Optical drive without a VM?

[stv29]

I've scrolled through multiple posts about SCSI passthrough to a VM. There is a post from 2010 (http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=9082.0) that asks the same question with the solution being to enable SCSI CDROM support with a custom kernel.

 

I searched the compiling a custom kernel and the page I found was for v5 and I'm using v6. Is there a guide to doing this with v6?

 

I guess the overall question is this even possible? All I want to do is read data from the optical drives over the network. I have no intention of writing anything. If I missed a thread please point me in the right direction. Thank you!

[John_M]

Optical drives can be accessed within docker containers, if that helps you at all. I've used MakeMKV and more recently Ripper (available via Community Applications) to extract data from optical discs and copy it to user shares. It's possibly one step removed from what you actually want but it works for me.

 

[stv29]

Thank you, John_M, that is exactly along the lines of what I am looking to do: copy information of the discs for later processing.

 

I have zero experience in docker; I have some learning to do. I see there are a few guides, any suggestions of which container to pursue?

[John_M]

If you want to write your own I have no idea where to start but there is information here.

 

I just use pre-built dockers that clever people have already put a lot of effort into. I started off using the MakeMKV docker to rip DVDs and BluRay discs to .mkv files. If you have the Community Applications plugin you can use it to search for MakeMKV.

 

For technical info on using dockers there's a lot of information here. There's a Docker FAQ in the board I mentioned earlier.

 

Once I'd got on top of my video collection my thoughts turned to my CD collection. I was looking for something similar to MakeMKV that ripped CDs and output .mp3 and .flac files. Recently I found Ripper (also available through Community Apps). I had an interesting and fruitful discussion with the developer and I find Ripper extremely useful. Not only that, but it also handles DVDs and BluRays. It works in the background and basically I put a disc in and when it has been processed it pops out again and whenever I happen to walk past my server I put in another. You can mix them up and detection is automatic. One feature I haven't yet tried is its ability also to recognise data discs and rip them as .iso files.

 

Worth a look. It might do close to what you want without you having to reinvent the wheel.

 

[stv29]

That is exactly what I was after. I've setup ripper in a docker and found I can point to multiple optical drives but I'm not sure their paths. Do you know what the proper entry into the console is to list all the devices with their name/paths? I have searched online but I'm probably not using the correct terminology.

[John_M]

All devices live in the /dev directory. Optical drives usually appear as /dev/sr0, /dev/sr1, etc. so

 

ls -l /dev/sr*

 

ought to find them. There are aliases that symlink to these devices, such as /dev/cdrom, /dev/dvd, etc.

 

ls -l /dev/cd*
ls -l /dev/dvd*

 

Note that each optical drive counts towards your total of attached storage devices as far as unRAID licensing is concerned - not an issue if you have a Pro licence.

 

[remati]

A bit of a random question but can a pass-through'd DVD burner inside a Windows VM burn DVDs?

[NeoDude]

A bit of a random question but can a pass-through'd DVD burner inside a Windows VM burn DVDs?

 

I had limited success with a passed through SATA burner with my Win10 VM. I now have an external Blu-Ray burner connected to my passed through USB3 card, this works flawlessly.

[stv29]

All devices live in the /dev directory. Optical drives usually appear as /dev/sr0, /dev/sr1, etc. so

 

ls -l /dev/sr*

 

ought to find them. There are aliases that symlink to these devices, such as /dev/cdrom, /dev/dvd, etc.

 

ls -l /dev/cd*
ls -l /dev/dvd*

 

Note that each optical drive counts towards your total of attached storage devices as far as unRAID licensing is concerned - not an issue if you have a Pro licence.

 

I do have the pro license, that won't be an issue for me.

 

For an even dumber follow-up: I'm assuming I don't have to assign it as an array device? They are not detailed under unassigned devices when I start the array.

 

I do see them when I searched for the devices.

[John_M]

No, you can't assign an optical drive as an array device and wouldn't want to anyway. unRAID ignores it completely. It's passed to the docker container as an Extra Parameter

 

--device=/dev/sr0:/dev/sr0

 

so that the internal /dev/sr0 is mapped to external /dev/sr0. You need to turn Advanced View on in the Update Container page to see it.

 

[johnzimm]

On 2/10/2017 at 5:55 PM, John_M said:

 

ls -l /dev/sr*

Were do you enter this? Is there a terminal, or do I restart unRaid? I still can't get unRaid to see my internal DVD drive.

 

[John_M]

You enter it at a Linux command prompt, either using a keyboard and monitor attached to your server or remotely, via a telnet or ssh session.

[bonzovt]

@stv29 have you had any success with this?  im curious to know if there is a cd burning app out there, but as of right now more than likely would just take my internal CD/DVD drive out to make room for one more HDD and stick with USB CD/DVD in my Windows VM as needed.

[NY152]

Hello,

Speaking of CD/DVD/BD player/writer, I am looking for a docker that would allow burning (with k3b or Brasero) but I found nothing going in this direction.

I am looking for a Docker solution because my burner is very well detected by the Docker MakeMKV while it is so complicated to set up in a VM (the few tests that I could do freeze the VM at startup ...) and it's not even certain that engraving is possible.

Thank you for your help