Hello,
I’m considering purchasing a new desktop for my media server and would like some Plex Pass users input about what they feel would be a better server Linux or Windows?
Also any recommendations on the hardware.
Your input is appreciated.
M
Totally depends on what the usage should be and on what level of experience you are with each OS. Learning a new OS and trying to figure out how to get Plex working on said OS can be a daunting task.
Just did this a week ago as my last server finally bit the dust. Previously, I was running Windows Server 2012 R2 with local media. Since I’ve been pushing all my data up to Google drive, it was important to me to be able to mount that data without API bans. I ended up going with Ubuntu as the server for a few of reasons:
Plexdrive has been pretty darn solid
Linux is more efficient with resources and less needy about getting periodically rebooted
Total cost of ownership beyond the hardware is zero
That being said, I’m proficient in both OS’s, so there wasn’t any real learning curve involved. Everything I wanted to accomplish could have been done in a Windows environment, however there would have been costs involved to mount Google drive and the monthly MS patches tend to be a PITA.
I’ve been using Windows twice long as Linux, but I would like to move away from Windows and am getting more comfortable with Linux.
I currently have a media library with about 300 movies and various television series mostly standard def but a few high def where the movies direction and scenery call for it. They take up about 3 tb of space. I currently run Plex on Windows 10 Intel Core i5 - 3.20 GHz with 4 GB Ram. It works well but I am always looking for more efficiency. I use Plex on Roku 3’s connected via Ethernet thought the house.
I’m leaning towards Linux but how does it handle the networking with Ethernet net?
Thanks
Linux but how does it handle the networking with Ethernet net?
Not sure I understand. Could you please elaborate?
My setup is Ubuntu server and several players of various breeds. Rasplex/OpenPHT, android and Roku in both my house, and where the kids are living in different towns. With networking, I have my ISP’s router going into a network switch for additional ethernet ports. The server just has an ethernet cable between it and the network switch and the players in the house are connected to the same switch, the router and wirelessly through the router. The only networking setup I needed to do was to give the server a fixed IP address within the ISP’s router, and forward 32400 port to the fixed IP of the server.
