After (not a great deal of) deliberation, I have gone with a DS1019+ for the ability to add an expansion unit for the future. The NAS will be used only for Plex so I want to keep things as simple as possible in terms of setup.
So far I have gone with SHR on a single storage pool and a single volume (EXT4) across 4x4TB drives. However I was wondering whether there is any benefit in creating multiple volumes, for example using one for database backups etc.
Is there any real practical advantage in doing anything other than merely keeping with a single storage pool & single volume?
I have two top level shares (Main Libraries which are read only for user Plex and Optimised Libraries which are read/write for user Plex) under which will be folders that align to libraries that will be set up in Plex.
It appears though that upon installation of Plex, a new share was also created called ‘Plex’ which I assume is just a default location for media to be copied into (the description is “Plex Media Library”). However seeing as I have created my own two top level shares, I assume the default ‘Plex’ share can be deleted?
As for combining your drives into a single volume or keeping them separated, you’ll find tons of arguments for each scenario.
The only thing you should NOT do is storing your media in the Plex share.
This is the Plex DATA folder where Plex stores its database and all kind of supporting media (from downloaded posters/artwork over thumbnails to any kind of extras). You do NOT want to mix this up with your own content!!
Since I’m the dev who put them there,
and that I use 6 different languages,
Please help me to understand how it’s not clear media shouldn’t be placed in the Plex share while viewing the Plex share in File Station and the Plex share is hidden by default ?
If I missed something, please do help me understand. I tried to be as obvious as possible to not place media in the Plex share.
Perhaps: “Please do not place media in this folder” ?
Adding the six files/messages was a good idea. It seems to have cut down on the number of posts where people have placed their media in the Plex share.
One suggestion: When viewing the Plex share in File Station, it has the description “Plex Media Library.” Maybe change the description to something such as “Plex Database/Metadata Folder” or just leave it blank.
One comment/question: Is there a way to better publicize the Synology FAQ, especially for the initial installation? Pointing first time users to the FAQ could help with initial setup and reduce frustration when they inadvertently make a mistake.
Maybe include a link to the FAQ in the Description shown in Package Center? Or, during initial installation have a message saying, “Please see the FAQ at http…”? Just thinking out loud on this. No idea if DSM will permit anything like that, effort involved, etc.
I saw you mention changing to PlexData in other posts. It will probably be transparent for 99% of users. I run Tautulli via Docker on my DS918+. I’ll have to point it to the new path for log file access, but that will take about two minutes.
So the ‘Plex’ share that is created appears to be hidden in Filestation by default but of course is visible when creating a new share via the Control Panel. The only info shown in that screen, when clicking on the down arrow is ‘Plex Media Library’.
It’s only if you change permissions to get the share to appear in File Station and then look into it from there that you then see the messages advising not to put stuff in there.
All defined shares , whether visible in FileStation to the specific user or not, are visible in Control Panel - Shared Folders
As soon as we get through the holidays, I will be implementing PlexData.
The remaining question is: How much advance notice should be given of this change?
Secondary to this: Should this be a migration in that all new installations use “PlexData” while retaining backward compatibility with the existing or should all be renamed to the new share name?
I’m looking to install Plex on my new 1019+; currently run it on a Ubuntu VM which has been working well for years but I’m trying to simplify my home infrastructure and ditch the huge VM server.
Can I not just have the library data any place I want it, as I do on my Linux installation? I run a share on my old NAS called ‘Media’, under that I have a ‘Video’ folder and then I have ‘TV Shows’ and ‘Movies’ folders. I just mount this in the Ubuntu VM via SMB under ‘/media/MediaShare’. Regards installing Plex on the Synology Is it not possible to simply install Plex and then add my existing ‘TV Shows’ and ‘Movies’ folders to the library or do I have to use the predefined structure? Really I don’t even want the installation to create any shares as it’s just junk I’ll have to delete afterwards. I’m planning to rsync the entire media folder from my old NAS over to the 1019 and don’t want to change my folder structure.
I understand the metadata needs to be stored in a consistent location but is it really too difficult for you to allow the user to select the desired metadata and media locations upon package installation (and remember that choice for upgrades)? Or at least an ‘advanced’ install method for users who know what they want (not your average click click clicker)?
I suppose this is possibly a good reason to think about using Docker which I would love to do but the threads I have read suggest this has different potential problems regards hardware acceleration not being fully ‘supported’. I’ll be running SAB and SickChill in Docker for sure.
On a side note I notice there are two install methods. If I load up Package Centre and type ‘Plex’ then it shows up despite not being in the default listing, this is version 1.16.5.xx; however I can also go on to the Plex download page and there is a Synology package available and that is 1.18.xx. Which install method/source is the correct or recommended option?
The Plex download page will have the most recent version.
Note there is currently an issue with hardware accelerated transcoding and subtitles in the 1.18.4.x releases. The root cause is a problematic Intel supplied video driver.
Until a fix is available, you can use the 1.16.x release in the Synology Package Center, which is not affected.
An alternative workaround is to delete the offending driver, forcing Plex to use an older driver (you will still get h/w accelerated transcoding). See this post for information on deleting the offending driver.
Thank you, I will install 1.18 from the downloads page and investigate the driver issue/fix. Honestly I don’t transcode much and rarely use subs but nice to know the acceleration is working if/when it’s required. How is plex updated if I use this method to install? DO I need to manually upgrade the package? I presume if I install from package centre it will automatically upgrade (if I have upgrades enabled).
I believe if you download from plex.tv and manually install then you’ll have to manually upgrade when new releases are available.
The process is easy. It takes all of 2 minutes on my DS918+ - Stop, Uninstall, Install New, Start. No data/metadata/etc is lost/changed/etc.
You can subscribe to the Plex Media Server announcement thread to receive e-mails when a new version is available. Scroll to the bottom of the thread and change Normal to Watching.
I don’t remember how auto-update works with Synology Package Center. I haven’t used it in years. I’ve been burned too many times by buggy Synology updates. I always wait at least a week before installing any Synology updates, whether OS or applications. In the past Synology has published OS updates that have been incompatible with Plex and Hyperbackup updates that have irretrievably trashed backups.
Since I don’t use auto updates for Synology packages I don’t do it for Plex. Habit more than anything. I’m not sure if you can auto-update some apps but not others.
PMS on Windows has an option to install updates during the maintenance window.
PMS on Synology does not. Settings → General will tell you if an update is available and you can download it from that page. However, the install is still manual.
Got curious about Synology Package Center & updates.
You can select which packages to update individually. See screenshot below.
Note that Plex Media Server is not available for auto-updates.
This is the same whether Plex is installed manually or from the Package Center.
The screenshot is from my DS918+ with PMS 1.18.4.2171 manually installed.
I installed PMS 1.16.5.1552 from the Package Center on a DS414. PMS is still greyed out on the Auto-update tab.
So, it seems even if you install Plex from the Package Center it is still a manual update. Granted, all you have to do is click the “Update” button, but just an FYI that PMS will not auto-update.
