# Linux Plex server migration - can I run and access two physical servers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-linux, plex-web, roku\ **Created:** [December 14, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759 "2022-12-14T18:27:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/1 "2022-12-14T18:27:14Z")
Server Version#: 1.30.0.6486-629d58034 (dpkg --list) Player Version#: 4.87.2 (Plex Web - General) Hello, First post here. I’ve been running Plex for about 2 months and it’s worked well. However the machine I initially put it on has other uses and the library has outgrown disk space I was willing to dedicate at the time so I’ve built a Ubuntu Server with more disk space and less noise. I’m not clear about different levels of Plex but I’m just using whatever is free at this time. My goal is to bring up the new server (it’s up and running) and then over the next few weeks COPY the video files to the new machine. I’d like to keep both machines running in parallel until I am more confident that the new server is stable and robust. During this time period I intended to point different TV’s at one or the other and use them both, as well as test both from my Kubuntu and Windows desktops. Is there anything about this plan that won’t fundamentally work? I’m trying to get to the point where, if using a browser pointing at one machine I see the library physically on that machine and play from that machine, and if pointing at the other I see what is physically residing on that machine and playing from that machine. Currently the new server (named ‘plex’) seems to be presenting the file system on the old server (named ‘science’) and not presenting the files I copied over to ‘plex’. When on science I see both names in the pulldown at the left. plex is ‘Nearby’ and has a green lock symbol. science is in orange, is ‘Remote’ and has an orange check mark. When on the new ‘plex’ server I see both names. Plex is again Nearby and has the green lock. science is in orange but is ‘indirect’ has an orange check but has an exclamation symbol. Thanks in advance for any help. As I’m new here I’m not sure what other info would help but I will try to provide it once asked. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 6:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/2 "2022-12-14T18:41:36Z")
There is no restriction on how many servers you can link to your Plex account. Many users have more than one server running at times. ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/3 "2022-12-14T19:09:29Z")
Thanks for the response. I appreciate it. Is it possible (I suspect it is) to have movies and TV shows on both servers and to the user have it look like one database? Right now I believe I have both servers functioning and I have movies and TV shows on both but I am unclear how to verify I’m streaming a movie from one server or the other. When I turn off science - the original server - from Chrome on my Kubuntu laptop I’m just told Plex is offline. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/4 "2022-12-14T19:25:30Z")
May I ask what the IP addresses of the machines are? ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/5 "2022-12-14T19:29:32Z")
Both here on my home network: science - 192.168.86.98 plex - 192.168.86.113 Currently science has plex in /etc/hosts file. As plex is new it doesn’t have any of my local machines in its host file. I will remedy that now. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/6 "2022-12-14T19:32:26Z")
I looked at Plex.tv Both ‘science’ and ‘plex’ are connected to your account ‘science’ was last seen 2 hours ago ‘plex’ was last seen 3 hours ago. Does this make sense? Plex should normally update ‘last seen’ each hour. ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/7 "2022-12-14T19:37:24Z")
Depending on the meaning of ‘last seen’ that’s reasonable. I have them both up and running right now. ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/8 "2022-12-14T19:41:28Z")
Also, right now both say ‘nearby’, both have green locks and the orange check mark is the same as the machine I pull up in Chrome [http://science:32400/web/index.html#!/settings/web/general](http://science:32400/web/index.html#!/settings/web/general) [http://plex:32400/web/index.html#!/settings/web/general](http://plex:32400/web/index.html#!/settings/web/general) ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/9 "2022-12-14T19:42:00Z")
> [@markknecht](#): > > Also, right now both say ‘nearby’, both have green locks and the orange check mark is the same as the machine I pull up in Chrome PERFECT! - except for the orange check. Show me please ? ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/10 "2022-12-14T19:43:39Z")
So maybe my problem is I copied files from science to plex and didn’t delete them from science? If I move the copied files out of the library area then either plex makes them available or it doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/11 "2022-12-14T19:44:12Z")
“Library” area ? are you putting them in `/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library` ?? ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/12 "2022-12-14T19:51:46Z")
