How do you backup the Plex Metadata

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Hi all, total newbie to Plex and QNAP NAS. I have PMS loaded on a QNAP TS451+ which stopped working when the firmware on the NAS upgraded to v 4.3.3.
I have read the forum and found I have to backup my [/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/Library/Plex Media Server] but how do I do that?
I can’t find the [/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/Library/Plex Media Server] to back it up.
Thanks in advance, it is probably a simple thing but I can’t figure it out.

2

As the admin user.

  1. Create a shared folder named Plex
  2. Manually Specify the path.
  3. Point it directly at /share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/Library
  4. Apply any other appropriate permissions in the GUI.

Now you may open the Plex share and ZIP it as you need for backups.

The caveat is you must stop PMS for all files to be closed and valid .

1 Like
3

And adding to @ChuckPA here

Install this:

forums.plex.tv/discussion/234641

4

Thanks for the quick responses. I have installed the app as suggested by dane22 and it has created the Plex folder with the subfolders etc.
The issue is, how do I copy the folder to another drive outside of the QNAP? This is doing my head in. I seem to run into a brick wall at every turn.
I was told learning to manage a QNAP would be a steep curve, but…

5
  1. stop PMS (Plex Media Server) in order to assure that its SQL database is not updated during the copy
  2. use QNAP’s File Station to make a copy of the Plex folder
  3. start PMS when copy is complete

I use QNAP’s HyperBackup as the base of my backup strategy, Plex is one of the folders included, but I also rely on a plex pass feature to make automatic backups of PMS’s SQL database (my PMS runs continuously, therefore I cannot rely on HyperBackup to backup the SQL db).

6

I am unclear about the relation between the manual backup explained by moody_blue and automatic backup feature of PMS SQL that is part of Plex pass. This is what I did:

  1. Downloaded and installed the PMSLibShare app for Qnap that dane22 provided a link for in the above.
  2. After installing, the PMSLibShare app does unhelpfully not appear anywhere on the Qnap desktop, but it can be found via either Search or in the App Center (under ‘Installed’).
  3. After running the PMSLibShare app, a shared folder is created called ‘Plex’, which can be accessed in File Manager
  4. After creation, the Plex shared folder contains 3 subfolders (Plex Media Server, @Recently snapshot and TMP - I suspect the last 2 are dependent on your QNAP set-up)
  5. The Plex Media Server subfolder contains 9 subfolders (amongst which Codecs, Media and Metadata) and 2 files (Preferences.xml and Plexmediaserver.pid. There is no subfolder called ‘Library’, which is sometimes referred to in some of the manuals for QNAP Plex metadata backups)

Question 1) As I would probably want to use Qnap’s updated Hybrid Backup Sync app (‘HBS’), which I assume is equivalent to HyperBackup that moody-blue is referring to, how can I on the one hand use HBS’ e.g. weekly backup scheduling if I would need to manually stop PMS first ? Or is it not possible to use a scheduled backup ? If not, I see no use for HBS, and would probably do a manual backup using File Manager.

Question 2) What would I need to backup - presumably the entire ‘Plex Media Server’ subfolder (and not necessarily the ‘Plex’ shared folder) ?

Question 3) If I make a regular backup of the entire ‘Plex Media Server’ subfolder, what is the added value of using the Plex Pass feature for making a periodic backup of the SQL Database ? Isn’t that db included in the Plex Media Server subfolder ? If not, what is stored in the SQL db that is not in the Plex Media Server subfolder ?

Many thanks !

D

7

The share is the Library directory

Sadly unknown to me, so skipping that Q

Depends on your needs.
If you want the data itself, PMS Scheduled backup task should do it
If you want posters, subs downloaded etc, then the whole Plex Media Server folder

It is, but unless you are shutting down PMS during the file system backup, you are copying an open file, and as such, integrity can’t be assumed

8

Many thanks dane22, much appreciated.

Re QNAP’s HBS - my point was really that I I do not see how I could use any scheduled (e.g. weekly) backup, when I’d have to manually shut down PMS first.

Thanks again

9

Nas2nas is a frontend for rsync, so you could create a script, and run it via cron