How to Implement Dual Purples?

[MrSurly]

I now have my BI mini-tower running on an SSD for boot and storing to an 8TB Purple. I get about ten days with my twelve substreamed cams.
I now have a second Purple, a new 10TB, in the second bay. What I want to do is to somehow use BOTH discs to store the clips and have them work as if they were one physical drive, overwriting the old data after twenty-some days utilizing the FIFO scheme.... but over two physical drives. Is this even POSSIBLE?
If NOT, what's the best route? A version of a RAID?

 

[sebastiantombs]

Simplest method is to duplicate the standard BI directory structure on the second drive andd allocate 55% or your cameras to record to the 10TB and 45% to the 8GB. Incidentally, when formatting set the block size to 1024, 1MB, rather than the standard 4K to reduce writes.

 

[Jessie.slimer]

Nice. Thanks for this. I will refer back to it when I get a 2nd drive.

 

[MrSurly]

Simplest method is to duplicate the standard BI directory structure on the second drive and allocate 55% or your cameras to record to the 10TB and 45% to the 8GB. Incidentally, when formatting set the block size to 1024, 1MB, rather than the standard 4K to reduce writes.

Ok, wow. I had not even thought of the approach of splitting the cameras into two groups. I LIKE SIMPLE, so thanks for that.
For some reason I have been thinking of the camera's outputs as an aggregate that all had to go to the same destination but now I need more info.
It appears that the BI setting for clip storage is global (clips and archiving/folders: D:\BlueIris New), so how do I implement this <allocate 55% or your cameras>?
Set up two two different camera groups?

 

[sebastiantombs]

Just format the drive and create the directory structure. Then, in BI, allocate space on the new drive in the normal manner under the storage options. In the cameras you move to the new drive, just point them at the "New" directory on the new drive for recording. When I said 55 and 45% of the cameras, you could also do it, on the same proportion, using megapixels rather than physical cameras. That would account for differing resolutions but it really isn't all that critical.

 

[MrSurly]

I guess I'll look at it this weekend because I'm too dense to do this remotely, apparently. I'm looking at the various settings panels and can't see how to 'point' cameras to separate drives. In the individual cam settings in BI, each has the choice of choosing the NEW or the Stored folder and then in the main BI settings/clips and archiving>I can set a destination for each folder. I can't rename or create a folder there. But the "point a cam" option eludes me.
As a trial I selected the AUX1 folder (which has no default path) and using the entry box I browsed to the new drive, selected it and the BlueIris New folder on it.
As I had hoped, when I went back to an individual cam setting (selecting a running cam and r-click) I now have the option under cam 12/settings/record/video/continuous/folder/ to select the folder from: NEW/Stored/Aux1.
So I selected the Aux1 folder for that single cam.
The cam lost signal for a moment and then came back.
Now, for the first time, when I open the BI STATUS clip storage window, the new drive shows up as added to the bar charts and that cam is writing to it.
So, after I get home I will sort out the step of 'pointing' more of the cams to Aux1.

OK, I'm pretty sure there's a better simpler more elegant way to do this.

Sebastiontombs, tell me where I screwed this up because I'm certain I've managed to vastly over-complicate it.

 

[samplenhold]

I do this with three 10TB purple drives. On third of my cams on each drive. For areas with multiple cams, I make sure that each is on a separate drive such that if a drive fails, I still have some views from that area on other drives.

Here is how it is set up. I just renamed Aux2 to New2 and Aux3 to New3

 

[MrSurly]

Thanks to both of you. It looks like the renaming of the Aux folders as I did was effectively the way to do it.
I was (of course) hoping for a simpler more intuitive way to direct them but clearly this can work. I intend, as well, to get another Purple once I determine what my MB will support (and likely a bigger power supply will be needed <sigh>).

 

[Flintstone61]

Ok I’m fiddlephukin around with Aux1 and Drive z:\ and F:\. I managed to lock myself out of Original default new folder in Z Dr. but whatever I manage to make an auxiliary one folder on the Z Dr. and I have 65% cams to the drive and F:\ is doing about 35% in a folder called new so it’s time to leave work we’ll see what happens tomorrow. looks like the database .bvr ‘s are accessible so it must be working

 

[SyconsciousAu]

have them work as if they were one physical drive,

You can do that with volume spanning in windows. Multiple drives appear to the operating system as one.

Or you can run a Raid 0 for more speed.

Or you can run your cams with folders on two separate drives to give you some redundancy.

 

[Flintstone61]

Do you have to create the newly named folder before you can select it in the listing of folders shownin BI\ Clips and Archiving?

 

[wittaj]

Do you have to create the newly named folder before you can select it in the listing of folders shownin BI\ Clips and Archiving?

It has been awhile since I did this, but I believe I created the directories on the different drives before going into BI.

 

[MrSurly]

Yes. Add a folder, name it new or name it whatever to aux 2 and you’ll see it appear as a drop down option

 

[Flintstone61]

In other news. I managed to click " repair database" and unf#$!!k myself from my wiley Folder formation flubbery. But being the impulsive idiot that I am....New is now on the small drive and Aux1 is onthe 6TB drive. BI remember "New" being allocated 5.45TB, and was announcing my conundrum in blinking yellow or some $h!* with the 1.81TB drive in lower portion of the screen. I was able to reallocate the Drive size to the correct values to the correct folders. I will now go choke somebodies kitten. And kick an unsupecting Spider.