UDPBD¶
UDPBD (UDP Block Device) lets the PS2 use a disk or disk image that a PC serves over the LAN as if it were a USB drive. It is faster than SMB and runs games with all of YAOPL's features. It is new in YAOPL and off by default.
On the PC¶
- Prepare a disk or a disk image with an exFAT (or FAT32) file system that has the usual
CDandDVDfolders, as on a USB drive. - Run a UDPBD server for it, for example udpbd-server, udpbd-vexfat (serves a folder as a read-only virtual exFAT disk) or PS2-Servers (with a GUI). See the server's own instructions.
- Start the server before YAOPL starts UDPBD. The PS2 finds it by broadcast on the LAN.
Choose a server that writes (udpbd-server or PS2-Servers with a disk image) if you want per-game settings on the served disk and VMCs; with a read-only one (udpbd-vexfat, PS2-Servers serving a folder) games run, but some features are not available, see Servers that write and read-only servers.
Warning
Do not change the files on the served disk from the PC while the PS2 uses it: both sides writing to one file system can corrupt it.
On the PS2¶
- Main menu → Network Settings: set IP Address Type to Static and give the PS2 an address on the same LAN as the PC (see Network setup). UDPBD does not use DHCP.
- Settings: set BDM Start Mode to Auto, open BDM Devices and turn on UDPBD.
- Save Changes in the main menu. The games appear on the UDPBD Games page.
Servers that write and read-only servers¶
The UDPBD protocol does not tell whether the server writes, and read-only servers answer every write as if
it had worked. So when the UDPBD device connects, YAOPL writes a small test file, yaopl_write_test.tmp, at
the root of the served disk, reads it back and deletes it. If the data does not come back, the server is
treated as read-only until the device connects again.
| Server that writes | Read-only server | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | udpbd-server, PS2-Servers with a disk image | udpbd-vexfat; PS2-Servers with a folder or --read-only; udpbd-server with an image it cannot write |
| Game settings | CFG/<game ID>.cfg on the served disk, as on a USB drive |
CFG/<game ID>.cfg next to YAOPL's own settings, usually mc0:OPL/CFG/ on the memory card |
| VMC | In VMC/ on the served disk |
Not available: Configure VMC shows a note; a VMC set in the game's settings is not used and the game saves to the real memory card |
| Rename, Delete | In the game menu, with Write Operations on | Not offered, for games and for apps in the served APPS folder |
Folders (CD, DVD, CFG, ...) |
Created if missing | Not created |
Game list cache (games.bin) |
Kept up to date | Read if there is one, not written |
| YAOPL's own settings | As on any USB drive, if YAOPL saves them on a BDM device | Never saved there |
With a read-only server, a game that has no settings saved on the memory card yet uses the
CFG/<game ID>.cfg on the served disk, if there is one (for example made by a PC manager). After the first
save on the console, the memory card's file is used and the one on the served disk is no longer read.
If YAOPL keeps its own settings on a USB drive, the folder next to them is that drive's own CFG folder. A
game on a read-only server and the same game (same ID) on the USB drive then share one settings file. That
is intended: a VMC set for the USB copy stays in the file and is simply not used when the game runs from the
server.
A device is read-only for YAOPL only when the write check above fails; the same rules would apply to any other device found read-only.
Note
Writing over UDPBD (settings, VMCs) is new and not yet tested on a console. Keep a copy of the disk image.
Limits¶
- SMB and UDPBD cannot share the network adapter. While UDPBD is on, SMB, the NBD server and Network Update do not start (The network adapter is used by UDPBD...). The other way round, if SMB started first, UDPBD waits for a restart of YAOPL (The network adapter is used by SMB. Restart OPL to use UDPBD.). Turn the one you do not use off and restart YAOPL.
- With a read-only server (udpbd-vexfat) there are no VMCs and no Rename or Delete, and game settings are saved on the memory card, see above.
- UDPBD is not used when a launcher starts a BDM game directly in YAOPL.