Migrating from TerraMaster NAS to Ubuntu Server (i5-12500) - best approach for preserving watched status with

[me@jackbenda.com 2]

Hi all,

I posted a while back about migrating my Emby server and got some helpful advice on hardware. Since then I've done a lot more research and planning, and I'm now about a week away from doing the actual migration. Wanted to sense-check my approach and ask a few questions before I crack on

Current Setup

Emby Server 4.8.8.0 running natively on a TerraMaster NAS (Realtek RTD1296, 1GB RAM, a fairly low-powered unit). Media files are stored locally on the NAS. I have 5 users, all linked via Emby Connect (each with their own email and password). Active Emby Premiere subscription.

New Setup

Dell OptiPlex 3000 SFF with an Intel i5-12500 (UHD 770 for Quick Sync). Running Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS with Emby installed natively (not Docker) for direct iGPU access via VAAPI.

I know some people suggested lighter hardware when I posted before, but the OptiPlex is also running a homelab alongside Emby (Docker stack with qBittorrent, Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, monitoring tools, and a few other self-hosted bits etc.) and I'll regularly have multiple Emby users streaming at once, so the extra headroom is deliberate.

The media files will stay on the TerraMaster NAS, which becomes a dedicated file server. The new server accesses them via an SMB mount. This means the library paths change: from something like /Volume1/public/Films (TerraMaster internal paths) to /mnt/nas/Films (SMB mount on the Ubuntu box).

Migration Approach

The path change is the tricky bit. Ideally I'd just use Emby's built-in Backup and Restore, but I couldn't find clear guidance on making it work for a cross-platform move where the source paths are NAS-local and the destination is an SMB mount on a separate Linux server. I know Path Substitution exists, but wasn't confident it would handle this cleanly. If anyone has done this successfully, I'd love to hear how, because I'm very happy to go that route if there's a straightforward way to get the paths right.

Failing that, my current plan is to use Trakt as a bridge to preserve watched status for all 5 users:

1. Install the Trakt plugin on the current TerraMaster Emby server
2. Create a separate Trakt.tv account for each of my 5 Emby users (a faff but I guess I only have to do it once)
3. Link each Emby user to their own Trakt account and sync watched history up to Trakt
4. Verify on trakt.tv that watched data looks correct for each user
5. Set up the new server with a fresh Emby install, add libraries pointing to the NAS mount paths, recreate the 5 user accounts
6. Install the Trakt plugin on the new server, link each user to their respective Trakt account
7. Sync watched history down from Trakt to the new Emby
8. Verify everything

I've also enabled "Save artwork to media folders" and "Save metadata to NFO files" on the current server, so metadata gets written into the media folders on the NAS and should be picked up automatically by the new server during its library scan.

Questions

1. Is there a better way to handle this? Would Backup and Restore with Path Substitution actually work for this kind of move (TerraMaster local paths to SMB mounts on Ubuntu), or is the Trakt approach more reliable?

2. Does Trakt preserve granular playback positions (e.g. 34 minutes into S02E05), or does it only sync binary watched/unwatched status? If resume positions are lost, that might push me towards trying Backup and Restore instead.

3. During the transition I may briefly have both servers running. All 5 users sign in via Emby Connect. If I create accounts on the new server and link the same Emby Connect emails, will the users' apps just show both servers and let them choose? Any risk of conflicts?

4. Once the old server is stopped, will the users' Emby apps automatically discover the new server, or will they need to manually re-add it? Trying to minimise disruption for less technical family members.

Thanks in advance. Happy to provide more detail if it helps.