Mounting SMB/CIFS Shares from a NAS in Linux and Setting Up Plex

Struggling with network storage in Linux and not sure where to begin? You’re not alone! In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the complete process of mounting SMB shares in Linux and configuring a Plex Media Server using external NAS storage.

Getting Your System Ready

First, let’s install the necessary packages for SMB/CIFS support:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cifs-utils

Next, we’ll need to know your user ID (UID) and group ID (GID) for proper permissions. Get these with:

id -u $USER    # Usually 1000 both for the first user
id -g $USER    # Usually 1000 for the first user

Now, let’s create a cozy home for your NAS shares:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/nas/{series,movies,config}

Understanding the permissions we’ll use:

644 for files (owner can read/write, group and others can read)
755 for directories (owner can read/write/execute, group and others can read/execute)

The Secret Vault: Setting Up Credentials

Security first! Let’s create a secure vault for your NAS credentials:

sudo nano /root/.credentials

Inside, store your credentials like this:

username=your_username
password=your_password

Lock down that vault with the proper permissions (600 means only root can read and write):

sudo chmod 600 /root/.credentials

The Magic of SMB/CIFS Mounting

Now comes the exciting part - telling your system how to connect to your NAS. We’ll edit the system’s mount blueprint:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add these magical incantations (adjust IP address, UID and GID as needed). Note how we set specific permissions for optimal security:

#SMB/CIFS Folders
//192.168.1.119/series    /mnt/nas/series    cifs    credentials=/root/.credentials,iocharset=utf8,vers=3.1.1,_netdev,uid=1000,gid=1000,file_mode=0644,dir_mode=0755    0    0
//192.168.1.119/movies    /mnt/nas/movies    cifs    credentials=/root/.credentials,iocharset=utf8,vers=3.1.1,_netdev,uid=1000,gid=1000,file_mode=0644,dir_mode=0755    0    0
//192.168.1.119/config    /mnt/nas/config    cifs    credentials=/root/.credentials,iocharset=utf8,vers=3.1.1,_netdev,uid=1000,gid=1000,file_mode=0644,dir_mode=0755    0    0

uid/gid: Sets the owner of the mounted files

file_mode/dir_mode: Sets default permissions

_netdev: Ensures mounting after network is available

vers=3.1.1: Sets SMB protocol version

Bringing It All Together

Before we can mount our shares, we need to refresh the system’s memory:

systemctl daemon-reload

Now, let’s mount everything:

sudo mount -a

Setting Up Plex with Docker

Now that we have our storage ready, let’s set up Plex! First, create a directory for your docker-compose file:

mkdir ~/plex-docker
cd ~/plex-docker

Create the docker-compose.yml file:

nano docker-compose.yml

Add this configuration (notice how we match the UID/GID from earlier):

---
services:
  plex:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: plex
    network_mode: host
    environment:
      - PUID=1000    # Use the UID we found earlier
      - PGID=1000    # Use the GID we found earlier
      - TZ=Europe/Madrid
      - VERSION=docker
      - PLEX_CLAIM=    # Optional - get from plex.tv/claim
    volumes:
      - /mnt/nas/config:/config
      - /mnt/nas/series:/tv
      - /mnt/nas/movies:/movies
    restart: unless-stopped

Deploy the container using Docker Compose:

docker-compose up -d

Verification: Trust But Verify

Let’s make sure everything is working as expected:

df -h | grep nas
ls -la /mnt/nas/*
docker ps | grep plex
docker logs plex

Accessing Plex

Once everything is up and running, access your Plex server at http://YOUR-SERVER-IP:32400/web

Troubleshooting Tips

If things aren’t working quite right, here are some handy diagnostic commands:

Check system logs: dmesg | grep cifs
Verify mounts: mount | grep cifs
Check permissions: ls -la /mnt/nas/
Check Plex container: docker exec -it plex ls -la /tv

And if all else fails, you can always try remounting everything and restarting Plex:

sudo mount -a
docker restart plex