Move Plex Media Server from guest Windows VM to Plex Docker...

[JimPhreak]

I've just rebuilt my home VM server and in the process have converged my two servers (ESXi + unRAID) into an All-in-one server running unRAID as a guest VM inside the ESXi host.  Ever since I started using Plex Media Server I've run it on a Windows 7 guest VM on my ESXi host since I do a lot of transcoding and the i3-4130 in my unRAID server wouldn't have handled it.

 

However, now that I've rebuilt my home server and I've got an 8-core Xeon D-1540 from which I can dedicate any amount of cores I want to my unRAID VM, I'm wondering if it would be more efficient to run Plex inside of a Docker within my unRAID VM to cut down on any kind of potential latencies.  I figure that Plex accessing all my storage "locally" as opposed to over a 1Gbps connection would be a good thing.

 

So my first question is, would this be recommended?

 

And secondly, since I've never used PMS on anything but Windows, what's the best way to go about moving my PMS over from a Windows OS to within a docker?

[interwebtech]

IMHO...

 

Unless you have a lot of time invested in tweaking your existing movie entries in Plex (I know I do lol), I would just build a new instance using a docker and rescan your movie shares. You will lose your watch stats etc.

 

Copying databases & resource files between instances of the same OS is problematic enough, jumping to a different OS (and all the diffs between how those are managed) too may be too much effort for the amount of time saved (refer to item 1 above).

 

That said, if you still want to do the transplant, I would check in over at the Plex forums and ask if anyone has experience doing this.

[JimPhreak]

IMHO...

 

Unless you have a lot of time invested in tweaking your existing movie entries in Plex (I know I do lol), I would just build a new instance using a docker and rescan your movie shares. You will lose your watch stats etc.

 

Copying databases & resource files between instances of the same OS is problematic enough, jumping to a different OS (and all the diffs between how those are managed) too may be too much effort for the amount of time saved (refer to item 1 above).

 

That said, if you still want to do the transplant, I would check in over at the Plex forums and ask if anyone has experience doing this.

 

Hmmm, yea losing watch stats is an issue because I have like 10-15 users.  Maybe I should just stick with the Windows VM I've got.  Just thought I could be more efficient keeping Plex local in a sense.

[interwebtech]

Hmmm, yea losing watch stats is an issue because I have like 10-15 users.  Maybe I should just stick with the Windows VM I've got.  Just thought I could be more efficient keeping Plex local in a sense.

 

I have run it in windows on a dedicated box, as a plug-in in v5 and now as a docker in 6. Docker blows them all away as far as maintenance goes. All I have to worry about is restarting the docker when a new version comes out and presto chango its back up and running no fuss no muss. Keeping it in a docker is the bee's knees. I highly recommend it *especially* if your running an entire Windows install just to support it (and all the upkeep that entails). I am just saying I don't know how to make that type of transition nor even if its possible (I just started over each time as it was just me at the time). But if it were me, I would at least bring it up with the experts on Plex forums. Maybe its not as complicated as I imagine?

[BobPhoenix]

I figure that Plex accessing all my storage "locally" as opposed to over a 1Gbps connection would be a good thing.

If you use the vmxnet3 drivers on the Windows and unRAID VMs you would have a 10Gbps connection between the VMs on the same host.

[JimPhreak]

I figure that Plex accessing all my storage "locally" as opposed to over a 1Gbps connection would be a good thing.

If you use the vmxnet3 drivers on the Windows and unRAID VMs you would have a 10Gbps connection between the VMs on the same host.

 

Oh really?  I did not know that.  That's good to know.

 

I currently have a Windows VM that I use for Plex and Subsonic but if I can move those both to dockers without losing my entire database it sounds like a good idea even for just the lack of maintenance required.

[BobPhoenix]

I figure that Plex accessing all my storage "locally" as opposed to over a 1Gbps connection would be a good thing.

If you use the vmxnet3 drivers on the Windows and unRAID VMs you would have a 10Gbps connection between the VMs on the same host.

 

Oh really?  I did not know that.  That's good to know.

 

I currently have a Windows VM that I use for Plex and Subsonic but if I can move those both to dockers without losing my entire database it sounds like a good idea even for just the lack of maintenance required.

