[digiKam-users] Client/Server: Indexing possible on server?

[Lukas Haase]

Hello,

I am using digiKam on Windows and I am accessing pictures from an SMB share over OpenVPN and the internet. There are throusands of pictures and many GBs of them. Loading them conventionally will take me years.

Is it possible to run a command on the server to index a directory and merge the data somehow with my database on the Windows client?

(Ideally I could even automate this so as to run the indexing automatically via cron job on the server, sync the data to my client and merge them via a script).

Thanks,
Peter

[woenx]

No, not really, although it would be interesting to have more server-client
tools like that. I believe one of the problems would be that the server
would not know where the path to the file would be located from the
perspective of the Windows machine.



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[Remco Viëtor]

On vendredi 14 août 2020 23:09:47 CEST Lukas Haase wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am using digiKam on Windows and I am accessing pictures from an SMB share
> over OpenVPN and the internet. There are throusands of pictures and many
> GBs of them. Loading them conventionally will take me years.
>
> Is it possible to run a command on the server to index a directory and merge
> the data somehow with my database on the Windows client?
>
> (Ideally I could even automate this so as to run the indexing automatically
> via cron job on the server, sync the data to my client and merge them via a
> script).
>
> Thanks,
> Peter

As woenx said, you'd run into trouble with the file paths.

Also, if loading them conventionally is going to take years, you won't be too
happy with most operations once you do get them all loaded in the database:
any operation that needs to transfer image files or sidecars over a network
will be a lot slower than similar exchanges on a local disk. Adding the route
through the VPN isn't going to help any as well.

For information, a collection of about 500 GB on a *local* disk runs without
noticable delays once read into the database. Even rsyncing this to a NAS on
my LAN takes overnight, though...

About the only option I can think of is installing Digikam on the remote
server, and use something like Teamviewer to access the server to use digikam.
Clunky to say the least, and only possible if you have full access to the
server, and the server runs a graphical interface (not a given).

But just installing MySQL on the remote server isn't going to help: the work
will still be done on your local machine, which means the images still have to
transfer over the network. And in addition, the database info will have to
travel the network...

Le 28/08/2020 à 14:06, Remco Viëtor a écrit :

> About the only option I can think of is installing Digikam on the remote
> server, and use something like Teamviewer to access the server to use digikam.

pretty easy, if the server is under linux (likely), but don't expect to
use digikam to edit images (that need having them local)

it should be possible if you have a fiber connection, but you need also
a fiber bandwith on server side and this is *not* likely.


jdd


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http://dodin.org

[Remco Viëtor]

On vendredi 28 août 2020 14:50:51 CEST [hidden email] wrote:
> Le 28/08/2020 à 14:06, Remco Viëtor a écrit :
> > About the only option I can think of is installing Digikam on the remote
> > server, and use something like Teamviewer to access the server to use
> > digikam.
> pretty easy, if the server is under linux (likely), but don't expect to
> use digikam to edit images (that need having them local)

Well, in such a setup the image files *are* local to the digikam you are using
(through teamviewer). You'll need to get the screen updates over the network,
though. Also, afaik, digikam can edit images on non-local (network) drives.

> it should be possible if you have a fiber connection, but you need also
> a fiber bandwith on server side and this is *not* likely.

I think a more likely problem is going to be the X-windows/openGL needed on
the server. In many cases, there's no need to install GUI software on a
server, and there are good reasons not to install it (simpler, so less options
for bugs and attacks).

Remco

[woenx]

I have always used digikam where the pictures are stored in a remote NAS
through Internet. The slowest operation of all is the initial scan, but once
it has finished, it is pretty usable. Yes, if you tag or move around
multiple files it can take a while, depending on your network speed, but
something that would automatically import the new pictures in the background
instead of waiting for digikam to do that would really speed up things.



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Le 28/08/2020 à 16:12, Remco Viëtor a écrit :

> I think a more likely problem is going to be the X-windows/openGL needed on
> the server.

I did this often (but not recently), n!  (https://www.nomachine.com/fr)
is probably the best, but vnc is pretty good also

http://www.dodin.org/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Doc.Remote-access-NX

In many cases, there's no need to install GUI software on a
> server, and there are good reasons not to install it (simpler, so less options
> for bugs and attacks).
>

nope. no port open, twm is enough, if even necessary

jdd


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