Puppy as media server? [SOLVED]

[bullpup]

Mornin' Puppy community.

I have this 'old' HP Latitude 'something' (32bit) laying around and I am toying with the idea to convert it into a media server for my home network which I can use with my new(er) ASUS notebook (running Fatdog64 bit, newest version).

Is this possible and should I treat it as a (streaming) server and/or a Network Attached Storage?

I am fairly new to this and would like to use Puppy ONLY for learning to understand Puppy more since I am completely addicted to it.
(Not looking for a quick fix or a 3-click solution but some direction would be nice)

Regards, bullpup.

Edit: Solved.

[disciple]

Not going to tell us what solution you decided on?

[bullpup]

Not going to tell us what solution you decided on?

You are so right. Apologies

Actually it's partially solved: I took the lazy way (for now) and set up a "shared directory" so I can at least use it "media server-ish".

Right now I am tinkering with the 'old' HP and just installed Bionic pup 32 bit.
The idea is to use VLC as the server (local network). On my main laptop running Fatdog64 I want to use VLC to log into 32bit machine and stream whatever I like.
That's the easy way.

Once that is up and running a 3rd laptop will be set up as a NAS and should be the final solution.
To be honest I have only a basic idea on how to proceed but would like to mess up a few times before asking for help.
This is more like a personal thing to learn more about networking and (most of all) Puppy.

Tell you what, though: I am keeping notes about the steps I am taking toward the inevitable successful end........ and will ofcourse post it here somewhere.

regards, BP

EDIT: I used the VLM approach for now.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-li ... rver-home/

[enrique]

I always sitck to the basics. Is this is a project for yourself or love ones at home, Share Folder as you did is the way to go.

All those extra programs to do so called streaming are a complication and unnecessary for just Recorded Movies. Now if you where to share a live event or a camera, then rtsp or similar apps may be of use.

I used both method at home. I use a Puppy ( well debiandog) as a HTPC Home Theater PC. Live event like my Satellite channels or the Off The Air are transmitted to a complicated process. I am not going to talk about that,

Now I have hundred and hundred of movies that I have on Shared Drives. At home in my local network I can watch them using any device; PC, tablets, phones. For this you only need CIFS or SMB. As this may be only unimportant movies and no personal data you could just have them as Read Only Public Folders. In my case I prefer to sign in with shh keys and no password.

[bullpup]

@ enrique

Yes, this is mostly a private project for learning purposes to find out how stuff really work and all that.
And which mistake yields what trouble and so forth.

I've been using shared directories before and I agree with the "basics only" approach. The more simplified things are the less will be likely to break.

[rockedge]

create a NAS server with a Puppy Linux.

https://www.openmediavault.org/

I've done it and it runs well. I could access it with a DVD player that had wifi and select movies or music or photos with it. Just one example, comes in really handy and was not that hard to set up.

[fernan]

I run an MPD server (Music Player Daemon) on my puppy linux.

If you are using Puppy as a learning tool, take a look at the possibilities of the MPD server. It can stream also to the Internet if you want.

You can control the server from any client, even a mobile phone app.

A bit tricky at first to setup, but a good learning experience and once set, it's very stable.

[Semme]

For visitors to this forum confused by what all the hype about Music Player Daemon is about, let me try to explain:

MPD is a music client/server playback system. The main MPD application is the server, which includes a proper database. Separate client applications, of which there are many available, connect to the server, and control playback. In the most basic configuration, you can run both the server and a client on the same computer. In this setup, MPD appears little different to any other music player. But things start to get interesting once you separate out the server from the client;

Tempestuous

[Geek3579]

For more information about setting up MPD on Puppy Linux, see the Puppy Linux Newsletter - Sept & October 2018. I hope it is consistent with later Puppies.

See http://smokey01.com/newsletters/2018/Se ... 18.html#10

and http://smokey01.com/newsletters/2018/Oc ... 018.html#7

[bullpup]

Thanks for all the input, guys.

Going to check out this MPD thing.

Regards, BP

@Geek Thank you for the links you provided.