Server Version#: 1.32.1.6999
Windows 11 Pro 22H2
Intel(R) Core™ i7-8086K CPU @ 4.00GHz 4.01 GHz
32 GB RAM
Hardwired Gigabit Ethernet
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Media stored on Drobo 5C connected via USB 3.0
Player Version#:Latest Available (Windows Desktop / iOS / Vizio Smart TV)
I continue to have buffering issues when playing media. The issue occurs occasionally even if there is only one playback device and we are on the local network. The issue occurs more often if there are multiple playback devices or we are remotely connected to the server. I believe the issue may be with the USB connection from the server to the media and have attached a screenshot from task manager showing 100% utilization of the hard drive. I’d appreciate any input and thoughts on how to improve performance. Want to make sure I’m going in the right direction before I invest in a new server that can house enough internal storage for my entire library. Thank you!
If Plex cannot read the media from the drive fast enough, then you will definitely experience buffering.
What was streaming when you took the screenshot? Was it something like 4K HDR that would have a high bitrate?
Is Disk 3 a separate disk or part of a RAID array? I’m not familiar with the Drobo 5C. If it is a separate disk, how long since it has been defragmented? A heavily fragmented disk can cause problems for Plex, or any application, trying to read a large amount of data.
Try taking Drive S out of the equation. As a test, copy the media file to the C: drive and create a test library pointing there (“movies-test” etc). See how things stream.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try out the test library and see how it goes.
It was streaming when I took the screenshot. The highest quality I’m running right now is 1080p, so not quite as intensive as 4K.
Disk 3 is the Drobo. Its a USB 3.0 attached storage device with 4 drives configured in a propietary raid configuration. I’ll also take a look at defragging and see if that helps. I’m thinking the USB connection to the drive is the bottleneck, just not absolutely certain yet.
I’ll test out moving some media to another drive and see how that impacts it. Thanks again!
I have an update. It does seem the media doesn’t buffer nearly as frequently when stored on a local disk. My concern is that with nearly 18TB of data, it would require an enterprise class server to allow for enough internal storage to accomate that much data. Does anyone have any recommendations on external storage that won’t add to the lag currently experienced? My current external drive is a Drobo 5C, which connects via USB 3.0. I recently saw that Drobo went bankrupt and their online store has been shut down, so something different would be needed anyway for future expansion.
