FreeNAS 9.10.1 and Plex Media Server Plugin 1.1.3.2700

[dnjordman]

I've been running Plex on my Freenas box for about a year and a half now, and it has worked well with some minor hiccups along the way. However, it's recently stopped working entirely.

A couple weeks ago, either after a Freenas or Plex plugin update, the server started acting odd. I had to check the "Disables security" box for the plugin in order to access the server from both my home network and outside the home network, even though I was logged in to Plex on the server. It didn't seem like an ideal solution, but it worked.

Today, that checkbox was bugging me in the back of my mind, so I decided to disable it. Big mistake. Now I can't access the Plex server from either in my home network or from outside. When I try to connect using the server's local IP address and port, I just get a generic "unable to connect" page as if the server isn't even there. I can successfully ping the IP address of the Plex media server, though.

I've tried switching the plugin service off and on. I've tried enabling, disabling, and re-enabling that "disables security" plugin checkbox. I've tried restarting the jail. I've tried restarting the whole Freenas box. Nothing seems to work.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be going on here? Much appreciated

 

[philhu]

Plex 1.1 REQUIRES by default, secure access.
There is a place that stores locations you can use without secure access, like 192.168.1.0/24

 

[dnjordman]

It doesn't matter if that box is checked or unchecked; either way I can't access the server.

Edited to add: I've updated the plugin to version 1.1.4.2757 and the problem persists. If I try to connect when the jail isn't running, my web browser says that the connection has timed out. When the jail is running and the plugin service is off, an "unable to connect" message in my web browser. When the jail is running and the plugin service is on, I also get an "unable to connect" message. It seems like something about the service isn't running properly.

 

[dnjordman]

Does anyone have ideas about how to fix this? I still haven't been able to get it working.

 

[Jailer]

Are you having trouble connecting with Plex clients or the web GUI?

 

[dnjordman]

Are you having trouble connecting with Plex clients or the web GUI?

Both. The web GUI and other clients just don't see the server.

 

[Joshua Parker Ruehlig]

from the jails commandline can you ping your computer?

 

[dnjordman]

from the jails commandline can you ping your computer?

Yes, I can open the jail's shell and successfully ping my desktop computer.

 

[Joshua Parker Ruehlig]

ok, sounds like networking works, do the issue is likely with the application.

you can confirm if the disable security box is being applied to the config at /var/db/plexdata/Plex Media Server/Preferences.xml

does Plex do any security logging? maybe that would give some clues, and people on the plex forum might know better the possible application specific things that stop local access.

 

[dnjordman]

disableRemoteSecurity is set to "1", so it seems like that's working. I also have a post on the Plex forums, but no responses so far.

 

[Joshua Parker Ruehlig]

Ok, yeah I don't use plex not even sure what that does. maybe you can snoop around the folder I mentioned for a log file

 

[dnjordman]

Ok, yeah I don't use plex not even sure what that does. maybe you can snoop around the folder I mentioned for a log file

There are log files, but they don't shed much light on the problem from what I can glean from them. The log files are being updated, so Plex is running in some capacity, but there aren't any obvious messages in them that indicate what the problem is.

 

[dnjordman]

Just in case anyone experiences a similar problem, this happened because I enabled IPv6 support in the Plex web interface. Apparently, that shuts off IPv4 support. To fix it, just edit your Preferences.xml file and remove the EnableIPv6="1" property.