Server Version#: unsure(!)
Player Version#: latest on various platforms
I’ve been enjoying Plex for over 7 years now and had a lifetime plex pass for the past few. Great job guys - really loving it.
I’ve never found updating Plex easy, and always found it quite confusing. I’m still running on FreeNAS 9.1.1 because I’ve never understood the benefit of upgrading (which I believe isn’t straightforward) and it has been working fine.
My issue is that I’ve had an email from Plex telling me I need to upgrade and clients have stopped working, but I’m not sure what version I’m running now and how I should update.
The FreeNAS web GUI reports the plugin as Plexmediaserver Version: 0.9.8.6.175, PBI: plexmediaserver-0.9.8.6.175-amd64 in Jail: plex_1. I’ve noticed that this data isn’t getting refreshed when I update the plugin.
The Plex web GUI reports the server version as 1.10.0.4523. Again, not the version I believed I was running, but I have found this reliable in the past, so I’m wondering if my attempt to follow the manual update instructions on the above forum post failed.
So, I’m hoping for some advice - any I probably need quite a bit of it - but in essence:
is there a reason to upgrade freenas / does it make plex updating any easier for example?
what version of plex am I actually running, should I be concerned of the differing versions being reported and how should I be updating?
Other info: Plex is pretty much the only thing the NAS does (other than some basic file sharing). I have a few large plex libraries that I’d like to keep intact which makes me nervous about upgrading / updating.
Hey @atompkin, I am a very similar boat. Was running FreeNAS 11.1 for what I’m sure was a couple years at least, almost solely for Plex. Have updated here and there using PMS_Updater but same as you, always a bit confusing and now with the prompt from Plex to upgrade I found that none of my upgrading approaches worked any more.
What I realised is that I can easily upgrade to FreeNAS 11.2 (I used this simple video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii15nEna2Xw) and then I needed to install the Plex plugin again in the new “iocage” flavour of jail. I realised that not only was my old Plex plugin running (and you can manage it, switch it on and off etc. via the “Legacy interface” in FreeNAS), but I had PMS 1.18 running nicely as well. So in theory I’ve updated to something more up to date and I can use the FreeNAS plugin update option when I need to update the server.
So all is good, except I cannot work out how to migrate the database from my old version (1.12) to the new (1.18)… Plex documentation says to just copy the “${JAIL_ROOT}/var/db/plexdata/Plex Media Server/” folder from the old and restore it to the same location in the new version’s jail. But the filesystem looks to have changed for FreeNAS 11.2 plugin onwards and the official documentation hasn’t kept up.
So I’m hoping that my notes above can at least get you to the same point, then someone much wiser and experienced can drag us both to the point where we can watch stuff again and not spend days rebuilding libraries and metadata.
My PMS 1.12 folder looks to have Cache, Codecs, Logs, Media, Metadata, Plug-in Support and Plug-ins folders. I’ve copied all to what I believe is the correct folder for PMS 1.18 on FreeNAS 11.2, which for me is
/mnt/raid-array/iocage/jails/plex-plexpass/root/Plex Media Server
But I open the new server and no libraries are there. I’ve been browsing forums for hours trying to pull bits and pieces from other people’s cases and notes but so far no luck. Everything seems to suggest you just dump the database and you’re good.
Hopefully you (and others) might find my half solution helpful, and this thread can finish off the restoration and we can all get back to watching anime.
@semerton - sounds like we may share a need for information about migrating databases from jails to iocages if I really need to update Freenas. Otherwise you may have a separate issue.
I’ve been avoiding a freenas upgrade because it’s working well and if I did upgrade from 9.1.1 it looks to me like a re-build from scratch may be the way to go and I’ve no idea how portable and safe my ZFS volumes would be during rebuild.
Yeah good point, the point-update from 11.1 to 11.2 didn’t touch my storage pools etc. but I guess you’d need to research what happens from 9 to 11. But if you stay on 9 it seems like you’ll need to manually update Plex all the time whereas in 11.2 you can use the GUI to update.
What’s remarkable about this is how reliable your system has been. That’s a cause for celebration.
A reason to upgrade FreeNAS is that the Plex Media Server package currently requires FreeBSD 11.2 or higher.
Note that FreeBSD 11.2 became EOL in 2019 as well. While you’re working on this, it’s worth going to FreeNAS 11.3.
If you’re using PMSupdater to update Plex, then the displayed Freenas plugin version isn’t relevant any more.
If the Plex Web GUI reports the server version as 1.10.0.4523, that’s correct. It sounds like maybe the PMSupdater process wasn’t successful.
I’ve upgraded from 9.x to 11.x and now (foolishly?) to 12.x with no storage pool disruption.
Warden support was removed in 11.3. But Warden jails created in 9.x should function up through 11.2.
Because you’re so far behind, I believe the safest path is a bit convoluted.
