Hardware requirements for a large 60 camera system

A

AmrEmarah

n3wb
Jul 31, 2015
13
0
Hello Everyone

I just have implemented a large IP surveillance system with 60 2MP HD cameras

I used Blueiris on a Dell 9020 OptiPlex with an I7-4790 ( 3.6GHz/8MB/4C ), 24G of ram, ATI graphics card with 2G and 15TB of storage

First attempt of installation was configuring each camera with 1980X1080 / 15FPS / VBR 4000Kps

After reaching around 32 cameras, the CPU began to show 90% usage, in this way it will be impossible to achieve 60 cameras and of course I use direct-to-disk on BlueIRIS

OK, I had to reconfigure each camera with 1280X720 / 12FPS / VBR 2000Kps and that let me connect all 60 cameras with CPU load between 80 to 90% and system is stable and operating well

If I need to run all cameras in full HD 1080, what CPU should I be looking for ???.....I have been reading some posts on the 5th generation and Extreme editions of I7 CPUs that could reach 3.8GHz with 6, 8 cores and 15 to 20MB of cache

Will these processors help in my case or should I be looking for Workstations or Servers with dual Xeon processors that have 3GHz / 15MB / 4C or 6C

I appreciate very much your help
 
fenderman said:
@AmrEmarahWelcome to the forum. With a system this size you should really be looking at alternative software. Exacq, milestone, avigilon. Blue iris is not a good match for this type of load.
See this thread where someone did 64 cams, however, I it seems that he set them to 1mp
http://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/3324-can-this-handle-64-cameras/page2?highlight=xeon
Click to expand...

Thanks for your very helpful reply :)

From reading the thread, the CPU used was one Intel Xeon E5-2640 v3 Octa-core (8 Core) 2.60 GHz Processor and he didn't mention that he set them to 1MB and he went as high as possible ( 2MP )

So, I think if 40 cameras @2MP utilize 25% of CPU that will be great for 60 or 64 cams

Well, it's better than using dual CPUs cause these systems really cost a fortune,....I think we may use them for 3MP systems :)

Anyway I will do some investigations and also try other software to see if it differs in CPU usage and will post any new updates

Thanks very much
 
I doubt he got those numbers with 2mp..its is most likely at 1mp....the system needs room to breath and if you keep the cpu high you will encounter corrupt recordings...also keep in mind to factor in max write speed to drives...it can be really high depending on your bitrate.
 
Yes, I understand this well

Well, I'll be doing some tests and see how things will come up

I think that's why many installers and companies fight IP cams cause of it's complexity and high expense of installation
 
AmrEmarah said:
Yes, I understand this well

Well, I'll be doing some tests and see how things will come up

I think that's why many installers and companies fight IP cams cause of it's complexity and high expense of installation
Click to expand...
Most installers use DVRs so installing an NVR instead of a DVR is the same effort...if you using pc based NVR's it takes a bit more work.
Where are you installing this? what are your recording needs?..you may be better off simply using a 64ch NVR...
Its actually cheaper to install IP cameras because you only need to run a single ethernet for both power and data and you dont have to homerun the cable to the NVR...
 
fenderman said:
Most installers use DVRs so installing an NVR instead of a DVR is the same effort...if you using pc based NVR's it takes a bit more work.
Where are you installing this? what are your recording needs?..you may be better off simply using a 64ch NVR...
Its actually cheaper to install IP cameras because you only need to run a single ethernet for both power and data and you dont have to homerun the cable to the NVR...
Click to expand...

Problems of NVRs is the hardware limitation and high price......if you buy a decent 64ch NVR it will cost a fortune and you may suffer hardware limitations......I just installed a 16ch POE NVR claiming to have full HD1080 live & recording,...if I configure all cams to full HD the NVR response is a nightmare and this also affects the displayed motion, so I had to go down to 720p to fix this issue, this NVR cost was around 750$ without HDDs !!!......I also faced similar problems with other brands, so what do you expect a real-time HD 64ch NVR will cost ??
From my last knowledge, I found all 64ch NVRs in the market are windows based with I5 and I7 CPUs and prices are unreasonable !

Yes its cheaper to install IP cameras but not cheaper to operate :)
 
AmrEmarah said:
Problems of NVRs is the hardware limitation and high price......if you buy a decent 64ch NVR it will cost a fortune and you may suffer hardware limitations......I just installed a 16ch POE NVR having full HD1080 live & recording,...if I configure all cams to full HD the NVR response is a nightmare and this also affects the displayed motion, so I had to go down to 720p to fix this issue, this NVR cost was around 750$ without HDDs !!!......I also faced similar problems with other brands, so what do you expect a real-time HD 64ch NVR will cost ??
From my last knowledge, I found all 64ch NVRs in the market are windows based with I5 and I7 CPUs and prices are unreasonable !

