[monkeylove]

Say you had tens of thousands of videos in dozens of shared folders (shared using SMB) in more than a dozen hard drives in enclosures connected to a Win PC via USB3. The PC is used for browsing the 'net and scraping the videos, and adding and removing videos. One or two  Kodis in the local network view the videos, but not the whole day.

The PC is shut down every night. The enclosures shut down automatically when the PC does. It's Windows so there's nothing to mount or unmount.

Everything is fine except once in a while a Kodi won't scan one or more folders for some weird reason; you have to reboot the player, the PC, or both, or wait a while and try rescanning. There are fewer problems when something like FTP is used, but I don't think it's easy to put NFS in Windows.

And you can't afford to buy something like an expensive NAS, while you'd like to continue using the enclosures. Besides, the system's not online the whole day. What operating system and hardware would you recommend?

A dedicated PC (maybe a second-hand one) still with Windows? Or is there something wrong with Windows SMB that causes the infrequent scan misses?

Or a machine (not necessarily a PC but as cheap as a second-hand PC?) with another operating system? Can that system mount and unmount enclosures as easily as Windows?

[Klojum]

You haven't mentioned the video format you are typically using. Any video player can do h264, h265/hevc is possible on just about any modern video card / player. 4K and HDR are another & higher bar to jump. If it's only about 'the simple stuff' for you, then a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ would even be an option.

Any PC with decent Nvidia/AMD/Intel graphics will do, but that will use a bit more power (maybe important amongst all the rising electricity costs). NFS client support is in Windows 10/11 Pro and higher, NFS server in Windows I don't know actually.
I've been using NFS Server with Kodi on Linux Ubuntu systems since ~12 years ago without hiccups. It's also easier than SMB for me. Personally I wouldn't use FTP as a streaming source. Kodi not scanning some folders should be solvable.

I'm running a PC+Nvidia with LibreELEC (=basic Linux with only Kodi running) next to my TV, because a Raspberry Pi 4 doesn't do certain IPTV decryption anymore, and it runs fine for me. You often don't need all the background noise of a full-blown Windows installation when running just Kodi.

If playing your own videos is the only requirement in Kodi, meaning without certain add-ons like Netflix or others, then you can choose just about any piece of modern 'box' including a simple & cheap Android media player. The number of videos is not an issue, that's the PC's/server's problem. It all comes down to your wishes and your wallet.

[monkeylove]

Thanks for the response. Generally H264 and 265 up to 1080p; the Kodis (there are only two users) are connected to regular 30" flatscreens, and for sound up to the usual 5.1 Dolby or so, although most of the videos have just two-channel audios.

I'll try SMB once more at least for one Kodi player and see what happens. (I'll use the backup addon to make and label backups of the present and test configurations.)

[Klojum]

If you have some free time and a spare/separate PC & two USB sticks lying around, you could try & learn installing Ubuntu (it's totally free, and I suggest 18.04 LTS as it doesn't have the NFS browsing problem for Kodi). Then set up your connected USB drive(s), and have the Kodi clients connect to it. More advanced, you could also run a MySQL database on that server, should you want synced libraries for both Kodi clients. There would be no need to change the Kodi client hardware.

In a -very- short summary:
- Install Ubuntu (Server) 18.04 on a (2nd) USB stick. [5-10 minutes]
- Via the terminal session:
-- Install OpenSSH for external access (always handy) [15 seconds]
-- Install NFS server [15 seconds]
-- Set up 'mounts' for your USB drives in the /etc/exports file [a couple of minutes]
-- Set up entries for the USB drive mounts for NFS sharing [a couple of minutes]

'YMMV' for installation time, of course. Once you know how, a fresh Linux file server install can be done in 15 minutes. Once it runs, it'll run.

Although... Reading it again, it sounds a bit like you want different hardware for Kodi because some of the scrapings are not going right? Or is there some other reason?

[monkeylove]

Thanks! I use the ff. setup:

Windows 10 Home PC (i5) with lots of RAM, SSD, and some internal drives;
around 12 drives in three enclosures connected via USB3

Two Mi media players with Kodi installed (two different users who have different videos that are "marked read"; Kodi simply takes the scraped local info located with the videos) accessing videos in the drives via a gigabit local network.

The PC is used to add, modify, etc., the videos using file explorer, and Tiny Media Manager to scrape any videos with metadata.

Everything is shut down at midnight and turned on in the late morning: I shut down the PC, and the enclosures automatically shut down in a few seconds. In the morning, I press the power buttons, and Win automatically mounts the drives in the enclosures.

When I use SMB, the Kodis sometimes don't see all of the shared folders; I have to try again or restart Kodi, the player, or the PC.

When I use FTP, all folders are seen without fail, but one-tenth of the time when I play a video while Kodi is doing a library update, I get a playback failed error. It disappears when I wait a minute and try again and/or I stop the library update.

