Home network streaming

General Discussions
1

Good morning. This might be an obvious question, but I just want to be sure due to internet provider data limits.

When using Plex within our home network, does it still use internet data when streaming?

My setup is Windows 10 PC connected to NAS storage for the library. Then streaming to a Roku.

Thank you

2

If all is working well, a direct connection is made between your Roku and the Plex server on your Windows machine.

You should be on the lookout if the Roku is notifying you about an indirect connection to your server, which will be routing the data over the internet.
If you see signs of this happening, please report back so we can discuss steps to rectify this.

3

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I am new to Plex.

I am functioning on older equipment for the moment. The Roku is quite old, but the streaming is absolutely fine. Is there a way to see if it is direct or indirect?

I had been using a PS3 to access the NAS, before Plex setup. But now the PS3 sees the Plex as a media server, (no app installed) but the streaming is awful. Even accessing the NAS direct, the movie files have started having issues. Not sure why linking the Plex PC would throw off the connection.

4

On your Roku, you have a menu item Media Server Status
(it must be somewhere under your username, right at the top of the left sidebar)
It shows you whether the connection is direct or indirect.

5

I found Media Server Status and it is listed as Remote.

How can I make it local? Port setting?

6

No, a port forwarding won’t do anything for local access.

  1. make sure your Windows has marked the network connection as ‘private’.
    It must be not ‘public’.
  2. Make sure both server and client are on the same local network. If you have one on wired and one on wireless, this can already throw a spanner in the works. Some routers do isolate the wired from the wireless part of the network.
    (the server should always be wired, btw.).
  3. Avoid using more than one “router”-type device in your network (unless you know what you’re doing and can safely disable both NAT and DNS on the second router).
  4. Look in your router configuration if you can define the primary DNS server yourself. Sometimes the DNS servers supplied by ISPs are messing up. Use Google’s instead (8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4).
  5. Look in your router’s configuration for a thing called ‘DNS rebinding protection’. This generally is a good thing, but it also usually prevents Plex’s encryption from working in the local network. Which then causes the clients to pick the (properly encrypted) remote connection over the unencrypted local one. So define an exception from the ‘DNS rebinding protection’ for the domain plex.direct.
7

I made some changes and even had a router firmware.

  1. Network connection is listed as private
  2. Both clients are on the same network. Both listed in attached devices.
  3. 1 router: Netgear Nighthawk r6700v3 being used. Also, a Netgear 16 port switch is connected to the router and that has the wired NAS drive and PC.
  4. Changed DNS to Google’s
  5. Can’t locate the DNS rebinding protection. A search online didn’t help either.
8

I reset my DNS to Xfinty. When using the Google DNS numbers, my speed tests dropped significantly. I was barely getting past 150 with Google and getting over 300 with Xfinity numbers.

9

Seems to be working now. Status has changed from Remote to Nearby. Just have to keep an eye on it.

12

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