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+date = 2022-03-08
+title = "Migrating Plex to a New Server (& Nvidia Transcoding)"
+description = "A retrospective on migrating Plex between servers and enabling Nvidia GPU transcoding."
++++
+
+## Migration Phases
+
+I recently decided to migrate my server from an old OptiPlex desktop
+machine to a custom-built tower with better hardware in every category.
+In order to do this, I would need to properly migrate a full Plex
+installation.
+
+The second part of this migration is that the new server uses an Nvidia
+GPU and does not have any integrated graphics, which requires extra work
+for installation, but provides much better hardware transcoding options
+for Plex.
+
+Therefore, I have broken this migration down into three phases:
+
+1.  [Configure the New Server](#phase-1-configure-the-new-server)
+2.  [Migrate Plex Data & Devices](#phase-2-migrate-plex-data-devices)
+3.  [Configure GPU Transcoding](#phase-3-configure-gpu-transcoding)
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## Phase 1: Configure the New Server
+
+### Choosing an OS
+
+In order to migrate Plex to my new server, I first needed to choose an
+appropriate operating system (OS) and install it on the machine. Given
+that I have encountered numerous issues installing other Linux
+distributions properly with Nvidia graphics, I chose [Ubuntu
+Server](https://ubuntu.com/download/server).
+
+The first step is to create a bootable USB with Ubuntu Server. This is
+easy with [Etcher](https://www.balena.io/etcher/), an app that runs on
+many different platforms. Just download the Ubuntu Server
+`.iso` image, launch Etcher, and install the
+`.iso` on the USB.
+
+Once the USB is created, insert it into my server, reboot, and click
+`Esc` (or any of the `F1-12` keys) until the BIOS
+menu appears. Finally, launch the USB boot drive.
+
+### Booting with Nvidia
+
+In order to install Ubuntu Server with an Nvidia Graphics card (and no
+integrated graphics on this device for some reason), you'll have to
+configure the boot menu to allow different graphics drivers to be
+loaded.
+
+When booting from the USB, the machine will launch the initial
+installation menu. From this menu, type `e` to view the
+default command options that come with the device - it's a good idea to
+take a photo of this screen, so you can enter these commands on the next
+screen (along with adding support for Nvidia).
+
+Finally, type `Ctrl + C` to enter the command line. From this
+command line, enter the commands found on the `e` screen.
+\*Remember to add `nomodeset` to the `linux ...`
+line so that your Nvidia device will display the installation screens
+properly!\*
+
+Here's an example of the commands I pulled from the `e`
+screen and entered on the command line.
+
+```sh
+setparams 'Install Ubuntu Server'
+setgfxpayload=keep
+linux /casper/vmlinuz quiet nomodeset ---
+initrd /casper/initrd
+boot
+```
+
+![Ubuntu Server Installation
+01](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20220308-plex-media-server-migration/ubuntu_server_installation_01.png)
+
+![Ubuntu Server Installation
+02](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20220308-plex-media-server-migration/ubuntu_server_installation_02.png)
+
+Once the machine is rebooted, enter the `e` screen again and
+add `nomodeset` to the `linux ...` line again and
+press `Ctrl + X` to save the boot options.
+
+The machine is now fully installed and can properly display on an
+external display using the Nvidia GPU.
+
+Always remember to update and upgrade on a new installation:
+
+```sh
+sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade -y; sudo apt autoremove -y
+```
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## Phase 2: Migrate Plex Data & Devices
+
+This phase uses the great Plex article on migrations ([Move an
+Installation to Another
+System](https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/))
+and adds a bit more information to help with commands and context.
+
+### Terminology
+
+**Source:** The original server that is being replaced.\
+**Destination:** The new server.\
+**Client:** Any application that can be used to modify settings for both
+source/destination.
+
+### Step 01: [Client] Update Settings
+
+Open up a Plex app and *disable* the `Account` \>
+`Library` \>
+`Empty trash automatically after every scan` preference for
+the source server.
