Which OS will my server be?

General Discussions
1

I currently have Windows 10 VM as my plex server but i’m considering moving to Ubuntu server 16. This will in turn be alot of work, not the install but the change in naming and folders to make it appear correct. Moving all the movies to another disk and file system format which also puts a wrench in how I have the directories sync’d for backup purposes. Does an Ubuntu server offer enough or any advantages that its worth the work?

2

I guess the real question is what do you hope to get out of switching? Do you know Linux well enough that you won’t be slamming your head against a wall when it comes to file permissions and such?

Off the cuff I would say unless you are on an old version of windows that needs to be updated and are fluent enough in Linux to not get into trouble it’s really not worth switching. I actually ended up going the other direction (Started with Ubuntu Server -> Win 10/Ubuntu VM -> Just Win 10) due to some other software I’m am/planning on running only being supported on Windows.

The only thing I miss from Linux at the moment is the low overhead (not a huge deal on the beast of a server I built) and the ease to update stuff (including Plex with the update script I had). That got long winded I guess, but if it’s going to be your first foray into Linux. I would recommend playing and learning more before you make that determination. If you do know Linux I guess at that point it’s personal preference and whether you want to take the time to move.

3

There is no real performance difference between running Plex on Windows or Linux.

I do have to mitigate my vote a bit because I see that you said “Windows 10 VM” and that means that the computer has other tasks I believe and that is generally a bad idea.

Also I have never found that any VM setup is either as stable or efficient as a machine running just one operating system and/or one instance of a system.

For me the main things I want in my Plex setup is stability and reliability and running a VM, no matter how good, does not lead to either of those much of the time.