Raspberry Pi Question(s)
#1
Hey guys... im looking to run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi running OpenElec simply for it to be notified of new material so that it can then send that updated material to an SQL database so everything syncs across the house...
Im also looking to run MySQL on a second Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu Server

Both devices will be uninterfaced items (no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse... just little computing boxes tucked away in a corner)… both will be networked wirelessly...

One RPI is an RPi3 B, the other is an RPi3 B+

Is there any real benefit to running one platform on one piece of hardware vs the other piece of hardware? Would it be 'snappier' if say, the SQL was run off of the slightly better equipment? or is it so negligible that it doesn't matter?

(I also have a few RPi 0w laying around... but they don't do great at running Kodi… so have avoided them for this project... not opposed to using them for SQL if that is an application they are perfectly suited for..)

Any recommendations are appreciated.
Reply
#2
I can't see how you'll benefit from using 2 machines.  If it were me I'd start by trying libreelec on the pi (openelec hasn't been updated since about 17.3 AFAIK) and the libreelec mysql addon.
Reply
#3
(2019-05-23, 15:52)rbthompsonv Wrote: Hey guys... im looking to run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi running OpenElec simply for it to be notified of new material so that it can then send that updated material to an SQL database so everything syncs across the house...
Im also looking to run MySQL on a second Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu Server

Both devices will be uninterfaced items (no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse... just little computing boxes tucked away in a corner)… both will be networked wirelessly...

One RPI is an RPi3 B, the other is an RPi3 B+

Is there any real benefit to running one platform on one piece of hardware vs the other piece of hardware? Would it be 'snappier' if say, the SQL was run off of the slightly better equipment? or is it so negligible that it doesn't matter?

(I also have a few RPi 0w laying around... but they don't do great at running Kodi… so have avoided them for this project... not opposed to using them for SQL if that is an application they are perfectly suited for..)

Any recommendations are appreciated.

huh. Why would you be running Kodi on something that doesn't have a monitor on it?
Reply
#4
(2019-05-23, 16:37)honcho Wrote:
(2019-05-23, 15:52)rbthompsonv Wrote: Hey guys... im looking to run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi running OpenElec simply for it to be notified of new material so that it can then send that updated material to an SQL database so everything syncs across the house...
Im also looking to run MySQL on a second Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu Server

Both devices will be uninterfaced items (no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse... just little computing boxes tucked away in a corner)… both will be networked wirelessly...

One RPI is an RPi3 B, the other is an RPi3 B+

Is there any real benefit to running one platform on one piece of hardware vs the other piece of hardware? Would it be 'snappier' if say, the SQL was run off of the slightly better equipment? or is it so negligible that it doesn't matter?

(I also have a few RPi 0w laying around... but they don't do great at running Kodi… so have avoided them for this project... not opposed to using them for SQL if that is an application they are perfectly suited for..)

Any recommendations are appreciated.

huh. Why would you be running Kodi on something that doesn't have a monitor on it? 
Im sort of at a loss that this is a question...

A headless kodi can receive updates from sonarr when something is downloaded and added to a library... kodi will then notify an SQL database that the other kodi machines hooked into the same network call on, thus not needing to update every single Kodi's library every time you need to see what's new, you simply open kodi or back out to the home page and bam, already updated...

So... the way my system works... FreeNAS runs a VM version of Ubuntu that hosts all my little programs... Sonarr, SABNZBD, MySQL...etc. When it downloads something and sends it to the storage drive, it then notifies a headless Kodi device, which then automatically updates its library and then sends that information to the MySQL database that tracks everything... As soon as it does that, the other Kodis on the network can see the update because it draws its menu information from the MySQL database rather than its own individual library database... means I don't have to update 10 different machines, only 1... and it can run endlessly updating itself without bogging down a machine im watching.
Reply
#5
(2019-05-23, 16:14)trogggy Wrote: I can't see how you'll benefit from using 2 machines.  If it were me I'd start by trying libreelec on the pi (openelec hasn't been updated since about 17.3 AFAIK) and the libreelec mysql addon.
You don't think that Kodi will bog down a single pi machine enough to impact the SQL database performance?
I tried running Kodi on one of my Zero Ws, it was... um... disappointing. I mean, it ran... but was laggy when not doing direct playback (I don't recall the performance of playback, I didn't run it for very long)… I had my system set up at one point in time using a zero as the kodi 'scrapper' … it was intermittently useless... sometimes missing several days of programming when it was notified to update... and then all of a sudden it would update perfectly... I wasn't a fan of it running Kodi with or without a head...

