Guys, every time my server system reboots for a patch -as you know this CAN be random, it’s not always patch Tuesday - I have to log on to it, which is a pain since I run it headless, and log in again, then wait for plex to stabilise, then check stuff etc,etc. Why, for heavens sake, doesn’t PMS run as a windows service under a service account? Much better practice, you can use a limited-privilege account yadda,yadda,yadda, you must all know the idea by now as I’m SURE this isn’t the first time someone has asked!
So come on, why not??? You’ve written a server-side component here that behaves like a bit of client side stuff. Going by how clever the audio/video code is, you really need to look at the delivery and hosting approach because you’re clearly smart enough as a team!
or use nssm.exe or whatever solution you like personally.
From your link:
This is not official or affiliated with Plex in any way and was originally made for personal use. Treat it as such and please don’t bug the Plex devs about it. (bug them about Plex not running as a service natively by all means :P)
This should be built into Plex for sure and it not being built into Plex is an annoyance. For example, you can no longer do headless upgrades through the web UI using that github project as you have to stop the service before upgrading.
Could any developers comment on this? This was supposedly on the ‘list of things to do’ at least as far back as 2011. The Windows 95/98 style of server application that runs only with an interactively logged on user needs to go away. The value of every other great new feature you add is diminished when the media players stop working every time the PC gets rebooted until someone logs in to it.
(Please do not share links to 3rd party wrappers in this thread - the point is to hear from the product team about what the plan is for handling this for everyone)
Yeah, I agree the service needs to happen, currently as a workaround I have my server login automatically and Plex run at startup. That gets around this issue but it would be great if they could just create a service.
I second this. We need a fire and forget approach that will take care of updates.
+1 I used PMSService wrapper for a while but it just didn’t satisfy like a native solution would.
Using a wrapper just added another layer of software to maintain and extra steps to the upgrade process. What will it take to natively get PMS as a service in [current year]
Please put this on the priority list. It’s starting to get annoying when family members want to watch Plex when I’m not home but the system restarted due to an update.
Easy solution…
Turn off automatic updates…
Only update when you initiate it…
At least you will be there to re-login…
Just a thought that might relieve the issue some, and is there really any update that MUST be installed immediately???
Autologin by sysinternals (Microsoft approved)
Or as @OttoKerner mentions.
NSSM (non sucking service manager)
Or Windows 10 Enterprise.
About £10 on eBay and cut the updates that require a reboot to a bare mimimum.
@jjrjr1 said:
Turn off automatic updates…
Just a thought that might relieve the issue some, and is there really any update that MUST be installed immediately???
Yes, that’s a solution for sure. But, It’s more of a risk from security standpoint if you are also providing external access to Plex. I don’t care much of feature updates, but security updates should install automatically. I do understand though that the risk of you being an attack point for someone is minimal, but there is still a chance.
+1 on the native service.
We are still waiting for a word from the developers…
Updates during the scheduled maintenance; and PMS as a Service!
@pnatel said:
+1 on the native service.We are still waiting for a word from the developers…
Updates during the scheduled maintenance; and PMS as a Service!
Don’t expect any word soon when there are two totally secure options in @OttoKerner post above and a 3rd option via Autologon via Microsoft.
Comon guys… Let’s not distract these guys from fixing PMS or finishing unfinished features.
They have enough on there plate without risking NEW bugs!!!
@peti1212 said:
@jjrjr1 said:
Turn off automatic updates…
Just a thought that might relieve the issue some, and is there really any update that MUST be installed immediately???Yes, that’s a solution for sure. But, It’s more of a risk from security standpoint if you are also providing external access to Plex. I don’t care much of feature updates, but security updates should install automatically. I do understand though that the risk of you being an attack point for someone is minimal, but there is still a chance.
That’s not a solution. It a work around.
The lack of a service is really a deal breaker for me. I was ready to pull the trigger on the lifetime Plex Pass, but i can’t do it with this setup. II want to use this as the key piece of a cable replacement setup. But if my machine restarts due to power outage, etc, and I am not home to login, and my family cant watch TV until I can log in to start the server, that’t just not going to work. I’ve seen many apps that are much more basic run as a service, so I really don’t understand why this one doesn’t have that option. Unless the devs are assuming that Plex is used only by individuals, not families, or that everyone using the app is technically savvy, this is really a critical feature.
@“richbrew@richbrew.com” said:
The lack of a service is really a deal breaker for me. I was ready to pull the trigger on the lifetime Plex Pass, but i can’t do it with this setup. II want to use this as the key piece of a cable replacement setup. But if my machine restarts due to power outage, etc, and I am not home to login, and my family cant watch TV until I can log in to start the server, that’t just not going to work. I’ve seen many apps that are much more basic run as a service, so I really don’t understand why this one doesn’t have that option. Unless the devs are assuming that Plex is used only by individuals, not families, or that everyone using the app is technically savvy, this is really a critical feature.
AutoLogin needs no tech savvy. NSSM needs far less tech savvy than setting up Plex itself. Either one requires nothing more than the press of the power button. The same press they would have to make after a power outage even with an inbuilt run as a service option.
Has anyone tested plex as a service? Because plex-tv server runs from one user profile account it would be troublesome for a service i suppose, if service cannot find those files
@aris95 said:
Has anyone tested plex as a service? Because plex-tv server runs from one user profile account it would be troublesome for a service i suppose, if service cannot find those files
You can choose under which user account the service shall run.
AutoLogon is not a solution, it is a workaround. Having a logged on user can prevent some updates from running entirely. Additionally, some AutoLogon methods put your password into the registry in plain text.
+1 on running as a service as a native feature. I’ve wanted this for a very long time.
