Having discussed how to install SABnzbd in Windows and Ubuntu, let us now look at how to configure SABnzbd to make it work the way you want it to. If you have not yet followed my guides on setting up SABnzbd on Windows and Ubuntu, please do so before continuing with the configuration. As you may know by now SABnzbd is a free newsgrabber that integrates seamlessly with CouchPotato and Sick Beard and automates the process of downloading Movies and TV Shows. When combined with XBMC it offers a fully automated media center with minimal human interaction. In order for this to happen, it is essential to configure SABnzbd the right way. So let us look at how to configure SABnzbd to integrate with CouchPotato and Sick Beard and automate the process of downloading and organizing your media.
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Before You Begin
Before you proceed, you will need a good Usenet service. Downloading HD content definitely requires a good unlimited Usenet account. We recommend unlimited plans from Newshosting, UsenetServer, NewsDemon, or Astraweb. All currently offer over 1600 days of retention, secure SSL connections, and unlimited bandwidth unlike some of the other Usenet providers. For best experience do not hesitate to invest in a good Usenet service.
| Provider | Plan | Features | Cost / Offer Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newshosting | Unlimited |
>1600 days retention, SSL, 30 connections, & free Usenet browser | $9.99 / month $99.99 / year ($8.33 / month) |
| NewsDemon | Pro |
>1600 days retention, Unlimited, SSL, 50 connections, Unlimited online storage, & free Newsreader | $10.00 / month |
| UsenetServer | Unlimited |
>1600 days retention, SSL, and 20 connections | $10.00 / month $95.40 / year ($7.95 / month) |
| Easynews | Unlimited NNTP |
>1600 days retention, SSL, and 20 connections | $9.95 / month |
| Astraweb | Unlimited DSL |
>1600 days retention, SSL, and 20 connections | $11.00 / month $96.00 / year ($8.00 / month) |
| For more plans that may fit your needs please read our Usenet plan selection guide. | |||
Configure SABnzbd
Note that while we have made every effort to make it easy for you to configure SABnzbd, a lot more details are available on SABnzbd’s wonderful and constantly updated Wiki. Readers are strongly recommended to read it.
After you finish installing SABnzbd, it should automatically open up in your browser. If not you can access SABnzbd web interface as described in the installation guides (Windows / Ubuntu). Upon opening SABnzbd webui for the first time, the setup wizard should start. Select your language and continue with the setup wizard.
SABnzbd Setup Wizard
The initial setup is through the wizard. First, you will have to configure your Usenet server details (provided by your Usenet service provider). The picture below shows the details of free Usenet account from XSusenet.
SABnzbd Usenet Server Details
In the next step you will configure web access. To make your SABnzbd server visible over the internet or in remote control apps choose the first option. We recommend password protecting your SABnzbd web interface. We also recommend enabling HTTPS access to increase security. Disable SABnzbd autolaunch browser feature if you do not want it auto-open in browser every time during boot.
SABnzbd Webui Access
You are now done with the initial setup. The final SABnzbd access details should be displayed as shown below.
SABnzbd Initial Setup Complete
Upon completing the initial SABnzbd setup process, your SABnzbd should restart. You may have to login (if you enabled it) and your port might have changed to 9090 (if you enabled HTTPS). On Windows, click “Allow Access” when asked whether or not to allow SABnzbd through Windows firewall.
SABnzbd Web Interface
The top menu in the SABnzbd web interface provides access to several aspects of SABnzbd including: Downloads, Status (logs/warnings), RSS, Config, Add NZB, and Options among others.
SABnzbd Top Menu
SABnzbd Web Server
While basic SABnzbd configuration is now done, there are other things that need to be set before SABnzbd can work as expected. To further configure SABnzbd, click on the “Config” link in the top menu. The first configuration section is the SABnzbd web server under “General” as shown in the picture below.
SABnzbd General Webserver Settings
The only recommended change is the SABnzbd port. We suggest that you change it from the default to a random number to increase security against potential hackers. This is especially important if you are allowing access to your SABnzbd server over the internet. Remember that in order to access your SABnzbd server over internet port forwarding should be enabled on your router (if you have one).
If you did not setup a username and password during initial setup you can set it up here. You may also choose an alternative (backup) web interface theme. The API and NZB keys are needed if you would like to be able to remotely control your SABnzbd. For security, it is recommended to keep API access enabled.
Don’t forget to save the changes after every step. Continue to next page to fully configure SABnzbd.
| Free E-Book: How to use Usenet for Downloading | |
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Last Updated: May 5, 2013 |
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About Anand Subramanian
I followed the whole thing and it works great. Thanks a lot for all of the information.
Regards,Israel