Yes its cheaper to install IP cameras but not cheaper to operate :)
Click to expand...
Hikvison and dahua both make standalone 64 channel NVR's....What brand of cameras are you using?
 
fenderman said:
You are looking at about 1500
http://www.nellyssecurity.com/recor.../dahua-dh-nvr608-64-4k-64-channel-4k-nvr.html
Problem is that you have no way of knowing whether the NVR will work properly with the ITX cameras...most common issue is motion detection not working...Its always best to match the cameras to the NVR...have you already purchased the cameras?
Click to expand...

Yes, ITX project was done last year

I'll be having a large project next month with 64 IP 2MP cams, that's why I'm asking about the price of these NVRs
 
fenderman said:
Dahua has some really nice NVR's http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products_category/16hdd-468.html
They have nice cameras to go with it as well.
I personally prefer hikvision cameras..their NVR choice is more limited at the 64ch level
http://www.hikvision.com/en/us/products_show.asp?id=7701
Click to expand...

OK,....I quickly went through the specs of the Hikvision and found it to be like driving in the fog :(

Dahua really surprised me, they are accurate in showing you the real specs of the box

The 64ch gives you 32ch@1080 and 64ch@720
The 128ch gives you 64ch@1080 and 128ch@720

That's cool !.....I just am surprised that they mention that the 128ch has an I5 processor, how can an I5 handle this ???

I might contact our Dahua local dealer to check prices and availability
 
They process the video differently...they use the cameras motion detection rather than server side like blue iris.
If you used more expensive vms software you can also likely get away with an i5...
 
fenderman said:
They process the video differently...they use the cameras motion detection rather than server side like blue iris.
If you used more expensive vms software you can also likely get away with an i5...
Click to expand...

Do you mean motion detection like recording when object moves in front of cam ?.....cause I'm not using motion detection on Blue Iris
 
AmrEmarah said:
Do you mean motion detection like recording when object moves in front of cam ?.....cause I'm not using motion detection on Blue Iris
Click to expand...
yes. Blue iris also processes the video differently..that is why it requires much more cpu...more expensive vms software is much more efficient.
 
Contacted Dahua dealer......

The specs they gave me are different from their site ?!!.....

Max 128ch IP cameras connection Up to 32 channel HD realtime transmission up to 128 channel@D1, 64 channel@720P, 32 channel@1080P


Price......6000$ !!!! without HDDs !!!!

We are not going anywhere :(

With this price, it will be cheaper to buy a dual Xeon server with 4 HDDs
 
AmrEmarah said:
Contacted Dahua dealer......

The specs they gave me are different from their site ?!!.....

Max 128ch IP cameras connection Up to 32 channel HD realtime transmission up to 128 channel@D1, 64 channel@720P, 32 channel@1080P

Price......6000$ !!!! without HDDs !!!!

We are not going anywhere :(

With this price, it will be cheaper to buy a dual Xeon server with 4 HDDs
Click to expand...
You are looking at their top of the line systems...a basic 64ch unit that can do 10fps should be about 1500 from hikvision or dahua...
Your other option is to pay a 50-100 per camera licensing fee for other vms software.
Also note the cost to run a powerful dual cpu server 24/7...
 
fenderman said:
You are looking at their top of the line systems...a basic 64ch unit that can do 10fps should be about 1500 from hikvision or dahua...
Your other option is to pay a 50-100 per camera licensing fee for other vms software.
Also note the cost to run a powerful dual cpu server 24/7...
Click to expand...

Its not about fps, I can lower frames to 10 fps without problems.....size is the most important ( 1980X1080 ),......if resolution is proportional with fps,....I could play around to make 64ch / 10fps @1080p

As for the other option......if I pay 50$ X 64 =3200$,.....how will I guarantee that this system won't need a CPU powerful than an I7 ?......all trials or demos are limited to 1 to 6 channels, so how can I test it ??
 
AmrEmarah said:
Its not about fps, I can lower frames to 10 fps without problems.....size is the most important ( 1980X1080 ),......if resolution is proportional with fps,....I could play around to make 64ch / 10fps @1080p

As for the other option......if I pay 50$ X 64 =3200$,.....how will I guarantee that this system won't need a CPU powerful than an I7 ?......all trials or demos are limited to 1 to 6 channels, so how can I test it ??
Click to expand...
You can contact them for info..also member @Razer uses exacq and runs 1100 hikvision cameras..not on one machine though...maybe he can comment on the cpu resources...but based on what I have seen, you should not need more than a basic i7-4790...
 
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