Hardware/Software Advice for BI

[HomeWPoe]

Got our VPN online. Been testing our 5 EmpireTech cams (w/micro SD's) with BI, UI3 and Pushover with our laptop (and 16ch POE switch) for the last few weeks. Not fond of switching from Pushover to UI3 to access notification videos on our iphone, but we can live with it. Thankfully, the Pushover photo attachment provides enough info most of the time so we don't need to access UI3 much. Using email notifications with Pushover. Scripts (CURL?) are way over our head for the time being.

1. Are we somewhat on track with this software arrangement? Other options we should consider?

2. Have plans to add another 4 or 5 cams (total 9-10). Currently Looking at refurbed desktops on eBay. Focusing on units with i7/i9 (8th gen and higher), 16-32gb RAM, 1tb SSD on eBay for $400-$450. Plan to purchase a surveillance rated 4-6tb harddrive. With some judicious fine-tuning of BI/UI3, I'm assuming this hardware will easily support 10 cams??

3. If we add a 2nd gigabit NIC, would a USB version suffice (vs. PCI)? With our VPN, not sure whether it's necessary to isolate our cams with a 2nd NIC?

4. Going to place/hide the desktop, out-of-sight/reach, less than 10 ft from our home office. What are our options for accessing this desktop remotely from our home office? Assuming a strong signal, would a wireless HDMI (lag??) and a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse work?

5. Since we don't have plans to use DMSS after upgrading to BI, should we consider turning-off any particular protocols/ports on the individual cams via the GUI for security purposes?

As always, thanks!

 

[wittaj]

You are on track.

People are running 50 cams on a 4th gen LOL, so yeah your 8th gen and higher will be fine.

You can use the USB version for the 2nd NIC, but use that for the INTERNET connection not the cameras. Let the cameras go to the main ethernet port.

Most of us use Remote Desktop to get into the computer you will have hidden. Then you can access it from any computer on your network. That eliminates the need for a wireless HDMI, bluetooth mouse/keyboard etc. that is connected to the BI computer.

 

[bp2008]

I would avoid a wireless HDMI solution. If you want HDMI, use a cord. You can get HDMI over fiber optic cords for fairly cheap ($50 or so) that are really thin compared to standard HDMI cords. Or you can get HDBase-T adapters which use standard cat5e or better network cable to carry the HDMI signal, on the offchance that this is more convenient for you. Some HDBase-T adapters also have USB ports for keyboard and mouse over the same network cable; just don't expect the USB to do anything more than a keyboard and mouse, they tend to use really shitty USB hardware in those in my limited experience.

If the machine has integrated wifi, you could use the wifi adapter for internet and LAN access and use the wired network port for cameras, with no need for an additional network adapter. But if you want to live view for many hours straight, then there's no beating a wired connection for the internet/LAN too.

 

[henry8653j]

Got our VPN online. Been testing our 5 EmpireTech cams (w/micro SD's) with BI, UI3 and Pushover with our laptop (and 16ch POE switch) for the last few weeks. Not fond of switching from Pushover to UI3 to access notification videos on our iphone, but we can live with it. Thankfully, the Pushover photo attachment provides enough info most of the time so we don't the need to access UI3. Using email notifications with Pushover. Scripts (CURL?) are way over our head for the time being.

1. Are we somewhat on track with this software arrangement? Other options we should consider?

2. Have plans to add another 4 or 5 cams (total 9-10). Currently Looking at refurbed desktops on eBay. Focusing on units with i7/i9 (8th gen and higher), 16-32gb RAM, 1tb SSD on eBay for $400-$450. Plan to purchase a surveillance rated 4-6tb harddrive. With some judicious fine-tuning of BI/UI3, I'm assuming this hardware will easily support 10 cams??

3. If we add a 2nd gigabit NIC, would a USB version suffice (vs. PCI)? With our VPN, not sure whether it's necessary to isolate our cams with a 2nd NIC?

4. Going to place/hide the desktop, out-of-sight/reach, less than 10 ft from our home office. What are our options for accessing this desktop remotely from our home office? Assuming a strong signal, would a wireless HDMI (lag??) and a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse work?

5. Since we don't have plans to use DMSS nasdaq fintechzoom after upgrading to BI, should we consider turning-off any particular protocols/ports on the individual cams via the GUI for security purposes?

As always, thanks!

Thanks for sharing informative topic.

 

[HomeWPoe]

You are on track.

People are running 50 cams on a 4th gen LOL, so yeah your 8th gen and higher will be fine.

You can use the USB version for the 2nd NIC, but use that for the INTERNET connection not the cameras. Let the cameras go to the main ethernet port.

Most of us use Remote Desktop to get into the computer you will have hidden. Then you can access it from any computer on your network. That eliminates the need for a wireless HDMI, bluetooth mouse/keyboard etc. that is connected to the BI computer.

Thanks, @wittaj! Good to know we're headin' in the right direction.

50 cams?! Wow. Our i3 laptop with an SSD typically sits around 10-15% monitoring 5 cams with sub streams. However, when we access the main stream on one of our 8mp cams, the CPU momentarily hits 100% before settling down to 20-30%.

I get the impression isolating the cams completely from the internet using a 2nd NIC is ideal. However, does our VPN offer a reasonable compromise in terms of protection/security?

Also, once we get on-board with BI/UI3/Pushover, our plan is to quit using DMSS. Should we consider turning-off anything (ports?) in each of the cameras that were in use to support DMSS? With Pushover, no need for the cams to phone home for notifications anymore, correct?

The Remote Desktop seems like a solid solution. Does RD require Windows 10/11 Pro?

 

[HomeWPoe]

I would avoid a wireless HDMI solution. If you want HDMI, use a cord. You can get HDMI over fiber optic cords for fairly cheap ($50 or so) that are really thin compared to standard HDMI cords. Or you can get HDBase-T adapters which use standard cat5e or better network cable to carry the HDMI signal, on the offchance that this is more convenient for you. Some HDBase-T adapters also have USB ports for keyboard and mouse over the same network cable; just don't expect the USB to do anything more than a keyboard and mouse, they tend to use really shitty USB hardware in those in my limited experience.

If the machine has integrated wifi, you could use the wifi adapter for internet and LAN access and use the wired network port for cameras, with no need for an additional network adapter. But if you want to live view for many hours straight, then there's no beating a wired connection for the internet/LAN too.

Kinda figured wireless HDMI was not going to be the most refined solution--lol! Thanks for the heads-up ref the HDBase-T adapters. Didn't know such a thing existed. Push comes to shove, would rather run the more versatile cat6 than the one-trick HDMI. If the Remote Desktop option doesn't pan out, cat6 and the HDBase-T adapters seems like a good plan B. Thx!