Plex Media Server with NAS attached

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Hello,

I am currently running my Plex Media Server on a Windows PC, with most of my Libraries on external drive.

I am considering moving all my Media to a NAS. I which to use either Windows or Linux for the Plex Media Server, but would like it to read the data from a NAS.

Also, I have 4K movies that can’t be played from the external drive at the moment, would like to make it possible with the new configuration.

I would like you input on what you are currently using? If you have youtube videos to refer to I would like that also.

Thanks,

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2

Use what you know. If you need to troubleshoot it’s easier if you already know the OS.

What do you mean “can’t play”? They fail or your current computer isn’t strong enough to transcode?

3

I think my current computer isn’t strong enough to transcode.

At first, I assume that it was the HDD that had trouble with it, but since I am using an old (6-7 years old) gaming pc it would make more sense that the PC is the problem.

4

Do you have a 4k TV that you play them on? If not then convert them. I have an app that will do a bulk convert if you need it.

http://instipics.com/VideoEase

5

Yes, I do have a 4K TV

6

Some pitfalls to avoid:

  • don’t use a Windows user account by the name “Admin”, “Administrator”, “Supervisor”, or “root”
  • avoid using a Microsoft user account
  • disable cloud-syncing (“One Drive” et al) of the Windows user profile folder
  • don’t rely on Windows storing the access credentials to the file share on your NAS device. Instead, create a user account on the NAS device which uses the exact same user name and password as your Windows machine.
  • Renaming your NAS, or its file shares, or its folder names later on will cause you headaches.
    So plan your share names and folder names carefully. Keep in mind that Plex requires you to separate the different types of media.
7

If your already going to buy a NAS invest enough that the NAS can just become your dedicated Plex server. I have found that using a NAS for storage and another machine for the Plex server is a PITA. Just going all in on your NAS can help to create a much more pleasant experience in my opinion. I personally use a Qnap TS-453d and have had a wonderful experience with it. You can spend more and get something that may be able to handle bigger transcoding workloads. My users and I don’t do a whole lot of transcoding but I have seen it successfully transcode a couple of 4K files at the same time without stressing out too much. I can’t tell you the transcoding limit for the chip in my NAS (Intel J4125) but it has proven to be plenty capable.

8

This is my setup. Plex is running directly on my Windows Server 2019 machine. And all the media is on a pair of Synology NAS boxes. One thing to do is if your host is windows, don’t add the folder locations to Plex as mapped drive letters. Use the fully qualified path instead (\Server\Share\Movies) instead.

9

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