Google Drive + Ubuntu Server on Azure

[sonusfaber 17]

I am evaluating a different setup...

Since i sync my local NAS to Google Drive for backup purpose, I am trying to run emby on the cloud so I can reach my library without opening the VPN to my home.

Google Drive hosts my movies and all of them are encrypted with RClone. A VM on Microsoft Azure runs Ubuntu and Emby; this VM mounts the remote with RClone.

Everything works even if it is a bit slower: let me explain. When I start to play a movie it is very very fast... 3 or 4 seconds and it starts... more or less like on premise.
What is slow is browsing media. Jumping from one library to another etc. but as soon I hit "play" on a movie it is ok.
No matter to increase the number of CPU on the Azure VM... it is not a problem of CPU.
Browsing my library from my home using the VPN is much more fast, so I suppose that it is because of Rclone and its encryption. 

Is any way to improve this? Maybe someone has more experience than me on this subject.

P.S.: the command I use is very simple: rclone mount remote:path /local/path --allow-other

 

Thanks

[Luke 42086]

Hi there, can we please look at an example?

Thanks.

[sonusfaber 17]

Ciao Luke

To better investigate, I copied some movies from the library to the local file system of the VM in the Azure cloud and yes... the root cause of the slowness is the mount from Google cloud to Microsoft Cloud with RClone and the encryption.

I never used RClone to mount a remote... maybe this behaviour is normal...  

I am just asking to other users if there are suggestion to improve.

Anyway... Emby is a great piece of SW... I appreciate it day by day and I am more than happy to pay for use it.

Luke... what about "bit perfect" audio? Maybe I can abandon JRiver to play my music!!!

[Luke 42086]

Thanks for the feedback.

[sonusfaber 17]

On 12/28/2021 at 5:17 AM, Luke said:

Thanks for the feedback.

Luke

I have a question... I am not so sure that what I wrote is correct... it was my very first feedback but, after more investigation, I am not so sure.

Anyway, suppose to start from scratch: install Ubuntu, Rclone, Emby, mount GDrive etc.
Then I add a library into emby. Emby starts ti scan the library and, soon or late, it completes.

At this point, if one open the web browser or the Emby app on Android and point to the server, before playing any movie but just browsing titles... 
1) data such as thumbnails, pictures, titles, etc are retrieved by Emby client from the Emby server only or also something comes from GDrive?
2) data of the above 1) are cached by the emby client?

I am asking such question because if I hit "play" on a movie it starts almost immediately even if it is hosted and ecrypted on GDrive, but the problem is browsing the library... it is slow and sometime is stops after loading some title.
I also increased the number of CPU of the Azure VM from 1 to 2 to 4 with no improvement at all.
Sometimes I can see the "box" with just the name of the movie but with no thumbnail... sometime I ca see just boxes without both title and thumbnails

thanks 

[Luke 42086]

Quote

1) data such as thumbnails, pictures, titles, etc are retrieved by Emby client from the Emby server only or also something comes from GDrive?

It goes through your emby server, which then goes to your G drive, and there is caching in both the server and clients along the way.

[sonusfaber 17]

I thought such elements were part of the the metadata built during the library scanning and stored into the Emby server...

[Luke 42086]

18 hours ago, sonusfaber said:

I thought such elements were part of the the metadata built during the library scanning and stored into the Emby server...

The library scan doesn't make full copies of things like image files, although options for that are possible for the future.

[sonusfaber 17]

Ok, got it... then this could be the reason why browsing Emby libraries is slower when media are stored remotely, encrypted and mounted using RClone.

The possibility to have Emby to cache or to store in its library movies images etc will be highly appreciated.

is this in the roadmap?

thanks

[Luke 42086]

Quote

The possibility to have Emby to cache or to store in its library movies images etc will be highly appreciated.

Yes more options to control this are possible for the future. Thanks.