People resoundingly suggested using containers. So I’ve been reading up. I know some things about containers and docker and what not. But there are a few decision points in the jellyfin container install instructions that I don’t know the “why”.
Data: They mount the media from disk, which is good cause it’s on a NAS. But for the cache and config they use docker volumes. Why would I want a docker volume for the config? Wouldn’t I want to be able to see it from outside the container easier? What am I gaining by having docker manage the volume?
Cache: I saw a very old post where someone mentioned telling docker to use ram for the cache. That “seems” in theory like a good idea for speed. I do have 16gb on the minipc that I am running this all on. But I don’t see any recent mentions of it. Any pros/cons?
The user. I know from work experience that generally you don’t want things running as root in the container. But… do you want a dedicated user for each service (jellyfin, arr*)? Or one for all services, but not your personal user? Or just use your personal user?
DLNA. I had to look that up. But I don’t know how it is relevant. The whole point seems to be that jellyfin would be the interface. And DLNA seems like it would allow certified devices to discover media files?
Hey, sorry for the late response—I missed the reply coming in.
I like docker volumes for multiple nodes because there’s no guarantee that multiple systems will have the same directory structure to bindmount, but moving volumes between nodes is relatively straightforward config-wise, which is a reason you’d use them in k8s.
As for latency in streaming: I think of latency sensitive operations as mostly things that need two-way communication. So, for example, if you wanted to play a game over a network, you’d need the controls to respond to your input immediately. Or if you’re making a voip call, you’d want the two sides of the conversation to be in sync. On the other hand, a video stream doesn’t typically download in real-time. The file fills a buffer on your computer ahead of you watching it. So the downloading isn’t happening synchronously with you watching it unless there’s a serious network bottleneck.