BI and Internet Data Caps ??

ShawnInPaso · Jan 24, 2018

I live in a rural area where internet access is limited to DSL or terrestrial based services. I've had AT&T DSL since it became available, around 2007 or so. At that time it had no data cap limits. Last year sometime, AT&T put data caps on their DSL service, and when exceeded charge an extra $10 dollars for every gig of overage (or something like that).

Last August I became abruptly aware of these changes when my phone bill had an extra $60 dollar charge on it because I had exceeded the data cap. Sep & Nov had similar amounts. I've been on the phone to AT&T for more hours than I care to admit about this issue, but at the end of the day I have learned that when the BI web server is enabled, regardless of use, it streams data to the internet. I have tested this through using various tools, and ultimately had to disable the BI web server so I don't go broke.

My initial thinking was that the web server, when enabled, didn't stream anything beyond the LAN until requested from the WAN, but this doesn't appear to be the case.

It's really the pits not having the ability to stream locally around the house to keep an eye on things. If I am away from the house for a period of time, I will enable the server for security reasons, then disable it upon my return.

I wonder if anyone else that has data caps has run into this issue or is it something unique to AT&T and/or my configuration? I'm using a Win7 PC connected to a Netgear D7000 router.

fenderman · Jan 24, 2018

ShawnInPaso said:
I live in a rural area where internet access is limited to DSL or terrestrial based services. I've had AT&T DSL since it became available, around 2007 or so. At that time it had no data cap limits. Last year sometime, AT&T put data caps on their DSL service, and when exceeded charge an extra $10 dollars for every gig of overage (or something like that).

Last August I became abruptly aware of these changes when my phone bill had an extra $60 dollar charge on it because I had exceeded the data cap. Sep & Nov had similar amounts. I've been on the phone to AT&T for more hours than I care to admit about this issue, but at the end of the day I have learned that when the BI web server is enabled, regardless of use, it streams data to the internet. I have tested this through using various tools, and ultimately had to disable the BI web server so I don't go broke.

My initial thinking was that the web server, when enabled, didn't stream anything beyond the LAN until requested from the WAN, but this doesn't appear to be the case.

It's really the pits not having the ability to stream locally around the house to keep an eye on things. If I am away from the house for a period of time, I will enable the server for security reasons, then disable it upon my return.

I wonder if anyone else that has data caps has run into this issue or is it something unique to AT&T and/or my configuration? I'm using a Win7 PC connected to a Netgear D7000 router.

That is simply not correct....the blue iris server will not stream anything to the "internet" it has to receive a request and actually have a device that will receive the data.

ShawnInPaso · Jan 24, 2018

fenderman said:
That is simply not correct....the blue iris server will not stream anything to the "internet" it has to receive a request and actually have a device that will receive the data.

That's what I thought. Seems I've found out the hard way. This is why I thought perhaps something unique to my configuration was part of the issue.

I've run BitMeter on my PC for months and it clearly shows BI streaming to the net without any request being made. So naturally I thought BitMeter was wrong. After many long hours of working thru the AT&T bureaucracy, their technicians formed the same conclusion.

I have enabled and disabled the BI web server from month to month. When it is enabled my DSL data load is 300% more than it is when the web server is disabled (with no other changes made).

Beyond the info above, I'd be at a loss to determine what else it could possibly be? Trust me, I'd be very happy to find something other than BI as the source of the issue. That's why I made the post.

fenderman · Jan 24, 2018

ShawnInPaso said:
That's what I thought. Seems I've found out the hard way. This is why I thought perhaps something unique to my configuration was part of the issue.

I've run BitMeter on my PC for months and it clearly shows BI streaming to the net without any request being made. So naturally I thought BitMeter was wrong. After many long hours of working thru the AT&T bureaucracy, their technicians formed the same conclusion.

I have enabled and disabled the BI web server from month to month. When it is enabled my DSL data load is 300% more than it is when the web server is disabled (with no other changes made).

Beyond the info above, I'd be at a loss to determine what else it could possibly be? Trust me, I'd be very happy to find something other than BI as the source of the issue. That's why I made the post.

That is not accurate...it is simply impossible despite what att "technicians" who basically follow a manual, tell you. You cannot send video data "into the net" with no recipient.
Did att breakup your data, upload vs download?
also check the blue iris status connection tab to ensure no one is making a connection to your server.

NoloC · Jan 24, 2018

Curious does BI show any connections when this happens? Also how do you connect via WAN? Do you port forward?

Just saw Fenderman asked about the connection!

ShawnInPaso · Jan 24, 2018

Yes, AT&T did breakout the upload from download data. I port forward and also use NoIP as a service. I have (and had) closely monitored the connection status, thinking perhaps there was something going on there but never found anything (changed my password, etc. early on).

It's a head scratchier for me too - I want to enable the server but when I do the data cap gets exceeded. There must be something I'm missing, but for the life of me I can't figure it out.

fenderman · Jan 24, 2018

ShawnInPaso said:
Yes, AT&T did breakout the upload from download data. I port forward and also use NoIP as a service. I have (and had) closely monitored the connection status, thinking perhaps there was something going on there but never found anything (changed my password, etc. early on).

It's a head scratchier for me too - I want to enable the server but when I do the data cap gets exceeded. There must be something I'm missing, but for the life of me I can't figure it out.

What was the breakdown? where they showing upload data being used with bi?

NoloC · Jan 24, 2018

You should set up vpn anyway as port forwarding is a really bad idea. Might cure the issue.
I now use openvpn through my Asus router which is very simple to set up but I too used to port forward. Never had the "blind" streaming from BI.
Has to be a client out there connecting it would seem.

ShawnInPaso · Jan 25, 2018

AT&T would only breakdown upload vs. download. I asked them specifically to look at the BI associated port and they refused to do so (the guy actually said he couldn't, which I interpreted to mean he wasn't going to for whatever reason). The data cap is 150 gigs a month. After that, it gets costly. A "normal" month is about 90'ish gigs total. In October last year it hit 259 gigs total (I wouldn't know how to move that much data if I had to?). My suspicion is some kind of funny business with AT&T's monitoring tools or techniques.

And Nolo, thanks for the advice. I'll take a look at going the VPN route.

vfrex · Jan 25, 2018

What is your configuration? D7000-->LAN + POESwitch--> Cameras? Not sure what the D7000 is capable of, but you could try dropping a second network device in between your D7000 and LAN to more closely monitor outbound traffic and rates.

ShawnInPaso · Jan 27, 2018

That's a good idea vfrex. I have two non-POE switches connected to the D7000.

CCTVCam · Jan 28, 2018

You could try installing the trial version of this professional monitoring solution:

Free network sniffer - monitor all your network data with PRTG

It runs unrestricted for 30 days and says it allows you analyse data traffic by Port. It might throw some light on whether BI is responsible and also the IP address to which it's connecting if it is.

Just to be clear, I haven't tried this. I just found it on a google search and it seemed the best solution of a few I looked at.

ShawnInPaso · Jan 28, 2018

Hey thanks for the tip, I'll check it out!

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