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. I know I need to learn it but while it’s on my to-do list, I’m not there yet.
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.
Debian
Debian
Debian
Yes, it’s relatively simple, especially with Docker. Back up the Plex folder from your windows machine. Once your new OS is set up, put the folder where you wanna store it and point Docker to that folder in the compose.yaml.
Does the docker container have gpu access for transcoding?
Yes, if you pass the gpu into the container
It is possible to pass transcoding - I’ll share my compose file when I’m at my computer
Let’s just say that I know nothing about docker and don’t plan to learn before I do this is swap (because these are both true things, and I edited the main post because everyone assumed I know docker and I absolutely don’t)
How does that change your reply, if at all?
I would recommend using Docker first on the windows machine as a step in the transition. I did exactly this when I was transitioning to debian from windows. It made the official switch insanely easy because all I had to do was set up the Docker filesystem to what it already knew and it started up without any issues.
My lessons learned:
Keep the database on an SSD. I put mine on a HDD and it corrupted.
When you say database, do you mean the OS and the server install? That’s my current setup; ssd for OS and anything that needs installing, with hdds for the actual content.
I’m sure docker is easier if you know it… that’s like the point, afaik, but while basic use might be easy, it’s… never ever that easy for me, something always goes wrong, which is why I haven’t bothered yet. I know I should, I know it’ll make things easier (hypothetically), but it feels like a huge undertaking for someone with no skills. I’ve been looking for a super noob friendly instruction guide, and have not found one that I can work with, tbh, without a bunch of other know-how that I don’t have. (If you know of any I’d be eternally grateful!!!)
That seems very odd to me, and a very serious bug, no? 🤨 I feel like the storage medium shouldn’t matter as long as it can keep up with data throughput (or eventually keep up, with some help with buffering via the kernel or some other mechanism).
Millions of database have run on hdds for decades just fine. They didn’t know what they’re talking about.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I put it on a larger HDD because my SSD was running out of space and it corrupted about a week later.
As a person who has been managing Linux servers for about a decade now, trust me that a few hours or days of learning docker now will save you weeks if not months in the future. Docker makes managing servers and dealing with updates trivial and predictable. Setting everything up in docker compose makes it easy to recover if something fails, it’s it’s self documenting because you can quickly see exactly how your applications are configured and running.