Can I run Blue Iris directly from QNAP?

[dragoneggs]

I am moving from an old Lorex system to POE cameras and hoping to connect to my QNAP NAS system. I would like to use Blue Iris vs. QNAP's software. I do not currently have a Windows PC, but I do run Windows 10 virtually (parallel) on my MacBook Pro. Lot's of power and RAM but it seems I can't allocate enough CPU power and RAM to Windows OS.

Also, I want my system to run when I take my laptop with me. I have a QNAP NAS with plenty of storage that I use for music/photos and I could upgrade my RAM. The redundant storage backup for video surveillance storage isn't really necessary.

First off... can I run Blue Iris off of my QNAP or do I need a windows PC for processing?

Wondering if I should/need to get a dedicated PC w/ windows? Suggestions?

 

[SkyLake]

As far as i know, you can't run Blue Iris from your QNAP. So you would need a dedicated PC to install it on, as it is a Windows software

You should be good with a second hand HP Elitedesk or Elitepro, or a Dell OptiPlex.

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

 

[aristobrat]

BI does need Windows and it’s a best practice that it runs on a dedicated PC. In addition to the Wiki article above, there are usually a few threads in the forum here from folks looking for inexpensive used PCs.

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for the replies... was really hoping there was a solution to utilize my existing NAS and not need another piece of hardware.

I may have to explore the QNAP surveillance software a little more but first glance it doesn't seem as elegant as BI and more than four cameras requires buying licenses which sort of locks me into a system. This was what I was trying to avoid, upgrading from an old Lorex system.

 

[aristobrat]

Wanting better motion detection is what lead me to BI. I originally started running Surveillance Station on an older Synology NAS. My Dahua IP cameras were capable of doing advanced motion detection (IVS), but that feature was pretty much only compatible with only Dahua's NVRs. SS could do motion detection on the Synology, but it wasn't much better than the basic motion detection built into the cameras, and it took a lot of processing power on the NAS, which slowed down other things. I moved next to using a Dahua NVR, but ran into some firmware issues (since fixed). While I was waiting for the fixed firmware, I started playing around with BI on an old PC laying around the house, and I haven't looked back since.

 

[dastrix]

I run BlueIris just fine on my QNAP 880U NAS under a Windows 10 VM. I upgraded the NAS with 32GB ram and 2 x SSD drives that run from the M2 sata slots.

It runs just fine with 10 PoE cameras and sits around 15% idle, up to about 50% cpu on occasion.

The NAS also runs a Win 7 VM for a Desktop and a VM with FreePBX/Asterisk for SIP call functions.

 

[fenderman]

I run BlueIris just fine on my QNAP 880U NAS under a Windows 10 VM. I upgraded the NAS with 32GB ram and 2 x SSD drives that run from the M2 sata slots.

It runs just fine with 10 PoE cameras and sits around 15% idle, up to about 50% cpu on occasion.

The NAS also runs a Win 7 VM for a Desktop and a VM with FreePBX/Asterisk for SIP call functions.

This post is extremely misleading. Your not using a standard qnap NAS. You are using an overpriced outdated qnap device that uses an xeon processor. 10 cameras is a meaningless number. For blue iris, the number of cameras is irrelevant, its the total fps and frame rates. You are either running very low frame rates, low resolution, using limit decoding or a combination of the three. A 100 dollar i5-3570 based pc will run circles around your setup.

 

[dastrix]

No its not, its a standard QNAP nas. Theres nothing special about it at all. I paid $650 Aud, it's hardly overpriced and came with 8 x 2TB WD Pro disks. Seems quite good value in my book!

I use the 10 cameras, Dahua 5231R set to 15FPS, motion recording all the time. I limit decoding, yes. Resolution is 2MP.

A 100 dollar i5 3570 can't do half the stuff the NAS does, it's a fantastic setup with a great out of the box software suite that for me works incredibly well.

 

[fenderman]

No its not, its a standard QNAP nas. Theres nothing special about it at all. I paid $650 Aud, it's hardly overpriced and came with 8 x 2TB WD Pro disks. Seems quite good value in my book!

I use the 10 cameras, Dahua 5231R set to 15FPS, motion recording all the time. I limit decoding, yes. Resolution is 2MP.

A 100 dollar i5 3570 can't do half the stuff the NAS does, it's a fantastic setup with a great out of the box software suite that for me works incredibly well.

Sorry buddy, but you got royally ripped of on some old hardware.
So you proved my point, you are using limit decoding which destroys the accuracy the use of one of blue iris most prized functions - motion detection.
A 100 dollar i5 third gen will run circles around it as a BLUE IRIS pc. All VMS should be installed on a dedicated machine.
And yes if you wanted to muck things up with a VM, the i5 can do everything this "nas" can do.
Bottom line is this, it is clear from the op's post that he doesnt have on of these qnap servers, but a standard run of the mill qnap nas.

 

[dastrix]

Thats your opinion fenderman. I found the price cheap!

 

[fenderman]

Thats your opinion fenderman. I found the price cheap!

Its fact not opinion. Just a terrible idea all around for a BI server for the reasons explained. My issue with your post is that you dont qualify that you are not using the standard qnap NAS boxes and more importantly that you must use limit decoding (possibly also minimizing the live view or running as a service) to achieve your results.

 

[dastrix]

You're wrong. The poster specifically said 'can i run blue iris on a qnap nas' - well, fact is you can. And it works just fine. The poster made no mention of the model of QNAP he's using. Almost all the QNAPs, old and new can run virtualisation station.

You can argue all you like fenderman.

