Plex Media Server
- Thread starter martynbez
- Start date
You'd ideally want the DS218+ and upgrade the RAM to 4GB or more
Soldato
**Crappy old esx server running Plex?
Update the ESX box?
There is no reason why Plex should be running badly as although big files do need some grunt to transcode, basic usage should fly, what OS are you using on the machine? I use a Ubuntu 16 version dual core with 2GB RAM and it handles all the 1080p content I throw at it using a network mounted drive from a baremetal file server.
Update the ESX box?
There is no reason why Plex should be running badly as although big files do need some grunt to transcode, basic usage should fly, what OS are you using on the machine? I use a Ubuntu 16 version dual core with 2GB RAM and it handles all the 1080p content I throw at it using a network mounted drive from a baremetal file server.
This. The + has an Intel CPU, whereas the standard doesn't iirc. After buying one last month I'm very pleased with it.
Honestly, depending on the size and content of your library, I would recommend skipping the whole embedded NAS step and move on to a dedicated NAS box running something like Unraid. I moved off an embedded box after my library got past 1TB of Blu-ray quality content and haven't looked back.
Even something like a modern i3 or Pentium processor and 8GB of ram will absolutely destroy most if not all, all in one solutions.
What would be your budget for a replacement unit?
Even something like a modern i3 or Pentium processor and 8GB of ram will absolutely destroy most if not all, all in one solutions.
What would be your budget for a replacement unit?
So after a little testing my Dell T110 looks to be having some hardware issues. Full ESXI 5.5 re-install on a new usb drive. Server 2012 and plexmedia server install fresh. Start to stream a film and the VM locks up and so does ESXi.
So looking for either a new ESX based server or qnap/synology solution. Budget wise no more than £300 I have hard drives.
So looking for either a new ESX based server or qnap/synology solution. Budget wise no more than £300 I have hard drives.
Honestly, in that case, you may struggle to find a replacement above a basic Synology box. May I ask how many drive bays you'd be needing?
Soldato
I'd be careful with Synology NAS's specifically for Plex - they are amazing NAS's but Plex isn't always the experience it should be - I had a DS213 and while Plex worked for a while, eventually it wasn't supported!
I ended up getting a Microserver and put unRaid on it - works like a charm!
I ended up getting a Microserver and put unRaid on it - works like a charm!
Good point. Admittedly it's been a very long time since I've used a Synology box for plex and back then I had much more basic requirements.
An HP Microserver would suit these requirements well thinking about it and should fit within the budget if bought second hand, that's a great suggestion!
The only downside with that option is you will likely lose your warranty with the system but it would be a much more powerful solution if you get the right deal and you're willing to faff about a bit to get it working
If OP is after something that "just works" I'd potentially recommend the DS218+ as recommended by pcfarrar as it's one of the few Synology NAS box's that will support Plex properly.
Nice!! How're the ryzen chips handling stuff? I'm running an i7-6700k on my 32TB unraid box and it's great but getting a bit congested thread wise (lots of docker apps).
Soldato
What HD setups are you guys running for 24TB / 32TB? Seems a lot to drop on hard drives (and a waste of any existing drives).
I'm running a mix of 6/4/3TB drives, just slowly adding them to the array one at a time when there's a sale or I can find a deal. Takes a lot of the bite out of the cost
I too just keep adding to as and when. Great thing about Unraid is that once you’ve got your parity drive as your biggest single disk you can mix and match sizes and no disk goes to waste as you upgrade. My 19Tb array is made up of 3x4, 3x3 and a 2Tb.
Associate
Looking to do a similar thing what ryzen CPU did you go for
Without knowing how many concurrent transcodes you intend on doing and the resolution, the load (eg if you have NZB processing in the background that will generally kill IO and CPU), the type of storage (local/LAN/cloud), if you have a Plex Pass and intend on making use of hardware transcoding etc. then the answer to that won’t help you. The often quoted guidance is 2K of CPU mark per 1080 stream transcode, that’s slightly pessimistic and for 4K it is much higher, 720 lower and remux of audio is nice and light. I know several people who with proper media/client choice who use a Pi3 as a Plex server, it really depends on your usage and all the other variables involved.
