessary? I mean, a VM is not that hard to setup (I do have experience there), and is fairly stable generally, especially if not needing a lot of power.

[Createinator]

-snip-

If you have experience running VMs then you will be fine.

I understand your situation and VM is your best option at the moment. Good Luck!

If you need any help in setting it up, ask me.

[neon]

I personally would have just shared the folder/folders that contain the files (I assume you have all the files in an organised structure) you want to share as a bog standard network share (most likely using Samba if you're connecting with Windows), then just map the network folder in Windows as a Network Drive, then just double click and play the videos/files you want using whatever video software you use.  

This would essentially make your Lubuntu computer and the files it shares into a NAS, which you are wanting, but can also be used as it's own computer at the same time. (to make it easy for reconnection set the Lubuntu PC as a fixed IP address on your router)

 

Then if you wanted a Home Theatre setup you can use something like XBMC installed on your computer, or you can just stick to the browsing files in Explorer, Plex is an option but you don't really need the transcribing options if you are only streaming on your local network.