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[AVTechMan]

I had recently bought an upgraded license for MC 24 to do a refresh on my network.

As a test right now, I have MC installed in an Windows 8.1 VM on Xenserver, another copy of MC in a Win 7 VM (both in trial mode) and I have setup MC on Win 8.1 as the main library server for all media, which is stored on a separate file server running WS 2012 R2. I have mapped the shares to MC and have them imported.

I have a few PC clients. I have them all connected to the Library server and loads with no issue. No local libraries on the clients.

Now I have a workstation where I not only do my video work, but rip and transfer media to the file server as well. My thoughts were, I can also connect the workstation to the library server, but would it be possible to have a local library where it would be independent of the server library in order to test new views, video files and other information before transferring them to the shares on the file server? I figure once transferred the library server would scan for the changes and then update all of the clients accordingly.

To make edits on the server side I would have to RDP into it to make the changes, while new stuff and experiments I would do in a local library, so as not to disturb anything on the server side or clients until changes are ready to be made.

Does this make sense, and has anyone done this?

[JimH]

... I have a workstation where I not only do my video work, but rip and transfer media to the file server as well. My thoughts were, I can also connect the workstation to the library server, but would it be possible to have a local library where it would be independent of the server library in order to test new views, video files and other information before transferring them to the shares on the file server?

Yes, this will work.  Just set up MC on the workstation and import a few files.  You can use that library or you can connect to the server to play from it.  This is a very common use of MC.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Media_Network

[RoderickGI]

Jim beat me to it. I'll add this anyway. 

Yes, you can run as many local libraries as you want on a MC installation, and switch between them as desired. I do that for some of my testing.

Also, when you connect you Workstation to your Server, a copy of the Server Library is transferred to the Workstation. You can create and edit Views on the copy of the Library and they will never be synchronised back to the Server. Other changes, particularly all Tags and Playlists, will be synchronised back to the Server. When you close the MC Client on the Workstation and then reopen it, a fresh copy of the Server Library is copied to the Client. So all your experimental Views will be wiped out. I use this all the time to test Views against my Server Library contents, without the risk of messing up existing Views. If you created a View you like, then you could save that View, transfer the file it creates to the Server, and then Load that View into the Server Library.

The Rename, Move, & Copy Files function does not work on a MC Client, so no files will get mangled.

Testing video files on the Workstation is a bit of a different issue. You could just import them into a local Library, or you could open the video with the Client without importing it, since you can't import into the Server Library from the Client, or the copy of the Server Library that is being used on the Client. But you can use the Windows Shell Integration features to play a video, and hence test them, if that is what you want.

So, most of what you ask makes sense and is doable, even using a Client connected to the Server Library. Some of it may not be, depending what the "other information" you want to test is. In that case, use a local Library.

Of course, you can always back up the MC Libraries if in doubt, and Restore it if you don't like what happens.