Question Media files on a separate volume?

[WST16]

Hi,

If I have a DS1019+ (5 bays with 5 disks loaded). 4 are in a RAID 5 configuration and 1 as a separate volume. When using Video Station and storing all the media files on the single volume (don’t care if they are lost). If the DS gets restarted will Video Station go through reindexing?

Is it going to be like when the media files are stored on an external disk where the index is removed every time the DS is restarted and once mounted back goes through reindexing? I think not but want to confirm.

Asking for a friend

 

[Rusty]

If the DS gets restarted

And by this, you mean rebooted, not setup again as a new device right? This will depend on the location of the VS installation primarily, but even so, I see no reason for it to reindex everything again after a reboot, regardless of where its located. If its installed on the main volume and the single volume is just a source of media, then it will definitely not reset. I use the same setup with Plex (even so my content is on a completely different bare metal device).

 

[fredbert]

I'll describe my setup and you can get whatever you want from it...

I'm stuck in limbo:

• between a Mac, iTunes, iTunes media files on external 6TB drive, and backups to other external drives
• and DS218+, 4TB SHR internal, and eSata 5TB external accessed by AS, VS, and Plex

Since my media files are already on and backed up by the Mac then I don't want to use up the NAS's internal SHR storage with media files. Not 100% true since music and audiobook files are less than 100GB so they are on SHR at /music. But all video is arranged on the Shared Folder linked to the 5TB eSata drive.

To be sure that only non-DRM media is maintained on the NAS I have set up daily CCC v5 tasks that filter out iTunes propriety stuff but filter in new files. Different tasks for movies, TV shows, TV one-off (they are better tagged using MovieDB so a separate NAS folder and VS 'movie' library), and home movies.

In VS (and Plex too) create a library for each CCC task's destination folder and based on the type of media it contains. Also, make sure that DSM indexing service will pick up these folders as video type.

Then let VS go through and tag the media according to what it finds in TVDB and MovieDB. Next you'll have to go through and correct tagging mistakes, and this could take quite sometime. IMPORTANT BIT ... Once everything is as you want it you should open VS's admin settings and for each library: highlight and click 'Export Video Info'. This will create a vsmeta file for each item and these 'should' be read whenever VS does its re-indexing.

If you boot the NAS without the external drive then VS will reindex and have empty libraries. But my eSata is always powered so it's rare that the NAS reboots without the drive being offline so I can't 100% say what happens. But I do know that having the vsmeta files speeds up and populates correctly the libraries when I force a re-index by opening a library config (in admin settings) and click Save to close it.

Only once do I remember either booting the NAS without the drive online, or was it I accidentally eject the drive, but the rebuild was helped with having the vsmeta files.

It may also be helped by my VS script that edits age classifications and can apply the lock tag to items when writing back. When an item is locked then it won't update from the Internet searches.

 

[WST16]

And by this, you mean rebooted

Yes. Rebooted.

I see no reason for it to reindex everything again after a reboot, regardless of where its located.

If it‘s on an external drive, it goes through reindexing because the index is removed when the drive is ejected.

 

[WST16]

I'm stuck in limbo:

• between a Mac, iTunes, iTunes media files on external 6TB drive, and backups to other external drives
• and DS218+, 4TB SHR internal, and eSata 5TB external accessed by AS, VS, and Plex

Very complicated!

highlight and click 'Export Video Info'. This will create a vsmeta file for each item and these 'should' be read whenever VS does its re-indexing.

We’re trying to avoid this, hence the question

so I can't 100% say what happens. But I do know that having the vsmeta files speeds up and populates correctly the libraries

I think it’s this. I have an eSATA dock and I believe the index file is deleted when the DS goes through a restart and needs to go through reindexing.

 

[Rusty]

f it‘s on an external drive

That does make sense

 

[fredbert]

It's not complicated It just needed a bit of time to setup the first time but now I've a CCC task group of 14 tasks* that runs at 18:00 every day and that syncs over new files to the right folders on the NAS. Then NAS indexing takes over.

Once I did the initial setup of VS with the right tags the bulk of the vsmeta were created then. I periodically re-export vsmeta files when I've had a particularly onerous mis-tagging. I don't find re-exporting tags to be more than a 10 second job for all my libraries.

My previous setup using iTunes didn't have auto-tagging and I can't stress enough how much more effort it was to use MetaZ to tag by hand. It was slightly easier to use Identify but that stopped working after El Capitan.



Anyway, you asked about using an internal volume but not volume 1. I can't see how this would be any different to managing VS libraries on volume 1.


* 14 because I have iTunes Media subfolders plus my newer Mac media 'library' in a separate set of folders. Very little goes into iTunes Media nowadays since I'm no longer adding my tags.

 

[WST16]

Anyway, you asked about using an internal volume but not volume 1. I can't see how this would be any different to managing VS libraries on volume 1.

I’m inclined to conclude the same.

We’re all in agreement then
Thank you both.