PRIORITY MANAGER V1.8 BY BUYUKBANG : Complete Tool to Power Up Azbox

[buyukbang]

PRIORITY MANAGER V1.8 BY BUYUKBANG


http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/6425/35429014.png


CLICK FOR MORE SCREENSHOTS (http://img819.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=89502550.png)


Release Log For v1.8
----------------------
This version is developed and tested on the firmware 0.9.5020 by BuyukBang and it's also tested on the firmware 0.9.4890 by Gorsky.

NEW: Optimizations for TV channel browser, TV channel switch speed and recording.

NEW: Optimizations for server + client EMU configurations (e.g. oscam + mgcamd).

NEW: More DOM speed improvement with DOM_SPEED=1 setting.

NEW: Added LEFT_SHIFT, TOP_SHIFT and RATIO parameters to PriorityManagerSettings.txt. Now users that have problems with Priority Manager screen size on their TV's can easily adjust size with this setting file.

NEW: Added RUN_AFTER_RETURN_FROM_KILL option to PriorityManagerSettings.txt. Now you can
define your epg plugin script to be run when switching back to TV mode after TV and EMU
killed by KILL_TV_EMU option.

NEW: If you put your hosts file and/or .profile file under /DISK2, they'll be replaced
with the original files automatically by Priority Manager at the startup (Normally these
files are always restored by the firmware). So you can define your own host redirections
and profile settings (e.g. aliases).

NEW: Added support for automatically pausing OSCam DVB API when Azbox sleeps (OSCam works
as server mode only) and resuming it again when Azbox wakes up (OSCam works as client &
server mode). This provides more system resources for applications running while Azbox is
sleeping and also a small amount of power saving.
You can find more information about in below do***ent ( search the word pauseoscam ):
http :// streamboard.gmc.to/svn/oscam/trunk/Distribution/doc/txt/oscam.conf.txt

NEW: Added "Mode" button to user interface.

NEW: Rearranged PriorityManagerSettings.txt.

FIX: Sometimes TV and EMU doesn't restart after switching back to TV mode when KILL_TV_EMU
option is activated.

FIX: After wakeup TV and EMU doesn't restart after switching back to TV mode when KILL_TV_EMU
option is activated.

FIX: Performance fix for Cheops EMU.



Tester Reviews For v1.8 Release
--------------------------------
- "We saw the I**X BD 1080 DTS do***entary last night and NO PROBLEM streaming!!!! I am impressed!!!" (Gorsky)

- "Browser Speeds etc are better than other version." (Smudger)

- "I've done some test and it seems much better than pm1.7" (Alex-1)

- "This version is looking really really good, zapping is faster and channel list navigation is faster. From what i am testing, is pretty good." (hfmls)

- "Perfect ... You did a perfect job." (arci - comments for new screen size parameters)

- "Thank you! Now I've found for me the ideal parameters." (Zeini- comments for new screen size parameters)



SPECIAL THANKS TO:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smudger for the all information, tests and power measurements, his tests killed the bugs!

Kanber Kav for his permission for the usage and modification of his Multicas Info plugin
and for the idea of increasing internal storage (DOM) speed!

Zeini for the detailed channel switching time tests!

Gorsky for the detailed review, tests, feedbacks and recommendations.

Alex-1, arci, hfmls, appoggio77, Moicas3004 for their great feedbacks and beta tests!



DESCRIPTION:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This plugin is written by BuyukBang to improve total performance of Azbox HD and add some
missing features! However its name remains as "Priority Manager", it now makes more than
its name offers. Here are the features of Priority Manager:

* Priority Manager automatically changes the priorities of the processes, kill and restart
some of the processes to give optimal performance for the menu being used. I tested all
processes one by one, decided their effects on the performance of all modules and prepared
a bug-free (hopefully) and complex logic to cover all possible usage cases.

* Priority Manager provides power saving! Smudger's power measurements show that
Priority Manager decrease power consumption of the box from 25W to 23W while watching an
SD channel and from 28W to 24W while watching an HD channel.

* Priority Manager provides password protected hidden channel list feature. This will
cover a missing functionality in Azbox and so that you will be able to prepare a separate
hidden channel list which you want hide from people not knowing your password. Default
channel list will be automatically replaced after reboot. So any reboots / electricity
problems will not reveal your hidden channel list.

