[danyboi]

Hello

My current setup is:
Two XBMC 12.3 htpc (Windows)
One MySQL to have just one DB (Ubuntu)
One server for movies/tvshows (Ubuntu)

The problem i got now is that updating the clients are very slow (made all the tweaks to speed it up)
The clients enters "sleep mode" after a few hours idle therefore i cant use auto update lib.

So my question is can i crontab a update on the database without a xbmc-client or install a client on the sql-server thats on 24/7
What i want to accomplish is a fully updated database when i start the clients and dont have to wait like 5-10mins for the scan to complete.

[Milhouse]

No, you need an XBMC client to update the database. There is a "server" version of XBMC under development but it's still a little way from release.

I would suggest a headless Raspberry Pi running OpenELEC to serve as your 24x7 library update "manager" - power it with USB cables from the server PC, and with local files (NFO, artwork) a library scan for new movies takes only a minute or so (a bit longer depending on how many new movies need to be added etc., maybe a minute or two per new movie).

Once a scan is complete, use the Pi to update the XBMC texture cache on each of your PC clients (wake/suspend as necessary). Cron all of this on the Pi.

[danyboi]

Well might have stretch the "very slow" a bit .. usually it take around 5-15 min.
But that feels like an eternity when i get home from work and just want to chill in the sofa and watch some TV

If I recall it was faster when I didnt have a centralized DB for the clients but not worth the extra work to mark movies as watched etc. to go back to the localdb's

[Milhouse]

Yes sorry, comprehension failure on my part - I've updated my original post.

Local nfo/artwork should be very quick to scan on Windows-level hardware. Internet-only metadata will be slower, particularly if also scraping cast members.

You could just wake one of your idle clients (using WOL) from a cron script to initiate the scan rather than use a dedicated Pi, then suspend the client once the scan is finished. All possible with the script in my sig... Its just that Pis are so much more fun.