Blue Iris in docker working

C

Chuck Connors

n3wb
Aug 6, 2018
7
7
Louisiana
Okay so I know that BI is a windows program but I'm trying to move everything from a few different machines (including Win7 that runs BI) to a centralized server running Debian Linux. I've managed to do this for everything with the exception of BI.

I stumbled upon which is a Docker container for Blue Iris. I was pretty excited about this until I ran into a problem where after VNC'ing into the container that I only had a black screen. I did a little digging and found that the container was not downloading the BI exe file so things were halting there. I was able to do this manually by doing this:

docker exec -it BlueIris /bin/bash
wget ./blueiris.sh

This gets you into the docker container via shell, downloads the exe and then starts the script manually and then allows you to install BI like normal. I had some weird issues with connecting to the web page that allows you to control the cameras, view recordings, etc. I decided to install the version I've been using on my windows machine and it seemed to work well.

BI works surprisingly great in Docker using less resources than my Win7 box by a mile. My Win7 box has 8GB of ram with BI using about 1GB for my three cameras. My new server has 4 GB ram and BI is using ~400MB with the same three cameras. I thought that I may need to add more ram to the server to accommodate BI but this does not appear to be the case at all.

Recordings work great, motion detect works great, web server works fine even with UI3. The time is being displayed as UTC despite the container having the correct time zone. Unfortunately something happens at some point and the web and app in VNC become unresponsive. I can restart the container and things begin to work well again.

So I'm posting this in the hopes that this spurs some interest in running BI on Linux in Docker and perhaps a person smarter than me (that won't be hard to accomplish) might be able to figure out why the program is hanging. Short of this, if someone can tell me where I might find BI logs that might show something when the program crashes would also be helpful.
 
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In Blue Iris the logs are accessed by clicking the button that is 3 vertical bars (near the upper left corner). This brings up the "Status" window and the leftmost tab is "Messages" which is the log. You may need to enable "Log to file" at the bottom.

I have very little experience with Docker or with running Windows programs in Linux with WINE, so I'm impressed that this works as well as it does. It is nice, sometimes, not having the incredible overhead of the full Windows OS. I doubt you would be able to get hardware acceleration working with this setup, but for only three cameras that shouldn't be a big problem. Stability though, that is of the utmost importance. I suggest a dedicated system for BI, or at the very least a full virtual machine running Windows (assuming you have enough CPU, memory, and disk space free to accommodate the bloated OS).
 
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adehaan86 said:
This still working great? I don't like using Windows vm

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Dont use a windows vm. Use windows on a bare metal machine. There is nothing wrong with windows despite what linux snobs may claim.
 
fenderman said:
Dont use a windows vm. Use windows on a bare metal machine. There is nothing wrong with windows despite what linux snobs may claim.
Click to expand...
Well I have a nice server with two xeons I prefer to use.

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That is super interesting! Not being able to import my settings is a no-go however. It would take hours to get all my settings configured again.
 
Very cool. Tired of running the trash heap that is Windows. Moved from bare metal Windows to Linux + Windows VM, but I’d like to get rid of the VM too. Every other service is in Docker containers.
 
m_listed said:
Very cool. Tired of running the trash heap that is Windows. Moved from bare metal Windows to Linux + Windows VM, but I’d like to get rid of the VM too. Every other service is in Docker containers.
Click to expand...
windows is GREAT and runs blue iris PERFECTLY. On the other hand, running in a vm and docker is a recipe for disaster.
 
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fenderman said:
windows is GREAT and runs blue iris PERFECTLY. On the other hand, running in a vm and docker is a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...

Nah, Windows is terrible and bloated. This is 2019, and no one’s dedicating an entire PC to Blue Iris and Windows bare metal because it’s a waste of computation and power. The industry is moving (has already moved, really) to containerization (now Docker, before LXC, and even before, VMs) under Linux. Expect to see Blue Iris move in that direction in the upcoming years.
 
