Newbie struggling to set up Plex, no media is viewable, only thumbnails

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
82

@J_fo

I lost my good LAN diagram but hope this helps.

This is my configuration (less the printers and odd stuff)

         | (WAN IP)
  +---------------+
  | Inbound ISP   |
  |   ----        |
  |Firewall+Router|
  +---------------+
         | (LAN 192.168.0.x)
         |
  +---------------+
  |  HPE 1820 (24)|
  |               |
  |  LAN switch   |
  +---------------+
        |||||  |
        |||||  +----------  Airport Extreme Wifi  (iPad, iPhone, Roku, Laptops,  Bedroom TV) 
        |||||               
        ||||+-------------  4 legs of ethernet to DS1815+  (LACP LAG)
        |||+--------------  4 legs of ethernet to TVS-1282 (LACP LAG)
        ||+---------------  Workstation computer #1
        |+----------------  Workstation computer #2
        +-----------------  AppleTV 4K (Gen 5)
83

Just to add to what Chuck said regarding a switch, Netgear has a nice 8-port switch that supports LAG for 70.00
amazon.com/NETGEAR-GS108Tv2-Gigabit-Lifetime-Protection/dp/B003KP8VSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516232935&sr=8-1&keywords=gigabit+switch+link+aggregation

This is a great switch, I have 5 of these in service and never had any problems. On closing for best performance you will not use any of the LAN ports on the router other then 1 hooked up to a separate switch, then all your device plug-in to the switch NOT the LAN ports on the router, Let the router do its job of routing only.

Chuck you don’t say what your using for a router?

84

Ray,
I’ve never had any luck with Netgear and Syno LACP. I tried several Netgear and Linksys. That’s why I went with HPE. I wanted LACP/LAG

HPE is HP Enterprise equipment at slightly more than ‘Pro-sumer’ price. It has proper enterprise features.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-J9979A-ABA-1820-8G-Switch/dp/B00UVRFHU0/ $80
I ran out of ports WAY too fast (LACP can take all 4)

This is what I have https://www.amazon.com/HP-J9980A-1820-24G-SWITCH/dp/B00V32DO7U $185.

85

Let me roll back my question about the wireless router. I have a 10/100/1000 netgear switch that I can use to get the quantity of ports that I need. Therefore should I think I’ll go with the Netgear Orbi. Any final advice before I head off to BestBuy?

86

Chuck,
Thanks for the info, Very interesting you never had luck with Netgear switches. May I ask what problems you where having? I also no what you mean about running out of ports fast when using LACP/LAG, I myself have a Netgear GS724T 24 port switch that I use on the edge of my network. amazon.com/NETGEAR-GS724Tv4-24-Port-Lifetime-Protection/dp/B00I5W5EGA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516235787&sr=8-1&keywords=gs724t

87

@J_fo said:
Let me roll back my question about the wireless router. I have a 10/100/1000 netgear switch that I can use to get the quantity of ports that I need. Therefore should I think I’ll go with the Netgear Orbi. Any final advice before I head off to BestBuy?

With the 4K requirement, get rid of anything with 10 or 100 in it. it will bring you nothing but heartache.

If you go with the Netgear Orbi for your wifi, you will want a switch that can handle it and multiple 4K streams.

Again, Netgear + Synology + Link aggregation == Failure. It doesn’t work. The switches you have predate the technology.

88

Chuck seems to have had bad luck with Netgear switches that supports LAG, I on the other hand have not had any trouble with Netgear switches. I am waiting for Chuck to say what kind of trouble he had. Orbi for WiFi is a great choice.

89

ChuckPA, then will any run of the mill 8port Gigabit switch do the trick or should I also make sure it’s Netgear?

90

If you are going to use 4 ports just for the NAS, start counting.

4 (NAS) + 1 (or is it 3) Wifi + ??? + ???

Do you have enough ports for now and for any expansion?

91

@RayIT said:
Chuck seems to have had bad luck with Netgear switches that supports LAG, I on the other hand have not had any trouble with Netgear switches. I am waiting for Chuck to say what kind of trouble he had. Orbi for WiFi is a great choice.

