Ok so the question here is the following - based of a generalized setup.

8 core processor with 16g of ram.

 

Plex as a Docker or

Plex in a KVM with 4 cores and 4g of ram.

 

Which is the better setup for plex server and why?

 

 

 

I am running it in a Docker container located on my SSD cache drive and that works just fine. Probably a Linux VM shouldn’t be too much different as long as you have the VM on an SSD. The VM is probably a bit more work since you need to have a mapping in the VM to your array.

Ok that part makes sense but I guess one of my questions is say the stream is transcoding -

 

With the VM you have 4 cores/4g dedicated for it.

 

What is the Docker using CPU/Memory wise?

Ok that part makes sense but I guess one of my questions is say the stream is transcoding -

 

With the VM you have 4 cores/4g dedicated for it.

 

What is the Docker using CPU/Memory wise?

 

I don't know what overhead Docker adds, but by most accounts it's pretty minimal.

 

Not the expert here, but wouldn't doing this with Docker give you access to a lot more of your 8 cores and 16g of ram, where doing it as a VM seems more limiting?

That is what I am trying to figure out being new to Dockers. I have read a little but still trying to figure things out.

That is what I am trying to figure out being new to Dockers. I have read a little but still trying to figure things out.

By default the Docker container use all cores but you can limit that if you like.  Actually never checked memory usage but I don’t believe PMS is that hungry on memory. Could check later....

That is what I am trying to figure out being new to Dockers. I have read a little but still trying to figure things out.

Using a docker has less overhead in both RAM and CPU terms as you are not installing a full OS, but merely a mapping layer between the docker and Linux.  Using a VM may give you some more versatility as you have a full OS installed in the VM.

That is what I am trying to figure out being new to Dockers. I have read a little but still trying to figure things out.

Just to give some numbers when using Plex in a Docker container:

 

Streaming a 1080p movie at 40 Mbit with transcoding used about 0.4 MByte of memory.

CPU was up to 90% when starting transcoding then dropped to an average around 20% with a Xeon 3.6 GHz (4 cores).

 

Plex has a number of processes running that is more or less idle unless it does its maintenance or when you add new media where it actually can use CPU a lot. It can make sense to assign less cores if you have other applications that needs high priority.

 

Alright so sounds like Docker is the better route to go in regards to Plex server. Thanks

I'm considering using the windows VM and Plex media server instead of the docker. I use my GTX1070 for transcoding. When using the docker, I can't seem to find a way to control the fan speed and I would like to do that. My thought was to use the windows 10 VM so that I could transcode with the GPU and keep the care cool. Has anyone tried something similar?