If I had to do this, I would leverage the heck out of my pfsense box.
- It would provide the VPN connection for my LAN (in and out)
- It would connect to the remote VPN provider at startup
- It would then publish my IP to a remote DDNS - (optional)
- Now, when the PMS server starts up,
– it uses the pfsense as the default gateway.
– it doesn’t need any special routing table rules (it’s a normal linux box)
( The Pfsense is the funnel and ‘tin can’ out to the VPN provider which has the other ‘tin can’ )
With this config, my machines wouldn’t know , nor would they care
Plex.tv wouldn’t know, nor would it care
I really only have like 2 users that use it once or twice a week whereas I use it daily.
I have PIA VPN service already and can look into buying a dedicated IP through them and trying that out, is there a guide to assist in setting it up properly?
If you have a VPN now,
Do you have a DDNS name which you can attach to PMS?
If you do, you can use that.
Settings - Server - Network - Custom Server Access URL
In there. you put the URL how to get to you.
For me, to reach my host directly I put my FQDN.
Plex.tv knows the port I publish with
If you want to try that, it’s the cheapest and quickest route.
Teaching you pfsense is easy but very time consuming if you don’t know networking
Okay so here’s what I’ve done so far and am still stuck.
I quit PMS. Turned on my VPN and connected to a non-US server in order to get an IP that allows port forwarding. Created a DDNS on no-ip.com and downloaded the Dynamic Update Client. Started PMS. Copied and pasted the DDNS address I made into Custom Server Access URL. Typed the port from the VPN into Remote Access, retried connection. Still nothing.
Plex Media Server Logs_2023-07-31_16-04-47.zip (3.7 MB)
Enabled DEBUG logging, started remote stream, didn’t work, attaching the logs - thank you for working on this btw.
@fullboostm90
Where’s your transcoder temp directory??? 
lol
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.419 [22570910387000] DEBUG - [Req#ae5f/Transcode/Req#ae60] Audio Stream: 213404, Subtitle Stream: -1
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] DEBUG - [Req#ae5f/Transcode] Found session GUID of lmnbra8d5oqwe9nv0a7ufr99 in session start.
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] DEBUG - [Req#ae5f/Transcode] Cleaning directory for session lmnbra8d5oqwe9nv0a7ufr99 ()
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] DEBUG - [Req#ae5f/Transcode] Starting a transcode session lmnbra8d5oqwe9nv0a7ufr99 at offset -1.0 (state=3)
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] WARN - [Req#ae5f/Transcode] CodecManager: EAE exited with code 13. Restarting.
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] INFO - [Req#ae5f/Transcode] CodecManager: starting EAE at "/tmp/pms-ffb88898-fcd8-42a0-be98-56baff71d5ea/EasyAudioEncoder"
Jul 31, 2023 11:19:39.421 [22570910387000] DEBUG - [Req#ae5f/Transcode/JobRunner] Job running: "/config/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Codecs/EasyAudioEncoder-1847-linux-x86_64/EasyAudioEncoder/EasyAudioEncoder"
CodecManager: EAE exited with code 13. Restarting.
[chuck@lizum ~.1999]$ perror 13
Exit code(13): error “Permission denied”
[chuck@lizum ~.2000]$
Apparently my RAM has decided it no longer wants to be my temp directory ?
I can fix a lot but … ???
( Where is the container’s /tmp actually mapped ?? dId you change it / did it change with a new image pull ? )
/tmp is just to RAM for unraid, been working good without issue for over a year, no change to the setup, there was a recent update for the container, perhaps it fubared something ?
Tried changing the /transcode path to use a nvmeSSD and still no luck. Starting to think about nuking the container and setting up a new one 
Welp, whatever was the issue was resolved when I used a different (official) PMS docker container. Everything is working correctly now 
Plex Media Server Logs_2023-08-02_09-50-47.zip (416.2 KB)
Hello, sorry to trouble you all.
My issue is the folllowing, all of the sudden I can get Remote Access to work properly.
Everything was working like a charm until last week, now I’m encountering that the ports are not reachable. Is this something common?
Added logs for further info. Thanks in advance
Hey there, I noticed that you are using Unifi (which devices?). I am here for same reason, I have a UDM and around same time my Plex Server no longer has remote access. After updating the remote access the settings page will start green but then quickly turn red.
One thing of note is that there was a Unifi update (OS & Network) Monday night that rolled out. After that my forwarding rule (exactly like yours) is no longer working. I have a message on the Unifi forums trying to see if it has to do with the update but I am also trying to see what I can tell from the Plex/Server perspective.
What should I be looking for in the logs regarding “remote access”?
Hey there I lost remote access suddenly the other night. Remote access is initially green but then goes red. Also randomly getting “Can’t connect to the server securely” today. Can you check my certificate please.
Also which log file should I be checking for the remote access connection test when it fails?
Thank you.
In your “Plex Media Server.log” , you search for “reachability” (is it reachable from outside). Value of 0 = NO. 1 = YES (Remote Access green)
It starts green (being optimistic) but will then remain or flip to red based on the Plex.tv message (testing result)
Of note: A lot of folks are having ISP problems. ISPs are starting to implement CGNAT instead of giving IPv6 access. CGNAT is a problem because there’s nothing you can do except ask for a REAL IP again.
Yeah it can’t be reached based on what I see now. Would there be additional log lines if its reachable?
Based upon what I’ve read I don’t think I am behind a CGNAT since those IPs tend to be between range 100.64.0.0 and 100.127.255.255
@hummerpj
May I see the whole ZIP please ?
That “Network connection aborted” message is from your system.
Here is the most recent Plex Media Server.log
Or did you want the full zip of all logs?
plex-media-server.zip (362.1 KB)
All the PMS logs (current + the rollover logs).
I need to see PMS starting and what happens during that startup initialization with Plex.tv
( You should probably restart Plex, wait a minute or two, then grab the logs)
Settings - server - troubleshooting - download logs
does all the work for you makes it easy
Got it. I restarted and then pulled the logs
Plex Media Server Logs_2023-08-03_09-52-03.zip (4.5 MB)
@hummerpj
I looked again at everything.
Given the certificate issue, I wonder if there is a mismatch.
For this reason, I have reset your certificate
I would like you to restart the server
Give it a minute to get back up and stable
Next, Fully terminate then restart (reload) the apps. Plex/web is Control+F5
