Plex Plugin - Can't Own Server / Access Greyed Out Media / Permissions - FIX

[Mark_the_Red]

Hello All,

I would like to post this fix as it applies to MANY of the frequent problems around this issue.

It is not mine, but this link is thoroughly helpful and diagnosed the problem perfectly. Like him, when trying to add the server from the plugin, it either gave me the "No soup for you" or greyed out like below:

This is entirely a ownership issue and the walkthrough below fixes it. The guy should be commended for sharing this with the world. I would not have figured this out on my own.

FreeNas Plex Pluggin Fix!

Here is a tutorial on how to get your Plex finally working!

www.youtube.com

I got so frustrated with this problem, that I actually formatted and reinstalled my entire server from scratch as I thought it was a messed up user / permission issue from a Freenas / plugin update. (it was but not from user error).

The exact same problem occurs even when you follow all the Freenas how-to youtube videos to a letter (i.e., setup, dataset, user / group, etc.). I'll bet dollars to donuts that I am not the only one who has this problem or WILL have this problem going forward.

I understand that Freenas attracts a certain, how you say, "paranoid" element of the IT community. I like secure data too. However, I cannot in good conscience understand how or why Plex can't "own" the media folders / mount points by default once you do it via the how-to videos. I really think a cost benefit analysis should be done as to what Freenas is gaining by frustrating the heck out of legions of John Q public users, to satisfy the extreme paranoia of 1-2 advanced users concerning this particular permissions issue. I can assure you all previous versions of Freenas and Plex plugin did not have this problem. This was a deliberate change by someone.

 

[binxbolling]

This is one of the main reasons that linux-based solutions continue to be considered unusable by 99.9999% of the world. There is no excuse for permissions to be set automatically that prevents plex from accessing the very folders required for it to function on freenas. Any reasonable dev community would realize that this is a bug, not a security benefit. I encounter this kind of undocumented and unresolved problem constantly as I test different linux-based solutions for nas and other solutions. Just one more linux-based solution to be thrown in the junk-pile.

 

[Randall_64]

Hi Mark,

Install FreeNAS 11.3 RC2 (or newer) Plex plugin with static IP address. These notes are not scientifically proven but reproducible for myself to create a PMS.

Create user ‘plex’ with ID 972 at Primary Group ‘wheel’. The Plex plugin allways uses this username in it’s jail with corresponding userid. You need this user at the next step.

At the Dataset where the media is located, choose edit ACL.
Under File Information choose User -> plex and Group -> wheel
Check Apply permissions recursively
Confirm, Continue, Save.

Install Plex plugin with DHCP settings. Just enter the name of the jail and there you go. Just accept DHCP because static IP address is not possible initially to get it right. You can change the IP config later to static IP. The Plex plugin with it’s jail will be started after install automatically.

Stop the Plex jail
Edit the Plex jail

Basic properties:
· Uncheck DHCP Autoconfigure IPv4
· Leave VNet checked
· LeaveBerkely checked
IP4 interface: leave ----------------
IP4 address: (free IP address for your jail)
IP4 netmask: (your netmask)
Default router: (your gateway)
· Leave Autostart checked

Jail properties:
· Check Allow raw sockets

Network properties:
· Leave all unchanged

Custom properties:
· Leave all unchanged

Save settings
Start the jail to check if it’s working

If yes:
Stop the jail again
Create mountpoints
Start the jail

Now you’ve created the dependencies for the Plex web gui. At this gui you can create your media entrances without errors ‘no soup for you’ or ‘no items available.

Regards, R.