Ray, Synology (DSM 6) would not bond up as a proper Dynamic trunk set with any netgear I tried. It also wouldn’t bond up with any LinkSys. Specifically, 802.11ad LACP protocol.

When I pressed both Netgear and Linksys, they confirmed they do not support 802.11ad dynamic LACP.

As a general purpose switch, I have no problems with them.

Edit: This is as of May 2017 when I purchased my QNAP.

92

Guys, I think I’ll go with RayIT’s recommendation, the Asus RT-AC88U. While it’s been around since 2016, it seems to have everything I need with 8 Giga ports. I’ll get it install and report back if I have any PMS issues. After that, I’ll wait on the DS918+ which is on back order…

93

I have the Asus RT-AC66U, its older, smaller brother, have had few to none issues with it, so the AC88U will probably be just fine :slight_smile: It’s hooked up to my ISP’s modem (which I put in bridge mode). I live in an appartment and the AC66U has given me excellent coverage so far, but my building is pretty old (no thick concrete walls). When I move to a bigger place I’m going to check out Ubiquiti’s products, I have a few friends who use that stuff at home and at work and they’re saying its the best thing since slice bread (regarding Wifi and mesh networks)

94

@ChuckPA said:

@RayIT said:
Chuck seems to have had bad luck with Netgear switches that supports LAG, I on the other hand have not had any trouble with Netgear switches. I am waiting for Chuck to say what kind of trouble he had. Orbi for WiFi is a great choice.

Ray, Synology (DSM 6) would not bond up as a proper Dynamic trunk set with any netgear I tried. It also wouldn’t bond up with any LinkSys. Specifically, 802.11ad LACP protocol.

When I pressed both Netgear and Linksys, they confirmed they do not support 802.11ad dynamic LACP.

As a general purpose switch, I have no problems with them.

Edit: This is as of May 2017 when I purchased my QNAP.

Chuck,
Thanks for the info. Interesting, All I can say is it was working on my GS724Tv3 switch however now you got me thinking if I setup ‘STATIC’ or ‘DYNAMIC’. I am pretty sure it was LACP and acording to the manual for my switch it does indeed support LACP, Checkout page 83 onword to see for yourself. downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/GS716TV3/GS716Tv3_GS724Tv4_GS748Tv5_SWA_25Sept2013.pdf

I can’t check the settings now becouse I just moved and my switch is still in storage…

Do you remember what the make and model was of your switch?

95

Ray,
Unless they fixed the firmware, you could create the LAG as Static and LACP. Problem with that is 802.11ad LACP requires dynamic else it’s just a static ether-channel which will drop packets because the Syno is expecting dynamic (LACPPDUs)

I originally had the GS308 and went for the GS716Tv3. I sent you the link to the discussion thread via PM. (no sense bothering the OP here with this any further)

96

Putting in my order for the Synology DS918+. I’m going to add a 4GB RAM upgrade for a total of 8GB. Can anyone tell me if I need a Dedicated M.2 NVMe SSD for system cache support? I really don’t even know what it is, or if I need one or two… I just want to make sure I’ve got all the right hardware so Plex works flawlessly.

97

You don’t need it. Even if you do decide to add it later, it’s pretty easy to do if you’re willing to take the cover off. By doing it yourself, you can guarantee you’ve got a good, durable SSD which will last a while. (yes, they do wear out)

98

Thanks. Is 8GB of RAM sufficient, or should I get 16GB?
My bad. 8GB is the max on the spec sheet.

99

Unless you plan to run a lot of extra apps, 8 is fine. It just gets a little cramped with 4GB, PMS, DSM, and a couple playback sessions (transcoder)

100

No. I’ll just be running Plex TV, DSM, iDrive backup app (off-site data storage), apart from being file storage for the family docs, kid’s projects, etc.

101

@ChuckPA said:
Ray,
Unless they fixed the firmware, you could create the LAG as Static and LACP. Problem with that is 802.11ad LACP requires dynamic else it’s just a static ether-channel which will drop packets because the Syno is expecting dynamic (LACPPDUs)

I originally had the GS308 and went for the GS716Tv3. I sent you the link to the discussion thread via PM. (no sense bothering the OP here with this any further)

Hi Chuck,
Sorry for the delay, Been out most of the day. I gut your PM and will reply soon. Thanks