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[HowTo] Install Plex Media Server on VestaCP server
[HowTo] Install Plex Media Server on VestaCP server
Install Plex Media Server
The easiest way to install and manage Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 18.04 is by using the Plex official repository. It requires no technical knowledge and it should not take you more than 20 minutes to install and configure the media server.
Follow the steps below to install the Plex Media Server on your Ubuntu system:
Add the Plex repository
The following commands will add Plex’s GPG key to the apt sources keyring and create a new file containing an entry to the Plex repository:
Ubuntu
CentOS
To enable the Plex repository open your text editor and create a new YUM repository configuration file named plex.repo in /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory:
Install Plex
Now that the Plex repository is enabled, update the apt package list and install the latest version of the Plex Media Server with:
Ubuntu
CentOS
Verify the installation
To verify that the Plex service is running type:
Ubuntu
CentOS
Adjust the Firewall Rules
Now that you have Plex installed and running on your server you need to make sure your firewall is configured to allow traffic on Plex Media Server specific ports.
If there is not firewall running on your system you can skip this section.
The following steps assume that you are using UFW to manage your firewall:
Ubuntu
Open your text editor of choice and create the following UFW application profile:
Save the file and update profiles list:
Apply the new firewall rules by typing:
Finally check if the new firewall rules are applied successfully with:
CentOS
Now that Plex is installed and running you need to configure your firewall to allow traffic on Plex Media Server specific ports.
If you don’t have firewall enabled on your system, you can skip this section.
Open your text editor of choice and create the following Firewalld service:
Save the file and apply the new firewall rules by typing:
Finally check if the new firewall rules are applied successfully with:
Configure Plex Media Server
Before starting the Plex setup wizard let’s create the directories that will store the Plex media files:
The Plex Media Server runs as the user plex which must have read and execute permissions to the media files and directories. To set the correct ownership run the following command.
You can choose any location to store the media files, just make sure you set the correct permissions.
Now we can proceed with the server configuration. Open your browser, type http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:32400/web and you will be presented with the following screen:
In order to use the Plex Media Server you will need to create an account.
Press the Google, Facebook or Email button to create a free Plex account. If you want to access premium features you can purchase a Plex Pass plan.
Once you sign up you will be redirected to the page with information about how Plex works as shown below:
Click on the Got it button.
On the next screen enter your Plex server name, leave the Allow me to access my media outside my home box checked, and click Next.
The next step is to add a media library. Click on the Add Library button.
When the popup window shows, select movies as library type and click Next.
In thew next step click on the Browse for media folder and add the path to the directory that will contain the Movies media files, in our case /opt/plexmedia/movies.
Click on the Add button and then on the Add Library.
You can add as many Libraries as you want.
Click Next, then Done and you will be redirected to the Plex web dashboard.
Now that you have completed the setup wizard, you can start exploring Plex options and all the things it can do.
The easiest way to install and manage Plex Media Server on Ubuntu 18.04 is by using the Plex official repository. It requires no technical knowledge and it should not take you more than 20 minutes to install and configure the media server.
Follow the steps below to install the Plex Media Server on your Ubuntu system:
Add the Plex repository
The following commands will add Plex’s GPG key to the apt sources keyring and create a new file containing an entry to the Plex repository:
Ubuntu
Code: Select all
curl https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo apt-key add -
echo deb https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb public main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plexmediaserver.list
To enable the Plex repository open your text editor and create a new YUM repository configuration file named plex.repo in /etc/yum.repos.d/ directory:
Code: Select all
nano /etc/yum.repos.d/plex.repo
Code: Select all
[PlexRepo]
name=PlexRepo
baseurl=https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/rpm/$basearch/
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key
gpgcheck=1
Now that the Plex repository is enabled, update the apt package list and install the latest version of the Plex Media Server with:
Ubuntu
Code: Select all
sudo apt update
sudo apt install plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
sudo yum install plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver.service
sudo systemctl enable plexmediaserver.service
To verify that the Plex service is running type:
Ubuntu
Code: Select all
sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server for Linux
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2018-06-25 10:42:28 PDT; 35min ago
Process: 2544 ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c /usr/bin/test -d "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" || /bin/mkdir -p "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 2556 (sh)
Tasks: 56 (limit: 2321)
CGroup: /system.slice/plexmediaserver.service
Code: Select all
sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server for Linux
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2018-07-21 22:22:22 UTC; 12s ago
Main PID: 13940 (Plex Media Serv)
CGroup: /system.slice/plexmediaserver.service
Now that you have Plex installed and running on your server you need to make sure your firewall is configured to allow traffic on Plex Media Server specific ports.
