DIY NVR Suggestions

[ilmrfd]

I'm planning on building NVR systems in house for the company that I work for. Thanks to some recommendations in another thread, I'm up in the air again about which software platform I'm going to be using. Here's what I'm spec'ing out for hardware though. I'm overbuilding this to account for future expansion, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts/suggestions regarding it. The only thing I'm stuck on finding are analog capture cards to allow for the few analog cameras that will be retained at each location. I was leaning toward Salient CompleteView, but now am checking out Exacq NVR software. Our smallest site only has 4 cameras, while the largest has over 40. I'm planning on adjusting the storage of the Synology to fit each location and still have expansion available for the future. I'm also planning on the synology DS412+ connected via eSATA directly to the NVR.

ARK 4U-500-CA Black 4U Rackmount Case Item #:N82E16811182566 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$89.99 $79.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Item #:N82E16820231314 Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy		$79.99
Logitech MK120 Black Wired Desktop Item #:N82E16823126097 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$24.99 $15.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM Item #:N82E16832416804 Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy		$139.99
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #:N82E16827135204 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$19.99
Seagate ST4000VM000 4TB 5900 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Item #:N82E16822178378 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$629.97 $599.97
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX Intel Motherboard Item #:N82E16813157293 Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy		$133.49 $118.49
Synology DS412+ High-Performance & Easy to Manage 4-bay All-in-1 NAS Server for SMB Users Item #:N82E16822108113 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$599.99
ASUS VS Series VS198D-P Black 19" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor Item #:N82E16824236203 Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy		$129.99 $94.99
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Item #:N82E16822148767 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$59.99 $54.99
CORSAIR CXM series CX600M 600W Power Supply Item #:N82E16817139048 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$89.99 $79.99
Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Desktop Processor Item #:N82E16819116502 Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy		$299.99
$2,184.36

 

[fenderman]

Are you putting one of these at each location?
if you are building new go with the i7 haswell which is only 10 dollars more. (and get the corresponding motherboard). Honestly, if you look around you can find business class ivy/haswell i7 systems with 3 year next business day onside warranties for way less than what you could build them for.

 

[ilmrfd]

Are you putting one of these at each location?
if you are building new go with the i7 haswell which is only 10 dollars more. (and get the corresponding motherboard). Honestly, if you look around you can find business class ivy/haswell i7 systems with 3 year next business day onside warranties for way less than what you could build them for.

Yes, we would be placing one of these at each location.

I was looking at the Dell PowerEdge T20's with the Xeon E3-1225 CPU. Do you think that would suffice, or would I be better off looking at other alternatives?

 

[fenderman]

The processor is not bad, at about 5900 benchmark, but its at end of life (released in 2011)... it will be more than enough for the smaller applications, 4-8 cams at about 2mp each...it really varies by the software you are going to use. For the 40 cams you are going to have other issues as networkcameracritic points out in this thread http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php?375-HELP-!!!!-BI-configuration-CPU-maxing-at-100-immediately-after-BI-startup

I would look for i7 ivy bridge or haswell business class systems for you smaller installations at the dell/Lenovo outlet you can get them cheap on sale.

 

[networkcameracritic]

To go with over 40 cameras, no software can display 40 2MP streams simultaneously without overwhelming even the fastest processor, it's a decoding issue, all CPU bound. With a product like Milestone, and trust me, I get that it's not cheap with 40 cam, you need Express edition which is $99/cam, but you can display sub-streams for live viewing but record from the main stream so that helps. Also, you can create layouts so you can view groups of cameras at a time as viewing 40 cameras on one screen is going to make postage stamp sized images and be overwhelming to watch anyway.

 

[networkcameracritic]

Don't know which of the drives is for recording, by I'm going to assume the Seagate 4TB NAS drives. WD specifically states on their site not to use their WD Red NAS drive for surveillance camera recording and to use their Purple drives instead. Don't know the technical reason and/or if Seagate is different, but WD has been pushing their Purple drives. All about the same price. Anyone have experience with drives purpose built for NVR use? Also, why 5,900 RPM vs. 7,200 RPM, is not faster = better. I know they use 5,900 RPM drives in products like Tivo's, likely to control noise & heat.

 

[n4gry]

For some reason the WD Purple says "Up to 32 cameras" (HD cameras)... Why? I don't know. (I do have one) The RPM is "intellipower" and when needed it spins faster! Designed to spin 24/7

http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1210

 

[networkcameracritic]

I'll let you know after I install it if it makes my recordings more vibrant and alive

 

[icerabbit]

Why the rack mount system and the synology per site? Is the latter for ongoing or periodic backup? As it can just run surveillance station. Not saying it is the cat's meow but it seems duplicate to what you want to do with the rack system.

And, it does look you are getting promotional pricing on some of the stuff, but my vote would be for a pre-built system with core i5 or i7. Guaranteed to work. Next day service or replacement option ...

 

[n4gry]

I'll let you know after I install it if it makes my recordings more vibrant and alive

I had the WD Purple hooked up to the Mini NVR with 8 HD cameras and it handled them with ease. If you get yours to make the video look better make sure to contact me and let me know how you did it!

 

[sirsoccerhead]

What are the advantages of using a DVR hard drive vs a regular high speed hard drive?

 

[fenderman]

What are the advantages of using a DVR hard drive vs a regular high speed hard drive?

WD says it reduces frame loss. Low power, low heat. Bottom line is that I wouldn't change out any current drive you have, but if you are building new or replacing the price difference is not significant.

 

[icerabbit]

Then at the same time one hears that you shouldn't use purples in a NAS because it may not validate all data getting written to the disk, and for the reds they'll say don't use them with continuous operation.

That becomes like a catch 22 if you want to use a NAS in a mixed environment. So then you read about the enterprise level drives ... still see bad reliability reviews right after installation and just want to pull your hear out.