Do you remember when you were clueless about cctv and started with BI?

[rustynut]

Having a managed switch is a way to do it if you go with VLANs and that route, but most find the Dual NIC to be the easiest and fastest way to deploy camera isolation.

Duel nic is what I want, but my brain was stuck on the who makes the assignments. One more. If my whole system is my modem/router, BI pc, and camera system. Is the switch after the router just for extra accessories, or is it added security also. Modem to nic1 and poe switch to nic2.

 

[wittaj]

Switch is after the router.

 

[rustynut]

Switch is after the router.

In the pic posted far above it is, but it also has other things connected to it. If I bought one I would have 1 line in from modem/router and one line out to pc. That would be it. Is it needed in my case, or does it add more security check points to the pc?

 

[wittaj]

Your modem gives the public IP address to the router, and the router assigns the private addresses to the devices connected to it, while the network switch doesn’t handle allocating IP addresses and serves as the extension of the limited ports on the router, to receive more devices. In this scenario, all your devices with private addresses are safe as they are not directly visible to the internet.

If you put the switch first, your internet provider does not offer multiple public IP addresses before the full transition from IPv4 to IPv6. So one or all connections will likely fail and all of the devices connected to the switch would be exposed to the internet. Once it talks to the first unit, everything else will likely fail. If the switch is first, then each port on the switch is a different IP address that doesn’t exist as those are LAN addresses. I am sure someone can configure a way to make it happen, but would be way overkill, etc. for a residential situation.

You can plug your BI computer directly into the router. But your switch for your cameras will not be connected to anything other than the cameras and the BI computer.

 

[samplenhold]

In the pic posted far above it is, but it also has other things connected to it. If I bought one I would have 1 line in from modem/router and one line out to pc. That would be it. Is it needed in my case, or does it add more security check points to the pc?

Most ISP supplied modem/routers have four RJ45 connections. Those connections are actually an internal switch. If you need more than four, you can add a switch to one of those connections. That is what the figure in my previous post shows.

The figure below would be what you are talking about.

 

[nowandthen]

@rustynut , see the wiki here on Dual NIC setup Dual NIC setup on your Blue Iris Machine

Back on topic, I've had BI for probably 4-5 years. Had a Hikvision NVR before that. It lasted maybe one year before it died. Based on information on this site, I bought a used PC (per Fenderman's recommendation) and have never looked back. I've been running Hikvison cameras since then. The Hikvisons are getting a bit long in the tooth. Plugged in a Dahua 5442 3.6mm Turret and WOW what an upgrade! I just ordered the 49225 PTZ and a 5442 varifocal from Andy 2 days ago. Here we go again.

I continue to learn every time I come to this site. In fact, I learned something new in this thread (post #6) @samplenhold. I didn't realize I could add a second NIC to my desk pc to get direct access to my cameras behind my BI PC. OK, I too am straying off topic.

Edit 3-17-2021: I forgot to mention that before I had IP cameras, I had analog cameras, they were black, about an inch in diameter and about 3-4 inched long. Video over coax with separate 12V power. It's been so long I can't remember what kind of device I had to record the footage.

I'm still kind of clueless with regard to Blue Iris and camera settings but I continue to learn thanks to the great people on this web site.