Jump to content

Idle server settings and back up


iPenguin02

Recommended Posts

iPenguin02

Anyone want to share their server settings with me? I know i can play with the settings, but I want to get an idea on how everyone else is setting up their server. Currently most of my settings are default.

 

I have media browser 3 installed on my server C drive and my NAS is my D drive. What is the best way to back up your server in case of crash? I Currently have crash plan to back up my media files as well as an external drive for more redundency.

 

Should I set the folders in system path under the info in the dashboard to specific folders? Currently they are default, I was thinking creating a folder either on my NAS or C drive to house those files.

Either C:\Media Server (\cache, \Transcoding temporary files, \logs, \image by name) or on the D: drive. Then have crash plan back it up off site. Wasn't sure if those are the only folders i would need to back up for a smooth restore incase of a disaster.

 

I go in and edit all metadata individually, I do not want to lose my work.

Edited by iPenguin02
Link to comment
Share on other sites

gcw07

Is your metadata being saved with the media? If so, I would personally just back the media and metadata up. Then I'd suggest installing the trakt plugin and letting your collection and media status be synced with them. So then basically if you have a crash, you only need to re-install server, copy the media/metadata back and then transfer your played statuses back from trakt to MB. The cache directory, logs, transcoding directory can all be recreated really easily. If you have custom images for media folders, you should keep a backup of those too.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

iPenguin02

Is your metadata being saved with the media? If so, I would personally just back the media and metadata up. Then I'd suggest installing the trakt plugin and letting your collection and media status be synced with them. So then basically if you have a crash, you only need to re-install server, copy the media/metadata back and then transfer your played statuses back from trakt to MB. The cache directory, logs, transcoding directory can all be recreated really easily. If you have custom images for media folders, you should keep a backup of those too.

 

No? I am not sure as it is default. I will look into the trakt plugin. I will not worry about cache, logs, and trancoding then. Images by name folder something i should back up? By custom images, did you mean like when editing metadata and you choose a backdrop or album cover from the database?

 

Should i store the metadata in a seperate directory on my NAS or on the HDD the server is running on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

gcw07

When you installed MB Server it will ask you if you want to save metadata to folders. If you didn't check yes and you do, then you can always turn it on in the web dashboard. It is under "Metadata" -> "Save artwork and metadata within media folders". Just so you know that it will create additional files within your media directories. So it will create a movie.xml file in your movie folder and save the artwork for that movie into that folder. This basically makes it so you can easily restore everything because all the data is already there instead of having to re-download everything. Not sure if it will go back over everything and resave if you haven't already. Someone with more knowledge of those options will have to answer that.

 

As for custom images. I just mean that if you set images for your media folders, then back those up too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

iPenguin02

When you installed MB Server it will ask you if you want to save metadata to folders. If you didn't check yes and you do, then you can always turn it on in the web dashboard. It is under "Metadata" -> "Save artwork and metadata within media folders". Just so you know that it will create additional files within your media directories. So it will create a movie.xml file in your movie folder and save the artwork for that movie into that folder. This basically makes it so you can easily restore everything because all the data is already there instead of having to re-download everything. Not sure if it will go back over everything and resave if you haven't already. Someone with more knowledge of those options will have to answer that.

 

As for custom images. I just mean that if you set images for your media folders, then back those up too.

 

I see, I do not plan on saving my metadata to the media folder, I do not want to create builk. What folder would i need to back up since I am not planning on saving metadata to the media folder? I also do not have custom images.

 

To recap, All i need to do is back up my media and metadata files and images? In the event of a disaster, I would just reinstall MB3 and copy over the backed up files and i would be ready to rock and roll?

The folder that looks like it must be backed up looks like C:\users\user\appdata\roaming\mediabrowser-server\data. I am not sure if i need to back up the whole data directory or just metadata? Where are the server settings?

 

verifying, i do not need to back up \cache, \Transcoding temporary files, \logs, \image by name?

Edited by iPenguin02
Link to comment
Share on other sites

gcw07

I see, I do not plan on saving my metadata to the media folder, I do not want to create builk. What folder would i need to back up since I am not planning on saving metadata to the media folder? I also do not have custom images.

