Plex on QNAP with multiple internet connections

[fenton419]

Server Version#: 1.18.3.2156

I have had to change RAID unit.

I have went from a QNAP TS-1079 Pro, 10 Bay to a 12 bay Rackmount TS-EC1270U-RP… slightly bigger than what I wanted, but due to having 10 discs, I was quite limited to what was available.

The new system is now setup with 12 x 8TB drives as a RAID 5.

The system is used purely for my movies, nothing important on here, they are simply on here so I can access media when travelling with work.

In addition to the extra drives I have added a backup internet supply. The VDSL where I live is flakey at best with roughly 20 disconnects per day due to 70 year old copper wire that British Telecom refuse to replace.

The backup internet connection is a 3 (Three) 4G / 5G home broadband connection.

I have access to the QNAP via both internet connections that works perfectly.

What I would like to do, if possible, is allow access to PLEX via both interfaces.

Currently when I look in the PLEX settings I see only one IP address with remote access.

If this feature is not possible, does anyone know of a way of bridging the twon interfaces on the QNAP so that there is a single IP address for the machine, and would this work?

I am keen to transfer the primary connection to the 3 (Three) router as the download speed is in excess of 250Mb with an upload of roughly 100Mb. The fixed line Fibre from BOLLOCKS TELECOM is 39Mb down with 17Mb up (It used to be 80Mb / 20Mb but they have saturated the cabinet and each time work is carried out, the old copper clad cables disintegrate).

I know I could make a permanent change, but I also like the idea of being able to take the 3 (Three) router with me as it provides a mobile internet connection when travelling which saves me the hassle of using my phone as a hotspot.

Apologies if this has been asked before, but I do not find the forum easy to navigate…

Thanks in advance.

[pshanew]

Have a look at the section “Custom server access URLs” at this link:

Network | Plex Support

This method works best when you have static IPs and/or a custom domain with dynamic DNS configured. And, of course, proper port forwarding rules would need to be configured on both routers.

Remote Access | Plex Support

[fenton419]

Thanks for the reply.

I have been in the settings page you suggested, but there doesn’t seem to be much help or suggestions on how to set it up correctly.

I have port forwarding set up correctly on each router, both have their own entries with DDNS.

The local ip addresses for each adapter are 192.168.1.254 and 192.168.8.254.

I can access the NAS using either DDNS proving that the hardware is at least set up correctly.

The network I use in the house is the 192.168.1.XXX.

On the “Remote Access” page I am told I am fully accessible outside, however it is using the 1.XXX adapter, not the 8.XXX adapter.

In the “Preferred network interface” box I entered the address “192.168.8.254” being the address of the router I wish to use for outside access… but it still has the 1.XXX address showing in the “Remote Access” page.

Have I got my head up my ■■■■ here or is there something simple I am just missing?

Shane

[justinmirsky]

Hi Fenton419!

I am in a similar situation as you. I have two internet connections (both are great actually). They both work and my inbound connections work on both, but my Plex server seems to want to bind to a specific address. I find that I have problems as I load balance my connections across both ISPs. When the Plex server goes back and forth, it seems like it is registering with plex.tv the new IP fairly regularly and is causing problems with streaming/remote access.

From what I can tell, Plex does not support redundant/multiple active IP configurations at once. I have had to force my plex server out a specific ISP for now to get it to be stable. I should note that I am load balancing my connections at my firewall and that my Plex server has a single internet IP address.

[certuna]

This is logical - your load balancing works by routing outgoing connections through either one of the ISP’s, so when your server periodically checks in with Plex (using outgoing connections), it will randomly identify your external IP address as coming from ISP #1 or ISP #2, and continuously update the A records of the x.y.plex.direct dynamic DNS name. Clients then initiate incoming connections using that route.

If you want ‘true’ completely transparent loadbalancing you need a second balancer further upstream that brings together these two routes into 1 external IP address (ie, multipath TCP).