I admit that this is most likely a network issue but i am really struggling and hope that someone here may know the answer. Basically it is hit an miss that i am able to sign in on my Rasplex devices, i have searched many forums, tried their suggestions and had no luck. if i have missed an important thread then please point me in the direction of it.
My setup is:
Dedicated server PC with ample power
DAS connected media drives (USB 3)
gigabit Ethernet network connected to all devices and server
RPi 3 devices with a clean 1.7.1 RasPlex install
Satellite internet connection, NOC based in Spain (we are in Antigua)
I get the spinning wheel whenever i try to sign in to my plex account on RasPlex using any of the sign in methods. I have read many times that this is a time issue and that adding a NTP (pool.ntp.org) would solve this but it has not for me, sometimes it helps but it very rarely signs in or identifies the server.
I have tried with encryption on and off.
Please shoot me down if you know better but one idea i have had is that the Satellite internet is too slow/lagged to effectively use the NTP server? Speed tests from Ookla consistently comes back with a Ping of over 700ms and the up and down speeds are low.
To counter this i set up the Plex server PC as a NTP server for the network using these instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq6xDvPJzrg
With the RasPlex timeservers looking at the IP address of the Plex server I thought should keep everything in time however i experienced the same problems.
Also, is it better from a reliability point of view to use static IPs for the devices and server?
Thank you for any help, the setup is a beautiful thing when it works but incredibly frustrating just looking at Search, Search, Search, Search…
Lag could definitely be the issue. The authentication method is designed to have very quick timeouts to prevent man in the middle attacks.
Static IP for the server enhances reliability as this information is cached from Plex.tv.
With unreliable network settings, you basically want to setup your systems like they are offline.
On the Plex Media Server, set Secure connections to ‘disabled’ and add your local network to both ‘LAN Networks’ and ‘List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth’. Also enable local network discovery.
On the rPi’s, multiple accounts are going to be the problem. If you use a single account and enable the preference ‘Auto Login’ the rPi will cache the authentication ID and just reuse it against the PMS without having to refetch it from Plex.tv each login.
There is one other thing that you may want to look at - your Gigabit switch. I had an off brand (ie. cheap) switch that i used for a while. I would get intermittent problems that I attributed to my router so would turn it off and back on and the problem would go away. That router died and I got a new more powerful router but the same problems stayed. I figured I would try a new switch and this time splurged ($75 US) for a managed HP router used off of eBay. OMG - what a difference. No more problems. Everything network related just seemed to run faster. It’s kinda funny as I work in a network shop but never thought of my own network needing this kind of hardware. Just my 2c.
Benjamin you are a life saver, i have been studying network time syncing options, GPS time servers, local machine servers and basically anything that would get these machines to all sync up so i could reliably log in to the server every time and if i am not here it would be easy for someone else to do should it be necessary. Sometimes i had some luck but nothing was reliable enough and it seems your solution has bypassed the problem completely.
I went with Static IPs for the server and all of the RasPlex devices and then added all of the device IPs to the ‘List of IP addresses and networks that are allowed without auth’. I wasnt sure how to add the entire network however now there is no need to login as the media is visible straight away and it seems to play fine.
Network discovery is enabled and secure connection disabled.
I am only using the single account as you suggested and 2 of the devices i was lucky enough to be able to log in but the option for “Auto Login” is not available, i am not sure how to rectify this.
For not reliability is up and it is working as i had hoped so again thank you.
Valdhor thank you for your suggestion also, i am using a Netgear Prosafe 16port Smart Switch for the media, though it is a little old it should still be quite good. the network is loaded up with all sorts of other things like lighting, cctv screens, wifi points and other computers but i have tried to keep all the media gear on the smart switch to simplify it a little.
Should i get any more issues i will certainly look into swapping switches to look for an improvement there.
