Skip to main content

Best Practices

Everyone who plans to host a Cardinal Media Server should read this page.

Legend

🟠 Important
🔵 Recommended

🟠 Disable the guest account before allowing remote access​

Before exposing your Media Server to the public internet it is imperative that you disable the guest account for security reasons.

If you are using a VPN service like Tailscale for remote access, disabling the guest account is optional but still recommended.

🟠 Use good account security practices​

  1. Use a password manager to generate a strong and unique password for your Cardinal account, and don't reuse it on other sites.
  2. Enable MFA in your Cardinal account settings.

🔵 Use fast storage​

Installing Cardinal Media Server on an SSD will result in much faster day-to-day speeds than if it was installed on a regular hard drive.

🔵 Use the recommended folder structures​

The indexing guide outlines the best way to structure your media files in your folders for each media type. Using the recommended structures will net better indexing results.