[mythtv-users] Mythfrontend and frontend only

[chris at cpr.homelinux.net]

On Mon, Jul 04, 2005 at 03:10:40PM +0800, Ow Mun Heng wrote:
> I use Gentoo and I compiled mythtv-0.18 with the "frontendonly" flag and
> when it's done, each time I try to execute mythtv-setup or mythfrontend,
> I get thrown into a setup screen to put my mysql db particulars. 
> 
> It's a front-end, I don't want to have mysql if it's not needed.
> Possible? (Or does myth use mysql to store all the shows and what not?)

The mythbackend uses mysql-server to store practically everything but 
the captured video feed.  A frontend-only machine will need to have 
mysql-client installed so that it can interact with the remote 
mysql-server.

There are at least three places on the backend machine where you will 
have to make manual changes to enable the remote mythfrontend to work:

1) Port permissions: open holes in the firewall and edit 
/etc/hosts.allow, etc. so that the frontend machine can connect to 
mysql-server on the back end.

2) Mysql permissions: use the mysql client on the server box to connect 
to the mythconverg database and grant permissions to the mythfrontend 
host.

3) Myth configuration: use a FQDN or IP address instead of the default 
"localhost".  Although the frontend will have its own mysql connection 
information to reach the server, it then substitutes whatever 
configuration it downloads from the server, which means that if the 
mythbackend is using "localhost" then the frontend will connect to the 
server and then die because it tries to make subsequent connections to 
its own localhost.

On a frontend-only machine you don't need to run mythtv-setup as that's 
used for configuring the capture card, etc. on the backend.  Just start 
mythfrontend and if it doesn't find ~/.mythtv/mysql.txt it will ask you 
for the location of the backend mysql server and create the mysql.txt 
file for you.  It will then go through the frontend configuration pages 
and save that data on the backend mysql server in the "settings" table. 
DO NOT enable check-boxes for mythfilldatabase, etc. on the frontend 
machine if the backend machine is already setup to do that.  After that 
you're ready to watch TV!