Memory Leak When DLNA Server Enabled

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.32.7.7621
Player Version#: N/A Server Side Only

When enabling these check boxes:
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With the other setting son the page set to their default values Plex Media Server’s memory grows unbounded until either the server goes OOM or the Plex docker container is bounced.

Here is the memory usage showing massive growth over a few days. The container was bounced and then grew again. After the second time I unchecked the DLNA checkboxes in the pictures above and the memory usage went back to normal, acceptable levels.

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This is unfortunately as I liked having DLNA for my Home Assistant OS to for access to my media. I also used it to watch the media in VR (bigscreen beta). Anyone know a workaround to this or is just this a known issue awaiting resolution?

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It’s a known issue that will likely never be fixed unfortunately: Plex DLNA memory leak... still going on after 4 years - #3 by ChuckPa

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We’ve tried to find it and can’t.

The code where it leaks, by how it’s written, CAN’T leak memory – but it does.

4

Ouch, I’ve been there. Just today my buddy sent me some code with a null check on an object wrapping a dictionary call that used the object as a key and was throwing a argument null exception. He basically said the same thing, it can’t be null!

I’ve seen some large leaks before and I usually grab a heap dump and use windbg to dump the objects in it but from there it can be tough, sometimes you get lucky and find something like event handlers that are rooting things that never unsubscribed.

I’ll probably be able to fine another way to host DLNA from my server. A quick google for unRAID DLNA server first yielded a suggestion to use Plex (from 2017) but also pointed to arch-minidlna which I guess is now called ReadyMedia.

5

I marked this solved but, unless it only leaks in some environments, might want to just consider deleting the feature. I was transcoding to RAM and tried tuning the size of the tmp disk I was creating on it first, not realizing it was the DLNA server. I then had to google around a bit until I found a post about the DLNA memory leak. Before I realized it was leaking my server would get unstable after running for a bit and it was in triaging the instability that I noticed that Plex was using the majority of my 128GB of RAM. Would have rather just not having DLNA as an option to save me the trouble.

I also set up some Home Assistant stuff using it, as well as Big Screen Beta which required a custom default xml file for the transcode profile (otherwise there was no sound). I wouldn’t have bothered with all of that if the feature never existed.

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The feature is there because:

  1. It’s disabled by default so only those who want to use it will see it.
  2. Some users want to have it – knowing they need to restart PMS daily (which they are ok with)

We were willing to take it out but kept it as requested.

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usage level doesn’t merit it

People don’t use it because it leaks memory.
We’re not going to rewrite it because people don’t use it.

hmmmm …

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Not going to debate or fight but please do consider –

there are far more important things to spend Engineering hours on which benefit EVERYONE.

Given ONE, and only ONE,

  • Hardware subtitle burning
    -OR-
  • DLNA

Which benefits more users ?

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