I run currently Plex in a Docker container on UnRaid and it is currently used by myself locally, and friends and family remotely, exclusively for Film and TV. I suspect my question is unrelated to the platform a server runs on though, but I could be wrong about that.
I would like to add my Music collection into Plex for local access via Sonos integration and remote access I assume via PlexAmp. The key difference being that I do not intend to share this with any other users at any point.
My question is am I better off running this Music collection in a standalone Plex Server, or just as another Library within my existing server that I don’t share with other users?
Are there any major pro’s and con’s to consider for either option?
If a separate server is preferable, how do I deploy an additional instance of Plex within my account? I’m sure I read about doing this somewhere a while ago, but of course can now no longer find it.
Given sharing of media works on library levels you should be perfectly ok to add your music to the same server. Simply don’t share that particular library with your family/friends.
Impact should be low as music takes considerably less space than videos and potential transcoding requires significantly less CPU power.
In case you opt for a separate server (even if there’s no technical dependency): you can have multiple servers linked to the same account – just make sure to properly complete the setup by opening the new server through its local IP address (http://[2nd PMS IP address]:32400/web). Once your 2nd server is linked to your account you can see it in all your apps and pin/unpin the libraries according to your preferences.
Thanks so much for the quick response @tom80H - Is there a support page that walks someone through creating a second server in the same account?
I hope this doesn’t sound absurd but I’m really not sure how to actually install a second instance. Given I’m using Docker containers would I just install the same container for a second time and give it a different name?
It’s the very same procedure as setting up your first server.
I suppose this will be a bit trickier if you’re going to run the 2nd server in a different container on the same host. But even here the underlying steps will be pretty much the same.
Personally I don’t see a need for a 2nd server for your use case – especially if you plan on installing it on the same machine anyway.
I think you’re almost certainly correct - keeping it in the same Server if possible makes the most sense. Thanks for the info though, it’s good to understand how I would go about it the other way too.
