Plex and UnRAID noob question


Bugman1400

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I got Plex set up mostly but, now I'm trying to figure out how to transfer all my movies into one of the Plex folders so I can make a library. First, I read the Plex FAQ that said to make a folder \movies to put your files in but, which main folder should it go under? Can someone give me an example of the path to where they keep their movies?

Secondly, I keep forgetting that I cannot use my Limetech UnRAID web server to move files from one folder to another. I assume there is a plug-in for this. Whats the best one to use so I can move my movie files from my Share drive over to the Plex folder?

 

Many thanks!

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There are many ways to setup your library but here is a common one:

 

Make a user User Share called Media on your array and setup what disks that should be included.

 

Then you make sub folders for Movies, Music, TV Shows and Photos (using  Windows file explorer if you use Windows).

 

For each of these folders you need additional sub folders, in Movies one folder for each movie, in Music one folder for each album, in TV Series one folder for each TV series and then one additional sub folder for each season.

 

You need to have folder mapping in Docker to match the location of the Movies, Music, TV Shows and Photos folders. You also need to setup each library in Plex to point to these locations. You will need to browse to the folder setup in the Docker mappings for each library to add it to Plex.

 

Make sure to check the Plex support page so that you name your media files correctly.

 

You can also do a different setup (like myself as you can see on the pics) with other library’s than the predefined ones.

 

If your media already is on your unRAID server, you might be able to include it where it is now. If it is on your unRAID server but you would like to move it around I mostly use Windows file explorer. A more efficient way to do it is from the command prompt in unRAID is with MC (Midnight Commander) since files will be copied directly between User Shares instead of over the network.

Plex_Docker_mapping.png.a098f939a1bd5be2a4e3f443c15ef16a.png

Plex_Library.png.6b2bee927c6917a367b08ae8cc229355.png

Movies.png.266954e8dc92a0425ae0803eadaf2d63.png

TV_Series.png.3b6d7bca0c239845628bb67f3917a7cb.png

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I am still having trouble with the folder mapping. My User share is \\Tower\Storage1\ and it has a subfolder called "MyMovies" with all my movies. I tried to map the Container volume as \Movies and the Host path: as \\Tower\Storage1\MyMovies but, everything seemed to crap out and Plex was no longer listed with the Dockers. I guess I need to re-install the Plex Docker.

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I am still having trouble with the folder mapping. My User share is \\Tower\Storage1\ and it has a subfolder called "MyMovies" with all my movies. I tried to map the Container volume as \Movies and the Host path: as \\Tower\Storage1\MyMovies but, everything seemed to crap out and Plex was no longer listed with the Dockers. I guess I need to re-install the Plex Docker.

 

You are trying to reference it by the computer name.  You should be using the local paths which I this case is /mnt/user/Storage1/MyMovies and your container path would be /movies

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I hope this is on topic, but why do the movies each need their own folder? I am not running my unread server yet, but I am running PMS accessing an external USB3 drive on my Mac. My TV shows all get separate folders, as does each season in that folder, but I have all my movies in one folder and Plex seems to operate fine.

 

 

 

 

Thank you,

Michael

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It is good practice to put each movie in its own folder. This started back when a movie would be split into multiple file , ie movie.cd1.avi, movie.cd2.avi . Now we do this mainly because of extra data that might accompany the video file. For example subtitles, nfo files, poster metadata etc. Plex can identify all movies put together in a folder, but it is still better to do it the other way.

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So, why does Plex crash sometimes? When this happens, the Docker page disappears and the appdata turns into a Share drive? Can I fix it without deleting the appdata and re-installing Plex plugin?

 

Never heard of that issue before.  I've been running Plex for almost 3 years (first as a plugin and more recently as a Docker) and have never had that happen, nor heard of it happening. 

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Perhaps it was operator error. I was able to add all my Movies last week. Today, I tried to add my Music and must have done something wrong. For some reason, I now have an appdata Share drive that seems to have the Plex software on it and the Docker tab is gone on my Lime Tech UnRAID server webpage.

Your appdata share is probably not set to be "cache only".  The docker tab missing could be corrupted docker.img file (most likely scenario is it filled up - either because initially set too small or improper configuration of the host and container paths / settings within the various docker apps)
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You are correct, the appdata share is not set to "cache only" but, I did not set appdata as a Share initially. My guess is that it is a result of operator error which is probably due to improper configuration. My Docker image is set up on the cache as /mnt/cache/docker.img and is set to 10GB. Perhaps it needs to be set bigger. I'm not sure how Plex software is stored. Is it stored within the Docker image along with all the Movies and Music? Can you help me understand how I figure out how big a Docker image I need? Will my 250GB SSD cache drive be big enough? Is the cache drive the best drive to run the Docker image or Plex on?

