My Plex server is located on a NAS VLAN with traffic exiting a VPN gateway. I do not have a static IP from the ISP. So I’ve constructed a firewall rule that allows traffic from the NAS headed to Plex.tv IPs to exit through the ISP gateway. This works with the Plex Sorta-Dynamic-DNS built into the remote access feature, and allows incoming connections to hit my firewall at the ISP provided DHCP IP.
However, Plex.tv IP address change from time to time and this requires I go in and update the firewall rule manually. I also have Dynamic DNS configured on the firewall, and it updates my AWS Route 53 DNS entry.
My question is: Could Plex add a feature to remote access where I could just input my dynamic DNS FQDN? This would avoid the step where the server reaches out to Plex.tv and determines the IP itself, and therefore the need to manually curate the process.
I’ve tried this. But when I enable remote access, it still runs through the process of pinging Plex.tv and it returns the VPN IP and is not available. (Without the custom frewall rule enabled, that is) I also use a manually specified public port. Not sure if that makes a difference.
I tried the syntax “example.ip.com:xxxxx” and that doesn’t seem to make a difference either.
Without the firewall rule allowing Plex. to hit Plex.tv from the ISP address, it’s no joy.
I understand this might be an edge case, but if there were an option in the “remote access” section to bypass the plex IP check and still enable remote access, I think it would be very valuable for a lot of users.
Working through a VPN has always been problematic unless your VPN is maintained AT/BY your modem/router.
From the computer’s perspective, PMS will query the modem/router (edge device) and get an IP. This is why having the VPN there resolves this trivially as it will report the VPN exit IP.
When you use a custom server access URL, disable remote access. It is not needed and, as you have found, can actually cause problems by attempting to publish multiple server WAN IP addresses to Plex’s server. Specifying a custom server access URL obviates the need for a separate remote access configuration.
I added the Custom server access URL, removed the custom public port on the Port forward rule and set it for 32400. DIsabled remote access, still no joy.
Are there any detailed instructions or guides to using the Custom server access URL feature? From my experimentation, it does not seem to function when remote access is disabled. And with remote access enabled, it gets the VPN IP. And then ignores the custom server access URL.
I can still access my content, but as far as I can tell, with the feature set as it currently stands, a manually curated firewall rule to allow the PMS IP checking to go around the VPN is the only way.
It will show you which of your devices have published connectivity information to Plex’s servers, and what that information is. Ensure that the custom server access URL you set is being published correctly.
