Remotely accessing plex on vpn

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stephenjones007
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Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

I was able to setup plex successfully on a ts-453mini. Everything works fine even remotely. The issue is that I now have a vpn client setup. Plex sometimes work and sometimes does not once the vpn client is activated. When it does work it is painfully slow which can be the vpn provider. My nas has 2 ethernet ports. I have a simple setup with just 1 router. I am curious if there is a way to setup the qnap to have the vpn client on 1 adaptor and plex on the other adaptor. This way, plex will have a direct connection to the internet and in theory ( or atleast I would like) everything else to get out to the internet using the vpn client which would be using the other adaptor.
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dolbyman
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by dolbyman »

I use plex via VPN (VPN server on the router) that should be much more secure than presenting the plex server to everyone on the internet

Where exactly is the VPN client setup (the one where you need a "VPN provider") is it on the qnap or external(router,VPN appliance etc)?
stephenjones007
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

dolbyman wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:31 am I use plex via VPN (VPN server on the router) that should be much more secure than presenting the plex server to everyone on the internet

Where exactly is the VPN client setup (the one where you need a "VPN provider") is it on the qnap or external(router,VPN appliance etc)?
The vpn client is setup on the qnap itself. I dont think my linksys router has the ability to function as a vpn server but will check. I was trying to set both a vpn client and vpn server on the qnap but my research concluded both server and client will not work at the same time when setup on the qnap.
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moody_blue
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Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by moody_blue »

QVPN can be used as server and as client. I use it as server for remote access, and as VPN client for disaster backup on a remote (Synology) NAS. And simultaneously.

I prefer to not use Plex via VPN. The Plex security mechanism is almost as good as the VPN, but there are other factors to consider. I would never share my VPN keys with anyone else, and if VPN is used Plex will loose its ability to adjust the bitrate (which is normally higher on local connections than on remote ones).
QNAP TS-253A 8G QTS 5.0.1.2145
Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6209
OpenHAB 3.4.0.M2
Unifi 7.2.92
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dolbyman
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by dolbyman »

Op never said he wanted to share the VPN access with other people ...

I manually adjust speed of the video stream if not set correctly (mobile plex app already sets it to low transcode most of the time)
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moody_blue
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by moody_blue »

Different users have different requirements. I share my Plex media with some members of my family but I do not share VPN keys with them. My secondary house is not setup to be part of the main one (it could be done, but would require extra HW) and its TV boxes rely on plex login to access plex server in my main house.
QNAP TS-253A 8G QTS 5.0.1.2145
Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6209
OpenHAB 3.4.0.M2
Unifi 7.2.92
Apache80 2454.8230
GLPI 10.0.3
stephenjones007
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

moody_blue wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:21 am QVPN can be used as server and as client. I use it as server for remote access, and as VPN client for disaster backup on a remote (Synology) NAS. And simultaneously.

I prefer to not use Plex via VPN. The Plex security mechanism is almost as good as the VPN, but there are other factors to consider. I would never share my VPN keys with anyone else, and if VPN is used Plex will loose its ability to adjust the bitrate (which is normally higher on local connections than on remote ones).
Are you using the qbelt or one of the other ones(openvpn etc) as the server on the nas?
stephenjones007
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

stephenjones007 wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:48 am
dolbyman wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:31 am I use plex via VPN (VPN server on the router) that should be much more secure than presenting the plex server to everyone on the internet

Where exactly is the VPN client setup (the one where you need a "VPN provider") is it on the qnap or external(router,VPN appliance etc)?
The vpn client is setup on the qnap itself. I dont think my linksys router has the ability to function as a vpn server but will check. I was trying to set both a vpn client and vpn server on the qnap but my research concluded both server and client will not work at the same time when setup on the qnap.
No vpn on the router sadly. Its a linksys ea9500.
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moody_blue
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by moody_blue »

stephenjones007 wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:36 am Are you using the qbelt or one of the other ones(openvpn etc) as the server on the nas?
I do not subscribe any VPN provider. I'm simply using QVPN with OpenVPN as client and as server in the NAS, and OpenVPN clients in my mobile devices (plus a OpenVPN server in my remote Syno to backup the QNAP via rsync).
QNAP TS-253A 8G QTS 5.0.1.2145
Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6209
OpenHAB 3.4.0.M2
Unifi 7.2.92
Apache80 2454.8230
GLPI 10.0.3
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moody_blue
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by moody_blue »

stephenjones007 wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:27 am I am curious if there is a way to setup the qnap to have the vpn client on 1 adaptor and plex on the other adaptor.
There is a Plex parameter in the server where you can specify which adaptor Plex will use, instead of letting Plex decide (often wrongly) which one to use.
QNAP TS-253A 8G QTS 5.0.1.2145
Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6209
OpenHAB 3.4.0.M2
Unifi 7.2.92
Apache80 2454.8230
GLPI 10.0.3
stephenjones007
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

moody_blue wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:32 pm
stephenjones007 wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:27 am I am curious if there is a way to setup the qnap to have the vpn client on 1 adaptor and plex on the other adaptor.
There is a Plex parameter in the server where you can specify which adaptor Plex will use, instead of letting Plex decide (often wrongly) which one to use.
Can you share how to change that parameter? Is it the preferred network interface? I added the local ip of the 2nd ethernet adaptor but that did not work could not find any other option. I am using a vpn provider as the client which I think is the issue. I will do a few other searches for that parameter meanwhile.
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moody_blue
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by moody_blue »

Yes, it is the preferred network interface. If you search your `Plex Media Server.log` for `Network interfaces` you will see the available adapters. In my case I have

Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - Network interfaces:
Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - * 1 lo (127.0.0.1) (loopback: 1)
Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - * 4 bond0 (10.100.10.210) (loopback: 0)

My preferred network interface contains `bond0`
QNAP TS-253A 8G QTS 5.0.1.2145
Plex Media Server 1.29.0.6209
OpenHAB 3.4.0.M2
Unifi 7.2.92
Apache80 2454.8230
GLPI 10.0.3
stephenjones007
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Posts: 115
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2013 9:39 pm

Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

moody_blue wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:27 am Yes, it is the preferred network interface. If you search your `Plex Media Server.log` for `Network interfaces` you will see the available adapters. In my case I have

Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - Network interfaces:
Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - * 1 lo (127.0.0.1) (loopback: 1)
Jan 24, 2020 13:52:52.855 [......] DEBUG - * 4 bond0 (10.100.10.210) (loopback: 0)

My preferred network interface contains `bond0`
Thanks. I got the vpn part working with qbelt, thought not plex fully. I had to uncheck it (qbelt) and then check it again in the "myqnapcloud" settings under enable upnp port fowarding. My new adventure is to figure out why plex is running slow now. If I play videos from the qfile app while on the vpn, the quality is normal, plex is horrible.
stephenjones007
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Re: Remotely accessing plex on vpn

Post by stephenjones007 »

dolbyman wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 6:24 am Op never said he wanted to share the VPN access with other people ...

I manually adjust speed of the video stream if not set correctly (mobile plex app already sets it to low transcode most of the time)
Correct, I will be the only one accessing it.
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