Media files and server application data

Source media and server application data have different contents and recovery lifecycles, even when they occupy the same physical device.

A film file contains encoded media. Emby application data describes how the server organizes and serves that collection, alongside settings and user state.

The two can occupy the same disk, but they have different jobs. Moving the films does not automatically move the server's organization, and restoring the server configuration does not recreate missing film bytes.

One title has several kinds of state

Stored information Example role
Source film Encoded video, audio and embedded media information
Local sidecars Subtitles, artwork or metadata stored beside media
Catalog record Server item identity and indexed information
User-specific state Resume position, played status or favorites
Server configuration Library paths and behavior settings
Plugin state Data maintained by a particular extension

Some media containers have rich embedded metadata, but that does not make them a complete copy of every server user's state. A user's favorite selection belongs to the server/application relationship rather than to the movie's video stream.

A migration can recover one role and miss another

An original migration copies all source films to a new host. The new server can scan those files and create a catalog. That does not establish that it recovered the previous users' resume positions or the same item identities.

Conversely, restored application data can still refer to the old host's paths. The catalog may be present while playback fails because the source is inaccessible.

A complete migration must reconcile those relationships through the supported workflow, including the server's actual execution identity and paths.

Regeneration has a scope

Generated thumbnails or some caches can have documented rebuild paths. User history and manually configured relationships have different recovery value. Treating every application-data file as disposable because a scan can rediscover films loses that distinction.

Media backups protect the content files. Application-data backups protect the supported set of server state. A restoration is successful when the recovered roles connect into the service you intended to recover.

See Also

References