Associate
media is 4k hdr and lower, transcoding mainly to my lg oled via lan. i have a plex pass, use nzb processing. was looking at the 6 core ryzens but dint realise they didnt have an onboard gpu.
OK, this is likely to be a disproportionately long reply and i'm skipping a few bits due to time constraints.
The 'G' versions include iGPU, more cores the better when it comes to RAR/PAR work on a multipurpose server.
4K HDR and Plex is no more or less complex than you choose to make it. Think of the problem as a circle rather than a line, you can tweak any of the variables to get the desired result (eg throw a TR and 128GB into the mix and your poor client choice is irrelevant, but It breaks down as follows:
Assumptions
Transcoding overheads: 2K CPU/1080p 10K CPU/4k
Transcoding = *BAD*
It's free to make appropriate media choices and not free to change client's and servers.
Media
The natural assumption is bigger is better, while that's true to a certain extent in some situations (you don't want to watch something that looks like it was filmed on a potato), in this situation I assure you your significant others will not appreciate buffering because you chose poorly and have a 25GB rip with Atmos audio that can't be viewed remotely with your 2Mbit upload. If you want to choose completely inappropriate audio format/resolution that it's highly unlikely anyone can or will use or be supported by your your client's, then you will need to transcode and devote resources and/or cash to the server side.
Client
Many people seem to think that if it runs Plex, it's fine. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that, a bad client choice means that you can't direct play/stream your content and the server is forced to transcode. Some client's are just poor (PS3 for example though PS4 and XBO aren't exactly without issue). Again this requires you to change either the media type or have the the server resources to transcode.
Storage
Local storage is expensive up front, has ongoing costs and noise/heat, cloud storage is unlimited but has a small monthly fee, the down side is you're limited to your internet connection speed (hint: rent a cheap VPS/root/dedi with decent connectivity from Hetzner and use a CDN). Consider that your storage also needs to be where your server dumps it's transcoded content, will process it's NZB downloads and do RAR/PAR work along with the other services you are likely running (Tautulli, Netdata, Radarr/Sonarr, VPN, torrent client etc.) and on a single mechanical drive, that will likely be a bottleneck before anything else.
Connectivity
Wired connections should be mandatory, anything else will cause you issues at some point (choosing lower bit-rate media can mask a poor network choice), also consider if you chose remote cloud storage then you are WAN limited and that connection may be shared (Sky box' cache content, software uploads, downloads, other people in the household doing 'stuff').
Server
This is usually the area you see the biggest (and most expensive) mistakes made, those mistakes are often exacerbated by previous poor choices. Made a poor media choice and stored it on a cloud storage provider and think wifi is easy? Good luck. If you get the other parts right, then a Pi3 can make an acceptable Plex server. The other common mistakes are old hardware, that 1366 based Xeon from 10 years ago may seem like a beast, but it's basically a power guzzling, noisy room heater when it comes to Plex transcoding. If you are a Plex Pass subscriber then hardware transcoding can be a game changer, intel and Nvidia are the only credible options under Linux, in intel terms, later generations brought improved quality, Nvidia consumer cards are limited to two concurrent streams, Quadro isn't (but £3-400+ for a P2000 is harsh, that said 75w load) - you can use modified drivers under Linux to make consumer grade Nvidia cards to get 20+ streams (see SlothTechTV on YouTube). Also if running a virtualised solution (docker is your friend), passing through the iGPU or in fact any GPU will require a few tweaks.
Here's a curve ball - Hetzner, Myloc, NetCUP, SYS/Kimsufi and many others all provide a range of VPS/root/dedi boxes for very little, combine it with a CDN and GSuite Business and your life can be very much easier for very little outlay each month assuming you have the connection to make use of it. Hetzner Cloud instance starts at €2.99/month and comes with 10Gb connection, G Suite Business is circa £7, combine it with a domain + CDN and you're good to go. If you do choose to go down this route i'd suggest having a look at PlexGuide.com - it's going to make your life a lot easier.