I'll give it a shot... it's not like it takes a long time to set them up Smile
Reply
#6
PS: I meant LibreElec… Sorry.
Reply
#7
(2019-05-23, 18:39)rbthompsonv Wrote: I tried running Kodi on one of my Zero Ws, it was... um... disappointing. I mean, it ran... but was laggy when not doing direct playback (I don't recall the performance of playback, I didn't run it for very long)
I'll give it a shot... it's not like it takes a long time to set them up Smile 
I don't have a pi zero, but I do have a couple of Pi 1's, that are about equivalent - and they're very slow, as you say.  Playback is pretty good but the rest is light years away from a Pi3.
Reply
#8
I don't have FreeNAS (I use unRaid), but can't you run Kodi headless with Docker on your NAS?
Reply
#9
(2019-05-23, 19:49)doug Wrote: I don't have FreeNAS (I use unRaid), but can't you run Kodi headless with Docker on your NAS?

You can try Smile it is, however, the opposite of fun...

And, IIRC, currently Leia breaks if you use older methods to achieve heedlessness... (unless you mean simply running without a monitor attached... but then it's still a resource hog from generating the GUI).

The Pis are ultra low power... even the Pi3 B+ comes in under (heavy load) 700mA... meaning, I can run it off of a very small battery backup for about 90 minutes (think, portable cellphone charger) and a USB outlet during normal use... And shit, at 1/100 the usage of even a low end laptop, I can run several of them 24/7 for pennies a day... I have the hardware, so there isn't any real overhead...
Reply
#10
(2019-05-23, 19:58)rbthompsonv Wrote: You can try Smile it is, however, the opposite of fun...
Yes, Kodi headless is a hack, as I understand it. I've got three RPis and they are great, but if I can do something on my server I would. I'm itching for the "robot chef" docker.
Reply
#11
(2019-05-23, 18:34)rbthompsonv Wrote:
(2019-05-23, 16:37)honcho Wrote:
(2019-05-23, 15:52)rbthompsonv Wrote: Hey guys... im looking to run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi running OpenElec simply for it to be notified of new material so that it can then send that updated material to an SQL database so everything syncs across the house...
Im also looking to run MySQL on a second Raspberry Pi running Ubuntu Server

Both devices will be uninterfaced items (no monitor, no keyboard, no mouse... just little computing boxes tucked away in a corner)… both will be networked wirelessly...

One RPI is an RPi3 B, the other is an RPi3 B+

Is there any real benefit to running one platform on one piece of hardware vs the other piece of hardware? Would it be 'snappier' if say, the SQL was run off of the slightly better equipment? or is it so negligible that it doesn't matter?

(I also have a few RPi 0w laying around... but they don't do great at running Kodi… so have avoided them for this project... not opposed to using them for SQL if that is an application they are perfectly suited for..)

Any recommendations are appreciated.

huh. Why would you be running Kodi on something that doesn't have a monitor on it?  
Im sort of at a loss that this is a question...

A headless kodi can receive updates from sonarr when something is downloaded and added to a library... kodi will then notify an SQL database that the other kodi machines hooked into the same network call on, thus not needing to update every single Kodi's library every time you need to see what's new, you simply open kodi or back out to the home page and bam, already updated...

So... the way my system works... FreeNAS runs a VM version of Ubuntu that hosts all my little programs... Sonarr, SABNZBD, MySQL...etc. When it downloads something and sends it to the storage drive, it then notifies a headless Kodi device, which then automatically updates its library and then sends that information to the MySQL database that tracks everything... As soon as it does that, the other Kodis on the network can see the update because it draws its menu information from the MySQL database rather than its own individual library database... means I don't have to update 10 different machines, only 1... and it can run endlessly updating itself without bogging down a machine im watching. 
my kodi's all scan my NAS and detect new media on their own.
Reply
#12
(2019-05-23, 21:34)honcho Wrote: my kodi's all scan my NAS and detect new media on their own.
That's one way to do it, if you don't care about shared watched data and resume points.
Reply
#13
(2019-05-23, 21:34)honcho Wrote:
(2019-05-23, 18:34)rbthompsonv Wrote:
(2019-05-23, 16:37)honcho Wrote: my kodi's all scan my NAS and detect new media on their own.
 

The problem with doing it your way is that each Kodi has to call on the NAS to get updated... It's more traffic on your network, more overhead work for each Kodi device... Having a central location for the data to be stored (in the form of an SQL) that all the Kodis call on means they don't each need to individually download fanart or descriptions... each device doesn't have to spend that 2-5 minutes updating your library... instead, it just reads the available library from your SQL... as an added bonus, having it set up this way means you can pause your movie in the living room, walk to the kitchen and resume exactly where you left off... then pause it, go to bed, pop kodi up on your phone and finish watching from where you left off...
Reply
#14
i'm just not that involved in my movies lol. But i see the use case. Can't you just run mysql on your nas though, and have 1 pi less?
Reply
#15
The only thing you need is a sql server?  No other services?  How big is the current sql database?
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Raspberry Pi Question(s)0