Hi all,

I've been running a backend-only server on a very old Athlon machine. It runs hot and uses lots of juice. I have to keep it away from living beings because it's really loud, even after attempts to quiet it. Also, I'm starting to see some occasional crashes this year which I've not yet diagnosed. Rather than invest any more time in this old machine (which started out as a MythTV experiment 2 years ago), I'm thinking of moving to new, more modern hardware.

I'm interested in the new Intel Atom based Nettop class machines. I think one of these would work for me because as a backend-only system, I don't need any playback capability. Further, since my tuners are HDHomeRun, I don't need any card slots. All I really need is a file server platform that runs Myth.

The MSI Wind Nettop seems like a good fit. It supports a CF card, a full size hard drive, gigabit Ethernet, and up to 2 gig of RAM. I figure that I could install KnoppMyth to the CF card, and slap in a "green" 1TB drive for the storage unit. Barebones kits run about $150.

Reports I've read indicate that when the drive is spun down, the unit is almost silent. This means I could have more flexibility regarding where the server lives. Basically I could put it anywhere that I've got a spare Ethernet port.

But after searching, I don't see many people jumping on Nettops as their Myth platform. I guess that's not too surprising since I suspect that most people are interested in a combined front/backend, and therefore need more performance for playback.

I'd be interested in any feedback regarding running a KnoppMyth backend on an Atom based Nettop, especially the MSI Wind.

Thanks in advance.

_________________
Best,

Allen Cronce

I think you will find yourself perfectly happy with your decision.

I have the not-terribly-dissimilar Asus Eee Box, and I installed KnoppMyth on it with no problem. I only tested it out, but it seemed to run fine. I will be doing more extensive tests with it down the road as I try them out as frontends (won't be using them for HD, although MPEG-2 HD *might* be possible).

As for my own setup, my backend runs on a comparably underpowered AMD Sempron 2200+ system that is some five years old. I always have been very happy with it as a backend. As you mentioned, and as I am sure you found with your Athlon-based system, CPU horsepower is not necessary in a backend-only configuration. As long as you have proper throughout on the hard drive side (which SATA II should provide nicely), you should have a very quiet and perfectly adequate backend.

Newegg has the MSI Wind Nettop listed, though presently out of stock and in limited purchase quantities[1]. Specs are available there. I like the fact that a full-sized 5.25" optical drive is possible; the Eee Box requires the use of an external USB drive. One comment that I noticed at Newegg was that the CF slot is not easily accessible - just something to keep in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind with your proposed setup: CF is notoriously slow, so expect database lookups to take longer than you are accustomed to seeing when using your frontends.

Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.

[1] Direct link here.

I did the migration to this new box. It went pretty smoothly, although there were a number of little details to work out.

The biggest problem was that onboard LAN went from a working state to a non-working one after I physically moved the box. It turned out that the wrong driver was associated with the hardware, which apparently is a pretty common problem with Linux and this machine.

Here's a link to the post detailing the problem and the solution:

http://knoppmyth.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight=

_________________
Best,

Allen Cronce

Thanks for following this through on the Intel Atom based box! My current hardware is "full power".. but I can see a future in low power alternative, especially for 24x7 operation.

_________________
// Brian - Hardware:
ASUS P5P800 - P4 3Ghz, 500 GB PATA HD
ASUS P5K-V - P4 Core2 Duo, 500 GB SATA HD
Hauppauge PVR-350, IR Blaster, Comcast Digital Cable
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/KnoppMyth/
KnoppMyth R5F27 >> R5.5