Max Speed of Tivo -> USB 2.0 IDE HDD copy for S2

[ignacvucko]

Hi folks,

I've read in other threads that its possible to hook up a USB 2.0
external enclosure containing an IDE HDD directly to a S2 SA's USB port.
(ie: *not* networked via ethernet)

Two quick questions that I dont' have clear answers to yet:

1) What files/mods/instructions are needed to allow you to copy
.ty files from Tivo's HDD to the local USB HDD?
(I already have mfs_ftp and tserver installed and can extract over ethernet using tytool & tserver)

2) If one manages to do the above, then what would the maximum
throughput be on a S2 SA? I know that for the networked case,
the limit for most is 1.6 MB/s. In other words, in this 1.6 MB/s figure,
is the bottleneck the Tivo's CPU? or is the network the bottleneck?
If its the network, then using a local USB IDE might significantly raise
the throughput. How high could it be?

These questions have been bugging me for nearly 2 years now...

Cheers,
Ignac

[blueman2]

The bottleneck is primarily the S2's CPU, apparently. From what I have read, people who connect the drive directly get a slight improvement, but nothing dramatic. Perhaps 2.0MB/s. I too was excited about the concept until I realized that it does not really speed things up.

Now, it would be cool if there was a program written to take advantage of a external USB2 drive and treat it as a virtual expansion of the Tivo's drive space. This can be done now via .tmf file export to the drive, but is a bit clumbsy.

[ignacvucko]

Thanks for your insight blueman2.

Max 2.0MB...i see - yeah it kinda takes the "wow" out of it...

Nonetheless, could you elaborate on where I could find instructions on
how to export a .tmf file from my tivo to a connected USB drive?
1) Would I need to format the drive in any special format
2) I suspect that a sleeper'd tivo linux OS would automatically
enumerate the device (?). If not, would I need to do anything "special"
3) Is there a tcl script somewhere that I could call to export
a fsid to the attached USB drive?
4) Is there a tcl script somewhere that I could call to import
a fsid to the attached USB drive?

I know that (3) and (4) exist for ftp, but i'm thinking someone
musta written something to do it locally as well (?).

As for my motivation in the above, I'm interested in initiating backups without tying up my computer.

Cheers,
Ignac