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m_listed said:
Nah, Windows is terrible and bloated. This is 2019, and no one’s dedicating an entire PC to Blue Iris and Windows bare metal because it’s a waste of computation and power. The industry is moving (has already moved, really) to containerization (now Docker, before LXC, and even before, VMs) under Linux. Expect to see Blue Iris move in that direction in the upcoming years.
Click to expand...
Terrible and bloated? I must have a bunch of magic systems running perfectly with no issues. Perhaps the problem you have is that you dont know what you are doing. Everyone who cares about stability is running bare metal because they take advice from experienced users who run multiple systems reliabily on bare metal. Modern pc's are super efficient, I understand your power concerns as you run old outdated powerhog "servers". Blue iris will not run in that directions - it is obvious you dont understand his customer base. Only a fool would take your advice, it bad and misleading.
 
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fenderman said:
Everyone who cares about stability is running bare metal because they take advice from experienced users who run multiple systems reliabily on bare metal. Modern pc's are super efficient, I understand your power concerns as you run old outdated powerhog "servers". Blue iris will not run in that directions - it is obvious you dont understand his customer base. Only a fool would take your advice, it bad and misleading.
Click to expand...
Only a fool would run an entire computer for Blue Iris. That’s what NVRs are for. If his customer base is grandmothers who want to do that like it’s 2005, they’d get an NVR, not BI. So that’s not his customer base. If his customer base is people who want to do other things with their machines besides running BI (aka the whole point of a software solution instead of a dedicated NVR), then containerization is the present and future.
 
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m_listed said:
Only a fool would run an entire computer for Blue Iris. That’s what NVRs are for. If his customer base is grandmothers who want to do that like it’s 2005, they’d get an NVR, not BI. So that’s not his customer base. If his customer base is people who want to do other things with their machines besides running BI (aka the whole point of a software solution instead of a dedicated NVR), then containerization is the present and future.
Click to expand...
You are confused if you think NVR's have the capabilities of blue iris as you state "thats what nvr's are for". Again you dont understand his costumer base. Most dont know what linux is. Blue iris 5 is being release on WINDOWS!!!! Why? because it works amazingly well. You must not be very capable if you have issues with blue iris on a windows machine. Blue iris, as well as any vms, should be run on a dedicated pc to ensure stability. You are simply clueless deliberate providing bad advice.
 
m_listed said:
Only a fool would run an entire computer for Blue Iris. That’s what NVRs are for. If his customer base is grandmothers who want to do that like it’s 2005, they’d get an NVR, not BI. So that’s not his customer base. If his customer base is people who want to do other things with their machines besides running BI (aka the whole point of a software solution instead of a dedicated NVR), then containerization is the present and future.
Click to expand...
I hope they do docker. It's what I need

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m_listed said:
Only a fool would run an entire computer for Blue Iris. That’s what NVRs are for. If his customer base is grandmothers who want to do that like it’s 2005, they’d get an NVR, not BI. So that’s not his customer base. If his customer base is people who want to do other things with their machines besides running BI (aka the whole point of a software solution instead of a dedicated NVR), then containerization is the present and future.
Click to expand...
I think you're making a pretty big assumption to say the whole point of a VMS is so folks can do other things on their machine. My whole point for running Blue Iris is for better motion detection and the flexibility with alerts (which allows for IP-based integration with HA system.

I have zero interest in running BI on another of my machines. BI is my only "PC". My other computers are all laptops.
 
I agree that Blue Iris should be offered with a Docker option. I wouldnt run my Home Automation on a bloated OS that needs constant patches to keep safe. Running Home Assistant together with other services like Node-Red and Plex in Docker makes perfect sense. Same goes for Blue Iris IMO.
 
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Caveman said:
I agree that Blue Iris should be offered with a Docker option. I wouldnt run my Home Automation on a bloated OS that needs constant patches to keep safe. Running Home Assistant together with other services like Node-Red and Plex in Docker makes perfect sense. Same goes for Blue Iris IMO.
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You are very confused about Windows. not only is it not bloated but it doesn't require any patches to keep it safe. Would you foolishly open any NVR or VMS regardless of operating system to the internet? Put it behind a VPN. Windows runs Blue Iris perfectly and with no issues... If you want to Linux VMS there are many for you to choose from. I find a comical that you post about it here but have not sent a single email to the developer asking for it.
 
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