Dahua NVR instant backup

Mario P

n3wb
Nov 14, 2019
26
6
New Mexico, USA
I have a client with a recently installed Dahua 16ch NVR (NVR504L-16/16p - 4KS2E) that had a break-in and perps eventually broke into the equipment room and broke thru the metal cage of the rack mount and stole the NVR.
Naturally, now they want an option to also record or instant backup data to another storage device in another part of the building or to the cloud.

They're utilizing 11 Dahua 4MP cameras with constant recording (can't use motion recording in this particular location).
We would only need 12-36 hours or so of secondary location recording, in case the NVR gets smashed or stolen again.

Security suggestions set aside, have you used anything that's reasonably priced for resi jobs that would do the job?

External HDD connected to NVR is I think out of the question, due to the proximity to the NVR -- think fire or water damage, as well as theft of hardware, as in this case.
I'm thinking QNAP or Sylology-type device, but have never done instant backup or dual recording.
 
I am assuming the cameras did not have SD cards in them? That is why most of us put them in.
No. They did not.

I've never worked on a system that had them installed. Interesting.
What do you normally use, in terms of card MFG and size?
Are you shooting for just a few hours?
Curious based on your recommendations what that would add to the cost of the typical $100 camera.
 
What exact model # of cameras?

A good card is this:
Recording time depends on your requirements. If you record motion only, you can retain video a long time.

This is NOT a good SD card for security cameras, it is not designed for 24/7 writing usage.. it is for Android usage.. It will die in first year of non-stop use...

You must use dedicated SD cards for video recorders / cctv cameras.
They have 'endurance' in name and usually have very hight “TBW” or “DWPD” in specs sheet, and they should work even 10 years in 24/7 writing situation.

I use Samsung endurance PRO

Sandisk and Kingston also have High endurance SD cards...
 
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I have a client with a recently installed Dahua 16ch NVR (NVR504L-16/16p - 4KS2E) that had a break-in and perps eventually broke into the equipment room and broke thru the metal cage of the rack mount and stole the NVR.
Naturally, now they want an option to also record or instant backup data to another storage device in another part of the building or to the cloud.

1. SD cards in cameras...
2. two recorders in different locations (yes both can record the same cameras, but this require cameras connected to POE switch not one of the NVR),
3. cyclic ftp backup from Dahua NVR to remote server. Option in Dahua NVRs...
 
This is NOT a good SD card for security cameras, it is not designed for 24/7 writing usage.. it is for Android usage.. It will die in first year of non-stop use...

You must use dedicated SD cards for video recorders / cctv cameras.
They have 'endurance' in name and usually have very hight “TBW” or “DWPD” in specs sheet, and they should work even 10 years in 24/7 writing situation.

I use Samsung endurance PRO

Sandisk and Kingston also have High endurance SD cards...
I have 3 Evo Plus cards in cameras that have worked fine for over 3 yrs now.
 
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I'm not sure that use camera's SD as incident backup is the best solution, as you have to periodically check the SD cameras footage to be sure that everything is OK, and we all know Murphy's Law...

Cyclic FTP will not work in case of burglary/fire incident, as you will miss the last footage that is the one you need in this scenario.

Two servers in different locations is a great solution, of course, but you've to maintain both servers and the risk of have eventual misconfigurations is high.

I would prefer a Dual Recording solution controlled by the main server. Synology implements his own on the Cloud (paid service) or on another device, local or remote. Not tested at my end, but should work.

Apart from that, the option to place a fake NVR in the camera's room and move the real NVR to another hidden, lest obvious place can help in case of burglary... simple but effective.
 
If Blue Iris was running on a local computer, ( unknown to anyone except owner , in case of an inside job) that PC could be inconspicuous somewhere on site, where it might not be a target of video destruction efforts.
 
If they get my NVR at 1 location, i got BI running as well in another location, So hopefully there is some footage to recover.
 
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