* Priority Manager can move plugins to internal HDD or USB storages.

* Priority Manager upgrades Busybox from v1.0 to v1.16.

* Priority Manager enables Cron usage.

* Priority Manager optionally automatically mounts CIF and NFS shares when remote server
is online and automatically unmounts CIF AND NFS shares when remote server is offline, so
protects file manager from freezes when remote goes offline after the shares mounted.

* Priority Manager optionally creates swap file on your HDD/Flash disk which will help
RAM by caching some part of the memory. Priority Manager not only supports creating swap
file on internal HDD or usb HDD/Flash disk connected before Azbox boots, it also supports
creating swap file on usb HDD/Flash disk connected after Azbox boots by continuously
checking for new USB devices.

* You can backup or restore /DISK2 and /PLUGINS folders with just a simple button from
user interface.

* Priority Manager optionally takes backup of /DISK2 and /PLUGINS folders in user defined
periods in background.

* Priority Manager can execute user selected programs after going into SLEEP mode and
the kill them after return from SLEEP mode. By using this feature running resource
intensive programs like transmission, aMule, azepgmgr in only SLEEP mode will be
automatically managed without user intervention.

* Priority Manager increases internal storage (DOM) speed speed up to 20% by changing
its working parameters.

* Priority Manager provides "Deep Sleep Mode" which automatically kills all unnecessary
applications and improve downloading speed when box goes to sleep mode.

* You can reset all system passwords with just a simple button from user interface.

* If you put your hosts file and/or .profile file under /DISK2, the original files are
replaced with your files automatically by Priority Manager at the startup (Normally these
files are always restored by the firmware). So you can define your own host redirections
and profile settings (e.g. aliases).

* Up on deactivating or uninstalling Priority Manager, if related features activated in
/DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt, Busybox downgrades to the orginal version,swap file
and cron is deactivated all mounted shares are unmounted and plugins are moved back to
original place. A complete rollback without reboot requirement is performed.


INSTALLATION:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
METHOD 1 : USING PLUGINS MENU USER INTERFACE
1. Extract PriorityManager.plugin and plugins.lst files from the archive file.

2. Copy PriorityManager.plugin and plugins.lst to USB or simply transfer them by FTP to
/tmp folder of your Azbox.

3. Enter Plugins menu, press Red Button on remote controller to add plugin. If you're
using USB select to install it from USB, or if you transferred files to /tmp folder
install it from tmp folder.

4. Check user defined parameters in /DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt and edit
parameters if you want, save the file.

5. Activate plugin from the plugins menu: PLUGINS-->PriorityManager-->Activate/Reactivate

METHOD 2 : MANUAL INSTALLATION
Those having difficulties with azbox plugin installation mechanism may choose this method.
1. Rename PriorityManager.plugin as PriorityManager.tgz and extract files with an unzip
tool like winrar, 7-Zip, etc.

2. Upload PriorityManager folder to azbox under /PLUGINS folder.

3. chmod 755 everything in PriorityManager folder and its sub folders.

4. Run following command in TELNET: /PLUGINS/PriorityManager/sh/install.sh

5. Check user defined parameters in /DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt and edit
parameters if you want, save the file.

6. Activate plugin from the plugins menu: PLUGINS-->PriorityManager-->Activate/Reactivate


IMPORTANT NOTES & PERFORMANCE TIPS:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- If you have any problem with Priority Manager screen size on your TV, adjust LEFT_SHIFT,
TOP_SHIFT and RATIO parameters in /DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt for your TV.

- For the best performance activating KILL_TV_EMU, DOM_SPEED, SWAPPER and UPGRADE_BUSYBOX
parameter in /DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt is highly recommended. These values
are disabled by default. You can find more detailed explanations about these parameters in
PriorityManagerSettings.txt.

- After the first run of the script standby.sh and wakeup.sh scripts will be created under
/DISK2/etc . These scripts will help to main script for the decision of the sleep mode by
creating and deleting a file ( /tmp/PriorityManager_Sleep ) If you have already standby.sh
and wakeup.sh in /DISK2/etc, they will be backed up by installation process in the same
directory. Then you may want to manually add your own commands to these scripts before
running Priority Manager.

