PG Intro & Quick FAQ 101
CLICKING the STAR in the UPPER RIGHT promotes our PROJECT on GITHUB!
PlexGuide is an all-in-one media solution that deploys a Media Server through the use of your Local HD or Google Drive; serving as an unlimited back-end storage. PlexGuide utilizes Ansible and Docker to streamline your Media Server, while deploying multiple tools for your Server Operations.
- Main Website: https://plexguide.com
- Project GITHUB: https://github.com/Admin9705/PlexGuide.com-The-Awesome-Plex-Server
- Project Manager: Admin9705
- Team Authors: https://github.com/Admin9705/PlexGuide.com-The-Awesome-Plex-Server/graphs/contributors
Manage PlexGuide - AnyTime, Anywhere!
Q: Super Noob Here, I cannot lie. What should I do before starting anything?
A: This is what we recommend that you do first!
- Register for a PlexGuide Forum Account— It motivates us to see new members!
- Visit the introductions section in the forums and let us know about you! Again, it's great motivation for us!
- Visit Our Github and promote our site by clicking the Star in the Upper Right Corner
- star-png.12
- Continue to read the rest of this FAQ
- Recommend you watch our YouTube Videos (including Installer)
- Understand the Data Flow: https://plexguide.com/threads/understanding-the-plexguide-ecosystem.678/
- Visit the Forums for any questions (plus come visit us and support us anyways)
- Donate if you ever have the chance!
Q: Do I need Linux Experience to deploy this?
A: No, you need very little. Just follow our instructions, videos, FAQ, and ask questions here and we will be able to assist you. We started off with very little experience and all of this was built from zero to something in under 5 months. Basically, us Noobs have the best ideas because we are fresh. We just ask you READ FIRST, watch the videos first, and follow the guides.
Q: What kind of server do you recommend?
A: The first question that you have to ask yourself is, what kind of server do you need? So if your building a server just for you, you need far less. If you need a server so you have 20 people watching it at a time, this may cost you some money. So you run a real dedicated server with pure Linux, run open stack, use VM Workstation (or other VM software), or a VPS (virtual private server). If you want more assistance on this, please visit here and we can assist you with those questions?
Q: Why RClone, PlexDrive4, and UnionFS?
A: So here is a mini break down:
- PlexDrive4 is a program that allows your Plex to scan your Google Drive without API Bans. Basically, it acts as a form of a cache. Don't get bent on performance, it does what you need it to do.
- RClone is a program that is used to SYNC stuff from your local drive to your Google Drive. Yes, you can point items to your gdrive(rclone), but you will hit the API Bans. RClone is not made to be scanned on. There is a beta feature, but the performance is slow and there are lot of bugs right now.
- UnionFS is a program that is the most difficult to understand of them all. UnionFS is a mirage (spoof, shadow, fake) drive that merges your local and plexdrive4 to create an illusion of a ONE REAL Drive. PlexDrive is a readonly drive. Your local drive (mnt/move) is writeable. When anything hits /mnt/unionfs, it goes to /mnt/move... not /mnt/plexdrive4 (it's readonly). Every 10 minutes, the rclone-move service checks your /mnt/move and syncs items to your Google Drive via the rclone move command.
Q: I noticed my categories are just /tv /movies /books /music under Google Drive. Can we create more categories?
A: For simplicity, it's recommend that you do not go beyond this. You can, but if you do; you are on your own. The goal of this script is to mass deploy gathering stuff you need and stuffing it in one drive. If you are going to create subs like /tv /anime or /tv/anime, just ensure that 1000:1000 owns the folder with chmod permissions of 775. Ensure that you follow proper naming schemes so if something says to put in /unionfs/tv and you want anime, setup as /unionfs/anime and make sure that the categories you create are like that. You should first ENSURE that the script is working and fetching shows as intended. If you do not, the edits you make may cause you problems along the way.
Q: Should I get a 120gb SSD drive and download movies that are 40GB big?
A: No, super-bad idea. Once user already attempted this. The problem is your disk needs enough space to unpack. On top of that, it takes time for files to move across your google drive. Use some common sense. In this case, anything I would have is no larger than 3GB.
Q: What are your Recommend Space Requirements?
A:
- Plex Only Server: Small Library (30GB-50GB) - Large Library (100GB+):
- Plex with USENET or Torrents: Small Library (80GB-100GB+) - Large Library (200GB-300GB+)
- Example: MetaDATA of 10000 Movies and 2000 shows can run 80Gigs big
- Warning: If backing up your library, you need space for the additional zip file!
Q: Why does my stuff appear to upload slowly to my Google Drive?
A: Google Drive has a 750GB daily upload limit (has nothing to do with how much your downloading or watching media from your Google Drive). On purpose, there is a move.sh or move-en.sh script under /opt/appdata/PlexGuide that has this handicap built in. We recommend you just leave it alone. If you hit the limit, you have to reboot your server (which causes headaches).
Q: Wait? Doesn't this make Plex Take Forever to Scan it pending upload?
A: Well yes and no. If you use /mnt/unionfs ... it's a merged drive of your plexdrive and local drive. Basically, plex doesn't know that it's local or remote. It just see it sitting in a drive. That's why it all works out!
Q: What type of Hard Drive should I use or plan for?
A: Read this: https://plexguide.com/threads/your-hard-drive-matters.293
Q: I want to do all kinds of cool stuff. Mount 3 drives, create custom folders, deploy my own programs; cool?
A: Not cool. The purpose of the project is deploy a media server with Google Drive as a back-end. Want to do something cool? Fork it, code it, and push it back and we'll add it (you're given credit). When your ideas consume tons of time (without doing any research) with things not related to the purpose of the project, this is known as Scope CREEP. The two pictures below explain it all! We are always open to ideas, but are limited with our time... but nothing says you cannot contribute and always feel free to bring up the idea on the forums (but help with a little research, please.)
Example: I want to have this run on my windows box, and have it run on my m2 drive, but i want to ensure ftp access can be configured between all my boxes; security right?
Answer: Did the user even know what they were asking? It's ok to ask out of not knowing, but you can tell they knew and asked a question with too many ideas (and didn't offer any basic research)
Q: I love what you guys are doing here! How can I help!
A: We need coders, designers, webmasters... whatever skill you have and you think it can help; please @Admin9705 or @Deiteq or @designgears. This project is based on having fun (with headaches) and making other's lives better through ease of a media server deployment.
