Configuring Plex for the Lab VLAN

Overview

This article completes the Plex migration to the Lab VLAN. Plex in Kubernetes requires additional configuration to work across VLANs: a static IP from MetalLB's static pool, proper IP advertisement to Plex.tv, and LAN network settings so clients on other VLANs are recognized as local.

Before You Begin

Prerequisites

• MetalLB Migration completed

What We're Setting Up

Why These Settings

Plex in Kubernetes needs explicit configuration for VLAN environments:

• Static IP: Services needing stable URLs should use MetalLB's static pool
• ADVERTISE_IP: Tells Plex to publish the LoadBalancer IP instead of pod IP
• Custom URL: Ensures clients discover the correct address via Plex.tv
• LAN Networks: Clients on Trusted VLAN (192.168.30.x) are treated as local, not remote

Configure Static IP

ConfigMap

Define the IP and ADVERTISE_IP in a ConfigMap, then inject them into the HelmRelease using valuesFrom. This follows the same pattern used for secrets like plex-claim.

k8s/apps/plex/configmap.yaml:

---
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
    name: plex-vars
    namespace: plex
data:
    ADVERTISE_IP: "http://192.168.10.40:32400"
    PLEX_IP: "192.168.10.40"

HelmRelease

Add valuesFrom entries to inject the ConfigMap values at the correct paths. The backslash escapes the dots in the annotation key.

k8s/apps/plex/helmrelease.yaml (HelmRelease section):

# ... existing HelmRepository + HelmRelease header ...
spec:
    # ... existing spec.interval, chart ...
    valuesFrom:
        - kind: Secret
          name: plex-claim
          valuesKey: claim
          targetPath: extraEnv.PLEX_CLAIM
        - kind: ConfigMap # ADD
          name: plex-vars # ADD
          valuesKey: ADVERTISE_IP # ADD
          targetPath: extraEnv.ADVERTISE_IP # ADD
        - kind: ConfigMap # ADD
          name: plex-vars # ADD
          valuesKey: PLEX_IP # ADD
          targetPath: service.annotations.metallb\.universe\.tf/loadBalancerIPs # ADD
    values:
        # ... existing image, extraEnv.TZ, service.type, service.port ...
        # ... existing pms, extraVolumes, extraVolumeMounts ...

Kustomization

Add the ConfigMap to resources:

k8s/apps/plex/kustomization.yaml:

# ... existing header ...
resources:
    - namespace.yaml
    - configmap.yaml # ADD
    - pvc.yaml
    - secret.sops.yaml
    - helmrelease.yaml

Commit Changes

git add k8s/apps/plex/
git commit -m "feat(plex): add static IP and ADVERTISE_IP for cross-VLAN"
git push

Reconcile and Restart

flux reconcile source git flux-system
flux reconcile kustomization sync
kubectl rollout restart statefulset -n plex plex-plex-media-server

Verify Static IP

kubectl get svc -n plex

Expected: External IP shows 192.168.10.40.

Verify Configuration

Check Plex Network Settings

Open Plex Web UI (http://192.168.10.40:32400/web) → Settings → Network → Show Advanced.

Verify these settings are populated¹:

• Custom server access URLs: http://192.168.10.40:32400
• LAN Networks: 192.168.30.0/24

LAN Networks tells Plex to treat Trusted VLAN clients as local (no bandwidth restrictions). Without it, clients from a different subnet would be treated as remote.

Test Streaming

From Apple TV or another Trusted device, play content and verify full quality streaming.

Check Plex Dashboard

In Plex Web UI → Activity → Dashboard:

• Active streams should show "direct play" for local clients
• No bandwidth throttling indicators

Next Steps

With Plex configured for the Lab VLAN, Phase 2 migration is complete. Continue with infrastructure hardening.

See: Tailscale Hardening

Resources