Is it possible to clone an Emby server on Linux without rescanning the

[Juanrendon 4]

Hello,

I have an Emby server running on Linux, and all the content is hosted on an Rclone connected to Dropbox. I'm considering creating a new Emby server on another machine and would like to avoid having to scan the entire library again, as this takes a long time.

My question is: is it possible to use the Backup & Restore plugin to clone metadata from the current server to the new one, ensuring that the new server recognizes the Dropbox files directly without needing a full scan? I will connect the same Rclone/Dropbox to the new server.

I appreciate any guidance or experience you can share.

Thanks in advance!
 

[Q-Droid 989]

Without more detail about your current server setup I would say it's much easier to clone Linux-to-Linux by copying the Emby server data to the new machine.

AS LONG AS:
- The emby user and associated groups are created/exist on the destination server. UIDs/GIDs don't have to match but it's easier if they do.
- The library paths are the same on the destination server. This is important because if they don't or can't match then IT WILL HAVE TO SCAN. There's no reliable way around this.

[Juanrendon 4]

Is there anyone here on the forums who has done this successfully?

[Luke 42077]

11 minutes ago, Juanrendon said:

Is there anyone here on the forums who has done this successfully?

HI, have you taken a look at this?

Configuration Backup

[Q-Droid 989]

3 hours ago, Juanrendon said:

Is there anyone here on the forums who has done this successfully?

Yes, many.

[tedfroop21 86]

4 hours ago, Juanrendon said:

Is there anyone here on the forums who has done this successfully?

I have.  Q-Droid has it right. 

You need the exact same media paths and the exact same users names set up FIRST. 

Then don't forget to check and set permissions for all files and folders the same as they were on your previous PC or installation.

Install Emby, restore, reboot....

Relatively the same as when you move a program to a different computer in windows, and you install the program, then copy the program files from the original PC over the installed files in their new home and all your preferences etc are there when you open the program in its new home.

I also keep my OS on it's own drive so if anything goes wrong when updating/upgrading or for any other reason -  my data files are unaffected.  I also make sure to RSYNC any config files like Fstab, Crontab, and shell scripts to a data drive - so if things go horribly wrong its just install, copy files, create users and mount points, restore backups of Emby and Lyrion (formerly Squeezebox server) rename any system drive mount points that are used for storage back to the same as before and done.

[guunter 49]

On 12/6/2024 at 9:38 AM, Juanrendon said:

Is there anyone here on the forums who has done this successfully?

I’ve done this many times although I just copy and paste the whole /var/lib/emby. I just recently went from a proxmox LXC to unraid docker. You just have to make sure your mount paths are named exactly the same.

[Luke 42077]

@Juanrendonhas this helped?

[Juanrendon 4]

On 12/8/2024 at 10:58 AM, guunter said:

He hecho esto muchas veces, aunque solo copio y pego todo el archivo /var/lib/emby. Hace poco pasé de un LXC proxmox a un Docker unraid. Solo tienes que asegurarte de que las rutas de montaje tengan exactamente el mismo nombre.

Hi, thanks for your reply. Could you please tell me step by step?  @guunter

Once I have copied and pasted the entire /var/lib/emby file, do I simply install the same version of emby and create the same folders? And with this, the library synchronization will not take long?

[guunter 49]

13 hours ago, Juanrendon said:

Hi, thanks for your reply. Could you please tell me step by step?  @guunter

Once I have copied and pasted the entire /var/lib/emby file, do I simply install the same version of emby and create the same folders? And with this, the library synchronization will not take long?

Yes if you make everything the exact same you shouldn’t have any issues. You will just have to change your HW transcoding settings of course since it’s different hardware.

[Juanrendon 4]

3 hours ago, guunter said:

Sí, si haces que todo sea exactamente igual, no deberías tener ningún problema. Por supuesto, solo tendrás que cambiar la configuración de transcodificación de hardware, ya que se trata de un hardware diferente.

Thanks for your reply, everything went well except that I have a conflict with the Emby Premiere key since the same one from the previous server was saved. I bought a new Emby Premiere key for this server and it still keeps loading. It could be because the backup server key is still in the file system. Do you know where this Emby Premiere key will be stored so that I can delete the one from the other server and avoid a conflict?

[Q-Droid 989]

21 hours ago, Juanrendon said:

Once I have copied and pasted the entire /var/lib/emby file, do I simply install the same version of emby and create the same folders? And with this, the library synchronization will not take long?

Not quite. You need to make sure the new server looks just like the old server BEFORE you try to run Emby. The installation will start the server automatically and if something is missing or mismatched at this point then it won't go as smoothly. 

 

4 hours ago, Juanrendon said:

Thanks for your reply, everything went well except that I have a conflict with the Emby Premiere key since the same one from the previous server was saved. I bought a new Emby Premiere key for this server and it still keeps loading. It could be because the backup server key is still in the file system. Do you know where this Emby Premiere key will be stored so that I can delete the one from the other server and avoid a conflict?

The premiere key is not per server, it's yours. The same key can be used on multiple servers so it doesn't make sense that you are seeing a conflict.

[Juanrendon 4]

1 hour ago, Q-Droid said:

No exactamente. Debes asegurarte de que el nuevo servidor se parezca al antiguo ANTES de intentar ejecutar Emby. La instalación iniciará el servidor automáticamente y, si falta algo o no coincide en este punto, no funcionará con la misma fluidez. 

 

La clave de estreno no es por servidor, es tuya. La misma clave se puede usar en varios servidores, por lo que no tiene sentido que veas un conflicto.

Good morning, someone has reported this in the past as well. I share the forum link. 

 

[Q-Droid 989]

Two things. 

The thread you linked covers duplicate server IDs and problems it can cause with Emby Connect. This is true and the thread also instructs how to correct it. 

You don't need to buy a new premiere key for each server. They can be shared and barring conflicts like the one above they will operate as expected. 

 

The same server ID and same Premier key will not keep your servers from running. Only certain features might have problems. 

[Juanrendon 4]

8 minutes ago, Q-Droid said:

Dos cosas. 

El hilo al que haces referencia trata sobre las identificaciones de servidor duplicadas y los problemas que pueden causar con Emby Connect. Esto es cierto y el hilo también explica cómo corregirlo. 

No es necesario comprar una nueva clave de estreno para cada servidor. Se pueden compartir y, salvo que surjan conflictos como el mencionado anteriormente, funcionarán como se espera. 

 

El mismo ID de servidor y la misma clave Premier no impedirán que sus servidores sigan funcionando. Solo ciertas funciones podrían tener problemas. 

Thanks for your reply, I'm going to resolve the duplicate ID issue with the thread you mentioned. I only have one last question: if, for example, I share an Emby Premiere key for 75 devices on 2 servers, are the devices on both servers added together or are there 75 devices left for each server?
 

[Q-Droid 989]

They are added together. The device limits and count apply to the license key regardless of how many servers are using it. So if the key is installed on one server or four the same device total and limit applies.