2012-04-27, 07:04
We're seeing an issue where it appears that if there are approximately (perhaps exactly) 500 files in a FreeNAS directory (on another server on the local network), our media center that runs XBMC under Ubuntu Natty simply refuses to read the directory until one or two of the files are moved out of the directory (weirdly, in at least one case it would also read the directory if the most recently added file was renamed to 1.m4v). This only appears to be a problem on the HTPC running Ubuntu Natty; we do not see this issue on XBMC running on an AppleTV that accesses the same FreeNAS server. We are wondering if anyone else has run into this and knows the actual cause and/or the fix.
It appears to be either related to the number of files in the directory, or possibly the total number of characters in all the filenames in the directory. We lean toward the former because when this happened the directory had right around 500 files (give or take a couple of "hidden" files) but if it were an issue with total number of characters, that might explain why renaming the last added file with a much shorter filename might work. But that's just guessing and if anyone has a more definite answer, or can suggest how to fix this (preferably without using an additional directory), it would be very much appreciated.
It appears to be either related to the number of files in the directory, or possibly the total number of characters in all the filenames in the directory. We lean toward the former because when this happened the directory had right around 500 files (give or take a couple of "hidden" files) but if it were an issue with total number of characters, that might explain why renaming the last added file with a much shorter filename might work. But that's just guessing and if anyone has a more definite answer, or can suggest how to fix this (preferably without using an additional directory), it would be very much appreciated.
