Duplicating PLEX server for the road

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: 1.13.4.5271-200287a06
Player Version#:

I have my primary PLEX server running on a Synology DS1515+. I would like to use Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate the media libraries and the server settings to a portable SSD so that when I’m away skiing this winter, I can use that portable SSD and my MacBook Pro to act as a PLEX server for an AppleTV that we have in ski country. Bandwidth is very poor. Streaming from my home is not an option as I learned last year.

What I’d like to be able to retain is all of the customization that I put into the main Synology Plex. I build a fair number of playlists, correct media posters and metadata, create collections and so forth. I’d love to be able to have all of that sync over to the MacBook Pro / SSD whenever I run Carbon Copy Cloner. Is this possible?

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confused, where would your media be stored, still on the nas, or on the ssd?

I don’t know if cloning the pms data would work or not, but even if it did, it would not work without the actual media files.

you would probably have better luck simply setting up the nas for unauthenticated local clients, then taking the nas with you.

or alternatively, sync the content you want on to an ipad or iphone with large storage, then airplaying it to an appletv.

or something similar.

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Thanks for the reply. My intent is to have the media reside on both devices.

I have a Synology-based Plex Server which resides next to the media (also stored on that same Synology). I would like to be able to run Carbon Copy Cloner pointed at that NAS and have it copy all media from the NAS to the SSD (attached to a MacBook Pro), capturing any new files added since last sync. This is the easy part. The hard part is that, once that CCC has run its duplication, the destination SSD has all the latest files, but not all of the latest metadata and playlists. So I would have to manually go into the MacBook Pro Plex Server (which uses the SSD as its media source) and re-correct any bad metadata / posters / etc. then add the new files to the correct collections and playlists. I’d like to be able to skip that last part if at all possible. Thanks for considering.

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I guess the crux of the issue, as I understand it, is that when a user makes changes to the metadata for a particular file, that change isn’t written to the actual source file back on the disk, is it?

Example: Movie - Empire Strikes Back. I would change the metadata as follows:
SORT TITLE - Star Wars: Episode 05 - The Empire Strikes Back
COLLECTION - Star Wars
DISPLAY TITLE - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

I would then make a smart playlist that pulled everything with a collection STAR WARS into a playlist. Same with Pixar, Marvel, Star Trek, etc.

If my changes were written back to the actual MP4 file, then I could simply clone the media library to SSD, and then create the same simple smart playlists on the MBP/SSD and Plex would do the work for me. I don’t believe that’s happening, therefore I’d need to redo all of the work on the MBP/SSD unless there was a way to clone the ORIGIN Plex Server User Settings

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plex does not make any changes to your media files, it does not store metadata with the media files, and it does not rename your media files.

the only time plex will physically do anything to your files, and only to tv show epsides (as far as I know) is delete them if you have that set for the show advanced options (ie delete after watching or after certain time periods).

plex uses a sqlite database for the core media tracking, and uses a complex filesystem based system for storing and caching the metadata.

as I mentioned previously, you are better off trying to use the sync functionality, or taking the whole nas with you, than attempting to clone and/or keep clones in sync.

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Thanks, TJ. I should clarify in case it isn’t already obvious that my main focus is on movies.

Moving the NAS isn’t an option as it serves other purposes at home, and the content I want available on that off-site AppleTV is more data than I can carry on any device that I’ve thought of so far except for an external hard drive.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a metadata editor that can make the process of editing artwork, movie studio / year / director / etc. info, and tags? And if yes, are the Plex TAGS (most specifically COLLECTIONS) a Plex-only field, or do they map to a standard metadata field?

I’d guess that I need to make each Plex server then default to using AGENTS>LOCAL MEDIA as the first option, correct?

My thought is that if I can get the right tags on the media file on the NAS, then that metadata will copy over to the SSD when I run Carbon Copy Cloner. Then the solution becomes simply setting up the same smart playlists on each server, which is a much more manageable task as I probably only use 10-15 smart playlists.

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