AFAIK all settings are set to max in the PC, with QoS packet schedule off, media streaming on and off, SMBv1 features on and off, no limits to UL/DL, etc. I suspect the problem lies with Win 10 and/or the point that I'm using the PC to browse or edit files, but I don't know if there are other systems that are it, e.g., drives are automatically mounted when they are put online and dismounted if turned off, etc.

[Klojum]

around 12 drives in three enclosures connected via USB3

Okay... Not a setup we see often around here. Ever considered a NAS with a RAID solution and a few more drives just for data safety? I'm assuming all drives are all individual drives with their own content? Check the SMARTDRIVE status of the drives from time to time.

When I use SMB, the Kodis sometimes don't see all of the shared folders; I have to try again or restart Kodi, the player, or the PC.

I really have no clue why SMB would fail to see some folders, while FTP would not. If it can see one folder, it should see them all.
As said, I'm not a Windows user. I started with NFS and Linux myself 12 years ago and never looked back.
Normally I'd blame wifi on network hiccups, but I take it you have an all cabled setup.

[jbinkley60]

Thanks! I use the ff. setup:

Windows 10 Home PC (i5) with lots of RAM, SSD, and some internal drives;
around 12 drives in three enclosures connected via USB3

Two Mi media players with Kodi installed (two different users who have different videos that are "marked read"; Kodi simply takes the scraped local info located with the videos) accessing videos in the drives via a gigabit local network.

The PC is used to add, modify, etc., the videos using file explorer, and Tiny Media Manager to scrape any videos with metadata.

Everything is shut down at midnight and turned on in the late morning: I shut down the PC, and the enclosures automatically shut down in a few seconds. In the morning, I press the power buttons, and Win automatically mounts the drives in the enclosures.

When I use SMB, the Kodis sometimes don't see all of the shared folders; I have to try again or restart Kodi, the player, or the PC.

When I use FTP, all folders are seen without fail, but one-tenth of the time when I play a video while Kodi is doing a library update, I get a playback failed error. It disappears when I wait a minute and try again and/or I stop the library update.

AFAIK all settings are set to max in the PC, with QoS packet schedule off, media streaming on and off, SMBv1 features on and off, no limits to UL/DL, etc. I suspect the problem lies with Win 10 and/or the point that I'm using the PC to browse or edit files, but I don't know if there are other systems that are it, e.g., drives are automatically mounted when they are put online and dismounted if turned off, etc.

If you have or plan to have a dedicated Windows PC then you might consider a uPNP/DLNA approach which can handle USB connected drives and should meet all of your needs.  You can click here to see the Wiki.  You can click on How it works and Frequently asked question for more information.  Since it leverages HTTP for streaming and the direct file access stays local, the whole QoS issue / question goes away.


Jeff

[Klojum]

a uPNP/DLNA approach which can handle USB connected drives

Is that so unique? AFAIK, USB connected drives are handled by the operating system, and not so much by network layers on top of the OS.

[scott967]

A couple things to understand your environment
These drive enclosures support USB3 speed?
Drives are MBR or GPT?
File systems are NTFS or ?
When a system hosting Kodi doesn't find an SMB share, are you using an ip or computer name in Kodi for the share?

scott s.
.

[jbinkley60]

a uPNP/DLNA approach which can handle USB connected drives

Is that so unique? AFAIK, USB connected drives are handled by the operating system, and not so much by network layers on top of the OS.

Agreed that the OS handles the USB access but the application controls when and why the access is needed, as well as what is read from the USB drives.  With the USB drives connected locally to the server the native file access is local between the server and the USB drives.  No cross network SMB mounts, reads etc.  Some DLNA servers allow the user to set how often / what conditions to scan / read the USB drives.  This can allow for smoother operation and more precise control of scanning for changes, new content etc...


Jeff

[monkeylove]

A couple things to understand your environment
These drive enclosures support USB3 speed?
Drives are MBR or GPT?
File systems are NTFS or ?
When a system hosting Kodi doesn't find an SMB share, are you using an ip or computer name in Kodi for the share?

scott s.
.

Thanks! All of them support USB3. Four of the drives use MBR but they only have a capacity of 2 TB. The file systems are NTFS. I've been using IP addresses throughout, although I think I experimented with the computer name once, but the same problem took place.

[monkeylove]

around 12 drives in three enclosures connected via USB3

Okay... Not a setup we see often around here. Ever considered a NAS with a RAID solution and a few more drives just for data safety? I'm assuming all drives are all individual drives with their own content? Check the SMARTDRIVE status of the drives from time to time.

When I use SMB, the Kodis sometimes don't see all of the shared folders; I have to try again or restart Kodi, the player, or the PC.

