Dedicated PC struggling to keep up with BI with 6 cameras

[dbrannon79]

Hello all, I haven't been on here in a while, but my dedicated PC has been running just fine for a good while. recently I have noticed that it seems to be slowing down and struggling to keep up. it's showing high cpu and memory usage almost all the time and when I attempt to log into the web UI or on our phones the live feed gets very choppy at times. I also have been having trouble connecting with the phone app at times. I am wondering if there are some things I can do to the PC ether in windows or in the BI program it's self to help this situation. Below are the PC specs and what I have running on it.

Dell Optiplex 7010 SFF Intel I5-3570 3.4ghz, 16gb ram, Main OS disk is 240gb SSD, disk for storage is a 1.8tb segate HDD, No dedicated GPU (only built-in)
Dual port Gigabit ethernet card.
Windows 10 pro 22H2 64bit
Installed applications...
BI-5 ver 5.7.5.2 x64
CodeProject AI Service
Dahau config tool
Avast Free Antivirus
CoreTemp (to monitor system)
And all the normal crud Windows comes installed with.

The PC is setup headless in a server rack which I use a separate POE switch wired to the dual network card to connect to all of the cameras so the cameras cannot access the internet. the built-in Ethernet is connected to the main network switch giving the PC access to the internet and fo me to remote in when needed.

Here are some screen shots of the PC specs and of task manager that I see most of the time when I look. I have also noticed that the issues occur when there is more activity on the cameras. I think that is due to the AI processing and identifying what it sees.

 

[dbrannon79]

Here is some screen shots of BI's settings. all of the cameras have the exact same settings.

the cameras are all recording continuous 24/7 with audio and are stored on the SSD for 1 day and then transferred to the regular HDD for archive for 14 days

 

[wittaj]

You don't need 30FPS, try 15FPS.

Moving video from NEW to STORED in the same box is using CPU. Just put NEW on HDD and do not use stored.

Uncheck use mainstream if available as it downrezes anyway so it is using CPU to do that.

Do you need BI AI on every camera?

But that is an older machine that can do ok for most uses, but too much AI can bring it to its knees.

 

[dbrannon79]

I think the AI is what is causing all the issues. it is an old machine and was thinking it's gonna have to be replaced soon.

I would like to keep AI running since it it was I have setup to send alerts out so it's not sending me an alert every time the wind blows LOL it also keeps the alerts down to a minimum for my back yard setting it up to ignore the dogs but tell me if a person is there.

what would be a decent budget pc or motherboard cpu combo that would handle all of this? if I have to upgrade, I would be looking more than likely for some used hardware. LOL most if my PC's are 5-10+ years old.

 

[Flintstone61]

I agree with @wittaj's observation.
I'm running 10-12 fps on some quieter areas of the property.
The moving of data to the stored folder, can slow down real time remote processes.
Maybe the seagate is getting a bit full, or getting long in the tooth.

 

[wittaj]

An i5-8500 would be the preferred upgrade, but doing my suggestions may get you to limp by a little longer. 30FPS and moving video can be a CPU hog on a slower device.

 

[dbrannon79]

I would assume changing the fps would be directly in the cameras setting right? I think BI changes this automatically when reading the cameras. I do remember trying to change that in BI and the next time I opened the settings it was back at a higher rate.

on the new to storage. I do have a rack server with about 10tb of space. I use this mostly for movies and entertainment for the house. would it be a better option to have the stored footage there instead if on the PC's spinning HDD?

 

[wittaj]

Yes change FPS in the cameras- the FPS setting in BI does nothing.

Storage is up to you but most don't worry about. While months of storage sounds good, the reality is if something happened weeks ago and we don't have a time window we aren't looking for it lol. Especially in a home setting.

 

[dbrannon79]

Thanks guys, I will adjust the FPS on each camera and see how that does. Good thing I am looking at this now, just the other day my neighbor had his truck vandalized, he asked me to see it our cameras caught anything. I am installing another camera that will help cover most if his front yard later today. was thinking about setting it up so he could access it with his phone too.

one other question.... does having a web ui session open all the time also use the CPU on the BI PC? I keep a 42" tv in the house on all the time with a viewable session of all the cameras running. It's connected to another PC though.

 

[Flintstone61]

Well if the theory of " no free lunch" is true for moving data around, it must use cpu cycles, to push extra feeds to extra places.
The capability of the i7-8700 with DDR4 ram is fantastically superior to 3rd gen cpu's, that and the PC itslef is more power efficient.
my i7-3770 ran BI for awhile with like 12-13 cameras, Optiplex 7020. but i had some hardware deficiencies, I think my WD 6 TB blue drive was gimped somehow. ( refurb from WD)
My Optiplex cam with an i-3 chip, i put in the an i7 and a bigger heatsink, but it was sluggish on playback while also tasked with writing the live video.
Every Monday was like a new Mystery at the Condo BI console, either with crime, recording problems, and frozen pc.
installed the i5-8500 HP elite desk and got the graphics driver link from @fenderman and it hasnt missed a beat.

 

[Flintstone61]

my i7-8700 running 9 cams, along with Nvidia GTX 1060 is barely breathing. I've been getting 0% to 2% CPu through the day, with spikes of course for activity peaks.

 

[Flintstone61]

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Dam, at that price I should buy another Just because!

 

[dbrannon79]

I have a feeling that it's something to do with recent windows 10 updates. my BI system is crashing all over the place now. trying to setup another camera for the neighbors yard and even though the cpu and ram usage is not showing full throttle the screen is going extremely slow. my hen pecking typing is faster than it's appearing on the BI camera setting screen! BI has crashed twice as if it's freezing up and windows kills the app! I know MS was pushing updates with AI embedded a few days back. I might end up doing a full format and reinstall of windows. maybe even downgrade the OS.

 

[wittaj]

And then turn off windows updates.

 

[dbrannon79]

Yep. but MS makes that task almost impossible to do without "hacking" involved

 

[wittaj]

Not if you have win10 pro lol

 

[dbrannon79]

OMG! not sure if it's part if the code projects AI but I just killed I don't know how many instances of python in tasks manager it has become more stable the more of them I killed.

 

[wittaj]

Yeah sometimes the pythons multiply and don't close out lol.

Try a reboot and it will kill them too

 

[dbrannon79]

Yeah there is something goofy going on with this PC. just rebooted and was able to remote back in.. looked in task manager and there are 7 instances of edge running and it's not open. and another 8 instances of python running. the only thing that shows open on the task bar is the task manager and BI

 

[dbrannon79]

ok a fresh reboot and I downgraded to ver 5.7.1.3 and it all seems a lot more stable. I just gotta face the music and need to get a better pc to run this.