Configuring Plex Media Server with Scaleway Object Storage

Plex is a client/server media player system comprising two main components:

• The Plex Server application, which is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and even some NAS devices.
• Plex clients that can be either a web-based interface, an application on smart TVs, streaming boxes, or other third-party applications.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Scaleway account logged into the console
• Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
• An SSH key
• An Instance running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (or later)
• An Object Storage bucket
• sudo privileges or access to the root user

Installing the required software

1. Connect to your Instance using SSH:

   ssh root@<your-instance-IP>

2. Update the APT package manager and the software already installed on the system:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y

3. Add the Plex repository:

   Add Plex's GPG key and create a new repository file:

   sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
   curl -fsSL https://downloads.plex.tv/plex-keys/PlexSign.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/plex.gpg
   echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/plex.gpg] https://downloads.plex.tv/repo/deb public main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plexmediaserver.list

4. Install Plex and s3fs:

   Update the APT package list and install the latest version of Plex and s3fs:

   apt update
   apt install -y plexmediaserver s3fs

Configuring s3fs

1. Create the folder on which you will mount the bucket:

   mkdir -p /mnt/media

2. Obtain and configure API keys for Scaleway Object Storage:

   • Log in to your Scaleway console and navigate to Object Storage.
   • Select or create a bucket.
   • Create an API key with ObjectStorageFullAccess permission.

3. Enter your API keys in the password file and set proper permissions:

   echo ACCESS_KEY_ID:SECRET_ACCESS_KEY | sudo tee /etc/passwd-s3fs
   sudo chmod 600 /etc/passwd-s3fs

4. Uncomment user_allow_other in the /etc/fuse.conf file:

   sudo nano /etc/fuse.conf
     [...]
     user_allow_other

5. Mount the bucket in the local file system:

   sudo s3fs BUCKET_NAME /mnt/media -o allow_other -o umask=0002 -o passwd_file=/etc/passwd-s3fs -o url=https://s3.REGION.scw.cloud

   Note

   Replace BUCKET_NAME with the name of your bucket and REGION with its appropriate code (e.g., nl-ams).

6. (Optional) Enable automatic mounting at boot by adding an entry to /etc/fstab:

   echo "s3fs#BUCKET_NAME /mnt/media fuse _netdev,allow_other,umask=0002,passwd_file=/etc/passwd-s3fs,url=https://s3.REGION.scw.cloud 0 0" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

Configuring Plex

1. Check that Plex is running:

   systemctl status plexmediaserver.service

   If the status is active (running), everything is fine.

2. Access the Plex interface through an SSH tunnel:

   • On Linux/macOS:
     ssh root@plex.server.ip -L 8888:localhost:32400

   • On Windows (using PuTTY):
     • Open PuTTY, enter your Instance IP, and navigate to Connection > SSH > Auth > Credentials.
     • Make sure the correct private key file is selected.
     • Navigate to Connection > SSH > Tunnels.
     • Set Source port to 8888 and Destination to localhost:32400.
     • Click Add, then Save, then Open to connect.

   Open a browser and go to http://localhost:8888/web to access Plex.

   Note

   A Plex account is required.

3. Configure the Plex server:

   • Open http://<plex.server.ip>:32400 in a browser.
   • Complete the setup wizard.
   • Add a library and specify /mnt/media/<Folder Name> as the media folder.
   Open Image over content
   Close current Lightbox

4. To upload media, use an S3-compatible tool like Cyberduck.

5. Trigger a media scan in Plex to display new files.

For more information, refer to Plex's official documentation.