Upgrading to Synology DSM 7 without granting read/write to PlexMediaServer

[mongerj]

I would like to upgrade my Synology 718+ to DSM 7, and read the thread here.

I might be misunderstanding the doc but it looks like the new PlexMediaServer user requires read/write on all shares?

That seems risky from a data integrity standpoint. I don’t want to grant a service account write access to my shares. Is there an alternative configuration?

[tom80H]

@ChuckPa

4. For each share that you wish Plex Media Server to access, you need to go and set read/write permissions for the PlexMediaServer system internal user.

You decide which share the system user will have access to.
There’s no requirement to give PlexMediaServer access to all shares.

[mongerj]

I should have said the shares that Plex needs to access. In DSM 6 I only grant the Plex user read access.

That’s what I would prefer to continue doing.

[ChuckPa]

You cannot continue to grant user Plex permission to read the shared folders in DSM 7 because user Plex is no longer used (mandated changes for DSM 7).

Please read here and understand all the changes which were required then read the supplement (packaging - structure change which gives us as close to DSM 6 as was possible to do in the new DSM 7 platform environment)

DSM 7 - Plex Media Server - Release Info & Migration instructions

Plex Media Server for Synology DSM 7 - Release This document is to share changes made with DSM 7 and resolve any unforeseen issues before you attempt migrating to DSM 7 for Plex use YOU ARE URGED TO READ THIS THREAD COMPLETELY BEFORE PROCEEDING OR ASKING QUESTIONS DO NOT INSTALL Synology BETA software UNLESS INSTRUCTED. This thread is a LIVING document. Expect it to change. Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) has undergone significant changes in version 7.0. Many of those changes affected …

DSM 7 - Finalized Configuration (PMS 1.24.2.4973) - Release information

DSM 7 - Finalized Configuration (Packaging 2.0) - Release Information See below for updates Since DSM 7.0-41890 finalized, I’ve had time to digest everyone’s input as well as review what we ultimately ended up with in DSM 7.0 Looking at all the issues faced, there was one overriding problem which could not be solved – Plex’s data was not accessible from the GUI or other Synology tools such as Hyper Backup. An important issue for most was the data area could not be moved. It took some t…

[mongerj]

I read those articles and linked to the first in my original post. The question is can the new PlexMediaServer user be granted read-only to media shares, or is it absolutely required to grant write access?

That isn’t something I am willing to do.

[tom80H]

I suppose it’s the same as on other platforms.
If you give Plex only read access, Plex will e.g. not be able to create optimized versions for you. Otherwise Plex isn’t writing much in your media folders.

[ChuckPa]

To sum it up.

• System Internal User: PlexMediaServer only needs READ access to your media.

• If you wish to use DVR or optimization, you will need to grant R/W access to those shared folder(s)

I don’t grant R/W because I’m an idiot, over tired , or any of 100 other reasons to protect me from myself.

[mongerj]

That’s good news. Should this bullet be updated in the instructions? It explicitly states read/write.

“4. For each share that you wish Plex Media Server to access, you need to go and set read/write permissions for the PlexMediaServer system internal user.”