Double Lan for Plex computer

lab4

lab4

lab4

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19 Oct 2010
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73
Good morning,
I have my Plex media server setup next to a 2nd router in the house. This router then only broadcasts on 5ghz to the tvs in the house for plex. SSID 2

The other routers are on a separate SSID 1 and run everything else, tablets, phones, other computers.

All works well. However, I wish to be able to access the NAS on the home network (Router 1) on the Plex Media Server. Currently I have a network card for plex, and then a USB dongle for accessing the home network.

Is there anyway that this PC can use the network card to keep all of the Plex side, whilst simultaneously using the usb wifi dongle to access the home network on SSID 1 to access the NAS?

Many thanks
 
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lab4 said:
....2nd router in the house....
Click to expand...

lab4 said:
The other routers........
Click to expand...

How many routers do you have exactly and why? Also if I understand your Plex media server has two network interfaces,a NIC and a wifi dongle? You mention a Plex server and a NAS. Are they one and the same physical or logical device

Maybe a quick MS Paint diagram would help explain your network topology so we can best provide guidance?

My gut feeling is that what you want to do is possible but you've implemented a network topology that is un-necessary and whatever reason you did it is best solved in another more elegant way which will also fix this Plex access issue at the same time, but need to see a picture and get more understanding.
 
Ok yes.

Basic sky router on main socket into house.

Cat5 cable to other side of house to Apple AirPort Extreme. DHCP turned off.

Cat5 from sky router to router (Archer) in home cinema. Logic is, when connected to standard house WiFi, ie SSID from sky router and Apple AirPort Extreme (mirrored extender), cannot deliver high enough bandwidth to Plex app on TV.

Adding the Archer router and allowing it to emit its own SSID on 5ghz only enables 4K playback via Plex app.

When using sky or Apple routers 5ghz signal, bandwidth is not high enough.

The Cat5 cable to the Archer router goes in to a switch, the switch then feeds the Archer router.

The Plex media server is a PC, lan attaches to the Archer router.

The Nas box is cable attached directly to the sky router.

All pcs in the house are hard wired to the sky/Apple routers. They can all see the NAS.

I’ll update with a diagram ASAP. Clearly I’m doing something amiss.
 
You probably need to reconfigure the Archer router as an access point.

From the sounds of it the NAS and the Plex box are wired together so there’s no other obvious reason they can’t see each other.
 
That’s the theory in my head.

So before I had the Archer, I tried the 5ghz on Apple and sky routers to the TVs.

This had bandwidth issues.

For info the home WiFi has 7 tablets, 4 Apple TVs, 3 games consoles, 4 security cameras, 2 Avrs, 3 laptops, then 2 sky q boxes.

Now whilst volume wise the routers can cope, clearly there is a flaw somewhere.

As the master sky q box, the 4K one is under the main tv, this obviously acts as a repeater. Could it be that the sky q connection to the router is not able to handle it? Ie the TVs connect to the strongest signal, which would be the sky box underneath it, not directly to the sky router WiFi.
 
Plex... 4K.... Wi-fi... I know the punchline is coming, but I’m still waiting.

For the love of whatever imaginary friend you choose to believe in, hard wire the server and put the archer in AP mode, you *may* need to use a separate SSID depending on the devices and if they failover to the best signal or stay locked, this will solve your self created and overly complex problem.

Bonus points will be awarded for hard wiring the media devices/TV’s.
 
@Avalon because I can't hardwire all the TVs in the house. If I use the plex app, then all of the media info is passed via this. Hardwiring would mean direct access to the PC, not the Plex interface I believe (I could be wrong, this is NOT a snap back at you). Also how would the tvs then access Netflix, Prime etc. 4K over wifi - no issue on 5Ghz, with nothing else interferring.

@Hyburnate I work from home as a designer, so there are 7 PCs for rendering and 3D work, and then numerous testing devices.
 
You need to strip back your entire network.

You only want one router. You need to put additional routers into access point mode only.

Hard wire things to a network switch, this will help remove some of the congestion over Wi-Fi.
 
lab4 said:
@Avalon because I can't hardwire all the TVs in the house. If I use the plex app, then all of the media info is passed via this. Hardwiring would mean direct access to the PC, not the Plex interface I believe (I could be wrong, this is NOT a snap back at you). Also how would the tvs then access Netflix, Prime etc. 4K over wifi - no issue on 5Ghz, with nothing else interferring.

@Hyburnate I work from home as a designer, so there are 7 PCs for rendering and 3D work, and then numerous testing devices.
Click to expand...

Don’t worry about offending me - I’m quite thick skinned, some would say the use of the word ‘skinned’ is optional, but they’re normally people who don’t appreciate brutal honesty :D

Your main router should be running DHCP for your whole network for simplicity, if we assume you switch the archer to AP mode, then each and every device on the network will be able to communicate with any other device on the network as they’ll all be on the same IP range, that includes both wired and wireless devices. When it comes to connecting devices, even those connecting via the archer.

The general rule is if it can be wired, it should be wired unless an amazingly good reason exists. wireless is for IoT/mobile devices. Plex is just a service running on a PC, it will be accessible from any device on the LAN (wired or wireless), the advantage of devices being wired is you don’t have the variability of wireless (and and it leads to fewer buffering issues). If you can’t wire a TV that’s fine, but if you can, do - it’s the better option.
 
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Does your network look like a bit like this?

OCUKN1.png


If so all you need to do is what @Avalon suggests. Stop your Archer router from doing any routing. Turn off it's DHCP and as a result your Plex server, TVs and everything else connecting to SSID 2 or wired into the Archer will get their IP address from the Sky box and everything will talk to each other on the whole network without needing a wireless dongle on the Plex Server. In essence you're getting the Archer to do what the Aiport Extreme is doing - acting just as a Wireless Access Point.
 
Add a static route on your primary router that points traffic for whatever subnet is behind the second router, to the IP the second router has in your primary IP range.

I would guess your Plex server can get traffic to the NAS via following default routes but the NAS is sending it’s replies to its default gateway (the sky router) which doesn’t know how to reach the Plex server as it’s in a subnet it has no route for.

I haven’t fully read the thread though just skimmed a few posts

(Or you could possibly have some double NAT going on)
 
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