Blue Iris and network load...can it measurably slow down my home network?

[Tuckerdude]

Hey folks...Happy Holidays!

I've been noticing recently, that my home network has begun to get quite sluggish. I'm running high quality cable throughout, with decent Gigabit switches at every junction. My Blue Iris setup consists of 34 cameras of mixed resolution but quite of few are now 4K. I should mention that I run a dedicated Blue Iris machine which runs 24/7, but also run a separate instance of Blue Iris on my main desktop to easily monitor the property while I'm in my office.

When running Windows (10) task manager, I can see that the network traffic on my PC runs at about 200Mbps when running Blue Iris, and the same for the dedicated PC...so combined, it's about 400Mbps running most of the day. So my question is...could that be contributing to my perceived slow-down issues? And when I say slow down, I mean things like slow load times on browsing sessions (Firefox and Chrome), sluggish response times on things like home automation commands (lights, thermostats, etc).

In theory I should have enough head-room with a gigabit network running throughout, but my sense is these slow-downs are measurable and so was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[fenderman]

Hey folks...Happy Holidays!

I've been noticing recently, that my home network has begun to get quite sluggish. I'm running high quality cable throughout, with decent Gigabit switches at every junction. My Blue Iris setup consists of 34 cameras of mixed resolution but quite of few are now 4K. I should mention that I run a dedicated Blue Iris machine which runs 24/7, but also run a separate instance of Blue Iris on my main desktop to easily monitor the property while I'm in my office.

When running Windows (10) task manager, I can see that the network traffic on my PC runs at about 200Mbps when running Blue Iris, and the same for the dedicated PC...so combined, it's about 400Mbps running most of the day. So my question is...could that be contributing to my perceived slow-down issues? And when I say slow down, I mean things like slow load times on browsing sessions (Firefox and Chrome), sluggish response times on things like home automation commands (lights, thermostats, etc).

In theory I should have enough head-room with a gigabit network running throughout, but my sense is these slow-downs are measurable and so was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

it is possible that your router is choking...ensure that the blue iris pc is connected to the switch not the router...
you dont need to run a separate instance of blue iris...just use the webserver with the new UI3 interface, you will now cut your load in half..

 

[FoulFoot]

It's quite possible you're stressing your network bandwidth. "Gigabit" network speed is a theoretical maximum; slight issues on CAT5 or 6 cable, as well as interference from radiant sources (or crossing powerlines in the wall) can have a big swing on speeds. You can test your actual throughput using a LAN speed tester, such as Totusoft | LAN Speed Test. On my own, hand-wired gigabit network, I get average speeds of 350 - 550mbps.

 

[Tuckerdude]

Thanks Fenderman....I've been considering that as an option (UI3 that is). I guess I have a per-disposition towards a fully functioning BI install right at my main desktop. But to confirm, both PC's are connected to switches and not directly to the router. Actually, when I think about it...the real issue for me running UI3 (or the standard web interface) is that when I do...the CPU load on my dedicated BI server spikes to 99% due to my number of cameras and making use of the "Limit Decoding" feature. I guess I may need to decide which is the most important, network speed or a cooler running server.

 

[Tuckerdude]

Hey FoulFoot...thanks for the input and the link, I will try the test and see what it yields. Understood on the "Theoretical Maximum", and probably why I'm starting to see these issues crop up only recently. Reason being, in the last 3-5 months, I upped my camera count from around 26 to now 34, with a bunch of those new cameras running at 4K. I've done many of the BI optimizations like limiting max frame rate, and dialing down the bit-rate on each camera (within reason), but I may just be asking too much of my existing network. I've heard that some people run a separate network just for their BI and Camera setup. Maybe that's something I should consider?

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[fenderman]

Thanks Fenderman....I've been considering that as an option (UI3 that is). I guess I have a per-disposition towards a fully functioning BI install right at my main desktop. But to confirm, both PC's are connected to switches and not directly to the router. Actually, when I think about it...the real issue for me running UI3 (or the standard web interface) is that when I do...the CPU load on my dedicated BI server spikes to 99% due to my number of cameras and making use of the "Limit Decoding" feature. I guess I may need to decide which is the most important, network speed or a cooler running server.

There is nothing fully functional at your desktop since you cannot control any of the settings on the server pc.....UI3 will give you the same control you have now.
Limiting max frame wont help, its all in the bitrate coming from the cameras...if you connect the blue iris pc to the same switch as the camera, no data will pass through your router...it has to be the same switch... or on a connected switch BEFORE it reaches your router...your server is underpowered....99 is no good...

 

[Tuckerdude]

Understood Fenderman....and makes sense. I'm going to look carefully at the network map and make sure that is indeed how it's connected. Given the size of the house, I've had to retro-fit a number of additional lines and switches to extend into the areas I wanted covered. Will need to confirm that it's all as it should be given what you have said.

 

[hdtvjeff]

Understood Fenderman....and makes sense. I'm going to look carefully at the network map and make sure that is indeed how it's connected. Given the size of the house, I've had to retro-fit a number of additional lines and switches to extend into the areas I wanted covered. Will need to confirm that it's all as it should be given what you have said.

Hi

Have you found a solution to your sluggish network issues with BI?

I have a similar BI setup with 29 cameras ( 4k and 6mp Dahuas the majority)

I have internet of 400 down and 40 up

Still my wireless devices are sluggish when BI is running.

My cpu usage is between 7 and 25%

28 core top of the line cpu gigabit router and switches too

Hope to hear from you and if you have found a solution since your original post.

