Choices for installing Plex

[GeekGoneOld]

I wish to install Plex (plexpass) on 11.2. I see many choices and I want to choose the right one. My needs are modest (max 3 concurrent transcodes). I also don't need to upgrade the minute an upgrade is available (so waiting 3 weeks for plugin to be available is OK. I really want the highest in system stability and easy upgrade rules when I so choose. Also, it is preferable to use (or at lease be prepared for when available in FN) HW decoding as i have a processor with QSV.

What I would like to see are the choices and pros-cons comments. As for choices, I believe I know of a few: plug-in, manual in a jail, in a bhyve vm.

Can you help me complete the list of install methods? Can you help me with the pros-cons of each?

 

[garm]

RancherOS

 

[garm]

But, stick to a standard iocage jail. There is really no need to do anything else unless there are features in the Linux version not not deployed in the FreeBSD version. And you can probably forget about HW encoding as there is no graphics driver in FreeNAS.

 

[GeekGoneOld]

RancherOS

I'm assuming this is one more way to do it. Is that RancherOS/Docker? I will search the forums for a good HowTo to install that. Is it VERY stable?

But, stick to a standard iocage jail.

So you promote installing it in a standard jail? This would get me the latest but is it as easy to upgrade as using the plug-in? Is it as stable?

There is really no need to do anything else unless there are features in the Linux version not not deployed in the FreeBSD version.

Good point. The FreeBSD version of Plex is often behind in features (e.g. HW transcode).

And you can probably forget about HW encoding as there is no graphics driver in FreeNAS.

Yet!!! On the forum I see some people have done things to get it work and that ixSystems are talking about supporting it in FN.

 

[danb35]

The plugin saves you running exactly three commands (pkg install plexmediaserver-plexpass; sysrc plexmediaserver_plexpass_enable=YES; service plexmediaserver-plexpass start). You still need to add mountpoints and manage permissions, which is the part that most people (who post about problems) seem to have problems with. Updates don't happen as often, and people here seem to have a pathological need to have their Plex installation as up-to-date as possible. Just install a manual jail, unless you need one of the few features that's Linux-only.

 

[GeekGoneOld]

The plugin saves you running exactly three commands (pkg install plexmediaserver-plexpass; sysrc plexmediaserver_plexpass_enable=YES; service plexmediaserver-plexpass start). You still need to add mountpoints and manage permissions, which is the part that most people (who post about problems) seem to have problems with. Updates don't happen as often, and people here seem to have a pathological need to have their Plex installation as up-to-date as possible. Just install a manual jail, unless you need one of the few features that's Linux-only.

So it sounds like

Plug-in
+=super simple, very stable
-=updates rarer than manual, FreeBSD base

Jail Manual
+=still very easy, very stable, updates more often
-=FreeBSD base

RancherOS
+=linux base
-=more difficult to set up, possibly less stable

Seems that Plug-in buys nothing worth anything over Jail manual install, so the decision is RancherOS vs Jail Manual. Is it fair to say that Jail is more stable?

What about bhyve and/or docker? Can I pass the GPU through to jail, bhyve or docker?

 

[garm]

Can I pass the GPU through to jail, bhyve or docker

No, there is no graphics driver in FreeNAS..

 

[John Doe]

if stability and use of graphic card is so important, have you considered ESXi?

 

[danb35]

RancherOS

I've honestly never seen the attraction of Docker, and I don't see how a RancherOS installation simplifies anything here, unless you were also going to run other Docker-based applications.

Edit: And though I haven't used it much and may well be missing something, I'm not a fan of using FreeNAS as a hypervisor--both my Proxmox and my xcp-ng hosts have been much more flexible, reliable, and easy-to-use than I've seen with FreeNAS' implementation of bhyve.

 

[garm]

I’m using docker in an Ubuntu VM just because some things are so much easier with docker, such as bitwarden and collabora online. But ya, I prefer jails over anything else as it gives me most of a FreeBSD instance

 

[GeekGoneOld]

No, there is no graphics driver in FreeNAS..

