Home Server Overhaul
- I am in the process of migrating from a hybrid Windows / HyperV Ubuntu home server setup, to a Debian-based Kubernetes cluster.
- The only app remaining on Windows was Plex, due to perceived difficult migrating all the metadata to Linux.
- All of the guides I found online had partial information, but not everything I needed to get a fully migrated Plex server up and running on my Linux machine!
Note that I was migrating from a plain Windows install to a containerised Linux install, but for this guide, this info should not matter.
The Official Guide
- This has most of everything you need: https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/
- However, do note that it's a guide explicitly for migrating to a new machine using the same operating system.
- There are two extra steps I will detail below, that should be carried out in the 'Copy Server Data From the Source System' section:
- Updating paths from Windows to Linux in the Plex SQLite database.
- Copying preferences from Windows Registry to Linux XML file.
- After following the extra steps listed here, you should have an exact replica of the Plex installation you were migrating from!
Update SQLite File Paths
- First backup your SQLite database for Plex, located here:
C:\Users\YOURUSER\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases\com.plexapp.plugins.library.db"
- Enter the Plex SQLite shell
"C:\Program Files\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex SQLite.exe" "C:\Users\YOURUSER\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases\com.plexapp.plugins.library.db"
Note that Plex uses a custom implementation of SQLite... standard browsers might corrupt your file, or just not work.
- Replace Windows backslash with Linux forward slash
UPDATE media_parts SET file=REPLACE(file, '\', '/');
UPDATE section_locations SET root_path=REPLACE(root_path, '\', '/');
UPDATE media_streams SET url=REPLACE(url, '\', '/') WHERE url LIKE 'file://%';
- Replace library root paths
// First get all of your library root locations
SELECT root_path FROM section_locations;
// For each location, replace with the correct path
UPDATE section_locations SET root_path=REPLACE(root_path, 'D:/Path/To/Library1', '/data/library1');
UPDATE section_locations SET root_path=REPLACE(root_path, 'D:/Path/To/Library2', '/data/library2');
- Replace media part paths
// Inspect the format of the file paths
SELECT file FROM media_parts WHERE file != "" LIMIT 20;
// For each library above, ensure you correctly set the path here
UPDATE media_parts SET file=REPLACE(file, 'D:/Path/To/Library1', '/data/library1');
UPDATE media_parts SET file=REPLACE(file, 'D:/Path/To/Library2', '/data/library2');
- Replace media stream paths
// Note here we possibly have double and triple slash prefixes that must be replaced
UPDATE media_streams SET url=REPLACE(url, 'file://D:/Path/To/Library1', 'file:///data/library1');
UPDATE media_streams SET url=REPLACE(url, 'file:///D:/Path/To/Library1', 'file:///data/library1');
UPDATE media_streams SET url=REPLACE(url, 'file://D:/Path/To/Library2', 'file:///data/library2');
UPDATE media_streams SET url=REPLACE(url, 'file:///D:/Path/To/Library2', 'file:///data/library2');
- Replace metadata_item paths
UPDATE metadata_items SET guid=REPLACE(guid, 'file:///D:/Path/To/Library1', 'file:///data/library1');
UPDATE metadata_items SET guid=REPLACE(guid, 'file:///D:/Path/To/Library2', 'file:///data/library2');
- Final checks
// Check for any corruption
PRAGMA integrity_check;
// If errors, try a reindex
REINDEX;
// Vacuum db
VACUUM;
// Exit
.quit
Migrating Preferences
Windows Registry
- Windows keeps it Plex preferences in the registry.
- To access the values, open tool regedit
- Navigate to path:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server - Inspect the values to migrate. Some important ones are:
-
PlexOnlineXXXvalues (for the PlexPass account) -
XXXMachineIdentifervalues -
customConnectionsif used, say for a reverse proxy config -
allowedNetworksif used
-
- Additional details can be found here: https://support.plex.tv/articles/201105343-advanced-hidden-server-settings/
Linux Preferences
- Linux places all of these values into a
Preferences.xmlfile. - First, start up and shut down your new Plex instance.
- The
Preferences.xmlfile will be created in the 'Plex Media Server' root directory. - Modify the preferences with the values from the Windows registry:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Preferences
allowedNetworks="127.0.0.1,192.168.90.11"
autoEmptyTrash="0"
secureConnections="1"
sendCrashReports="1"
customConnections="https:/your.custom.domain:443"
AcceptedEULA="1"
AnonymousMachineIdentifier="xxx-xxx"
CertificateUUID="xxx-xxx"
CertificateVersion="3"
CloudSyncNeedsUpdate="0"
DatabaseCacheSize="4000"
DisableTLSv1_0="1"
DlnaEnabled="0"
DvrIncrementalEpgLoader="0"
EnableIPv6="0"
FSEventLibraryPartialScanEnabled="0"
FSEventLibraryUpdatesEnabled="0"
FriendlyName="Name-Of-Your-Plex-Server"
GlobalMusicVideoPathMigrated="1"
LanNetworksBandwidth="192.168.90.11/24"
LanguageInCloud="1"
LastAutomaticMappedPort="0"
LogVerbose="0"
MachineIdentifier="xxx-xxx"
ManualPortMappingMode="1"
ManualPortMappingPort="32400"
MergedRecentlyAdded="0"
MetricsEpoch="1"
MinutesAllowedPaused="30"
OldestPreviousVersion="legacy"
PlexOnlineHome="0"
PlexOnlineMail="your@email.com"
PlexOnlineToken="token_from_previous_install"
PlexOnlineUsername="your_plex_username"
PreferredNetworkInterface="eth0"
ProcessedMachineIdentifier="xxx-xxx"
PubSubServer="xxx"
PubSubServerPing="xx"
PubSubServerRegion="lhr"
PublishServerOnPlexOnlineKey="1"
PushNotificationsEnabled="1"
RelayEnabled="0"
ScannerLowPriority="1"
ScheduledLibraryUpdateInterval="86400"
ScheduledLibraryUpdatesEnabled="0"
TranscodeCountLimit="3"
TranscoderCanOnlyRemuxVideo="0"
TranscoderH264BackgroundPreset="medium"
TranscoderQuality="0"
TranscoderTempDirectory="/tmp/transcode"
TranscoderThrottleBuffer="1800"
WanPerUserStreamCount="2"
WanTotalMaxUploadRate="20000"
WebHooksEnabled="0"
/>
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