 

Many thanks for the valuable info!

 

 

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You are correct, the appdata share is not set to "cache only" but, I did not set appdata as a Share initially. My guess is that it is a result of operator error which is probably due to improper configuration. My Docker image is set up on the cache as /mnt/cache/docker.img and is set to 10GB. Perhaps it needs to be set bigger. I'm not sure how Plex software is stored. Is it stored within the Docker image along with all the Movies and Music? Can you help me understand how I figure out how big a Docker image I need? Will my 250GB SSD cache drive be big enough? Is the cache drive the best drive to run the Docker image or Plex on?

 

Many thanks for the valuable info!

For most uses, I would suggest 15-20gig as a reasonable size for the docker.img.  You might want to post a screen shot of the settings screen for docker (Settings / Docker) to see how full the image is

 

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry...don't mean to hijack this thread; but I'm a Plex noob, in need of help too  :-[

 

So...I've come, a l o n g way in the past 24 hours. I bought a Fire TV, and wanted to use Plex to stream my own media to it.

 

So...I upgraded from 5.0.6 to 6.1.6, created/set-up Docker, and loaded the Community Application plug-in  :o

 

Now I'm trying to install the Plex app, from the "AppStore"...and I'm not sure, which of those to go for?

 

I assume, as a beginner...go with the "first" one; as it's the "official" version?

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Sorry...don't mean to hijack this thread; but I'm a Plex noob, in need of help too  :-[

 

So...I've come, a l o n g way in the past 24 hours. I bought a Fire TV, and wanted to use Plex to stream my own media to it.

 

So...I upgraded from 5.0.6 to 6.1.6, created/set-up Docker, and loaded the Community Application plug-in  :o

 

Now I'm trying to install the Plex app, from the "AppStore"...and I'm not sure, which of those to go for?

 

I assume, as a beginner...go with the "first" one; as it's the "official" version?

 

Bumpski; Bumpenstein  ;) No one?  ???

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Sorry...don't mean to hijack this thread; but I'm a Plex noob, in need of help too  :-[

 

So...I've come, a l o n g way in the past 24 hours. I bought a Fire TV, and wanted to use Plex to stream my own media to it.

 

So...I upgraded from 5.0.6 to 6.1.6, created/set-up Docker, and loaded the Community Application plug-in  :o

 

Now I'm trying to install the Plex app, from the "AppStore"...and I'm not sure, which of those to go for?

 

I assume, as a beginner...go with the "first" one; as it's the "official" version?

 

Bumpski; Bumpenstein  ;) No one?  ???

Given the choice, I would go with either LinuxServer or BinHex (no offense LT) as they each have the highest standards of support available here.  (The "official tag" simply means that its the one which LT themselves created and guarantee to work with unRaid)  But regardless of which one you choose (LinuxServer, BinHex, Gfjardim/Needo / LT), ultimately they all do the exact same thing.
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Given the choice, I would go with either LinuxServer or BinHex (no offense LT) as they each have the highest standards of support available here.  (The "official tag" simply means that its the one which LT themselves created and guarantee to work with unRaid)  But regardless of which one you choose (LinuxServer, BinHex, Gfjardim/Needo / LT), ultimately they all do the exact same thing.

 

Thanks Squid; is there a set-up link...someone can point me to?

 

plex1_zpsrilxnu5u.png

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Add another volume of /movies mapped to /mnt/user/movies (or whatever you share is called) and you're done.  The rest is standard pled setup

 

OK...so to be super crystal-clear:

 

I assume Template is 'PlexMediaServer', network type is 'Host'?

 

Container Volume is like /movies, and path is /mnt/user/mymovieusersharename?

 

Add path, and the rest is Plex set-up...at the Fire TV?

 

plex2_zpsdhwdlpvr.png

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OK...now I'm a little confused  ??? though I hope, just a little.

 

In layman's terms...I thought the whole idea, behind Dockers and Containers; was to create a little, separate area...apart from storage...to install and run apps from. Yes?

 

OK...if that's true; I had everything right...except, what you're saying is

 

- Install the Plex container

- Then "set-up" Plex...which is on the unRAID, of course

- And then I just point my client (Fire TV), at the Plex?

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OK...now I'm a little confused  ??? though I hope, just a little.

 

In layman's terms...I thought the whole idea, behind Dockers and Containers; was to create a little, separate area...apart from storage...to install and run apps from. Yes?

 

OK...if that's true; I had everything right...except, what you're saying is

 

- Install the Plex container

- Then "set-up" Plex...which is on the unRAID, of course

- And then I just point my client (Fire TV), at the Plex?

 

I'm not sure which bit has confused you.... nor what can possibly be confusing about it...  :-\

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