Will you be moving the drives from the old NAS to the new NAS ?
In all cases, UNINSTALL the DSM 6 Plex app before you start any migration.
(there is a conflict in the DSM Package Center which is easily avoided by uninstalling)
No, we’ve purchased new drives for the DS3622xs+ and are starting on a clean system, so we’re looking to migrate all data across and reinstall plex and import the configuration from old to new.
What are the steps considering our system upgrade approach?
There will be no “Library/Application Support/ Plex Media Server” structure in the “Plex” shared folder. It will all have been moved to “PlexMediaServer/AppData/Plex Media Server”
The file “Plex/Migration.log” will detail each step of the process and finish with “Cleaning /volume1/Plex”
Any media you had placed in the Plex shared folder will remain there.
The Plex shared folder is now free for you to use as you deem appropriate.
After migration:
The user “Plex” is no longer needed.
You will now need to grant "System Internal User PlexMediaServer permission to read your files (we were forced to change the name)
After reading through some of the instructions, they seem to be targeted to someone who is upgrading their Synology from v6 to v7 on the same Synology unit.
However in my situation, I am unable to upgrade to version 7 on my current synology as it’s hardware (processor) does not support v7, only v6.
My new synology supports v7. Do I copy the Plex folders across to the new synology and then upgrade there? If you can briefly explain the process please?
I’m guessing most others would be upgrading in place on the same synology unit…
You have two options based on how the installer works:
Take your existing volume with you (all disks) to the new machine and then grow it bigger there , Let it be upgraded to DSM 7; “a Synology volume migration”
(DSM 7gets reinstalled on the DSM 6-based volume without losing data)
-or-
COPY your data from the existing “Plex” shared folder to a temporary “Plex” shared folder you create on the new DSM 7 machine.
Please tell me how you intend to use each machine, what stays and what moves, and I’ll write customized instructions for you.
I have purchased new disks for the new Synology running v7 DSM. The disks running in my old Synology v6 DSM were no longer supported, and required Synology branded disks to be used instead.
Option 2 would be the route I’d need to take.
I’d like to bring across my entire plex environment from old to new Synology (made up of movies, home movies, music and documentaries - not using plugins). I have all my content in different folders in one large Shared Folder called “Data”. I am using Hyper backup to transfer all the content from the old to new synology into a Shared Folder also called “Data” on the new Synology. However, the volume number is changing, from Volume1\data, to Volume2\Data on the new Synology.
Plex manual install has been installed on Volume2.
I’m unsure how to bring across all the Plex configuration and media title covers and any meta data to ensure the title cover artwork/descriptions matches the content. A lot of work has gone in to making corrections over the years.
I’ve created a “Plex” shared folder on the new Synology and copied the data across from old to new.
The only thing you should do is see if they’re on the compatibility list.
I’m currently using WD Red 5400 RPM 4TB drives in DSM 7 – which it claims aren’t compatible – BULL.. they are every bit as compatible now as they were on DSM 6
If you’re going to move PMS to the new NAS, you’ll need to make it look like PMS was previously running on it first. We will copy the existing PMS installation from DSM 6 and to a new “Plex” shared folder you create on DSM 7 so the installation scripting THINKS it was a native Plex install and migrates it normally.
ON THE DSM 7 machine.
If you already installed PMS on the new machine, uninstall it with the ERASE option
On both NAS boxes -
– Control Panel
– File Services
– NFS
– Enable NFS (it’s faster than SMB with native Linux transfers)
FileStation → Plex shared folder
– Create a new temporary folder named anything you want
– ( we will use this to transfer PMS )
FileStation → Tools - Mount Remote Folder → NFS
Yes, Synology is clearly trying to increase its sales. Having looked up the model (3622xs+) on the hardware compatibility site, Synology only drives show at a capacity of 12tb.
I’ve now copied across the Plex content to the “Plex” shared folder. What’s next?
This happens because, unless you’ve installed the DSM 7 package before, there isn’t any System Internal User named PlexMediaServer to grant permission to the Plex shared folder.
In DSM 6, the installer had full admin privileges and always could do whatever was needed. In DSM 7, Synology has removed ALL privileges.
What happens now is:
Plex, like all apps, has been changed from “User” type to a new “Application” type. DSM calls this “System Internal User”.
The name was changed from “Plex” → “PlexMediaServere” (mandated by DSM)
The “Plex” shared folder had abandoned. A new shared folder “PlexMediaServer”, with new structure, is now created by DSM (the installer doesn’t have any control). DSM maintains all control over the shared folder. If shared folder PlexMediaServer gets the permissions damaged, the user must fix it (which means scream to Chuck for help.. haha)
The process is
First attempt to install the DSM 7 package should fail during PRE-INSTALL checking . This is expected. Don’t ignore it.
Abandon the first installation attempt and now set the permissions such that the silently created System Internal User “PlexMediaServer” has Full Control of the entire Plex shared folder. ( This sounds scary but easy to do. Follow it here )
Now follow the steps here.
IF anything deviates from what is documented or what you expect, Grab a screenshot and post it here.
I’ll be around a while tonight so we can get this started.
After setting the permission and installing 1.29 I see the following message.
Nothing appeared which showed the migration/upgrade process of the metadata within the Plex shared folder. I didn’t have a migration log file in the Plex share either.
I opened Plex after a few minutes and it appeared to be running through the wizard of a new Plex Media Server setup process.
Any idea why it didn’t detect the Plex shared folder and run through the upgrade?
I’ve upgraded the Plex folder and am restoring the content, and all seems to be working well. I’ll let you know if we have any further hurdles.
One thing I noticed is that there is a server upgrade available, and another option to upgrade libraries. Should I complete both or one of these tasks?
Thanks Chuck, you’ve been extremely helpful to get my system migrated!