On science the movies are in /srv/video/Video, TV shows are in /home/mark/TVLib. This was based on where science had storage space. On plex I currently have them in /home/mark/PlexData with 2 subdirectories, TVShows and Movies. On plex there’s one hard drive large enough to hold everything and I just mounted it in my home directory. /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library exists on plex. There is currently one subdirectory called ‘Application Support’. I can create a directory and mount the drive there if that’s better for Plex (the program) I’d need to give it a mount point, like /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/md1 and then mount my RAID1 there. ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/13 "2022-12-14T19:58:56Z")
Also, if I look at a TV season I copied to plex, drop down and look at one show, the path name under Info is the science path name, not the new plex path name ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/14 "2022-12-14T19:59:00Z")
Is this OMV or Proxmox ? You mention `/srv’ 1. /var/lib/plexmediaserver shouldn’t be touched. That’s where PMS lives. It keeps all of the server internal data. We only go in there on special occasions (won’t start and need logs – type occasions) - DO NOT mount your RAID 1 in`/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/md1`. At some point, you’ll make a mistake and end up breaking plex. - Put it in a safe place now, as you setup. You can mount it as “/md1” if you want. 1. IF I remember correctly, normal shared folders work perfectly. Mounting volumes under a shared folder should also work too. ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/15 "2022-12-14T20:04:57Z")
plex is nothing more than an Ubuntu Server install I did yesterday. Nothing special at all. 1. Installed Ubuntu Server 2. Created a 4TB RAID1 3. Formatted as ext4 with whatever the defaults were. Changed nothing. 4. Mounted the RAID at /home/mark/PlexData and created TV and movie directories 5. Exported /home/mark/PlexData as an NFS export 6. Mounted the export on science 7. Copied a few movies and TV shows into the appropriate directories. I am having trouble on plex. In the STATUS area on the left, when I choose ‘Library’ it tells me 'Server settings are unavailable. Same thing when I drop down to the MANAGE section. ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/16 "2022-12-14T20:10:54Z")
COOL. I run Ubuntu Server as well… Loving it too. May I make some suggestions? 1. Don’t mount media in your home directory. Give it a proper home but you CAN put it **under** /home. – example: `/home/PlexData` 2. I prefer to put volumes in the root. ```auto [chuck@glockner ~.2001]$ df Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on udev 131833064 0 131833064 0% /dev /dev/md0 243421052 26148316 217272736 11% / /dev/sda1 523248 5348 517900 2% /boot/efi /dev/md1 976032144 24026068 952006076 3% /home /dev/md2 1999168256 865340368 1133827888 44% /vmssd /dev/md3 117185445888 56857611616 60327834272 49% /vol [chuck@glockner ~.2002]$ ``` ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/17 "2022-12-14T20:13:19Z")
OK, I can make that change easy enough. I wonder now if I am doing the setup incorrectly? Do I need to put the paths into my database at plex.tv or on plex and science independently? I’ve been doing it at the machine level. Maybe I need to do that on Plex’s web site? ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/18 "2022-12-14T20:15:01Z")
And on your system who owns the mount at /? root or your user account? ---
**Author:** ![ChuckPa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/chuckpa/32/79710_2.png) [@ChuckPa](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ChuckPa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/19 "2022-12-14T20:17:53Z")
1. I have all the volumes mount in /etc/fstab Ubuntu mounts all volumes before services start (plex) 2. My username owns all the media files AND owns the mount point (important) 3. I fix all the permissions for my media this way: ```auto sudo bash chown -R chuck.chuck /vol/media find /vol/media -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; find /vol/media -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \; ``` Now I can point my Movies library section to `/vol/media/movies` ---
**Author:** ![markknecht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@markknecht](https://forums.plex.tv/u/markknecht)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759/20 "2022-12-14T20:37:43Z")
OK, I changed the mount point. My use account appears to own all the files ```auto mark@plex:~$ df Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on tmpfs 1224532 1316 1223216 1% /run /dev/sda2 960300048 7607700 903838028 1% / tmpfs 6122644 4 6122640 1% /dev/shm tmpfs 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock tmpfs 1224528 4 1224524 1% /run/user/1000 /dev/md127 3844420408 40125088 3608934664 2% /PlexRAID1 mark@plex:~$ ``` I am making a headway. With the RAID mounted at /PlexRAID1 I was able to edit the library settings under the ‘plex’ name. Now, using a different computer if I point at plex I see 2 TV and 2 movie options on the left and the plex options have the movies and shows I copied over so that’s complete. On science however I only see the science movies and shows. That’s not a big deal as science currently has everything and eventually I will retire science if plex proves reliable. I need to edit the Plex app settings on one of the TV’s and see how that’s working. Will get back later but this is a big step forward. Thanks! [Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-plex-server-migration-can-i-run-and-access-two-physical-servers/822759.md?page=2)