Looking for an Unraid Guru to help with a unique Unraid Channels DVR install that records back to a share on my Synology NAS

[walker63]

I've recently switched from a Synology Plex Docker container install on my DS1520+ to a new Unraid install on an 11th gen Intel Nuc, with Docker container data residing on a pair of SSD's in a cache pool, while the Plex Unraid container points back to my library folders on my NAS.

I don't have a hard drive for the Unraid array, but was able to use a flashdrive to satisfy that requirement and create my cache pool when spinning up Unraid.

The Iris Xe iGPU is so much nicer than the Celeron quick sync enabled CPU that's in my NAS.

I set Channels DVR up yesterday on this new special Unraid build, but after recording 4 or 5 shows last night discovered that the recordings are actually going to the Unraid cache pool at appdata/channels-dvr/TV, intead of to the Synology share I created and tried to mount.

The unassigned devices connection is mounted and survives an Unraid reboot to automatically connect again.

With Plex, my media is in a Synology share named plex, with sort folders for each type of Plex library as the first folders, that a Synology user named unraid, has read access only to.

My actual library folders are nested below this library type sort folders, with the sort folder tv holding both a tv and kidstv library subfolder.

This Host path configuration in Unraid (/mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95_plex/tv) lets me access my tv libray sort folder, to them add independent Plex TV libraries by pointing at either of the sub-folders.

The same for the Unraid container's path for movies with...

/mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95_plex/movie

I had to add an additional path of /mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95_plex/music to be able to see my multiple music library folders in order to add a music libraries to Plex.

I felt it was necessary to share all that success to understand why I attempted to set the new Channels DVR container in Unraid this way.

For Channels DVR I stopped my old Channel's DVR container that I setup easily with Portainer on the Synology NAS, and created a new Synolgy share called channels-dvr-unraid, that I gave the Synology user named unraid both read and write access to, which I've since doubles and tripled checked.

The Channels DVR app on Unraid gave me two paths to configure.

I'm using /mnt/cache/appdata/channels-dvr for the Appdata line.

At first I tried /mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95/channels-dvr-unraid/ for the DVR field, and have been trying different configurations without any success.

No matter how I adapt this DVR line, recordings are mate in the Unraid cache pool.

I've tried to fully explain my folder structure with both Plex and Channels DVR in the hope that there's an UNRAID guru in the forum to help with my unique use of Unraid as only a Docker container host with storage on a Synology NAS.

I know most people would have a full Unraid build with Channels DVR recordings on Unraid’s array, but that's not my setup and my media storage will stay on my DS1522.

On a positive note, I have two 500GB SSD's for my cache pool and automatically delete watched episodes, while only keeping the last episode, so if I have too, I can leave my recordings on the cache pool, but I'd like to have Channels DVR deposit my recordings on my Synology NAS.

With Channels DVR running on my NAS, it takes about 20 or 25 minutes for commercial detection to finish with a half hour sitcom.

I checked last night 5 minutes after a half hour program finished recording, and the Unraid install had already detected the commercials, so I'm very pleased with my experience so far, even though it’s not fully implemented.

Any help with my path back to my Synology NAS will be greatly appreciated, so thanks in advance.

[Marino13]

Your container path /shares needs to be mapped to the folder you want to record on in the docker container setup. Then choose /shares/your mapped folder from the DVR line. The appdata folder is for the actual channels DVR installation files.

[walker63]

I’m trying to follow your advice.

From my Main tab in Unraid my mounted Synology share’s mount point is /mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95_channels-dvr-unraid//shares/DVR

I have the channels-dvr-unraid share setup on the Synology NAS, and can browse into it from the Mount Point in Unraid, so that part appears fine.

I’ve just created a fresh container install in Unraid using these parameters after clicking edit for the DVR field.

Name = DVR

Container Path: = /shares/DVR (with that folder structure already created in the channels-dvr-unraid share on the Synology NAS)

Host Path: = /mnt/remotes/192.168.68.95_channels-dvr-unraid/shares/DVR

Access Mode: = Read/Write

And still a recording ends up on the cache pool.