 

[fenderman]

Hi

Have you found a solution to your sluggish network issues with BI?

I have a similar BI setup with 29 cameras ( 4k and 6mp Dahuas the majority)

I have internet of 400 down and 40 up

Still my wireless devices are sluggish when BI is running.

My cpu usage is between 7 and 25%

28 core top of the line cpu gigabit router and switches too

Hope to hear from you and if you have found a solution since your original post.

See my post above. This has nothing to do with blue iris. Your network is improperly setup.

 

[hdtvjeff]

Fenderman,

Is there a diagram flow charting the right setup as you alluded to?

Thanks

 

[fenderman]

Fenderman,

Is there a diagram flow charting the right setup as you alluded to?

Thanks

are any of your cameras wifi? if so how many?
The blue iris pc should be connected to the same switch as the cameras (or a switch attached to that switch) not the router. How is your network setup?

 

[hdtvjeff]

Fenderman,

2 Dahua 3mp Wi cameras

Top floor ( 3rd) where modem and router are: Modem connects to router, router connects to gigabit switch. Gigabit switch then goes connects down to second floor where there is another gigabit switch where about 10 dahua cameras are connected to.

Top ( 3rd floor) gigabit router also goes down to non gigabit switch where a couple of dahua cameras are connected to.

Thanks !

 

[fenderman]

Fenderman,

2 Dahua 3mp Wi cameras

Top floor ( 3rd) where modem and router are: Modem connects to router, router connects to gigabit switch. Gigabit switch then goes connects down to second floor where there is another gigabit switch where about 10 dahua cameras are connected to.

Top ( 3rd floor) gigabit router also goes down to non gigabit switch where a couple of dahua cameras are connected to.

Thanks !

connect the non gigabit switch to the gigabit switch on the third floor rather than the router...
Disable the two Wi-Fi cameras and test. Also if the only thing affected is your WiFi, but your wired connections are not, then your problem is 100% the Wi-Fi cameras.

 

[hdtvjeff]

I will perform both of the recommendations.
Also, I have many wireless smart switches which turn off lights. appliances/thermostats too.

 

[J Sigmo]

Thanks Fenderman....I've been considering that as an option (UI3 that is). I guess I have a per-disposition towards a fully functioning BI install right at my main desktop. But to confirm, both PC's are connected to switches and not directly to the router. Actually, when I think about it...the real issue for me running UI3 (or the standard web interface) is that when I do...the CPU load on my dedicated BI server spikes to 99% due to my number of cameras and making use of the "Limit Decoding" feature. I guess I may need to decide which is the most important, network speed or a cooler running server.

I find that when I run UI3 on a remote PC, phone, or locally-connected PC, the CPU load on the BI server PC is lower than it is when the local console is up on the BI server itself! I think that's because the video rendering is "offloaded" to the other device.

My point is that I don't understand why the CPU load on your BI server would rise so much when you fire up UI3 on a different machine. I can see it going up a bit versus having the console minimized and nothing else looking at the feed, but not much, and, if like mine, perhaps less than it does when you simply open the console on the server machine itself.

 

[fenderman]

I will perform both of the recommendations.
Also, I have many wireless smart switches which turn off lights. appliances/thermostats too.

Those smart devices are insignificant.

 

[JNDATHP]

Those smart devices are insignificant.

Not trying to spend anyone’s money, just sharing what we are using for networking equipment. It is all UniFi from Ubiquity.

As Fenderman wrote, the router should not be used as a switch even though it can. The only two connections to the USG (router) is a cable modem for WAN and, in our case, a UniFi 8x60w switch.

We have many wireless clients, including BI (which I will be changing to a wired connection soon) and we do not experience any network lag.

 

[JNDATHP]

 

[hdtvjeff]

Fenderman,

I did what you recommended; every step..it did not reduce sluggishness on cellphone wi fi or tablet wi fi

What did apparently reduce all lag was choosing the 5MHZ band on all said wireless devices instead of the 2.4 mhz band

What I do fine interesting is the UniFi from Ubiquity. Would yopu know if I need their router too or is it their managed switches that give the topology and client flowchart.

My current router is the

Netgear AC1750 WiFi—450+1300 Mbps

If I upgraded to the

Netgear Xr 700 AD7200 Quad Stream Wave2 WiFi - Up to 4600(AD)+1733(5GHz)+800(2.4GHz) Mbps wireless speed.

Would I get my thoroughput since the 2.4mhz is doubled?

Thanks !

 

[JNDATHP]

UniFi switches can connect to most routers and APs. We have all UniFi equipment so everything is managed in one environment.

 

[bp2008]

My current router is the

Netgear AC1750 WiFi—450+1300 Mbps

If I upgraded to the

Netgear Xr 700 AD7200 Quad Stream Wave2 WiFi - Up to 4600(AD)+1733(5GHz)+800(2.4GHz) Mbps wireless speed.

Would I get my thoroughput since the 2.4mhz is doubled?

No, you wouldn't. Most wifi cameras have the cheapest junk wifi adapter they could obtain in bulk, and upgrading your router/access point will have little or no impact on performance.

Higher wireless speed is usually accomplished by utilizing more radio channels. The trouble is, your neighbors are doing the same thing, so now you have 9 access points within range, all of them trying to use 95% of the available radio spectrum at the same time, and all it takes is a couple of wireless cameras to ruin everyone's wifi for 300 feet in all directions.