- You need to disable Priority Manager and reboot before upgrading firmware from Settings
menu if you activated UPGRADE_BUSYBOX setting. There is no such a requirement for upgrading
from usb boot menu (patch.bin method).


BUG REPORTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have any problems with Priority Manager, activate VERBOSE LOG from user interface
and restart Priority Manager from PLUGINS-->PriorityManager-->Activate/Reactivate.
This will create a verbose log file /Download/PriorityManager_Verbose_Log . Collect data
with this option set to 1, without stopping, restarting, reactivating and deactivating
Priority Manager, because all this operations will delete all old log files. Then send an
e-mail to buyukbang @ gmail.com containing PriorityManager_Verbose_Log with the approximate
time that problem occured.


LIST OF NEW COMMANDS IN BUSYBOX V1.16:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ar, arp, arping, blkid, brctl, bzip2, cal, catv, chattr, chpasswd, chpst, cksum, comm,
cpio, crond, crontab, cryptpw, cttyhack, depmod, devfsd, devmem, dhcprelay, diff, dnsd,
dnsdomainname, dumpkmap, ed, eject, envdir, envuidgid, ether-wake, expand, fakeidentd,
fbsplash, fdflush, findfs, flash_eraseall, flash_lock, flash_unlock, flashcp, fold, fsck,
fsck.minix, fsync, ftpd, ftpget, ftpput, fuser, hd, httpd, hush, ifenslave, ifplugd,
inetd, ip, ipaddr, ipcalc, ipcrm, ipcs, iplink, iproute, iprule, iptunnel, kbd_mode,
killall5, length, linux32, linux64, loadfont, loadkmap, logread, losetup, lpd, lpq, lpr,
lsattr, lspci, lsusb, lzmacat, lzop, lzopcat, makemime, man, mdev, mesg, microcom,
mkdosfs, mke2fs, mkfs.ext2, mkfs.minix, mkfs.reiser, mkfs.vfat, mkpasswd, mountpoint,
msh, nameif, nc, nice, nmeter, nohup, ntpd, patch, pgrep, ping6, pkill, popmaildir,
printenv, pscan, rdev, readprofile, realpath, reformime, resize, rpm, rpm2cpio, rtcwake,
runlevel, runsv, runsvdir, script, scriptreplay, sendmail, seq, setarch, setconsole,
setfont, setkeycodes, setlogcons, setsid, setuidgid, sha256sum, sha512sum, showkey,
slattach, softlimit, split, stat, sum, sv, svlogd, switch_root, tac, tcpsvd, tftpd,
timeout, tr, traceroute6, tunctl, tune2fs, udpsvd, uncompress, unexpand, unlzma, unlzop,
volname, wall, watch, watchdog, who, zcip




DOWNLOAD:
You can download this from attachment or from the alternative link:
Alternative Link (http://netload.in/dateiRred47MU3C/Priority_Manager_v1.8_by_Buyukban g.zip.htm)

[Dig Deep]

Looks good mate !

[jerz]

Thanks a lot. I have the question. Before upgrading from ver 1.7, should I delete the previuos version ?

[soso]

eats up lots of cpu cycles, doesn't it? the machine is often not responding to remote control commands since instalation. the settings are near default (i just moved the plugin menu to the right)

[buyukbang]

Yes, definetely !


Thanks a lot. I have the question. Before upgrading from ver 1.7, should I delete the previuos version ?

[buyukbang]

Never reported this yet except you? Is it possible that you did something wrong? Normally PM uses 0.7% of CPU cycles. Which firmware are you using?


eats up lots of cpu cycles, doesn't it? the machine is often not responding to remote control commands since instalation. the settings are near default (i just moved the plugin menu to the right)

[Smudger]

@buyukbang

Do you need to cater for the new epg plugin as it constantly runs a deamon DaemonEPG which I believe is only a timer task. It issuses a command to load the epg, it runs for only a few mins. At this moment I don't know what time of night this extcutes the load.

[buyukbang]

Hi mate,

It would be good. Need some info for v1.9.

How much of CPU & RAM does it need?

May be I can add it to kill_tv_emu processes to kill list?

