From: "Aaron Bishop" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Multiple encoders on the same server box
Guilty as charged - forgot to mention that all my work is done on Windows
95/98/NT. Running multiple soundcards on a Windows box often does cause
problems...the Windows sound system (I think there's some specific term for
it but it's escaping me) just does not like to try and interact with
multiple drivers for sound cards. The problem is worsened by the fact
that Windows will always try and manage IRQ's for you above and beyond any
IRQ management the BIOS does, and it fiddles with the PCI buss as well. To
get those multiple cards running you have to keep IRQ's clear and Windows
just won't do that. Sooner or later it's going to try and use an IRQ that
your "extra" sound cards need and ka-blooie! System crash due to IRQ
conflict. I suppose using ISA soundcards (like the SoundBlaster AWE64)
*might* help with this problem...I don't really know for sure. I attempted
to do this once and it was a nightmare so I gave up. I've asked around a
lot regarding the issue and nobody's been able to provide me with a
surefire setup on a Windows box that works (although many have recounted
similar nightmares to mine). If anyone on this list knows a stable way to
do it - please share!
Linux, obviously, is a whole different can of worms since the driver
architecture is completely different. Although I'm still leery of putting
the server and encoder/producer on the same machine regardless...I'd rather
spring for the extra $400 and get another box and save that extra system
resources for serving. But whatever floats your boat...
Aaron Bishop
CW Audio Engineer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lamar Owen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Multiple encoders on the same server box
RealForum wrote:
>
> From: "Aaron Bishop" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: Multiple encoders on the same server box
>
> Generally speaking, it is never a good idea to put the server and the
> encoder on the same machine. More often than not, it will crash and
crash
> often. RealProducer is somewhat of a system resource hog, and if you
try
[snip]
I have run for the last two years a Linux machine doing both -- and it
is rock solid, running 24x7 for 80-90 days at a time. The only glitch I
have had is when a kernel update triggered a hardware bug in the Intel
440FX chipset on the SuperMicro P6DNE (dual 200MHz PPro, one CPU
installed) -- but I got a resolution on that in ten minutes from the
kernel developers. The symptom was a dying encoder after 90-120 hours
of continuous encoding.
My testing machine has two Esoniq AudioPCI's in it, and it works great
(under RedHat Linux 6.1, that is).
> Gadgetlabs) the encoder eats up a lotta processor and RAM. When I run
ONE
> copy of RealProducer on a live stream on my Pentium II Dual-chip 200MHz
(w/
> 64MB RAM) it uses about 25% of the processor and around 7-8MB of RAM.
So
> in theory I could run two, maybe three copies of RealProducer on my
machine
In contrast, RealAudio Encoder 3.0 on a PPro 200 running RedHat Linux
5.2 takes 3-4% of the CPU and 620K of RAM. I realize that this is an
older setup -- but you know, it WORKS. Now, if I was running
RealProducerPlus in CLI mode, I don't know.
> safely. So I would hazard a guess that a really spiffy new Pentium III
> could handle four simultaneous encoders safely on a long-term
> basis. Well...as long a term as Windows can handle, that is! :-)
I personally feel that the Windows platform in and of itself causes much
of the problem.
> Or, alternatively, you could purchase a medium-ish computer for your
server
> and a bunch of little cheap $400 PCs for your encoders, and have one
> encoder per machine. Adds somewhat to how much space you have left in
the
> closet, so to speak, but also gives you more flexibility, in that if one
> machine goes down you haven't lost everything.
If you're set on an NT RealServer machine (and that's OK), you can stack
some Pentium 100's and run RedHat Linux + the Linux RealProducer CLI and
save a bundle on NT licenses.
--
Lamar Owen
*******************************************************
The RealForum is an email discussion group focused on using RealNetworks
products. The RealForum is a place to post messages about the best methods
for creating content using RealNetworks technologies and the planning and
implementation of streaming-media web sites. Archives of RealForum can
be found at http://realforum.real.com
If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list,
you can send mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with the following
command in the body of your email message:
unsubscribe realforum
or from another account, besides the address you subscribed with:
unsubscribe realforum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