Do you have at least a 64-bit CPU and 8GB RAM? This became a requirement back around 9.3.
(Do as I say, not as I do, because I’m still using 4GB RAM on 12.1-NIGHTLY.)
I assume that you have shared your media directories into the plugin/jail for Plex.
Where’s your plex data stored? Is it inside the plugin/jail storage itself, or is it also shared with the plugin/jail? If it’s currently inside the plugin/jail, it would be nice to bring it out during this process. That way it’s independent of the plugin/jail and easier to handle in the future.
Do you have a different boot device from your ZFS pool?
I’d just flag, as you said @Volts, that FreeNAS 11.2 allows you to continue to run warden jails so you can run your existing Plex install and the new one simultaneously. That way you have minimal disruption, then when you’re all up and running on 11.2 you could upgrade to 11.3 relatively painlessly.
Awesome - thanks for your help here @Volts and ongoing @semerton.
Completely agree @Volts, to respond to each of your excellent points:
the stability of my system has been great - a shame to have to touch it really
now it seems proper upgrade or re-build is now required forced by PMS new minimum requirements
my last plex update was a non-PMSupdater attempt which I agree looks like it failed and I’m left on 1.10
you are also spot-on that a safe upgrade path is convoluted! An0dos on the reddit freenas community has previously posted “Possibly do 9.1 -> 9.2.1.9 -> 9.3 -> 9.10 -> 11. You might be able to jump straight from 9.3 -> 11.” Joeschmuck on the ixsystems community says “You should be able to jump to 9.3 and then directly to 11 if you wanted to do the .txz files. I think if I were you, I’d grab a new boot device (assuming you are using USB Flash) and upgrade it directly to 11 and then restore my config file. It should work fine. This option allows you to roll back in case you have an issue.”
Yes I have Intel i3-3220T 3rd Gen Core 2.8Hz CPU which I believe is 64-bit. Given this is turning out to be a major rebuild / upgrade I’m looking into upgrading this - the motherboard is an Asus P8H77-I with 3rd Gen Core Socket 1155 and is compatible with i7s, Xeons etc. so I’m trying to get my head around whether Freenas can take advantage of hyperthreading / multiple cores etc. and whether it’s worth upgrading… I don’t have any performance issues today. Guidance welcome!
I recently upgraded to 8GB RAM whilst trying to follow joeschmuck’s advice using a new USB boot device and attempted to restore my config into 11.3 - the update failed and I suppose that the removal of Warden support was causing that to fail. Plugged in old USB boot device and achieved instant roll-back which was neat.
yes I have shared my media directories into the plugin/jail for Plex.
I believe plex data is stored within the plugin/jail but I don’t know where and wouldn’t know how to “bring it out”
@semerton thanks for the idea of simultaneous plex installs in jail and iocage on 11.2 - that sounds a neat way to prove migration from jail to iocage.
So I think my remaining dilemmas are:
CPU - do I bother upgrading it and what to
Should I bring the plex database out of the jail before I do anything more? - sounds like a sensible approach… I will do some research into this
In the back of my mind, I’m also aware that I’ve never bothered mirroring or backing-up my boot device since first build all those years ago… I should probably get that sorted out whilst I’m doing all this. What do people do?
Hello all. I am running 2 boxes w/ FreeNAS 11.3-U4 both w/ the latest PMS on them. For those that just need to update PMS, I have found a guide to updating PMS on 11.3 that is quick, easy and has worked every time.
For those that are still on FreeNAS 9.3 I recommend a complete new installation of FreeNAS 11.3. My brother was in the same situation still running 9.3, he did a clean install of 11.3, imported his storage volume and settings, then installed the PMS plugin and all is well.
For the clean install of 11.3 I recommend removing your current boot drive and then using a new, small SSD, the boot up will be much faster. You can save all of your settings from your 9.3 install to a flash drive to make getting the new 11.3 install back to where you were, there are guides on the internet that will help.
Good luck and enjoy.
CPU I’m going for a modest upgrade to an i5-3570s which I hope will at least double CPU speed and a quieter non-stock fan with it
I found that the plex database is already out of the jail - so there was nothing to do there
On upgrade I eventually went with a fresh install of 11.2 which I loaded my config into but the plex warden jail that was created didn’t function (a permissions issue) so rather than trashing the jail’s permissions I left it alone and performed a fresh install of Plex and a migration of the database - which was surprisingly easy to do. ZFS upgrades went without a hitch.
I did add a second internal USB tail and mirrored USB boot device - fairly easy to do but with one workaround needed to wipe the USB manually due to a bug with the boot pool addition function.
So anyone else thinking of upgrading Freenas 9 to 11 for mainly Plex I’d recommend a fresh install and migration of the Plex database.
Thanks for the advice… hopefully I’ll get another 7 years out of it now!