The 'G' versions include iGPU, more cores the better when it comes to RAR/PAR work on a multipurpose server.
4K HDR and Plex is no more or less complex than you choose to make it. Think of the problem as a circle rather than a line, you can tweak any of the variables to get the desired result (eg throw a TR and 128GB into the mix and your poor client choice is irrelevant, but It breaks down as follows:
Assumptions
Transcoding overheads: 2K CPU/1080p 10K CPU/4k
Transcoding = *BAD*
It's free to make appropriate media choices and not free to change client's and servers.
Media
The natural assumption is bigger is better, while that's true to a certain extent in some situations (you don't want to watch something that looks like it was filmed on a potato), in this situation I assure you your significant others will not appreciate buffering because you chose poorly and have a 25GB rip with Atmos audio that can't be viewed remotely with your 2Mbit upload. If you want to choose completely inappropriate audio format/resolution that it's highly unlikely anyone can or will use or be supported by your your client's, then you will need to transcode and devote resources and/or cash to the server side.
Client
Many people seem to think that if it runs Plex, it's fine. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that, a bad client choice means that you can't direct play/stream your content and the server is forced to transcode. Some client's are just poor (PS3 for example though PS4 and XBO aren't exactly without issue). Again this requires you to change either the media type or have the the server resources to transcode.
Storage
Local storage is expensive up front, has ongoing costs and noise/heat, cloud storage is unlimited but has a small monthly fee, the down side is you're limited to your internet connection speed (hint: rent a cheap VPS/root/dedi with decent connectivity from Hetzner and use a CDN). Consider that your storage also needs to be where your server dumps it's transcoded content, will process it's NZB downloads and do RAR/PAR work along with the other services you are likely running (Tautulli, Netdata, Radarr/Sonarr, VPN, torrent client etc.) and on a single mechanical drive, that will likely be a bottleneck before anything else.
Connectivity
Wired connections should be mandatory, anything else will cause you issues at some point (choosing lower bit-rate media can mask a poor network choice), also consider if you chose remote cloud storage then you are WAN limited and that connection may be shared (Sky box' cache content, software uploads, downloads, other people in the household doing 'stuff').
Server
This is usually the area you see the biggest (and most expensive) mistakes made, those mistakes are often exacerbated by previous poor choices. Made a poor media choice and stored it on a cloud storage provider and think wifi is easy? Good luck. If you get the other parts right, then a Pi3 can make an acceptable Plex server. The other common mistakes are old hardware, that 1366 based Xeon from 10 years ago may seem like a beast, but it's basically a power guzzling, noisy room heater when it comes to Plex transcoding. If you are a Plex Pass subscriber then hardware transcoding can be a game changer, intel and Nvidia are the only credible options under Linux, in intel terms, later generations brought improved quality, Nvidia consumer cards are limited to two concurrent streams, Quadro isn't (but £3-400+ for a P2000 is harsh, that said 75w load) - you can use modified drivers under Linux to make consumer grade Nvidia cards to get 20+ streams (see SlothTechTV on YouTube). Also if running a virtualised solution (docker is your friend), passing through the iGPU or in fact any GPU will require a few tweaks.
Here's a curve ball - Hetzner, Myloc, NetCUP, SYS/Kimsufi and many others all provide a range of VPS/root/dedi boxes for very little, combine it with a CDN and GSuite Business and your life can be very much easier for very little outlay each month assuming you have the connection to make use of it. Hetzner Cloud instance starts at €2.99/month and comes with 10Gb connection, G Suite Business is circa £7, combine it with a domain + CDN and you're good to go. If you do choose to go down this route i'd suggest having a look at PlexGuide.com - it's going to make your life a lot easier.