Oldish HP Micro-Server and Plex
Discussion
I bought a HP Micro-server about 5-6 years ago and have been running it as a Plex server using Ubunto 16.04. It's generally worked well, but I've found Linux a total pain in the arse to get working properly and I don't really have the time to sort it out, so I'm left with a sub-optimal setup for long periods of time.
The two main issues I've had are getting Plex permission to see media on the hard drives in my server. I eventually solved this, but in a crappy way by basically handing the drives over to the Plex user. The second issue is getting files onto those drives as under that crappy setup I can't work out how to map network drives on my Windows PC.
I did want to set things up so I could download files directly to the server, but I want to sort the above out first and I'm in two minds as to whether it's better to run downloads on Windows so I can check stuff before it goes into Plex.
I've not been able to put new stuff on the server for a couple of years, which I basically got around by running a second server on my Windows PC, but that's full now, so it's time to sort things out!
So first job is a full reinstall and I'm going to add an SSD instead of running Linux from a memory stick to hopefully boost speed. I'm going to add more RAM too.
Should I go for Linux 18, or is there a better option for running Plex, one that doesn't need endless arsing about with permissions to get Plex to work and to allow me to map network drives in Windows? I'm not interested in running anything else, but might want to run SickBeard etc type stuff in the future.
The two main issues I've had are getting Plex permission to see media on the hard drives in my server. I eventually solved this, but in a crappy way by basically handing the drives over to the Plex user. The second issue is getting files onto those drives as under that crappy setup I can't work out how to map network drives on my Windows PC.
I did want to set things up so I could download files directly to the server, but I want to sort the above out first and I'm in two minds as to whether it's better to run downloads on Windows so I can check stuff before it goes into Plex.
I've not been able to put new stuff on the server for a couple of years, which I basically got around by running a second server on my Windows PC, but that's full now, so it's time to sort things out!
So first job is a full reinstall and I'm going to add an SSD instead of running Linux from a memory stick to hopefully boost speed. I'm going to add more RAM too.
Should I go for Linux 18, or is there a better option for running Plex, one that doesn't need endless arsing about with permissions to get Plex to work and to allow me to map network drives in Windows? I'm not interested in running anything else, but might want to run SickBeard etc type stuff in the future.
I run Unraid which makes it incredibly easy to share things via a simple web GUI. Plus it has a nice docker system and free app store that let you run Plex with no hassle. On top of that, following a few simple youtube videos from this guy, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZDfnUn74N0WeAPvM... , you can automate everything using things like Radarr, Sonarr, Deluge SABnzb etc.
An afternoon watching that and configuring my server has left me with a system that has been running for years which works like this:
1. I type a movie into a WebGUI on Radarr
2. Magic happens and when it is available it gets downloaded, renamed, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
or
1. I type in the name of a TV show into a WebGUI on Sonnar
2. Magic happens and it is downloaded, renamed, organised into seasons, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
3. As new episodes are aired they also are subject to point 2 above as soon as they are available without intervention from me.
And that's just for media. Beyond that I have an eBook library managed by it, password management, my own externally accessible 'cloud' storage system, automated syncing/backup of machines on the network when they connect, run my Unifi Access Point controller on it, home automation server, PiHole network wide ad blocking...the list goes on. It isn't free but it is a cheap perpetual license that I've got my money's worth out of. And I'm not in any way familiar with Linux, but it is all point and click stuff in the main.
An afternoon watching that and configuring my server has left me with a system that has been running for years which works like this:
1. I type a movie into a WebGUI on Radarr
2. Magic happens and when it is available it gets downloaded, renamed, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
or
1. I type in the name of a TV show into a WebGUI on Sonnar
2. Magic happens and it is downloaded, renamed, organised into seasons, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
3. As new episodes are aired they also are subject to point 2 above as soon as they are available without intervention from me.
And that's just for media. Beyond that I have an eBook library managed by it, password management, my own externally accessible 'cloud' storage system, automated syncing/backup of machines on the network when they connect, run my Unifi Access Point controller on it, home automation server, PiHole network wide ad blocking...the list goes on. It isn't free but it is a cheap perpetual license that I've got my money's worth out of. And I'm not in any way familiar with Linux, but it is all point and click stuff in the main.
