New to IP cameras with lots of questions

[85Jrod]

Hello everyone, just bought my first 2 Onvif cameras and I have so many questions. I've been reading though the forums, resource guide, and the wiki. The more I've read the more questions I have. I thought I'd just ask my remaining questions in noob section.

1. Any benefit of using a managed switch and creating a VLAN for the camera system?
2. Thinking about buying a cheap POE switch till I can afford a nice one. Would there be any issues with a cheap poe switch?
3. How effective is a camera system if you just use the SD?
   1. Are files easy to view?
   2. Is there software that can manage whats on the SD cards?
4. I see that Port Fowarding is bad. I have a Home Automation system that is port fowarded, I assume you would recommend I not do that?
5. Is Blue IRIS better then using a NVR or NAS server like Synology?
   1. The computer I put Blue IRIS on is also used for gaming and Plex Media Server. Would that be to much for PC? i7-4930k with 32GB of RAM.
   2. Does Blue IRIS offer a API for 3rd Party integration? (Example: Camera detects motion, Home Automation Powers on outside lights, changes TV to roku and opens IP viewer app in Roku to display camera)
   3. I see that nvr's offer 12v triggers for Alarms. Is there a way to run a 12v trigger off of Blue IRIS?
6. Anything cool I can do with onvif cameras? Just to give me some ideas.

I have a home theater installer background. I know very little about IP cameras, but very excited to learn more. I bought 2 cheap no name cameras on Black Friday (Yes I know bad) that I want to learn on. Once I've learned everything I need to know, then I will buy the system I want.

Thanks for any help

 

[mikeynags]

Welcome to the forum. Spend some time reading the Cliff Notes section of the site. Tons of good info.

For your questions:

1.) Yes - namely security.
2.) Cheap unmanaged POE switches may not allow for VLAN creation
3.) It depends on what you want to do. SD cards are great for a backup. Yes - easy to view
4.)You said it - port forwarding bad.
5.) Yes
6.) Too much to detail here. Look around the site more. Everything from integrating with alarms to reading license plates.

Good luck with all your learning. Plenty of good folks here to help.

 

[mat200]

Hello everyone, just bought my first 2 Onvif cameras and I have so many questions. I've been reading though the forums, resource guide, and the wiki. The more I've read the more questions I have. I thought I'd just ask my remaining questions in noob section.

1. Any benefit of using a managed switch and creating a VLAN for the camera system?
2. ..

Welcome @85Jrod

If you only keep your IP PoE cameras on the PoE switch and have a router / firewall between your normal LAN and the camera LAN a normal unmanaged switch works well.

 

[Hammerhead786]

Welcome to the forum. If you are looking for a cheap used POE managed switch, you can find HP Procurve 2620 switches for an excellent price (around $40) on ebay. I use this model of switch myself.