 

To recap, All i need to do is back up my media and metadata files and images? In the event of a disaster, I would just reinstall MB3 and copy over the backed up files and i would be ready to rock and roll?

The folder that looks like it must be backed up looks like C:\users\user\appdata\roaming\mediabrowser-server\data. I am not sure if i need to back up the whole data directory or just metadata? Where are the server settings?

 

verifying, i do not need to back up \cache, \Transcoding temporary files, \logs, \image by name?

Honestly I'm not sure. I would guess you wouldn't do any backups of data at all except media in this case. The server would just have to redownload everything if you crashed. That is why I save to media folders because then you don't have to do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

iPenguin02

Honestly I'm not sure. I would guess you wouldn't do any backups of data at all except media in this case. The server would just have to redownload everything if you crashed. That is why I save to media folders because then you don't have to do that.

 

In the event of a crash, if I saved my metadata to my media folders. Would I simply just reinstall them everything would be good? What files are created (.jpg .XML?) I want to run some tests to see.

 

I will also try to run some test on what files need to be backed up if I were not to save to media folder and report back just in case others are interested.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

gcw07

If it is saved, then yes, you just would reinstall the server and it would rescan everything and suck it back into the cache. Yes, it creates image files and xml files.

 

What I would suggest is you take a small portion of your media and copy it. Like 2 tv shows and 4 or 5 movies. Then setup MB to point to just those new copies and let it create the data within the media folders. See what it does for yourself so you can judge if you like that idea or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

iPenguin02

What I did prior to back up:

- Adjusted a few of the server settings

- Created a Guest Profile

- Added / Deleted some metadata to 2 different shows and 4 movies

 

I will be doing 2 back ups

1. First run will be copying over c:\users\user\appdata\roaming\mediabrowser-server\data and seeing what happens when i restore that one folder in the even of a fresh install

2. How the restore works with the "Save metadata to media folder" option works

 

First back up will be copying over the default folder for server data (c:\users\user\appdata\roaming\mediabrowser-server\data). After completing the editing above, before completely deleting / uninstalling media browser server I copied the folder listed to my desktop. I then reinstalled the server and created a user that was different than the 2 i created in the initial install. I copied the data folder from my desktop to the appropriate folder after install. I had to turn off the server before copying and restart the server to give it a little time to populate. I am not sure what is exactly copied within that folder and what they do, but I do know for sure my metadata was copied over as well as my profiles, it did overwrite the user created on the second install. Server settings were not copied over, I was a little bummed about this. I'd assume it would be with the config folder of the install, as i noticed a system.xml. I opened it and it looks like what would be the settings, correct me if I am wrong of course.

 

I tried going from one back up to the next experiment without having to do a fresh install. I tried to simply check the box to save metadata to media folder, Does not seem to work. I tried restarting my PC, restarted the server and started scheduled tasks several times to no effect.

 

Therefore I will need to do this on a fresh install with same settings and changes to metadata. I will not copy over the data folder, but i will copy the config folder. I will then wipe all data and do a fresh install, I will report back once complete.

 

For movies Metadata files created for each movie was around 9-10. For TV shows around 2 folders and 24+ files, I think this is dependent on how many seasons that show has. Files range from jpg, png, xml. I did edit one of the studios metadata as well. Edited metadata restored quickly, However I deleted a few images, I guess i should have turned off update automatically because it re-downloaded the missing images i deleted. The config folder looks like is the correct folder to back up if you want to keep your server settings.

 

 

My opinion:

Unfortunately there is no real easy way to restore your server in the event of a disaster. Using the first method, without truly knowing what all the files do, I am unsure what exactly what needs to be backed up. However this looks like the best option at this point, but i do hope to see in future updates the option to back up the server and metadata, or be able to choose the a specific folder location for files that needed to be backed up, so you can back up that folder.

 

Saving metadata to the media folder is way to bulky to me. I Have OCD and things need to be a specific way, Would be nice if we can consolidate the metadata to a specific folder rather than having it free floating within the media folder. You have jpgs, pngs, and xml mixed in with you avis, mp4, mkv files.

 

Please keep in mind this was a quick test taking only 1-2 hours. This was simply to see which might be a better backup option for my needs.

Edited by iPenguin02
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...