Hey folks,
I have multiple servers in play, but the one I have running on my Pi4 I’d like to migrate to my Shield Pro and leave the Pi as a file server.
Both servers are running on a form of linux and I was wondering how straightforward it might be make the swap?
Cheers
Shield uses Android.
Hi Otto, I understand that the Shield is android. I just meant that as android is Linux based, I was hoping there would be similarities in the file structure.
Is there any part of the database I can migrate?
I think at least the file paths will be different.
But the problems start already with access to the Plex data folder, which is by default not user-accessible on Android.
And even if you move this to an external disk drive (at least as I understand it), you always have to unplug this drive from the Shield and into a computer, where you then can manipulate the database etc. (like so: [HowTo] Plex database modification - Moving media the right/wrong way )
If your media collection is more than a few hundred items, I recommend you to avoid the Shield as a server. Use PC hardware.
Hi Otto,
So my media collection is huuuuuuge, however all the Shield will do is contain the server database and meta data etc. I appreciate that will be huge in my case, so I have attached a 1tb ssd to the Shield and transfered the server data to that drive.
Are you saying however it’s not possible to make changes to the Shield database? I have many tags and collections I have added over the years that I would like to keep
That is precisley what should be avoided. Don’t use Plex Server on Android with a huge collection. It’ll most likely end in tears and data loss.
Hi Otto, could you elaborate?
I’ve not read any documentation that lists a limit to how large my database can be using the Shield.
It seems to be working fine at the moment using an ssd attached.
I’m not sure I understand what the problem is
Cheers
Rich
This is just based on experience from user feedback in this forum. I don’t have any hard numbers for you.
Ok, I understand.
Are there some specific threads I should be looking at regarding these issues?
Just for clarity, this isn’t my only server. The main server is hosted off site on a headless Linux server and is shared with family and friends, however I like to have a second local server that sits in my home, which up until now was my Raspberry Pi4, as everything is direct play. I don’t keep any media on either of my servers, as it is all stored on Google drive. I use virtual mounts to access the content. The point being, the worst case scenario for me would be having to set up my Pi4 again. There is no risk of data loss as it is all remote and I have a second server, so there is no risk of down time. This is purely about convenience.
There is no easy way as such. You’ll still end up downloading/refreshing metadata again for many/most items.
Try it this way:
Set up the server on the Shield.
Move the data folder to an external drive.
Set the preferences to update the library automatically or regularly to ‘Disabled’.
Disable also “Empty trash automatically after every scan”.
Make sure you can access this drive and can identify the Plex data folder on it.
Copy the contents of the Plex data folder on the Pi to the external drive.
Make sure that the Plex server on the Pi is not running while doing so.
EXEMPT the file Preferences.xml from copying.
If the server is starting at all on the Shield after this, edit each library first and point it to the media shares. (I’m not even sure if you can mount cloud storage on the Shield).
^^^ The above is pure theory. Normally, moving a server to a different operating system is not supported at all.
I’d be interested to know the results you get.
Thanks Otto, so the virtual mount of google drive is still hosted on the Pi4 which I then share via samba to the Shield TV. It seems to work fine.
I have no worries about having to scan everything in again, I just want to ensure I keep my tags and collections etc.
I’ll give it a try and report back.
Thanks for your help
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