I looked for this info but didn’t really see a thread about it, if there is one, a link is sufficient :)
I have a win 11 off-shelf mediocre pc for my Plex/jellyfin servers (basically nothing else on that pc; it also functions as a playback device, but it has all the libraries on it so does not matter at all how I access them) and fuck windows and stuff… it was a temporary replacement for my mobo-dead Ubuntu tower, but knowing more things than I did back then, I don’t want to ‘buntu either.
So I’m looking for a good stable distro with really good file management options; bulk rename with rules is a must even if it’s an additional program (built in to Ubuntu, very very nice utility for my exact use).
I’m thinking about trying pop, tbh mostly because I’ve heard of it and mostly good things, but idk if that’s good for the use case I have, and I do NOT want to distro-hop this specific computer. Whatever it gets has to be good enough to be a long-term stable choice (to the best of anyone’s knowledge), because I’m not going to change it later; that’s almost certainly too much work. I’ve tried a few Debian-based distros, and whatever Mint is (I do not like mint at all, please don’t suggest it) on a real old enterprise tower with 16 USB ports and 4gig ram (literally nothing, including antixlinux, runs well on it and I don’t really know why…). and plan to convert a laptop with touchscreen for gaming down the line, but this specific machine is not meant for change. Ever. That’s why it’s taken me 2 years to be willing to go back to Linux. Because change means a lot of work.
Edit to add: I know zero about docker. That apparently matters, and I didn’t think to mention it. It’s… probably beyond my capabilities at this point, but even if it isn’t, fucking stop, omg. Shut the fuck up about docker. I know I need to learn it eventually, but while it’s on my to-do list, I’m not there yet. And importantly, I -do not want- to have to learn docker for this relatively minor self-host project when I’ve been managing it for over a decade without docker bullshit. I am sure it’s “super easy” like all you tech bros say, but I’m not ready for that level of unnecessary complication. I don’t use docker now, I don’t really -want- it to be necessary for what I’m doing (because it isn’t necessary).
Skill level: meh? Not a total noob, learned how to split tunnel just to keep my server up while VPN was active back when that was necessary, and figured out how to solve most of the issues I had with it (fucking nvidia…). Prefer CLI for program management and GUI for everything else. Worked windows tech support dealing with sql and winservers for SaaS, but no official skills or training. Only used windows, Ubuntu, and antix for any significant time.
Bonus round: anyone who’s ever transferred Plex servers from win to Linux (insert flavor), is it actually possible to keep my collections and playlists and stuff? I haven’t really messed with my jelly stuff because nobody but me ever uses it, but Plex is sort of a thing for like a dozen people I know, as “home” users. The last time I went from windows to Linux, in 2019, nothing transferred other than the files… but my library is 30tb now, not 10, and has a lot more curation than it used to, so that’s a much bigger problem than it used to be.
I do my downloads manually at the moment because everything I’ve seen for radarr, sonarr, overseerr, etc. require docker and I’m nowhere near docker level skills.No idea where to even start. I view my servers as a zen curation effort. It makes me happy to do, so I don’t mind (tho I don’t want to redo it if I can avoid it), but some stuff, like original doctor who and lots of the educational stuff I like, are an absolute disaster for Plex… the season/episode naming is just very different… so I want it for stuff like that.
I don’t mind the idea of raw Debian but I’ve heard it’s a pain to set up if you don’t already know what you are doing with it? And I’m not sure I know what I’m doing with it.
Docker is pretty easy to use, and is easy to play with either on your own system (linux or windows) or in VM guest system. The learning curve isn’t that high and Jellyfin for example has a clear set up guide for docker on their wiki.
But radarr, sonarr etc can be installed directly within linux without docker. The Servarr wiki (that these projects use officially to share information as they’re so similar) has lots of straight forward guides for set up on Linux, Windows, Mac etc as well as Docker.
I have a Linux guest VM set up with a Radarr, Sonarr etc set up, VPN and torrent set up. It was easy to do and means its network activity is all securely contained away from my host system. The tools let me set naming rules and file preferences. The library is a shared n folder in my host system, and that is included in my Jellyfin library. So all I have to do is subscribe to something i am interested in and it will just appear in my library once downloaded. The servarr tools are extremely convenient and worth looking at if you’re adding to that 30tb library over time.
That sounds pretty easy. I guess maybe docker is just this… like… monolithic thing everyone says you need to know and I… don’t…? So having the vm option is probably chill, thanks!
I’m sure it’s not as big as it seems, but it just… seems super overwhelming.
I’ll do some looking into that. It’s just been this… albatross. I’d love to have the rrs set up. I appreciate a non-docker starting point! Thank you!
Back when I was using Sonarr a couple years ago before that really good free tracker died, I wasn’t using docker at all. Just a systemd unit for the server and one for the web interface I believe, or maybe just the one for both. I’m on Arch.
I hope that helps.
That does help, thank you!
I’m not ready to dive into docker, so very helpful. :)
You should stop listening to whoever told you Debian is hard to set up or keep running immediately, and never go to them for advice, ever again, about anything.
If you can install Plex on Windows, Ubuntu, or MacOS you can install it on Debian. It’s not fucking Arch ffs.