I would agree using a Docker would be better.  Just wanted to point out that network communications can be much faster when using the vmxnet3 drivers.  Windows you have to install the tools to get the driver.  unRAID has the driver built in I believe but it is still a good idea to use the tools for ESXi that Zeron has posted.

[smdion]

I'm running ESXi 6.0 and have unraid as a guest OS with Plex as a docker (also using Zeron VMWare Tools). I gave it 2 sockets and 3 cores per socket from my i7 950 with 3GB of RAM.  May be a bit overkill, but have had no issues.

 

Other Dockers: NZBGet/Sonarr/BTSync/CloudFlare/CouchPotato/CrashPlan/Guacamole/MariaDB/ruTorrent/Apache Reverse Proxy

[CHBMB]

What about using trakt.tv to syncronise watched status, with fifteen users I'm not sure it's possible, but tell everyone, give them fair warning and offer to set it up etc.  Just a thought.

[muzo178]

This page from Plex support should be of help: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

 

What you are basically going to do is move your Plex database folder from Windows' LocalAppData to docker's appdata folder.

 

I successfully migrated from an OS X install to an unRAID docker like this a while ago.

[razmajazz]

This page from Plex support should be of help: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

 

What you are basically going to do is move your Plex database folder from Windows' LocalAppData to docker's appdata folder.

 

I successfully migrated from an OS X install to an unRAID docker like this a while ago.

 

I followed this procedure as well to move from Linux VM to Docker. Key point is to disable automatic Trash emptying in your current Plex installation before copying that installation's database. This ensures the database is preserved while you update the location references in the Library of the docker installation. Additionally, verify ownership for the library after copying. I needed to execute chown to match the ownership expected by Plex docker since it was different than the owner of my Linux VM installation of Plex.

[beire]

I did the exact same thing just a few days ago.

I followed the procedure given by plex.

Pretty straight forward if you follow the instructions to the letter.

 

I did not ! And it gave me a small headache because no metadata was being downloaded and all subtitles disappeared.

The key was NOT copying over the old plugins folder ! ( as the guide says ... )

[JimPhreak]

This page from Plex support should be of help: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

 

What you are basically going to do is move your Plex database folder from Windows' LocalAppData to docker's appdata folder.

 

I successfully migrated from an OS X install to an unRAID docker like this a while ago.

 

Sweet.  Thanks for that link.  Once I get my unRAID VM working 100% the way I need it to be I'm going to give this a go and I'll report back.

[JimPhreak]

Ok so I finally have my unRAID VM up and running on my ESXi 5.5 server.  It's currently doing a parity sync and then I'll start moving my files over from my backup unRAID server.

 

Before I even tackle the project of trying to transfer my Plex database from Windows to a Docker, I have to first get my Docker setup.  I've never worked with Dockers before and don't really know where to start.  Should I just go with the Docker's for noobie's guide or is there something a little more specific for someone looking to setup a Plex Docker?

 

I'm running version 6b15 (Can't go any higher without seeing the USB reset errors due to the new kernel).

[garycase]

... I'm running version 6b15 (Can't go any higher without seeing the USB reset errors due to the new kernel).

 

This is a really surprising error.    I'm rather amazed that it's not been well documented on the web, but it doesn't seem to be.    Hopefully it will "go away" with the next kernel update => or somebody will find a patch (which Tom has already indicated he would include).

 

[garycase]

I'm running ESXi 6.0 and have unraid as a guest OS ...

 

What version of UnRAID?    Just curious of the USB reset issue also occurs in ESXi v6 if you're running UnRAID v6.0

 

[JimPhreak]

I'm running ESXi 6.0 and have unraid as a guest OS ...

 

What version of UnRAID?    Just curious of the USB reset issue also occurs in ESXi v6 if you're running UnRAID v6.0

 

Hey Gary.  Would you mind moving this convo to the thread we already have on this issue in the UnRAID as a Guest section?  Just looking to get some specific advice on setting up my Plex Docker in this thread.  Thanks bud.

[garycase]

Ask and 'ye shall receive 

 

[JimPhreak]

Ask and 'ye shall receive 

 

Lol I meant to move the discussion not the thread since this thread was intended to help me with setting up a Plex Docker and move my Plex database, not troubleshoot ESXi issues .

