Plex: in over my head

[robvandal999]

Hello,

I'm extremely new to networking and NAS stuff. I just built my own NAS yesterday and ever since i have been trying to figure out how to get it going. The guides i have come across really aren't newbish enough. They still seem to go over my head. My goal with this NAS was to let me and my father upload our media files we have on our personal computers to it and then stream those files via PLEX. I went into this endeavor because everything i came across made it seem simple. You install FreeNAS and then install the PLEX plugin and that's it! I have installed the current version of FreeNAS, i have installed the PLEX plugin. Now how do i get the media files from my computer to the NAS so PLEX will see those files and add it to the library? I followed a guide on how to set up a FTP server and it seems like i was able to upload a movie file, but i don't think it went to the right place for PLEX to see it. When i go to create a new library playlist, then it asks movie/tv shows/music/etc. I hit movies, then i name it, then it asks to browse for media folder and when i click browse it only shows a PLEX folder which i have no clue where that file location is.

I'm just incredibly lost and feeling like i made a huge mistake. Everyone makes it seem so easy to do this and i feel like an idiot.

PLEASE HELP!

 

[garm]

In FreeNAS you follow this video and set up users and network shares

https://youtu.be/RxggaE935PM

You then follow the manual and mount the dataset you have the media on to the Plex jail in a folder that Plex can use.

Everything’s explained in the manual.

 

[tvsjr]

You should also post your hardware configuration, as required in the forum rules. Often times, when people show up and say they're in over their head, they're trying to make some old cast-off system do what they want... when that system doesn't even meet the minimum specs for FreeNAS, much less anything else.

 

[robvandal999]

You should also post your hardware configuration, as required in the forum rules. Often times, when people show up and say they're in over their head, they're trying to make some old cast-off system do what they want... when that system doesn't even meet the minimum specs for FreeNAS, much less anything else.

Ryzen 5 1400, ASRock AB350 Gaming ITX, 8gb G.skill ram @2400mhz, C7 cooler, Four 2Tb Western Digital RED HDDs, ASUS GT 730, EVGA 450B 80+ Bronze, in a Fractal Design Node 304

 

[m0nkey_]

First, add storage to your jail. If you already have media in a dataset, just follow this: http://doc.freenas.org/11/jails.html#add-storage

Secondly, you have a very nice gaming PC, not a NAS. Take a look at the hardware recommendations guide: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

 

[robvandal999]

First, add storage to your jail. If you already have media in a dataset, just follow this: http://doc.freenas.org/11/jails.html#add-storage

Secondly, you have a very nice gaming PC, not a NAS. Take a look at the hardware recommendations guide: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

I guess you see how much I am in over my head with the rig that I built. I guess from the research I did, it was wrong. Most people just recommended a multi core CPU, atleast 8gb of ram, and NAS specific HDDs. I added the GPU (had it laying around) because Ryzen doesn't have integrated graphics.

 

[m0nkey_]

To be honest, there's nothing wrong with it. If it boots, you're already ahead of the game. The only reason why things like Intel are recommended is because 99% of the time the chipset is going to work, it's going to have an integrated Intel NIC, etc. Ryzen is still pretty new and support was added in FreeNAS 11.1.

 

[robvandal999]

So, I finally figured out how to set up a share with SMB permissions and I am able to move files from my computer to the NAS.



Here's the dashboard for my plex server and I know that I have to hit add library to set up like a Movies playlist or TV Show playlist in order to start streaming. However, after I click on that then hit Movies, then name the Playlist, then I hit browse folder



Only this folder pops up and I don't know how to get to my media. Also, it wont let me scroll down on the options to the right. I can click on them but none of my media is in those folders. Where is it? What do I need to do to get to the dataset that I created? Is it because the Plex plugin is in a Jail and my dataset isn't in that same jail? When I installed the plugin it automatically created the Jail and put the plugin into the jail.

I've tried manually typing in the /mnt/ then the rest of the location name, for the dataset where all my Media is, but that doesn't bring up any of the files.

Please help.

 

[robvandal999]

In FreeNAS you follow this video and set up users and network shares

https://youtu.be/RxggaE935PM

You then follow the manual and mount the dataset you have the media on to the Plex jail in a folder that Plex can use.

Everything’s explained in the manual.

Where can I find the manual?

 

[danb35]

Where can I find the manual?

At the link at the top of every single page in this forum, the one that says "User Guide".

 

[Redcoat]

I've tried manually typing in the /mnt/ then the rest of the location name, for the dataset where all my Media is, but that doesn't bring up any of the files.

Try it without the /mnt

 

[garm]

And at the top of the FreeNAS web interface

 

[robvandal999]

Try it without the /mnt

Nope, that didn't work. Thanks though.

 

[SweetAndLow]

So, I finally figured out how to set up a share with SMB permissions and I am able to move files from my computer to the NAS.



Here's the dashboard for my plex server and I know that I have to hit add library to set up like a Movies playlist or TV Show playlist in order to start streaming. However, after I click on that then hit Movies, then name the Playlist, then I hit browse folder



Only this folder pops up and I don't know how to get to my media. Also, it wont let me scroll down on the options to the right. I can click on them but none of my media is in those folders. Where is it? What do I need to do to get to the dataset that I created? Is it because the Plex plugin is in a Jail and my dataset isn't in that same jail? When I installed the plugin it automatically created the Jail and put the plugin into the jail.

I've tried manually typing in the /mnt/ then the rest of the location name, for the dataset where all my Media is, but that doesn't bring up any of the files.

Please help.

What was the path of your dataset in your jail? Type that path into the text box.