Frank
3b29e173c2
The merged door was /mnt/media, which read like a third volume and split the host state across two trees. It is now /var/lib/media-meta/view, so the array layer, the SSD upper layer, the kernel workdir, the reap trash and the merged tree are one directory — and the mount table gains no new /mnt entry beside the array. systemd names a mount unit after its ESCAPED path, so the repo copy keeps the readable name media-meta-view.mount while `install` writes the host file as var-lib-media\x2dmeta-view.mount; `plan` prints both and the page records them, so nobody hunts for a unit that "does not exist". install also creates the mount point itself, because systemd will not. The seam now additionally pins that the unit's Where= is exactly the path both containers bind — guard and bind cannot drift apart. The Quadlet Lifecycle phantom-path example is corrected too: it named an invented /mnt/media/*, while the real phantom is the legacy /opt/jellyfin/* that dankserver/compose.yaml still carries for a service whose roots moved to /home/dank/Containers/jellyfin.
89 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: reference
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description: "Plex Media Server is a **containerized media server on Dankserver**: a podman"
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tags:
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- dankserver
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- plex
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timestamp: 2026-10-30
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---
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# Plex
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Plex Media Server is a **containerized media server on Dankserver**: a podman
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quadlet (`plex.service`) under the systemd **user** generator, generated from
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`dankserver/plex/quadlet/plex.container`. It shares the host with a second live
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media server, [[Jellyfin]] (`jellyfin.service`, listening on 8096); both serve
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from the same tree — the [[Media Metadata View]] overlay — so the Kodi-format
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sidecars Jellyfin writes are the files Plex reads, with no copy and no sync.
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**Host:** Dankserver — **Ports:** 32400/tcp (PMS web + API), 32400 is the
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only port PMS needs for client streaming; LAN clients connect directly,
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public traffic can be fronted by Caddy like every other vhost.
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## Facts
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| Item | Value |
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|------|-------|
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| Runtime | podman quadlet, `plex.service` (user manager) — migrated from the native `plexmediaserver.service` OS-package unit (2026-09) |
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| Image | `lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:1.43.5.11029-6bf8af3f0-ls329` (pinned; verified == the registry's `latest` manifest digest at pin time: `sha256:8f655bad…e9e2334`) |
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| Data root | `/var/lib/plexmediaserver` bind-mounted **in place** as `/config` (RW) — the migration moved zero bytes |
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| Media | `/var/lib/media-meta/view` (the [[Media Metadata View]] overlay) bound at the same absolute path `/mnt/entropy` **read-only** — every library path in the PMS database stayed valid, zero re-scan |
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| Identity | fleet rootless model — container root maps to the `dank` user (1000:1000); the deployer chowns the data root on first cutover |
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| Port | `32400/tcp` published on `0.0.0.0` — zero client reconfiguration |
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| Network | `dankserver_appnet`, alias `plex`; Tautulli reaches it at `http://plex:32400` |
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| GPU | none by decision — CPU decode only; the two R9700s stay dedicated to [[frank-archon]] |
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| Deploy | `./scripts/deploy.sh dankserver --service plex` |
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| Docs | https://support.plex.tv |
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## Why in-place bind mounts
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The migration moved zero bytes: the container bind-mounts the native data
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root where it already lived, and the media archive re-mounts at
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`/mnt/entropy` inside the container — only the HOST side of that bind has moved
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(array, then the overlay view), so every absolute library path in the
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PMS database keeps resolving. The one metadata change: rootless podman
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cannot map the real host uid 997, so the fleet model applies — container
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root runs as the `dank` user, and the deployer adopts the data root with
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`chown -R 1000:1000` on first cutover (rollback chowns it back).
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## Cutover & rollback
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- First deploy stops and **masks** `plexmediaserver.service` (never
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`disable` — on these hosts `disable` deletes the unit file), chowns
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`/var/lib/plexmediaserver` to `1000:1000`, then starts the quadlet; the
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deployer blocks until `/identity` answers on 32400.
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- Rollback lever while masked: `systemctl --user stop plex.service && sudo
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chown -R 997:984 /var/lib/plexmediaserver && sudo systemctl unmask
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plexmediaserver.service && sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver.service`
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(ownership-only churn — zero bytes ever moved).
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- Decommission (`sudo apt-get -y purge plexmediaserver`) only after explicit
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operator sign-off.
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## Integration points
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- **Caddy:** Plex is exempt from the Anubis bot challenge
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(plain-HTTP legacy clients cannot solve JS challenges) —
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[[Anubis]] "Exempt by construction".
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- **Tautulli** ([[Tautulli]]) is the companion: it polls PMS on the appnet
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for statistics and notifications and makes no sense without Plex.
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- **Auth wall:** if a public vhost is ever pointed at Plex, put the
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Authentik outpost + Anubis chain in front of it like every other guarded
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vhost ([[Authentik]], [[Caddy]]); direct `:32400` exposure to the LAN is
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unauthenticated by design (Plex owns its own auth via claim tokens).
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## Gotchas
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1. **Do not benchmark on it blind.** Transcoding is CPU-only now but still
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contends with the LLM fleet's host-RAM expert streaming; stop the service
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before benchmark runs, per the Benchmarking Policy.
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2. **Updates are commit-driven, not apt.** The OS package is retired at
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cutover; upgrading PMS means pinning a new `-ls` tag in the unit file and
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redeploying — never run `:latest`.
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3. The claim token is the identity of this server; document it in the host
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`.env`, never in this repo (secret rules apply). The token lives in
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`Preferences.xml` inside the RW data bind, preserved by the migration.
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4. **Cold container boot is slow.** PMS pre-binds 32400 and empty-replies
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while the HTTP layer finishes loading; the first boot of a years-old
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library took ~10 minutes (2026-09 cutover). The deployer gate now allows
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600 s before failing; later boots are much faster (warm page cache).
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