Unexplained traffic from Plex Media Server - am I reading this right?

I am a new user so any help would be appreciated. I have monitored my PC for the last month, and it is showing over 9 GB external traffic downloaded by Plex Media Server. My Plex server is strictly used on my local network so I cannot imagine why it would use up such a large amount.
Before I ask Plex, I thought I would ask here and see if I am reading this correctly.
Not sure if I can post pictures, so here is what I am seeing in GlassWire:
On the Usage page, I click “Apps” and highlight “Plex Media Server”, it shows “Incoming External” traffic of 9.6 GB down. In the Hosts list there are the usual ones Plex uses but the one that uses 9.5 GB is an IP address instead of a website address - something like 2xx.255.255.2xx (I obscured the numbers just in case) but they are definitely weird. Under traffic type it says “Microsoft SSDP Enables discovery of UPnP devices - 9.5 GB”

I am just wondering if it is confusing local traffic inside my network for external traffic. I actually have 2 routers chained together, the Uverse one in the basement doing all the routing and a 2nd one on the main floor that acts as a switch but provides wifi to the house. The Plex server is connected to the 2nd one.

Thanks!
Dave

I also run Plex. Keep in mind it is not a standalone app and there are many factors to explain your concern. Plex routinely reaches out to update metadata, song lyrics, art etc. and The size of your library’s will determine how much of the previous it needs and constantly refreshes. If you have remote access enabled and which client you use are also factors. Just some thoughts to keep in mind, also the Plex forums are a great resource.

I appreciate your reply but to clarify a couple things, one is that I do not have remote access enabled. Second no matter how much I have in my library I find it unlikely that Plex would take 9+ GB to download metadata. I do have a large library (mostly my music) which is mostly static and has been there for years. Only a few new things appear in it per week. Also, there are other more likely entries in the Host list, things like www_plex_tv, etc. that only use a few hundred MB or less. I would assume this is for that metadata.
Thanks for replying, I will definitely check the Plex forums but I wanted to make sure I was reading this correctly. It just feels strange with the entries for IP address and traffic type.

1 Like

@squiddog

Please email us some screenshots with more details and we’ll see what’s up, thanks!

https://www.glasswire.com/contact/

hey,
i was also looking for the same issue, and i came across this forum. can anyone provide another solution because these didn’t worked for me.
thanks in advance.
regards!!

@scofficial

What is wrong exactly? Do you see GlassWire shows Plex data usage and you think the info is incorrect? It’s unlikely to be incorrect.

Check out this link to learn how we test GlassWire for accuracy and how you can check it yourself.
https://blog.glasswire.com/2016/06/15/glasswire-network-monitoring-accuracy/

I had a little chuckle when I saw that this issue has the same solution as one I just wrote. The problem is that the traffic is generated during automatic discovery and configuration using UPnP. The solution is usually to turn it off at your router:

2 Likes

@Remah

Interesting! I did not know you could disable UPnP. I wonder if it makes it a lot more difficult to set up new printers, etc…?

I have UPnP disabled and Windows easily finds new printers by scanning local ports. It takes more time but isn’t difficult.

AFAIK, the main vulnerability is when port forwarding outside the local network, e.g. viewing an IP security camera on your home network when you are not at home. So disabling UPnP would prevent such automatic port forwarding across a WAN or the Internet.