 

[dragoneggs]

Appreciating the comments here... just an update on my situation. I have a QNAP TS-451. I currently use it for my music storage (extensive) and now backing up my photos from other external drives that I am getting nervous about. My QNAP has 4 3Tb Western Digital Red drives and I think I am set up in Raid 5 mode. Anyways it shows about 4 Tb used so I figured I could use the remaining space/power for running a surveillance system.

After some research, I realized I need some serious CPU and RAM to handle my 5Mp cameras, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a dedicated windows desktop to run my surveillance system. i7-8700 with 16gigs RAM. Setting it up now. This should future proof me and not tax my QNAP which I originally bought for media storage not for CPU power.

I learned pretty quickly that trying to run BI on a windows 10 virtual desktop on my MacBook Pro even though I have an i7 processor with 16gig was taxing my system. I couldn't figure out how to allocate more power/RAM using Parrallels desktop. Even if I could, it wasn't the answer anyways as I travel a bunch, so taking it on the road defeated the 24/7 monitoring I desired.

So... bottom line I am abandoning the idea of using QNAP, whether I upgrade RAM or buy another. With respect to storage of surveillance video, I don't feel I need the hard drive back up reliability. Hope I made the right decision.

 

[fenderman]

You're wrong. The poster specifically said 'can i run blue iris on a qnap nas' - well, fact is you can. And it works just fine. The poster made no mention of the model of QNAP he's using. Almost all the QNAPs, old and new can run virtualisation station.

You can argue all you like fenderman.

NO you are wrong. The correct answer is NO - except that you can half assed run blue iris on a VERY powerful qnap is NOT the norm which very few people own. You admit he does not mention the model he has, dont you think its pertenent to know that info before blatantly stating that it will run?
STOP MISLEADING - that will not be allowed here.
Even on your "powerful" qnap it does not run "just fine". You run blue iris neutered in limit decoding mode. It is obvious that you dont understand what limit decoding does and that you are inexperienced using blue iris based on your other posts. You made a foolish mistaking by overpaying for that crap.

 

[fenderman]

Appreciating the comments here... just an update on my situation. I have a QNAP TS-451. I currently use it for my music storage (extensive) and now backing up my photos from other external drives that I am getting nervous about. My QNAP has 4 3Tb Western Digital Red drives and I think I am set up in Raid 5 mode. Anyways it shows about 4 Tb used so I figured I could use the remaining space/power for running a surveillance system.

After some research, I realized I need some serious CPU and RAM to handle my 5Mp cameras, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a dedicated windows desktop to run my surveillance system. i7-8700 with 16gigs RAM. Setting it up now. This should future proof me and not tax my QNAP which I originally bought for media storage not for CPU power.

I learned pretty quickly that trying to run BI on a windows 10 virtual desktop on my MacBook Pro even though I have an i7 processor with 16gig was taxing my system. I couldn't figure out how to allocate more power/RAM using Parrallels desktop. Even if I could, it wasn't the answer anyways as I travel a bunch, so taking it on the road defeated the 24/7 monitoring I desired.

So... bottom line I am abandoning the idea of using QNAP, whether I upgrade RAM or buy another. With respect to storage of surveillance video, I don't feel I need the hard drive back up reliability. Hope I made the right decision.

of course you made the right decision. It would never run on your qnap and you would have issues after you paid 4x over the cost of a similarly priced pc.
5mp cameras is probably a poor choice as most perform poorly at night. 8700 is likely overkill but you dont mention the number of cameras.

 

[aristobrat]

I paid $650 Aud, it's hardly overpriced and came with 8 x 2TB WD Pro disks. Seems quite good value in my book!

You got a heck of a deal. Currently on eBay (US) the cheapest 880U is listed at US$2599, which would be AUD$3604.

its a standard QNAP nas

A quick look at where QNAP positions this on their product map (plus the price) shows that this is clearly an enterprise-grade NAS.

If enterprise grade is your level of "standard", that's cool. But with as many enterprise-grade VMS solutions as there are out there, it's seems odd that you'd run a home/SOHO/SMB-grade VMS like Blue Iris. That would seem below the level of what you just told us that standard means to you.

 

[dragoneggs]

of course you made the right decision. It would never run on your qnap and you would have issues after you paid 4x over the cost of a similarly priced pc.
5mp cameras is probably a poor choice as most perform poorly at night. 8700 is likely overkill but you dont mention the number of cameras.

Thanks fenderman... I am figuring 8 cams. Bought Reolink. The first two I 'bench' tested seem to work pretty good and at night. One is a standard bullet and the other 4X zoom. Much improved over my old 1080p Lorex cams. I figured I could always dial down the resolution. A bit of thread drift here... if I have other issues I will be sure to search the forum or post a new thread!

 

[fenderman]

Thanks fenderman... I am figuring 8 cams. Bought Reolink. The first two I 'bench' tested seem to work pretty good and at night. One is a standard bullet and the other 4X zoom. Much improved over my old 1080p Lorex cams. I figured I could always dial down the resolution. A bit of thread drift here... if I have other issues I will be sure to search the forum or post a new thread!

Reolink is a terrible brand. They also have issues with blue iris because I frame interval cannot be adjusted. There are much better cameras available.

 

[awsum140]

^^ What he said!! Incidentally, the same is true of SV3C (more junk)...no iframe control.

 

[dragoneggs]

Reolink is a terrible brand. They also have issues with blue iris because I frame interval cannot be adjusted. There are much better cameras available.

Yeah but they are cheap! Maybe I will upgrade to better ones at some point. Trying not to dump too much into this system. The desktop was not budgeted!