Servers and Users

[cmckoy 0]

Apparently Emby does not actually have a support staff that one can email for support. If they do, it’s so well hidden that I could not find it, so I decided to post my question here: 

I decided to try Emby a few months ago but something is quite confusing to me. I’ve used Plex and in Plex you can have multiple servers in the same user account, but it seems that in Emby, every server is labeled with/as a different user. Or at least that is how things ended up for me.

I have two computers at my house and I set them up as two severs but they also ended up being labelled as two different users. There doesn’t seem to be any larger user account that includes both servers, that both would be part of as in Plex.

Unless I did something wrong-? Is there a way to set up multiple servers inside of one user account?

I did create an Emby Connect account and I understand that it lets me access both servers/users by alternating between them, but it just seems odd to be “switching users” when the two servers are  both mine and on my computers.

I should add that I created the second server after logging into my Emby account, which I guess is just my Emby Connect, but it still set up the second server as a separate “user.” Very strange to me. 

Edited June 25, 2023 by cmckoy

[Abobader 3470]

Hello cmckoy,

** This is an auto reply **

Please wait for someone from staff support or our members to reply to you.

It's recommended to provide more info, as it explain in this thread:

Thank you.

Emby Team

[darkassassin07 652]

One of the big differences between emby and plex is that emby servers are entirely self hosted right down to the authentication/user management.

Each emby server is self contained with it's own set of users. Emby connect is just a way of reaching/logging in to those servers without having to know the ip/port or owning and setting up a domain.

 

Plex takes that authentication to their own public servers which your individual servers are also communicating with. Because the users are handled externally, it's easier to link multiple servers together, but a lot less private. (and more dependant on internet access)

Emby is built more for your own private media hosting, not turning your servers into some distributed cloud service combined with theirs.

Edited June 26, 2023 by darkassassin07

[cmckoy 0]

Thank you for explaining that. Ok, so if that is the intention of Emby, then, at least I know I was not using it incorrectly or setting it up wrong. 

A couple things still have me confused, though. First, the user name of the first server I set up is the same as the user name I chose for my Emby Connect account. This makes it seem as though the first server I set up is more part of my user account than the second server (on my other computer), which was given a different (auto-generated) user name. 

Second, I decided to try out Emby Premiere for a month and I noticed that when I’m logged into the first server (the one that was assigned my primary user name), a gold medal symbol appears that represents Emby Premiere and takes you to the Emby Premiere key when you click on it. But this gold medal does not show up when I’m logged into my second server.

So this reinforced my sense that I had done something wrong in not having the second server in my main user account. But you’re saying that everything is at it should be and that because the servers are self-contained, there is no need to have them all in the same user account-? 

I also have another problem that keeps recurring: When I’m on the Emby site in a web browser on my two computers, I am often only able to see the server that resides on that specific computer (by contrast, in the Emby Connect Mac app, I can see both servers). I’m wondering what is going on here. Why can I often not see both servers in the browser? I have checked and they are both active. Thanks! 

Edited June 26, 2023 by cmckoy

[cmckoy 0]

7 hours ago, darkassassin07 said:

One of the big differences between emby and plex is that emby servers are entirely self hosted right down to the authentication/user management.

Each emby server is self contained with it's own set of users. Emby connect is just a way of reaching/logging in to those servers without having to know the ip/port or owning and setting up a domain.

 

Plex takes that authentication to their own public servers which your individual servers are also communicating with. Because the users are handled externally, it's easier to link multiple servers together, but a lot less private. (and more dependant on internet access)

Emby is built more for your own private media hosting, not turning your servers into some distributed cloud service combined with theirs.

I just wrote a reply to your message but I forgot to quote you so I figured I would post it again with your message so that you see it.

Thank you for explaining that. Ok, so if that is the intention of Emby, then, at least I know I was not using it incorrectly or setting it up wrong. 

A couple things still have me confused, though. First, the user name of the first server I set up is the same as the user name I chose for my Emby Connect account. This makes it seem as though the first server I set up is more part of my user account than the second server (on my other computer), which was given a different (auto-generated) user name. 

Second, I decided to try out Emby Premiere for a month and I noticed that when I’m logged into the first server (the one that was assigned my primary user name), a gold medal symbol appears that represents Emby Premiere and takes you to the Emby Premiere key when you click on it. But this gold medal does not show up when I’m logged into my second server.

So this reinforced my sense that I had done something wrong in not having the second server in my main user account. But you’re saying that everything is at it should be and that because the servers are self-contained, there is no need to have them all in the same user account-? 

I also have another problem that keeps recurring: When I’m on the Emby site in a web browser on my two computers, I am often only able to see the server that resides on that specific computer (by contrast, in the Emby Connect Mac app, I can see both servers). I’m wondering what is going on here. Why can I often not see both servers in the browser? I have checked and they are both active. Thanks! 

Edited June 26, 2023 by cmckoy

[ebr 16187]

Hi.  Did you install your Premiere key on both servers?  Premiere is tied to a server, not an account - again for the reasons stated previously.  With Emby, your users are your users - not ours to monitor, mine and advertise to :).

Out of curiosity, why have you setup two servers?

[darkassassin07 652]

The server name is just cosmetic and can be changed in the dashboard with the three dots button beside the name.

You're actual username can also be set/changed in the user management page if you'd like (settings on your individual server(s), not emby connect)

You will have to install your emby premier key onto both your servers; you should have the key in an email but you can also just copy it from the server with the gold coin symbol to the one missing it. Dashboard>Emby Premier>Emby Premier Key.

 

 

Finally; make sure both local users are correctly linked to emby connect by adding your email address to each of their user configs.

Dashboard > Users > [your username] > Emby Connect Email

You should get an email for each one confirming the link.

Both server's should then be listed when you log into emby connect and select 'switch server'.

 

If you want external access (access to your servers from outside your home network) you'll have to setup port forwarding and ensure both servers are on seprate ports.

Edited June 26, 2023 by darkassassin07

[pwhodges 2012]

13 hours ago, cmckoy said:

I have two computers at my house and I set them up as two servers

You might consider using just one server and sharing the media from the other (this may depend on your network design), instead of switching between two servers.

Paul

[rbjtech 5284]

6 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

You might consider using just one server and sharing the media from the other (this may depend on your network design), instead of switching between two servers.

Paul

Understanding the need for two servers will allow us to advise further.

If it's because they hold different media - but you'd like a single account to access them both - then as Paul has said above, the easiest way is to make one of them the 'master' emby server - and simply access the other servers via a network share.    You could, if you wanted to, do the same with the secondary server - and it shares the masters media.    That way you'll have two emby 'servers' each with identical content - BUT the users will NOT be kept in sync unless you copy the user database from the master emby server.  

Let us know your scenerio and we'll try and assist further if required.