FreeNAS 11.0 -U4 can i update Plex?

[Snake3y3s]

so I am running an older version of FreeNAS on a old N36L Microserver.

I see that there is a new plex version out, can I update to it? how do i go about doing that?

 

[Yorick]

There are no more pkg builds for FreeBSD 11.0. You could probably do your own, and it may work, but I think your best bet is to move to FreeNAS 11.2-U1(!), then 11.2-U8, then recreate the Plex plugin as iocage (it's warden right now), then move to FreeNAS 11.3-U4.1.

https://download.freenas.org/11.2/STABLE/U1/x64/

From U1 you can likely just use the in-UI upgrade methods (you'll need to be on U8 after U1 to recreate your jail), but in case you want the ISOs:

https://download.freenas.org/11.2/STABLE/latest/x64/

https://download.freenas.org/11.3/STABLE/latest/x64/

Make sure to have snapshots before you start, understand boot environments, read up on iocage, and if you are booting from USB, switch to an SSD (possibly as the "M.2 2242 in USB stick" doohickey that people on these forums are using) as a boot device so the USB stick doesn't die on you during upgrade.

Should I change my USB Mirrored boot drive?

Currently not really having any issues, but I do have a dilemma that’s I was hoping some more intelligent than I could offer some proper guidance on. Originally I had a single 16GB USB Cruzer running freenas and I have since added an additional mirror after seeing some weird read errors. I...

www.ixsystems.com

And consider using danb35's script to create your Plex jail. You can also bring all your metadata over. If you're going that way, here's YT that describes the process. Ignore the hw transcode bits, that's outdated now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvM32lWc_r4

With TrueNAS Core 12.0, there is now an official Software Development Release Cycle, documented at https://www.truenas.com/docs/hub/intro/lifecycle/ . This means that currently, 11.2 and 11.3 are supported, and come October, 11.3 and 12.0 will be supported. Once 12.1 is out, 12.0 and 12.1 will be supported.

At the current rate of development, that does mean upgrading every two years, maybe even every year, to a new major release. My experience since 11.2-RC1 has been that this goes smoothly, though it can be wise to wait until the new release has had a little time to "bake" before making the switch. 11.3-U2 had a nasty bug, for example; and 11.3-U4 an annoying one.

I expect FreeBSD to stick with iocage jails, I don't think there'll be another transition anytime soon. My crystal ball may be faulty, of course.

 

[Snake3y3s]

I am SUPER scared as it is to upgrade to a newer version of FreeNAS as it is...
I did ask in a different thread if I should, and the conclusion was a case of "if it ain't broke, don't %$#& with it.

at the moment my FreeNAS is working as astorage and plexmedia server and its all running just fine.

also... im trying to add the HAMA agent and ASS scanner, but im having a hard time doing this (im still getting used to the system, I set it up and its working so have not tried anything further until now)
I have created a SMB share to try access the plex server files in the jail to be able to copy over the files, but getting permission errors.

any help is appreciated

 

[Yorick]

if it ain't broke

For some value of "broke". "My FreeBSD is EOL and I can't upgrade pkg's any more" can be considered "broke". Your mileage will vary.

access the plex server files in the jail

You mean the metadata? I wouldn't try to access that via SMB, those are *ix files permission-wise. What are you trying to do?

 

[Snake3y3s]

im trying to add a metadata scanner for anime. Trying to add a anime section to my Plex server

I am more than likely going about it the wrong way... but not sure how I would proceed otherwise.
possibly FTP into the NAS, but not sure how to do that even

 

[Yorick]

So you are just looking to copy the files in? Enable SSH, and root login for it; scp the files over to where you want them.

 

[Yorick]

I will say this seems like a lot of effort to have an Anime section though. Plex in its current version supports both Collections and Playlists, which sounds like an easier way to solve having an "Anime" category, without needing to use 3rd-party add-ons.

 

[Snake3y3s]

i tried adding one, but it does not detect anything, so trying to add the HAMA agent to see if it helps

 

[Snake3y3s]

AH! thank you... managed to SSH in using winSCP and copied the files in... and managed to load the HAMA agent (it shows up in plex)
BUT....still no anime showing up :(

I dont know whats going on

 

[Snake3y3s]

OMG... just got it working... The owner was set to "Nobody" so i changed that to me and now its working O_O
so all along it has been a permissions issue

 

[Yorick]

I don't know about your version of Plex: Current versions want the "plex" user to own everything, uid 972. You can check that in CLI or through winscp, see who the owner is for the metadata folder.