New Freenas with plugins for Sonarr, Sabnzbd etc
Wouldn’t bother with SSD as OS should all load into memory on boot
Permissions can be a faff, can chmod 777 everything in the media folder
The only thing it’ll struggle with is transcoding, if you spend £100 on an nvidia Shield it can run Plex Server and access content on the Freenas box, then do native MP4
Wouldn’t bother with SSD as OS should all load into memory on boot
Permissions can be a faff, can chmod 777 everything in the media folder
The only thing it’ll struggle with is transcoding, if you spend £100 on an nvidia Shield it can run Plex Server and access content on the Freenas box, then do native MP4
Edited by essayer on Wednesday 8th May 09:52
Thanks, that does sound like a good option for me, I'll have a Google.
Have you installed any Plugins on Plex, how is it for those? I have one Plugin that I use all the time, currently installed on Windows server, because I can't find the right folder on Linux despite following the instructions, or it just wouldn't work, can't remember which. Would be great to have that sorted!
I was running Plex Home Theater on a Raspberry Pi for the TV, but it struggled with large TV files, currently using the Plex App on a Amazon Fire Stick, which works well enough, but takes a while to load the app. Anyone any suggestions for something powerful enough to deal with large files, but doesn't cost a fortune? Again, I only need to run Plex for this, so thinks like the NVIDA Shield thing are a bit OTT.
Have you installed any Plugins on Plex, how is it for those? I have one Plugin that I use all the time, currently installed on Windows server, because I can't find the right folder on Linux despite following the instructions, or it just wouldn't work, can't remember which. Would be great to have that sorted!
I was running Plex Home Theater on a Raspberry Pi for the TV, but it struggled with large TV files, currently using the Plex App on a Amazon Fire Stick, which works well enough, but takes a while to load the app. Anyone any suggestions for something powerful enough to deal with large files, but doesn't cost a fortune? Again, I only need to run Plex for this, so thinks like the NVIDA Shield thing are a bit OTT.
I'd say a better option would be install OpenMediaVault on your existing Ubuntu machine and start using that via it's web interface. It's available as a stand-alone OS (based on a cut down Ubuntu) but also as an Ubuntu app from the software center. Doing it that way would save you having to reformat and rebuild the existing OS, at least initially - you could opt to do it from a clean start later if you wished.
I've been running OMV at home for years now on a home-brew server, never had any trouble with it at all.
I've been running OMV at home for years now on a home-brew server, never had any trouble with it at all.
I need to reinstall anyway to switch to an SSD and I've never had any issues installing Linux, it's the rest of it that causes problems.
The SDD was £20 and it at least removes the potential for the USB stick to fail, so I'm happy going that route.
With that software I'm not sure that fixes the problem of having to sort out access to the hard drive for services running on Linux and access for my Windows user account, so does it end up just as complicated?
The SDD was £20 and it at least removes the potential for the USB stick to fail, so I'm happy going that route.
With that software I'm not sure that fixes the problem of having to sort out access to the hard drive for services running on Linux and access for my Windows user account, so does it end up just as complicated?
Any consumer NAS software will allow you to set up a share that Windows will be able to connect to.
Generally that user and share directory would be in the same unix group as the other system users that write the files (sabnzbd etc) that way everyone gets the ability to read/write to the share.
Other times it all goes wrong and you just set world read/write/execute on everything on the share
Generally that user and share directory would be in the same unix group as the other system users that write the files (sabnzbd etc) that way everyone gets the ability to read/write to the share.
Other times it all goes wrong and you just set world read/write/execute on everything on the share
BigTZ4M said:
I run Unraid which makes it incredibly easy to share things via a simple web GUI. Plus it has a nice docker system and free app store that let you run Plex with no hassle. On top of that, following a few simple youtube videos from this guy, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZDfnUn74N0WeAPvM... , you can automate everything using things like Radarr, Sonarr, Deluge SABnzb etc.