I understand that but can we passthru hardware to a VM? Can we passthru hardware to a jail?

if stability and use of graphic card is so important, have you considered ESXi?

I do use ESXi but not as you suggest. Trying to keep the FN machine very reliable, I run only FN and Plex on the FN machine. ESXi is on a separate machine for many purposes (firewall, PBX etc.) and my datastore is on FN. I put Plex on the FN machine because it would burden my FN to ESXi network link (dedicated 1GBPS NFS) to put Plex on the ESXi machine. If someone thinks plex is better off in an ESXi VM on the other machine, I'm all ears.

 

[garm]

On second thought, what’s written below is probably false..

I understand that but can we passthru hardware to a VM? Can we passthru hardware to a jail?

You need a driver to recognize the hardware it you want to pass it to a VM. Jails work differently, consider them an isolated userland in the same FreeBSD kernel.

 

[danb35]

I put Plex on the FN machine because it would burden my FN to ESXi network link (dedicated 1GBPS NFS) to put Plex on the ESXi machine.

Do you really think so? It would take several streams, I think, to get even close. Besides, a pair of Chelsio S310s and a DAC cable, and you've addressed that problem.

 

[danb35]

You need a driver to recognize the hardware it you want to pass it to a VM.

Are you sure about this? Because it doesn't make much sense--you ought to be able to pass through a device to a VM by its PCI ID (bus/slot/function), irrespective of whether the host OS knows how to talk to the device at all. But regardless of this issue, it doesn't look like it's possible to pass through a GPU using bhyve, according to the FreeBSD wiki:

Note: VGA / GPU pass-through devices are not currently supported.

 

[John Doe]

I understand that but can we passthru hardware to a VM? Can we passthru hardware to a jail?


I do use ESXi but not as you suggest. Trying to keep the FN machine very reliable, I run only FN and Plex on the FN machine. ESXi is on a separate machine for many purposes (firewall, PBX etc.) and my datastore is on FN. I put Plex on the FN machine because it would burden my FN to ESXi network link (dedicated 1GBPS NFS) to put Plex on the ESXi machine. If someone thinks plex is better off in an ESXi VM on the other machine, I'm all ears.

I use esxi to have pfsense, freenas, plex and some other VMs running, 24/7
I never experienced any problem after everything was set up.Machine is running since 106 days without interruption. last shutdown was because of long holidays.

I would combine everything in one machine, if it is for private use.

easy way would be to just use a jail but since you have such requirements, my vote for esxi (or else)

by the way, I used plex about a year on freenas as a jail and it was running smooth (1 client only).

 

[garm]

Are you sure about this? Because it doesn't make much sense--you ought to be able to pass through a device to a VM by its PCI ID

Now you make me look bad.. of course you pass through devices on PCI ID.. no driver should be needed for that.. only I don’t think bhyve can do it.. but “think” is a bad basis for a post..

 

[GeekGoneOld]

You need a driver to recognize the hardware it you want to pass it to a VM. Jails work differently, consider them an isolated userland in the same FreeBSD kernel.

Didn't know that about VMs but I was pretty sure that was the case for jails and I suspected for bhyve. Perhaps you were referring to bhyve when you said VM? I guess the people who have it working in a jail have tinkered with FN to load a driver.

Do you really think so? It would take several streams, I think, to get even close. Besides, a pair of Chelsio S310s and a DAC cable, and you've addressed that problem.

Yeah. I've wondered about that. ESXi is very sensitive to the reliability of the Datastore, so I have always been scared have Plex put that at risk. Maybe I should try it and see. Snapshots/Backups are my friend!!!

I would combine everything in one machine, if it is for private use.

Yeah, but I just don't feel right about running FN on an ESXI machine.

So I think some of you have led me to put Plex on ESXi and leave FN as basic as practical.

 

[danb35]

So I think some of you have led me to put Plex on ESXi and leave FN as basic as practical.

If you need Linux-only features, this is probably your best bet. If not, IMO, the simplest arrangement remains a manual installation in a jail.