As for being scared to upgrade: If you ever want to get over that fear, learn about snapshots and boot environments. What makes me comfortable upgrading is that I know I can always get back to my previous version in minutes (boot environment) and restore the iocage dataset if there was an incompatible change there (snapshots).

The one thing to watch out for is to NOT upgrade the pool until you are certain you'll never go back. pool upgrades can't be reversed and make the pool read-only in previous versions, as a rule of thumb.

 

[Snake3y3s]

is there at all a possibility you could assist me through some of these?

 

[Yorick]

Sure. Boot environments are automatic, check out system->boot. Snapshots are described in a blog over yonder. https://www.ixsystems.com/blog/overview-of-datasets-and-snapshots-in-freenas/

I have a recurring snapshot job for each top-level dataset, recursive, and keep them for 2 weeks (backup dataset 1 week).

Read that, set up snapshots, explore your existing boot environments, and check out where they are during initial boot when FreeNAS isn’t up yet, on the first boot menu.

Then ask questions!

My question to you: What is your boot media?

 

[Snake3y3s]

my boot media is currently a slim 8gb USB stick inside the N36L enclosure on the board USBs

I read the snapshots, would this be for ALL data or only the boot media data?
i dont really need a snapshot done for the Raid storage media... or maybe 1 snapshot that i can keep and if i add more files i could just redo it.

boot environments is still something odd to me though...
would i clone my current boot and then make an update on that (then i have my initial boot still intact incase it breaks)??

 

[Yorick]

You would not snapshot your boot media. Snapshots are for your datasets. The most likely target during upgrades is the jails dataset, which will be YOURPOOL/iocage once you are on 11.2. This is because some of the upgrades change how jails behave (when moving to 11.3 for example), and if you want to roll back, having the snapshot in place will be helpful.

Boot environments are automatic. When you upgrade, the upgrade is installed into a new boot environment. You can then always boot into the old version. If things go terribly wrong, you can get into the old version from the initial boot menu that's displayed when the system first starts up.

FreeNAS is not friendly to USB sticks. USB 3 is worse than USB 2, because of the heat generated, which means that's in your favor: N36L is USB 2.0. You are running a risk of having the stick fail on you as you go through the multiple upgrade steps.

You could either use any inexpensive SSD, for example this: https://www.newegg.com/crucial-bx500-120gb/p/N82E16820156186

Or you can build yourself a "USB stick" that actually has an SSD inside: https://www.ixsystems.com/community...my-usb-mirrored-boot-drive.86174/#post-596973

 

[Snake3y3s]

I have a spare 64 GB Kingston SATA SSD in a box. (it is a older model though) I could use that. so I would then need a SATA to USB converter?
I dont thing there are any other free points in the system (already using the 5th SATA using the moded BIOS.)

my only concern then would be porting the data on the current USB to the SSD without a hitch. and where to actually put the SSD inside the enclosure

 

[Snake3y3s]

hmmm, I also have a 250GB Samsung 850 evo m.2 here on my desk. but it was pulled out of a other machine because it had failed as a boot drive for some reason. I reformatted it and it does seem fine, but i want to use that inside my main system as a cache drive for programs (after effects, substance painter, photoshop... etc.)

 

[Yorick]

You could use the 64GB ssd with a usb Converter, yes.

there is nothing on boot other than the system. Take a backup of your config file - something that should happen regularly as well, btw - install a fresh copy of FreeNAS and restore the config. You should be back up and running.

if you use encryption, the crypto keys will need extra attention, make sure you have them, they are not in the regular config file.

your tls private key, likewise, is not in the Config file. You will need to re-import that, if you are using a custom tls cert.

 

[Snake3y3s]

I don't have/need any encryption, its a basic home server

Can I mage a backup of the config in the FreeNAS webUI or would i need to SCP in and copy it from somewhere?
Its been a while since I did the initial install, so again this is going to be a strange thing to me... but i guess its just a case of making an install meadia USB drive and going from there (kinda thumb sucking here because its been 3 years since i did this)

would I then just go to the latest version?

 

[Yorick]

Can I mage a backup of the config in the FreeNAS webUI

Yes. Should be in System->General, Save Config.

would I then just go to the latest version?

No. I'd re-install 11.0, then go in steps as outlined in my first reply. 11.0 is here: https://download.freenas.org/11/11.0-U4/x64/