Some dummy's questions about "Everything Server" vs. ETP

Discussion related to "Everything" 1.5 Alpha.
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BuccoBruce
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2023 4:35 pm

Some dummy's questions about "Everything Server" vs. ETP

Post by BuccoBruce »

Big first question: can I safely enable the Everything service in 1.5a alongside 1.4's service?

Currently with Everything 1.4, my Windows fileserver runs two separate named instances of Everything:
  1. The default instance from when I installed it. This indexes Everything, like my C:\ drive too, and is what I use if I am at the server physically, or via RDP
  2. A separate named instance I made specifically for ETP server
The "main" instance starts with Windows, and also uses the Everything service, and the ETP instance:

Code: Select all

"C:\Program Files\Everything\ETP\Everything.exe" -instance ETP
"Everything.exe" in the "ETP" folder is just an NTFS hardlink to the main "..\Everything.exe" so I don't have to worry about version updates. The ETP instance also has to be launched manually via the shortcut. I was never sure if I could safely enable "Everything Service" twice in separate instances, so I left it disabled here, which makes manual startup take quite some time. It also has e.g. indexing C:\ disabled, and exclusions for any folders with hundreds or thousands of metadata files (think Plex, etc.), exclusions for folders that git might have dumped its hidden files into, any folder with compiler files, "cache" folders, etc. It's a bodged together setup, but it's my bodge, and I'm familiar enough with how it works.

The new Everything Server feature in 1.5 sounds amazing. Currently, on my computers that aren't the fileserver itself, I have to connect to the ETP Server, and then if I want to search locally, "Ctrl+N" a new window that isn't connected. Everything Server sounds like it allows me to just access the fileserver's "Everything" simultaneously with my local DB, nice! At first, I thought Everything Server could also keep me from having to run two instances on the fileserver as well, but...

The setup instructions explicitly say to disable automatic NTFS and ReFS indexing, and then manually add things you want indexed to the Everything Server, emphasis mine:
void wrote: Sat Mar 13, 2021 2:09 amServer setup

To create an Everything Server:
  • On your server PC, In Everything, from the Tools menu, click Options.
  • Click Index on the left.
  • Check Enable Journal (it is enabled by default).
  • Set Maximum Size to: 32768 KB (32768 is recommended for an Everything Server, 1024 is the default).
  • Click NTFS on the left.
  • Uncheck Automatically include new fixed volumes.
  • Uncheck Automatically include new removable volumes.
  • Click ReFS on the left.
  • Uncheck Automatically include new fixed volumes.
  • Uncheck Automatically include new removable volumes.
  • Click Everything Server under Plugins on the left.
  • Check Enable Everything Server
  • Under Users, click Add....
  • Click OK to add the default (empty) user account.
  • Set a Password (optional)
  • Under Include only, click Add....
  • Set the Path to the local server path, for example: D:\media
  • Set the Remap to the network share, for example: \\server\media
  • Click OK.
  • Repeat for additional shares.
  • Clients will only have access to the filenames in the paths you specify in include only, leave include only blank to share all files.
  • Click OK to complete setup and start the Everything Server.
  • If prompted with Windows Firewall, select allow Everything through the Windows Firewall.
Is it not possible to leave NTFS/ReFS indexing enabled in my "main" and thus only Everything 1.5a instance on my fileserver, enable Everything Server, and mimic my include/exclude settings from my current ETP instance to "get the best of both worlds" with only one instance running on the fileserver, and one DB vs. the two separate 1.4 DBs I have to maintain on it now? It also doesn't sound like there are exclude options at all, only includes?

Sorry if this is extremely obvious, has changed since that post was originally made 2 years ago, or is a simple "just try it, dummy", but when instructions are explicit about disabling something, I assume it's for a very good reason!

This one is far less important, but are the remaps strictly server side now? With ETP, I have one machine where it only has a local C:\ drive, and all the network shares are entire (mostly media) drives mounted as drives with matching letters anyways. So I use the "No change" remap option in the Everything client when I connect to ETP. For the other, I just use the "\\Server\C" default Windows share option and it works well enough. It sounds like I will have to pick one, probably the latter and stick with it using Everything Server? I guess I can keep the drive letters if I remap some local drives on the other machine so that they do not conflict with the network shares.

Thanks!
BuccoBruce
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2023 4:35 pm

Re: Some dummy's questions about "Everything Server" vs. ETP

Post by BuccoBruce »

this is still pending moderator approval because I am new here, but I did just go ahead and "just try it, dummy"

:geek:

✅ I can keep all drives indexed and use "includes" manually
✅ I can set the remaps on a per "user" level server side
✅ I can use includes on the "network index" user side to further limit and remap things
✅ I can safely run Everything 1.5a as a service alongside Everything

not that it matters much, I'll probably toss 1.4 right away, this is way too convenient! now to set all the shiny new 1.5a things up like indexing mediainfo...that's possible now right?
void
Developer
Posts: 16672
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Some dummy's questions about "Everything Server" vs. ETP

Post by void »

Big first question: can I safely enable the Everything service in 1.5a alongside 1.4's service?
Everything 1.5 alpha will not interfere with your Everything 1.4 installation.


now to set all the shiny new 1.5a things up like indexing mediainfo...that's possible now right?
Indexing properties in Everything 1.5
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