Does it have a standart path?

Do you think it need prioritization in TV mode?

Does it need to be exist in the memory when in other menus except TV menu.


@buyukbang

Do you need to cater for the new epg plugin as it constantly runs a deamon DaemonEPG which I believe is only a timer task. It issuses a command to load the epg, it runs for only a few mins. At this moment I don't know what time of night this extcutes the load.

[drspiros]

Hi. Which parametres should I activate in order to have a faster Menu navigation and a better TV and EMU perfomance? thx

[buyukbang]

Sorry for the late reply since I was vacationing in USA during last two weeks.

My suggested settings are listed in both first post of the topic and in the readme.txt file that came with PM:




- For the best performance activating KILL_TV_EMU, DOM_SPEED, SWAPPER and UPGRADE_BUSYBOX
parameter in /DISK2/etc/PriorityManagerSettings.txt is highly recommended. These values
are disabled by default. You can find more detailed explanations about these parameters in
PriorityManagerSettings.txt.



Hi. Which parametres should I activate in order to have a faster Menu navigation and a better TV and EMU perfomance? thx

[lucky13]

When streaming from my win7 server to the Azbox, using PM1.8 mapped drive parameter I keep getting disconnected...the movie will play for a random amount of time of a few seconds to a few minutes before disconnecting..if I then try to access the servers mapped drive again it appears to have disconnected... It works fine if I browse my network and manually stream from the server but just not when using PM's auto drive mapping feature...any ideas ?

[lucky13]

I've have a good old look but can't find anything about what DOM speed setting does, I use win7 so would this help speed things up ?

[buyukbang]

HINT FOR SWAP FILE:

You can use /Download partition of the DOM. This folder is not needed since firmware updating through menu is not working anymore. So this is an unutilised free space that may be used as swap. Just delete contents of this folder then replace swap settings in PriorityManagerSettings.txt as following then restart PM (or your box).

SWAPPER=1
SWAPSIZE=66560
SWAPDEVICE=/Download

After restart you'll see following log:

13:19:32 11/20/10: CREATING A NEW SWAP FILE
13:22:22 11/20/10: SWAP FILE ACTIVATED
total used free shared buffers
Mem: 100484 97124 3360 0 1912
Swap: 65736 0 65736
Total: 166220 97124 69096


I reserved 10 mb for AZrctrl since this program is using /Download, too. If you don't use this program you can increase SWAPSIZE value.

[Smudger]

All working well using this tweak. How much is used byAZrctrl?

[buyukbang]

This is my log after this tweak :

AZBox[Download]$ l
drwx------ 2 root root 1024 Nov 20 15:08 ./
drwxr-xr-x 25 root root 0 Jan 1 2000 ../
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2754560 Nov 20 15:08 AZrctrl.chl
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6878 Nov 20 15:06 AZrctrl.png
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 68157440 Nov 20 13:22 swapfile

AZBox[Download]$ df
Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/mtdblock5 1.0M 448.0K 576.0K 44% /DISK1
/dev/hda1 135.6M 110.1M 18.5M 86% /MMP
/dev/hda2 15.5M 7.0M 7.7M 48% /PLUGINS
/dev/hda3 7.7M 4.9M 2.5M 66% /DISK2
/dev/hda4 78.4M 71.9M 2.5M 97% /Download
/dev/hdb1 916.9G 213.5G 656.8G 25% /DATA/hdb1
/dev/sda1 1.8T 105.6G 1.6T 6% /DATA/usb1/sda1
/dev/hdb1 916.9G 213.5G 656.8G 25% /opt


All working well using this tweak. How much is used byAZrctrl?

[Smudger]

I had to stop swap on dom and delete file before I could do a firmware flash.

[lucky13]

is puting the swap file on the dom result in quicker performance then using a USB pen drive ? what is the advantage ?

[buyukbang]

Hmm,

Thanks for the info.


I had to stop swap on dom and delete file before I could do a firmware flash.

[buyukbang]

I boughth an external HDD with 2TB size and now it's permanently stayin connected to back usb port. So I had to remove back usb stick and making a usb port free is the only reason. I don't think there would be any speed difference.


is puting the swap file on the dom result in quicker performance then using a USB pen drive ? what is the advantage ?