Playing around earlier with different options allowed me to record 10 minutes of a program that didn’t land in the cache pool, but then I couldn’t find where it ended up in either Unraid or my NAS.

I’m giving up for the evening.

[Morris_Altman]

The SMB share on your NAS probably needs an account that has read and write access to the share. Your channels DVR will need to run under this account or to use this account in the the mount command to it can have access rights.

[walker63]

I think my issue is hard to explain so I screen recorded where getting the Docker container going is having an issue compared to the success I've had adding extra paths for my Plex container.

I believe the paths back to my NAS through Unassigned Devices are all proper, and the unraid user I created on the Synology NAS has read/write permissions.

It's a 9 minute unlisted video and I appreciate any help I can get.

Unique Channels DVR Unraid setup pointing to a Synology NAS

[krazijoe]

Invoke the Mover?

[walker63]

I don't know what the mover is, but if it moved my Channels DVR recordings from my Unraid cache pool to my Synology NAS, would they display correctly in all my Channels DVR client apps?

[Marino13]

It should be fine. If you want it to write directly to the NAS then change the use cache pool setting to no under the share setup in unraid. Sounds like you have it set to yes or prefer.

[walker63]

@Marino13

use cache pool setting

From the main tab and while at the SMB Shares NFS Shares ISO Shares secion...

When I can click into the gear icon for the smb channels dvr share which has this mount point...192.168.68.95_channels-dvr-unraid

I see four options...
Disable Mount Point Button.
Read Only
Automount
Share

Only the AUTOMOUNT option is selected.

Should I enable SHARE?

I do not see a cache pool option in this area.

Or am I in the wrong section?

If I'm in the wrong section, will changing the cache pool setting to no affect the docker containers residing on the cache pool?

I'm really only two weeks into using Unraid, and I'm surprised that I've been as successful as I have been so far.

[krazijoe]

Shares | Unraid Docs

There is also a ? you can click on in Unraid to get help on that specific page.

[walker63]

I’m not able to select anything besides Cache because that setting is grayed out in the Share Settings section.

Again, this is a unique Unraid install with only a flashdrive used as the one array device, with two SSD’s connected to the only ports this Intel NUC has, while setup as my two cache pool devices.

I’ve pointed the appdata for both containers to the cache pool, because there’s no where else to point them to.

There is not any local storage on Unraid, and my Plex install points back to my Synology NAS and works perfectly, although I haven’t tried to use Plex’s DVR, which I’ll attempt later today.

My Channel’s DVR mount point sees my NAS, but it’s as if I don’t have permission to write to it, even though everywhere I seem to look in both Synology DSM and Unraid says that read/write permission is enabled.

[krazijoe]

I would ask in the Unraid forums. Seems to me to be overkill just to run unraid and throw everything somewhere else. Not a Guru, just trying to help, but if you really want Unraid help, I would ask there as they can probably help you better.

But I don';t think it's an Unraid thing either, where are you telling Channels to Save the DVR recordings?

[walker63]

All I had in the settings of Channels DVR was a storage path of /channels-dvr that can't be removed or edited.

I stopped the container and manually added a /shares/DVR/TV and /shares/DVR/Movies, and was easily able to browse to them as I added the new paths.

After restarting the container, I strarted a recording and it again went to cache/appdata/channels-dvr/TV on my Unraid cache pool.

It's as if I'm missing a key permission setting somewhere on either the Synology NAS or in Unraid.

I'm done for today, but tomorrow I"m going to redo my mount points for the NAS in Unraid by using one of my admin accounts on the Synology NAS.

Even though my Plex container seemed to be working perfectly, I also failed to record to the Synology library I setup for Plex's DVR earlier today.

Neither container can write to the Synology NAS.

Also, I'm not interested in Plex's DVR feature, but thought it was a good way to troubleshoot the Channels DVR issue.

[krazijoe]

I would add a couple paths to the Synology for Movies and TV, like alternate paths to see if it throws them there so Channels knows where to put them. As for why it's not moving. You may need to download an app or get a cron job going to move the files to their new location.