+
+### Step 02: [Destination] Install Plex
+
+Open up the [Plex Media Server download
+page](https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/) and copy the link for
+the appropriate platform.
+
+Execute the following commands on the destination server to install
+Plex:
+
+```sh
+wget <url>
+sudo dpkg -i <filename>
+sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver.service
+```
+
+### Step 03: [Source] Stop Plex & Migrate Data
+
+First, stop the Plex service so that no data is created or modified
+during the migration.
+
+```sh
+sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver.service
+```
+
+Next, copy the data to the new server. To find where the Plex data
+directory is located, Plex has another excellent article available:
+[Where is the Plex Media Server data directory
+located?](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202915258-where-is-the-plex-media-server-data-directory-located/).
+
+There are many ways to copy the data to the new server and will largely
+depend on the size of the folder being copied. Personally, my data
+folder was \~23GB and I opted to simply use the `scp` command
+to copy the files over SSH.
+
+This process was throttled by the old server's slow HDD and ports and
+took approximately 90 minutes to complete. In comparison, moving the
+data from the new server's `home/user/` directory to the
+`/var/.../Plex Media Server` directory took 2-3 minutes.
+
+```sh
+scp -r "/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server" your_user@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:"'/path/to/destination/'"
+```
+
+### Step 04: [Destination] Update File Permissions
+
+In case you move the data directory to a common area on the new server,
+it will have to be moved to the proper location before Plex can function
+properly:
+
+```sh
+mv "Plex Media Server" /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/
+```
+
+To ensure permissions were retained properly, the server will need to
+show that all files and folders in the data directory are owned by
+`plex:plex` (or whichever user is running the Plex
+application).
+
+```sh
+sudo chown -R plex:plex "/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server"
+```
+
+Finally, start the service and check the status.
+
+```sh
+sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver.service
+sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver.service
+```
+
+### Step 05: [Client] Update Libraries & Metadata
+
+The first step - now that the new server is up and running - is to sign
+out of the client and sign back in. Once this is done, update any
+library locations, if necessary. This was unnecessary in my case since I
+simply moved my storage drives from the source server to the destination
+server.
+
+Next, perform the following actions in the client:
+
+1.  On the left sidebar, click `More` \> Three-Dot Menu \>
+    `Scan Library Files`
+2.  *Enable* the `Account` \> `Library` \>
+    `Empty trash automatically after every scan` preference
+    for the source server.
+3.  On the left sidebar, click `More` \> Three-Dot Menu \>
+    `Manage Server` \> `Empty Trash`
+4.  On the left sidebar, click `More` \> Three-Dot Menu \>
+    `Manage Server` \> `Clean Bundles`
+5.  On the left sidebar, click `More` \> Three-Dot Menu \>
+    `Manage Server` \> `Optimize Database`
+
+Finally, double-check the Remote Access settings to make sure no changes
+have caused issues with accessing the server from outside the network.
+
+In my case, I use a single port forwarding rule in my router and needed
+to update the Local LAN IP Address to the new server IP address.
+
+![Router port
+forwarding](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20220308-plex-media-server-migration/port_forwarding.png)
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## Phase 3: Configure GPU Transcoding
+
+The final piece to the migration is enabling hardware transcoding so
+that Plex can fully utilize the new Nvidia GPU available in the server.
+The first step is to install Nvidia graphics drivers. This process may
+take a few minutes, but the commands are pretty simple:
+
+```sh
+sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
+sudo apt update
+sudo apt-get install ubuntu-drivers-common
+sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall
+```
+
+Finally, reboot so that the changes are loaded:
+
+```sh
+sudo reboot now
+```
+
+To ensure that the Nvidia graphics drivers are working properly, run the
+following command to view the available GPUs, statistics, and processes:
+
+```sh
+sudo nvidia-smi
+```
+
+![nvidia-smi](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20220308-plex-media-server-migration/nvidia_smi.png)
+
+Finally, enable hardware transcoding settings in the Plex application:
+
+![Plex transcoding
+settings](https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20220308-plex-media-server-migration/plex_transcoding.png)