An afternoon watching that and configuring my server has left me with a system that has been running for years which works like this:
1. I type a movie into a WebGUI on Radarr
2. Magic happens and when it is available it gets downloaded, renamed, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
or
1. I type in the name of a TV show into a WebGUI on Sonnar
2. Magic happens and it is downloaded, renamed, organised into seasons, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
3. As new episodes are aired they also are subject to point 2 above as soon as they are available without intervention from me.
And that's just for media. Beyond that I have an eBook library managed by it, password management, my own externally accessible 'cloud' storage system, automated syncing/backup of machines on the network when they connect, run my Unifi Access Point controller on it, home automation server, PiHole network wide ad blocking...the list goes on. It isn't free but it is a cheap perpetual license that I've got my money's worth out of. And I'm not in any way familiar with Linux, but it is all point and click stuff in the main.
+1An afternoon watching that and configuring my server has left me with a system that has been running for years which works like this:
1. I type a movie into a WebGUI on Radarr
2. Magic happens and when it is available it gets downloaded, renamed, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
or
1. I type in the name of a TV show into a WebGUI on Sonnar
2. Magic happens and it is downloaded, renamed, organised into seasons, made aware to Plex and copied to my media share available to all computers
3. As new episodes are aired they also are subject to point 2 above as soon as they are available without intervention from me.
And that's just for media. Beyond that I have an eBook library managed by it, password management, my own externally accessible 'cloud' storage system, automated syncing/backup of machines on the network when they connect, run my Unifi Access Point controller on it, home automation server, PiHole network wide ad blocking...the list goes on. It isn't free but it is a cheap perpetual license that I've got my money's worth out of. And I'm not in any way familiar with Linux, but it is all point and click stuff in the main.
paulrockliffe said:
ThunderSpook said:
Why not just run Windows on it?
Needs a license, so cost, but the server isn't fast enough really.
Nice to see someone taking Windows licencing seriously for once.I had an early Microserver running Plex under Win 7 and it ran fine. I only changed it in the end because it couldn’t transcode 4K adequately.
Got Unraid up and running, looks really good, initial impressions are this is miles better than Linux for what I want. Running headless on my desktop is so much better.
Think I've worked out how to get Plex and an SQL server up and running.
I added my 4 existing hard drives, but might have hit my first issue; they're saying "Unmountable: unsupported partition layout".
These disks are full of media, so I can't just format them and start again, so any tips on how to get them to play nicely would be appreciated!
Think I've worked out how to get Plex and an SQL server up and running.
I added my 4 existing hard drives, but might have hit my first issue; they're saying "Unmountable: unsupported partition layout".
These disks are full of media, so I can't just format them and start again, so any tips on how to get them to play nicely would be appreciated!
ThunderSpook said:
Fair enough, good answer Nice to see someone taking Windows licencing seriously for once.
I had an early Microserver running Plex under Win 7 and it ran fine. I only changed it in the end because it couldn’t transcode 4K adequately.
That's interesting, mine struggles to run the Linux GUI, so I wouldn't dare try Windows. I opened it up to find out what RAM it needs so I can jam it full, but discovered I must have done that as already as it's got 2 x 8Gb chips in it already, which is going to be more than enough. Nice to see someone taking Windows licencing seriously for once.I had an early Microserver running Plex under Win 7 and it ran fine. I only changed it in the end because it couldn’t transcode 4K adequately.
Wonder if there was something else wrong with the setup now.
Right, I understand Unraid now and why I need to format my drives before they go in the array. I've managed to get access to the drives over the network, so I'm working through them making space and moving stuff around to try to get enough free space to format one of the 2TB drives, then I can fill that, format the next etc.
I've got Plex etc up and running, so starting to look like it's going to work.
I've got Plex etc up and running, so starting to look like it's going to work.
sunbeam alpine said:
Unraid seems to require a license, or am I missing something?
It does need a license, I don't mind paying for a license for something good, but I'm not paying for a Windows license that'll struggle to run properly. Plus a lot of the other stuff that I'd like to add that I couldn't get running on Ubuntu doesn't work on Windows at all. Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff