Constantly stopping and restarting

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Hello,

I have plex running on my Synology 415+. I am running 64bit plex and DSM 6.2.xx Update 2.

My plex is visible outside of my home network and I have the port specified directly. I use uptimerobot to monitor the root plex login page, just to let me know that it is up. Till about 10 days ago, this was not an issue. Now I am having issues that I need help diagnosing.

The monitor will send me a “down” email, then 1 minute later a “back up” email. If I login, in that window of time, plex is definitely down. The NAS is not down, nor is the connection. It just looks like a Plex crash and restart. I am getting about 20 of these a day now.

What can I look at to get some telemetry on Plex. Is there a crash log? The NAS is not telling me anything about improper restarts or any other issues. Nothing is being reported anywhere but in the monitor itself.

I would love to know how to proceed to diagnose the issue.

Thanks,

J

3

This is a pretty extreme situation you’re describing. Trumpy and I are going to over over your logs.

Given PMS’s normal log file retention is only 5 files, would you mind adjusting that default so we can capture a few more? I’m thinking 10-15 will give us a better shot at finding the problem.

Preparatory step:

  1. Package Center
  2. Install the Synology “Text Editor” app. (it’s tiny but integrates with File Station beautifully)

To do this:

  1. Stop PMS
  2. Control Panel - Shared Folders - EDIT the Plex share
  3. Permissions tab
  4. Give your username R/W permission
  5. File Station - Plex - Library - Application Support - Plex Media Server
  6. Right-click “Preferences.xml” - Edit in text editor
  7. Immediately before the closing /> place the following
    LogNumFiles="15" but don’t forget the leading space separator (should look like LogNumFiles="15"/> )
  8. Save the file
  9. Start PMS
  10. Now when we collect logs, we’ll get 15 instead of the default 5. It gives us better odds at finding something
4

Plex Media Server Logs_2018-08-03_07-27-12.zip (2.2 MB)
I have attached the zip files (after attempting to set them to 15 - which, upon examination did not obviously work). I worked through the steps from @ChuckPa carefully - I was logged in as Admin to the NAS at the time and the config file change “stuck” as far as I can tell.

Thanks for the help!

Judd

5

Thanks for the logs,

I found your first major issue. :slight_smile:

  1. Networking / DNS lookup

I do see WAN activity, are you saturating it which will prevent DNS lookups from resolving or is your internet service intermittent ?

Aug 03, 2018 07:19:12.766 [0x7f5961fff700] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 1 as juddrgledhill
Aug 03, 2018 07:19:12.766 [0x7f59583c5700] DEBUG - Request: [192.168.1.13:50681 (Subnet)] GET /player/proxy/poll?deviceClass=pc&protocolVersion=1&protocolCapabilities=timeline%2Cplayback%2Cnavigation%2Cmirror%2Cplayqueues&timeout=1 (16 live) TLS GZIP Signed-in Token (juddrgledhill)
Aug 03, 2018 07:19:12.767 [0x7f59583c5700] DEBUG - Beginning read from two-way stream.
Aug 03, 2018 07:19:13.022 [0x7f59607ff700] ERROR - Error issuing curl_easy_perform(handle): 6
Aug 03, 2018 07:19:13.022 [0x7f59607ff700] WARN - HTTP error requesting GET https://plex.tv/updater/products/1/check.xml?build=linux-ubuntu-x86_64&channel=16&distribution=synology&version=1.13.5.5291-6fa5e50a8 (0, No error) (Couldn't resolve host 'plex.tv')
Aug 03, 2018 07:19:13.022 [0x7f59607ff700] ERROR - HTTP -6 downloading url https://plex.tv/updater/products/1/check.xml?build=linux-ubuntu-x86_64&channel=16&distribution=synology&version=1.13.5.5291-6fa5e50a8
  1. You have more directories to monitor than Linux itself can monitor by default
    The default maximum number of directories Linux can monitor is 8192. I suspect you’re like me in that everything is properly organized and structured? Either way, this is easily addressed. Below is how we resolve it. It’s not pretty but it gets the job done :slight_smile:
6

Hmm. I am not seeing saturation here, or any detectable intermittent connectivity. At least I am not seeing it anywhere else in my environment. I could do a router restart, I guess. I think we had a power blink a couple of days ago. I will do that for sure.

I added my iphotos to the volume to share via plex. I would love to figure out how to “unwind” that set of directories, but right now I just let it have the mac folder from the machine, directly. I get the sense that there is alot of structure there. I will follow your link to increase the size.

Is there anything in there that would lead to the outage? Not finding an update should not crash the server right? Nor should the number of directories (please correct me if I am wrong on this). Both of those issues might lead to interruptions of service (like a stream dropping or an indexer not running) but would they bring the server itself down and force a restart? Is that what is actually happening?

Thanks,

Judd

7

As far as ‘unwinding’ the metadata directories and that which was uploaded into a photo library, simply delete the library section. The photos are stored in that library section.

8

Sorry, let me be clearer. I want the photos, but am too lazy to reorganize them. Also, they have been in there for a long time before this issue presented itself - so that is wacky as well.

9

Feel like searching for .JPG in the share where the photos are stored?
Unfortunately that’s about as good as it will get.

10

Ya I am going to pull it out for the moment. I will eventually make some sort of rsync “workflow” to move the photos to the NAS periodically and in a more organized way.

Right now I am messing with uPnP to try and make my remote access more stable. I think this issue is in the “edge” of my LAN - maybe not on the server itself.

I went from a manual port to the uPnP setup (and the rule made it in there, but now I cannot see the server from outside the network). I think I am missing something in the interaction there that might actually be part of the issue.

Some weird router interactions as well… My NAS is .2 on the network. Looks like there is a bunch of activity trying to get into the net to hit the plex maybe…? 68.xxx is my external IP at the moment.

[UPnP set event: Public_UPNP_C3] from source 192.168.1.2, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:56:50
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53154 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:55:12
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53147 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:55:12
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53144 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:55:02
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53143 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:55:02
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53142 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:53
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53141 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:53
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53138 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:45
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53137 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:45
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53135 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:38
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53134 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:38
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53132 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:31
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53131 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:31
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53126 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:27
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53125 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:27
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53124 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:22
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53123 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:54:22
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53094 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:53:31
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53083 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:53:28
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53080 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:53:28
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53060 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:53:09
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53059 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:53:08
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53054 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:52:12
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53040 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:52:09
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53035 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:52:09
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53014 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:52:04
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:53003 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:52:04
[LAN access from remote] from 69.162.124.234:28883 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:49:30
[LAN access from remote] from 69.162.124.234:10912 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:49:07
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52781 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:27
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52780 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:27
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52777 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:21
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52775 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:17
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52774 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:17
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52772 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:13
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52771 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:13
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52770 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:08
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52769 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:04
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52768 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:46:04
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52764 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:53
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52763 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:53
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52762 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:53
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52759 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:52
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52744 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:46
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52743 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:46
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52742 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:46
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52741 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:45
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52740 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:45
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52736 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:40
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52735 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:36
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52734 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:45:36
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52620 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:43:49
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52619 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:43:49
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52618 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:43:45
[LAN access from remote] from 68.184.28.227:52617 to 192.168.1.2:32400, Friday, Aug 03,2018 18:43:45

Judd

11

does this make any sense to you?

nuc:~> nslookup 68.184.28.227
227.28.184.68.in-addr.arpa	name = 68-184-28-227.dhcp.unas.ma.charter.com.

Authoritative answers can be found from:

nuc:~>

If not anyone you know, better make sure you have your PMS secured & change your IP because somebody’s found it

12

I have a no-ip domain (junkwig.com) name pointing at my external ip. I’ll have to look up that ip (227.28.184.68).

13

in-addr.arpa address octets are reversed. notice how I wrote it

14

Ok, so I was offline for the last evening. I just brought it back up to see if the removal of those crazy paths will have any effect. I will report back.

To answer your question though, I think that the URL you saw: 68-184-28-227.dhcp.unas.ma.charter.com, is just my ISP DHCP allocation table. I am a charter customer and that is my external IP address right now.

Make sense?

J

15

As long as it makes sense to you and you’re ok with it, then I’m ok with it.
I saw the addresses and it hitting your server. My posture is: Until deemed harmless everything is suspicious. ( $LastJob habits )

16

Makes total sense.

17

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