Computer Ethernet Ports?

[Mike K]

My questions are:

1) If I'm buying a new computer for a new security system with 6 IP cams, (most computers have only one Ethernet port, if any). So is the signal compromised in any way if I use a port hub to interface all 6 cams to access my computer?

I noticed that many NVRs have multiple ports, but i'd rather use a PC (probably a laptop with a 2T usb flash drive), and BI software.

2) It there a different solution?

 

[alastairstevenson]

So is the signal compromised in any way if I use a port hub to interface all 6 cams to access my computer?

A switch (you'd be hard-pressed to buy a hub these days) will be fine to connect up the cameras and a PC, on this basis:
10/100 Mbps ports will be fine for an individual camera, where the traffic level will be say 4-8Mpbs
The connection to the PC (you've implied you will be running some NVR software on the PC) will need to handle the aggregate traffic, and will work best if it is a Gigabit uplink port.
Or all ports could be Gigabit ports.
A 10/100 port is a little light for handling 6 cameras, plus any other devices the PC will be accessing, plus future expansion. And the PC will almost certainly have a Gigabit port anyway.

probably a laptop with a 2T usb flash drive

A laptop probably isn't the ideal format for a PC NVR.
You will find you will need a lot of storage, maybe 8-10TB depending on how much history you want, so will need 2 or 3 drive bays.
You will find you need a fast processor. Generally in a laptop the accent is on low power, not CPU throughput, if it is, it will be an expensive laptop.
And using an SSD for storing camera video would be an expensive waste - you don't need that level of write speed, you need lots of space. And you will eat steadily into the device's finite life quite quickly with continuous writes much more than if it was used for the OS, where it would provide a lot of performance benefit.
Apologies if that does sound a bit negative.
Other comments may vary.

 

[bp2008]

My questions are:

1) If I'm buying a new computer for a new security system with 6 IP cams, (most computers have only one Ethernet port, if any). So is the signal compromised in any way if I use a port hub to interface all 6 cams to access my computer?

I noticed that many NVRs have multiple ports, but i'd rather use a PC (probably a laptop with a 2T usb flash drive), and BI software.

2) It there a different solution?

1) What you want is technically called a switch, not a "hub". Hubs are old-fashioned networking technology that is very inefficient and you have to go out of your way to find one today. As long as your computers are connected to each other and to your router at gigabit (1000 Mbps) speed, you should have no problems. If you need a recommendation for a good switch that can provide PoE (power over ethernet) for cameras, try this one: http://amzn.com/B00H58P8RU

If your router has gigabit ports and some are unused, you can connect the PoE switch directly to the router. Otherwise I recommend you get one of these gigabit switches as well: http://amzn.com/B00C2H0YFU or http://amzn.com/B00A121WN6

If you would rather manage fewer devices, you can get PoE and gigabit speed together in one switch for more money: http://amzn.com/B00OLUPN2U

2) Always, but no good ones that I can think of. Like, you could use wifi cameras if you wanted to pull your hair out.

 

[bp2008]

A laptop probably isn't the ideal format for a PC NVR.

Absolutely right.

You will find you will need a lot of storage, maybe 8-10TB depending on how much history you want, so will need 2 or 3 drive bays.

This is true if doing continuous recording, but with motion recording in most home environments, 2 TB will be able to store months or years of video.

 

[Mike K]

1) What you want is technically called a switch, not a "hub". Hubs are old-fashioned networking technology that is very inefficient and you have to go out of your way to find one today. As long as your computers are connected to each other and to your router at gigabit (1000 Mbps) speed, you should have no problems. If you need a recommendation for a good switch that can provide PoE (power over ethernet) for cameras, try this one: http://amzn.com/B00H58P8RU

If your router has gigabit ports and some are unused, you can connect the PoE switch directly to the router. Otherwise I recommend you get one of these gigabit switches as well: http://amzn.com/B00C2H0YFU or http://amzn.com/B00A121WN6


If you would rather manage fewer devices, you can get PoE and gigabit speed together in one switch for more money: http://amzn.com/B00OLUPN2U
2) Always, but no good ones that I can think of. Like, you could use wifi cameras if you wanted to pull your hair out.

Ok I think I have it but I'm not sure why it would be called a "switch". Looks like the one you have referenced allows 8 camera inputs and one up-link port to the router? I have nothing against POE cams in fact, but I have a near by additional building witch will have 2 of the cams, and will need therefor to be wifi cams. So what I really have need of is a high-bread system. My proposed Router for this setup is a Trend net http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-TEW-818DRU-One-Touch-connection-Compatible/dp/B00HKEI3DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458159648&sr=8-1&keywords=trendnet+tew-818dru+ac1900
It has 4 ports. If 1 is dedicated for the modem, one for the PC, One for the switch, and .........

 

[bp2008]

Ok I think I have it but I'm not sure why it would be called a "switch". Looks like the one you have referenced allows 8 camera inputs and one up-link port to the router? I have nothing against POE cams in fact, but I have a near by additional building witch will have 2 of the cams, and will need therefor to be wifi cams. So what I really have need of is a high-bread system. My proposed Router for this setup is a Trend net http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-TEW-818DRU-One-Touch-connection-Compatible/dp/B00HKEI3DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458159648&sr=8-1&keywords=trendnet+tew-818dru+ac1900
It has 4 ports. If 1 is dedicated for the modem, one for the PC, One for the switch, and .........

I can't explain the name "switch" either. That is just what they are called.

That router looks fine. Your modem attaches to the yellow WAN port, leaving 4 gigabit ports free. You might get away with two wifi cameras, but being mounted on a nearby building means they could have a fairly poor signal and that usually means trouble. If you do have trouble with wifi, you could try a dedicated wireless bridge with Ubiquiti NanoStation Loco radios which are capable of establishing rock-solid links of 100+ Mbps over a span of miles. That would add $100-$180 or so to the total cost of your setup, not to mention the extra effort of running the network cables.

 

[nayr]

switch = data is switched between ports.. computer A talk to computer B, data goes in port A and out port B
hub = all ports connected together.. computer A talk to computer B, and computer C also gets a copy it has to ignore.. this does not scale well.

in car analogy, switches are better than hubs for the same reason owning a car is better than sharing a car with 12 other people (ports), do you want to have to wait your turn, deal with scheduling collisions, backoff so others can have a go? no you dont.. neither does your network, as you add more people it just gets impossible to manage.