Build the ultimate media server

Summer holidays are coming and Jonni Bidwell wants you to enjoy them the right way – with a Linux-powered home media server.

Summer holidays are coming and APC wants you to enjoy them with a Linux-powered home media server

Summer is upon us and all kind of creatures and forces are at work. The veil between the worlds is thin, and on a warm moonlit eve you might hear the call of the Old Ones. Or perhaps that’s the appeals of your long-neglected media collection, urging you to pay it some attention on these balmy nights.

Either way, hunker down as we show you how to set up a top-class media server with Plex and Linux. You’ll be streaming your media all around the house in no time. With very little effort Plex gives you a Netflix-like interface for navigating your movie, TV show and music collection. If you have a TV tuner, then Plex can use that too. If you already have a NAS device, then you can probably install Plex on it. We’ll look at doing so, both traditionally and the new-fangled way with Docker.

And if you care for music more than you do for films we’ll look at Airsonic. Install it at home or in the cloud, throw your music collection at it and you can stream your music anywhere in the world. Only a web browser is required to listen, and Airsonic is completely open source. It’s related to Subsonic and Madsonic, which you may have heard of, and mobile apps compatible with those sonic siblings can be used with Airsonic too.

We’ve also got some advice on hardware, and guidance on some other software that’s worthy of your attention. So never mind the ghosts and ghouls – in fact, they probably want to join you for a scary movie night. Invite them over. What’s the worst that could happen…