I really have no clue why SMB would fail to see some folders, while FTP would not. If it can see one folder, it should see them all.
As said, I'm not a Windows user. I started with NFS and Linux myself 12 years ago and never looked back.
Normally I'd blame wifi on network hiccups, but I take it you have an all cabled setup.

I wanted to buy a NAS but it's expensive; I think a 12-bay will cost me almost $2k. So I settled for using my present PC and just attaching enclosures to it. Also, everything is cabled, and Gigabit as well.

Around a month ago, users were experiencing those hiccups even with FTP, and then they disappeared and everything's working fine. I'm guessing something took place with a Windows update.

I'm thinking of buying a used laptop for less than $100 (I just realized that I lack space for a PC) and then installing Conceiva or Linux and see what happens. Before that, I'll experiment with Conceiva in the present PC.

[jbinkley60]

around 12 drives in three enclosures connected via USB3

Okay... Not a setup we see often around here. Ever considered a NAS with a RAID solution and a few more drives just for data safety? I'm assuming all drives are all individual drives with their own content? Check the SMARTDRIVE status of the drives from time to time.

When I use SMB, the Kodis sometimes don't see all of the shared folders; I have to try again or restart Kodi, the player, or the PC.

I really have no clue why SMB would fail to see some folders, while FTP would not. If it can see one folder, it should see them all.
As said, I'm not a Windows user. I started with NFS and Linux myself 12 years ago and never looked back.
Normally I'd blame wifi on network hiccups, but I take it you have an all cabled setup.

I wanted to buy a NAS but it's expensive; I think a 12-bay will cost me almost $2k. So I settled for using my present PC and just attaching enclosures to it. Also, everything is cabled, and Gigabit as well.

Around a month ago, users were experiencing those hiccups even with FTP, and then they disappeared and everything's working fine. I'm guessing something took place with a Windows update.

I'm thinking of buying a used laptop for less than $100 (I just realized that I lack space for a PC) and then installing Conceiva or Linux and see what happens. Before that, I'll experiment with Conceiva in the present PC.

I rolled my own servers a number of years back leveraging low cost Norco chassis and low cost Highpoint Raid controllers.  The nice thing about that approach is that I was able to slowly grow my expenses vs. buying a packaged solution but it does require a certain amount of hardware knowledge and patience.  In the beginning there were some hard drive shortages and a few times I bought external drives, opened the cases and put the drives in my server chassis    

If you need help with Mezzmo their support forums are here .   

Good luck,

Jeff

[monkeylove]

Okay... Not a setup we see often around here. Ever considered a NAS with a RAID solution and a few more drives just for data safety? I'm assuming all drives are all individual drives with their own content? Check the SMARTDRIVE status of the drives from time to time.
I really have no clue why SMB would fail to see some folders, while FTP would not. If it can see one folder, it should see them all.
As said, I'm not a Windows user. I started with NFS and Linux myself 12 years ago and never looked back.
Normally I'd blame wifi on network hiccups, but I take it you have an all cabled setup.

I wanted to buy a NAS but it's expensive; I think a 12-bay will cost me almost $2k. So I settled for using my present PC and just attaching enclosures to it. Also, everything is cabled, and Gigabit as well.

Around a month ago, users were experiencing those hiccups even with FTP, and then they disappeared and everything's working fine. I'm guessing something took place with a Windows update.

I'm thinking of buying a used laptop for less than $100 (I just realized that I lack space for a PC) and then installing Conceiva or Linux and see what happens. Before that, I'll experiment with Conceiva in the present PC.

I rolled my own servers a number of years back leveraging low cost Norco chassis and low cost Highpoint Raid controllers.  The nice thing about that approach is that I was able to slowly grow my expenses vs. buying a packaged solution but it does require a certain amount of hardware knowledge and patience.  In the beginning there were some hard drive shortages and a few times I bought external drives, opened the cases and put the drives in my server chassis    

If you need help with Mezzmo their support forums are here .   

Good luck,

Jeff

Thanks for sharing that. We have a similar setup: I have fewer drives but also around 18,000 video items (of varying video quality). That means, following what you did, something that can still use Windows but with Mezzmo and a server chassis with racks to put in drives. Given that, I'll wait for the enclosures to give up before trying that.

Meanwhile, I'll try Mezzmo.

[monkeylove]

After installing Mezzmo, I just realized that it's similar to Plex and others!

https://kodi.wiki/view/Syncing_and_shari...al_network

For some weird reason I missed Mezzmo when I was trying Plex and Emby with Kodi plugins. Also, Jellyfin isn't mentioned.

I got some interesting quirks with some of them, like one not progressing while scanning folders, and Kodi slow if I try to read from the server database directly instead of integrating it. For Mezzmo, I found that if I try to install it in drive D: and configure it to put the data and log folders there, the program crashes.

I take it that they all have similar processes, i.e., create databases and then stream the media through HTTP with options to disable transcoding, and so on?