Finishing up the install with a few questions

[Didact74]

I have the PC built and all but (4) cameras installed. With (4) cameras left to install I am seeing about 32% CPU usage while running the BI service only. If I open to view the cameras, CPU jumps up to 82%- 87%. I have a feeling once I add he last (4) cameras I am going to peg the CPU when the UI is open for viewing.

The PC:
6700K CPU
32 Gb's of RAM
(2) 8Tb Seagate Skyhawks for storage
(1) 240gb NVMe drive for the OS

Cameras:
(10) Hikvision 4MP cams @ 20fps
--Will be adding (4) more---

BI Config:
Recording all cameras 24/7 at full 20fps
Hardware acceleration is "ON"
Direct to disk recording is "ON"

A few things I DO NOT want to compromise:
- Full 20fps recording
- 24/7 recording
- Zero latency playback during remote desktop viewing

So the question is.....Other than messing with the options I outlined above, "Is there anything else I can do to minimize CPU usage while the UI is open for viewing? " I am sure I will still be under 50% CPU with just the service active, but I do not want to PEG the CPU while viewing the recordings or monitoring the cameras. Are there any further tweaks I can make to the BI software or even the PC? Would Overclocking the CPU help any?

I was hopeful the 6700K would hold up for 15 cameras running wide open, but I am concerned now .

 

[fenderman]

You can limit the live view stream to 10fps or less..this does not affect recording...you are also wasting resources recording at 20fps, 15 is way more than sufficient.
Make sure you are not using VPP for hardware acceleration.
Are you logging in remotely to the blue iris server?

 

[Didact74]

Viewing remotely via RDP but still on the LAN, no viewing outside the LAN.
I will try to lower the fps to 15 for recording, I just want to make sure I have smooth recordings, nothing jittery.
I am not using VPP.

Thanks Fenderman.

 

[nayr]

Whats your CPU Usage w/out RDP? Remote Desktop tends to add signficiant load when your desktop is full of video.. I think there is a setting for lowering load w/native RDP

 

[Ryan00]

No reason for 20 fps , test it out yourself you prob won't know the difference between 20,10 or even 5. In my option the exposure time and low noise is far more important.

 

[Didact74]

Wow, I would never have imagined RDP being that CPU intensive but I guess I was wrong.

Over RDP, 10 cams recording 4mp @ 20fps, with service only - 32% -34%
Over RDP, 10 cams recording 4mp @ 20fps, GUI open for viewing with unrestricted frame rate - 84% - 87%

Directly at the console, 10 cams recording 4mp @ 20fps, with service only - 21% -23%
Directly at the console, 10 cams recording 4mp @ 20fps, GUI open for viewing with unrestricted frame rate - 30% - 33%

Seems odd that when viewing over RDP there would be that much of an increase in CPU usage just by opening the GUI...but it was.

My Rack and equipment are all in the basement so it is just much more convenient to view via RDP from the laptop upstairs.

I did find however that reducing the fps while viewing playback over RDP lowered the CPU percentage from around 86% to 57%. So that fortunately is a viable option to going to the basement to view the GUI.

Thank you for everyone's suggestions and feedback!

 

[nayr]

RDP transmits the section of the screen that were updated, usually for most management tasks this is no big deal and quite efficient.. but if your displaying a video stream or trying to play a video game then its basically having to encode and transmit the entire display buffer as fast as it can manage.

If you want to view a console of streams use the WebUI or an App that pulls the video streams from BlueIris and decodes them on the local gfx hardware

 

[Didact74]

Yes, It makes sense that way.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Didact74]

Forgot one other thing. I have an extra gigabit NIC and router, Is there any merrit to separating the two networks? The cameras are all h.264 so bandwidth usage should not be terrible I wouldn't think even running the cameras 4mp @ 20fps. Security would be better if I isolated the surveillance network from the home network I guess. I currently have a port open for each camera so I can hit it outside the LAN. Any negatives to separating the networks??

 

[Ryan00]

Forgot one other thing. I have an extra gigabit NIC and router, Is there any merrit to separating the two networks? The cameras are all h.264 so bandwidth usage should not be terrible I wouldn't think even running the cameras 4mp @ 20fps. Security would be better if I isolated the surveillance network from the home network I guess. I currently have a port open for each camera so I can hit it outside the LAN. Any negatives to separating the networks??

Why do you have a port open for each camera ? No need to do this !

 

[nayr]

VPN Primer for Noobs

 

[Didact74]

First of all, thank you for the link and taking the time to write that up. Having persons who are knowledgeable in their field, helping others as well, makes for a great place to learn.

The big headache for me when using VPN is the fact that 99% of my remote viewing is done via mobile device. The scaling going on between a phone or small tablet screen makes the experience almost useless.
The phone/tablet UI of Apps built for remote camera viewing are obviously much easier to see and navigate but (as far as I know) require ports to be open for access.

I could load OpenVPN on my phone/tablet, VPN in, then open each camera via local LAN address but trying to do all that on a small phone or tablet is tedious to say the least.

The BI Web Access also opens a port (81 if I remember correctly), do you recommend not doing that either?

A tad off topic, but I also run a PLEX server that gets accessed remotely from time to time. In order to hit that I have to open a port as well.

I have a Linksys WRT1900ac router with OpenVPN built in. Is there a safe way to access these items on my LAN through VPN (or other means) and still have realistic functionality on a small mobile device? How would you go about it if it were you?

Thanks for the help!

 

[nayr]

your apps work over VPN just like your local, its transparent to your apps and just makes a network connection.. no need for WebUI

BI should be good w/out opening any ports, You probably wanna keep plex port forward in place for the cloud functionality.

 

[Didact74]

I keep forgetting that VPN is just like being local.

Using the Linksys WRT1900ac would you recommend going OpenVPN with client software or could I set up an IPSec? I would prefer not using client software if I could. If the Linksys doesn't support IPSec tunneling, do you recommend a router that will?

 

[nayr]

OpenVPN is easier to setup for most people; IPSec usually requires setting up an authentication service of some sort.

client software can provide more advanced features you wont find in built in clients; nothing specifically wrong with em.