If there is not firewall running on your system you can skip this section.
The following steps assume that you are using UFW to manage your firewall:
Ubuntu
Open your text editor of choice and create the following UFW application profile:
Code: Select all
nano /etc/ufw/applications.d/plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
[plexmediaserver]
title=Plex Media Server (Standard)
description=The Plex Media Server
ports=32400/tcp|3005/tcp|5353/udp|8324/tcp|32410:32414/udp
[plexmediaserver-dlna]
title=Plex Media Server (DLNA)
description=The Plex Media Server (additional DLNA capability only)
ports=1900/udp|32469/tcp
[plexmediaserver-all]
title=Plex Media Server (Standard + DLNA)
description=The Plex Media Server (with additional DLNA capability)
ports=32400/tcp|3005/tcp|5353/udp|8324/tcp|32410:32414/udp|1900/udp|32469/tcp
Code: Select all
sudo ufw app update plexmediaserver
Code: Select all
sudo ufw allow plexmediaserver-all
Code: Select all
sudo ufw status verbose
Code: Select all
Status: active
Logging: on (low)
Default: deny (incoming), allow (outgoing), disabled (routed)
New profiles: skip
To Action From
-- ------ ----
22/tcp ALLOW IN Anywhere
32400/tcp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
3005/tcp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
5353/udp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
8324/tcp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
32410:32414/udp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
1900/udp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
32469/tcp (plexmediaserver-all) ALLOW IN Anywhere
Now that Plex is installed and running you need to configure your firewall to allow traffic on Plex Media Server specific ports.
If you don’t have firewall enabled on your system, you can skip this section.
Open your text editor of choice and create the following Firewalld service:
Code: Select all
nano /etc/firewalld/services/plexmediaserver.xml
Code: Select all
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<service version="1.0">
<short>plexmediaserver</short>
<description>Plex TV Media Server</description>
<port port="1900" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="5353" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="32400" protocol="tcp"/>
<port port="32410" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="32412" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="32413" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="32414" protocol="udp"/>
<port port="32469" protocol="tcp"/>
</service>
Code: Select all
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=plexmediaserver --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Code: Select all
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
Code: Select all
public (active)
target: default
icmp-block-inversion: no
interfaces: eth0
sources:
services: ssh dhcpv6-client plexmediaserver
ports:
protocols:
masquerade: no
forward-ports:
source-ports:
icmp-blocks:
rich rules:
Before starting the Plex setup wizard let’s create the directories that will store the Plex media files:
Code: Select all
sudo mkdir -p /opt/plexmedia/{movies,series}
Code: Select all
sudo chown -R plex: /opt/plexmedia
Now we can proceed with the server configuration. Open your browser, type http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:32400/web and you will be presented with the following screen:
In order to use the Plex Media Server you will need to create an account.
Press the Google, Facebook or Email button to create a free Plex account. If you want to access premium features you can purchase a Plex Pass plan.
Once you sign up you will be redirected to the page with information about how Plex works as shown below:
Click on the Got it button.
On the next screen enter your Plex server name, leave the Allow me to access my media outside my home box checked, and click Next.
The next step is to add a media library. Click on the Add Library button.
When the popup window shows, select movies as library type and click Next.
In thew next step click on the Browse for media folder and add the path to the directory that will contain the Movies media files, in our case /opt/plexmedia/movies.
Click on the Add button and then on the Add Library.
You can add as many Libraries as you want.
Click Next, then Done and you will be redirected to the Plex web dashboard.
Now that you have completed the setup wizard, you can start exploring Plex options and all the things it can do.