Hardware Recommendation - 30 plus Camera Setup

[edwinz24]

Hi, N00B here, before anything, TIA for all the information this forum has provided me in the last weeks. I have been reading and putting a lot of post in my favorites regarding this area. Anyways, need help in dome questions about what to choose for hardware in a setup of 30 plus (36) cameras. I read and read but haven't seen anything clear on a setup like this.

All I know is that, Intel Core i7 is a must, WD Purple drives, SSD for OS. But, is there any advantage in using a Xeon processor? Like a Precision workstation with an NVidia Quadro, etc. Budget is not kind of a problem, but selecting the right hardware so the system runs in a stable condition giving all the right settings of D2D recording, FPS, etc.

I guess it all sums in, What you guys recommend in i7 vs Xeon, Optiplex vs Precision (as an example); could I use a Proliant server with Xeon and 16GB memory that I have extra from 2 years ago? Or should I mount my own system with the specifics of a really good gaming machine, 6th gen i7, 32GB, PCIe SSD with WD Purples in RAID, etc. ?????

My testing environment is an 6th gen i5 8GB mem. with 2 cameras. (Just to practice with software settings, camera settings, etc.) Using 1 Hikvision 3MP DS-2CD2132F-1 4mm Dome Camera and 1 Hikvision 3MP DS-2CD2232-I5 4mm EXIR Bullet Camera. Planning on use 14 of the EXIR Bullet and 22 domes.

Network is already in place with 10GB backbone fiber connecting 2 buildings and HP switches with POE+. I already tested my cameras in their VLAN and is all good.

Again, many Thanks!

 

[arandomoldguy]

Those prosumer types of computers will not benefit you. Stick with the i7. Yes you could use that server from 2 years ago however I reckon its going to hog quite a bit of wattage.

 

[edwinz24]

Thanks for the info!!!

 

[ipcamal]

Your main issue will be disk bandwidth. Running 30 cameras at full resolution @4096kbps will require around 350-400Mbps. So you need to make sure your hardware can support that. 16-32GB RAM and i7 would be fine

 

[fenderman]

If you plan on running 36 cameras at full 3mp at 15fps you will run into issues, particularly if you intend to display the video on the blue iris pc.

 

[edwinz24]

Thanks for all the responses! So it would be better to just use 2 BI installations in this case? Or could it be achieved with lower resolution cameras and settings?

 

[ethiele]

I am also very curious about this as your project seems very similar to mine. Around 30-40 cameras and debating between a dual Xeon setup or a top of the line i7. I'd be interesting in hearing what you decide and how it works out for you.

Like you I haven't been able to find anybody saying "I have 30+ cameras with this setup and it works" so I want to hold off on pulling the trigger and dropping a few thousand on a server before I know it will work.

 

[bstag]

I am running 25 cameras at 3M and 15 fps with one Xeon e5 2620 v2 at 70-80% CPU on all 12 cores. Next week we are adding a second CPU for 24 cores total. I am also running it on 5 disk raid set for storage. We are planning on moving the new folder to a SSD and then moving it over to spinning disks after one day. I set all the cameras to direct to disk.

 

[edwinz24]

Thanks for the input bstag!!! I'm going to test the server really soon. But they (admin) want more cams so I think I'm going to divide the setup in 2 BI (1 for each building) because the count could hit the 40 cams. Good to know about a working environment of 20+ cameras.

 

[fenderman]

The problem with using these server processors is that they dont have integrated graphics which blue iris can utilize for hardware acceleration. It would be better to choose a xeon that has intel HD with quicksync built in.

 

[ipcamdude22]

The problem with using these server processors is that they dont have integrated graphics which blue iris can utilize for hardware acceleration. It would be better to choose a xeon that has intel HD with quicksync built in.

fenderman, I see the option for "use intel HD hardware acceleration for H.264 decoding" do you recommend that? I have the elitedesk with the i5, what exactly does it do?
Thanks!

 

[fenderman]

fenderman, I see the option for "use intel HD hardware acceleration for H.264 decoding" do you recommend that? I have the elitedesk with the i5, what exactly does it do?
Thanks!

yes, it will dramatically reduce cpu consumption.