[uldise]

Ok so I finally have my unRAID VM up and running on my ESXi 5.5 server.  It's currently doing a parity sync and then I'll start moving my files over from my backup unRAID server.

 

Before I even tackle the project of trying to transfer my Plex database from Windows to a Docker, I have to first get my Docker setup.  I've never worked with Dockers before and don't really know where to start.  Should I just go with the Docker's for noobie's guide or is there something a little more specific for someone looking to setup a Plex Docker?

 

I'm running version 6b15 (Can't go any higher without seeing the USB reset errors due to the new kernel).

 

Plex was my first docker, when i started use docker at all

so i think, just look at guide and all should go fine..

and i think you just need to copy your old plex config to new place after you setup your plex docker, and then all config should survive.

[garycase]

Ask and 'ye shall receive 

 

Lol I meant to move the discussion not the thread since this thread was intended to help me with setting up a Plex Docker and move my Plex database, not troubleshoot ESXi issues .

 

Okay ... moved it back to v6 - General Support.  Probably doesn't matter, but it may get more looks here.

 

[JimPhreak]

Ask and 'ye shall receive 

 

Lol I meant to move the discussion not the thread since this thread was intended to help me with setting up a Plex Docker and move my Plex database, not troubleshoot ESXi issues .

 

Okay ... moved it back to v6 - General Support.  Probably doesn't matter, but it may get more looks here.

 

It was actually in the Dockers section but same difference.

[JimPhreak]

This page from Plex support should be of help: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

 

What you are basically going to do is move your Plex database folder from Windows' LocalAppData to docker's appdata folder.

 

I successfully migrated from an OS X install to an unRAID docker like this a while ago.

 

This page from Plex support should be of help: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201370363-Move-an-Install-to-Another-System

 

What you are basically going to do is move your Plex database folder from Windows' LocalAppData to docker's appdata folder.

 

I successfully migrated from an OS X install to an unRAID docker like this a while ago.

 

I followed this procedure as well to move from Linux VM to Docker. Key point is to disable automatic Trash emptying in your current Plex installation before copying that installation's database. This ensures the database is preserved while you update the location references in the Library of the docker installation. Additionally, verify ownership for the library after copying. I needed to execute chown to match the ownership expected by Plex docker since it was different than the owner of my Linux VM installation of Plex.

 

I did the exact same thing just a few days ago.

I followed the procedure given by plex.

Pretty straight forward if you follow the instructions to the letter.

 

I did not ! And it gave me a small headache because no metadata was being downloaded and all subtitles disappeared.

The key was NOT copying over the old plugins folder ! ( as the guide says ... )

 

 

Since you all seem to have successfully migrated your servers from a different OS to a Plex Docker, I had a few questions.

[*]Did your users' watched status migrate over?

[*]Did you have to re-sent invites to the new server or was that seamless for the users?

 

I'm mainly concerned about making this process basically invisible to my users because I have a lot of them to use it.

 

P.S.  If a mod wants to move this back into the Containers - Dockers section that may make more sense.

[Third time's charm ... back where it belongs  :) ]

[aptalca]

When I moved my plex install from an ubuntu VM to a docker, almost everything transferred and it was seamless. The only thing that stopped working was the auto camera upload. I had to clear out the pictures database and start over.

 

But then again, that whole camera upload thing is really finicky in plex. The slightest change and plex thinks it's a new mobile device, reuploads everything and duplicates all the pictures. I ended getting fed up and deleted the whole thing. Google's photos app is smarter, it automatically detects and prevents duplicate picture uploads when I switch roms on android devices.

[JimPhreak]

When I moved my plex install from an ubuntu VM to a docker, almost everything transferred and it was seamless. The only thing that stopped working was the auto camera upload. I had to clear out the pictures database and start over.

 

But then again, that whole camera upload thing is really finicky in plex. The slightest change and plex thinks it's a new mobile device, reuploads everything and duplicates all the pictures. I ended getting fed up and deleted the whole thing. Google's photos app is smarter, it automatically detects and prevents duplicate picture uploads when I switch roms on android devices.

 

So when you moved your install none of your remote users were the wiser?  They weren't affected in anyway?  Did you have to do anything other than what's outlined on the Plex support page?