Looking for guidance/help on my Home AV/Automation/Blue Iris Camera Setup
Intro:
Hello all! New member here. I have been reading many topics on these forums for the past three months and have learned a lot about camera and Blue Iris setups…. Let me start by saying I am very unfamiliar with computer networking/IT protocols. VPNs, Port Fowarding, Subnets are a foreign language to me. I am however familiar with AV Surround, Telecommunications, Low voltage lighting and other ethernet automation related topics. I will do my best to understand your responses, but please try and simplify it for me haha.
There are no budget concerns for this project so please offer suggestions.
Home Specs:
I have begun a large renovation of my home which includes multi-zone surround sound amps, smart interior and landscape lighting, and adding CAT6 lines to each room for hardwiring devices. I have begun installing 6 AXIS cameras via Cat6 POE. These will record at 4MP and 4K at 30fps. They will be connected to a POE switch.
All electronics are mounted in a 7 foot server cabinet in the basement. The Blue Iris server will be mounted in a second 4 foot server cabinet. There is approximately 20-23 devices requiring ethernet in the basement, and another 6-10 In the upper floors. I have decided I want a 24 Port POE+ Switch in the rack and a second 8 Port POE Switch on the second floor. If I have to do a Dual NIC setup, I will purchase another 8 Port POE specifically for the Cameras.
Our home is 60Ft x 40Ft, Wood Frame, Non-Insulated Interior, Concrete Basement, Two Floors, and an Attic. 5Bed/3Bath
Our Internet Service Provider
Currently we use Cablevison/Optimum Altice One which combines the modem and router into one standalone box, which is also used as the primary cable TV box. Optiumum will allow use of your own router, however they put the Altice One box into Bridge Mode and you must use Port 4 to connect to your own router. The Altice Box will still act as your Modem. We currently have 500Mbps service via Cable, not Fiber Optic. I planned to switch to a router due to poor signal strength with the Alice Box and limited access configuration with the proprietary Altice Box.
At this time, we must keep the Altice Box as our Modem, in order to continue to have cable TV service.
Speeds w/ Altice Router mounted in first floor corner of home:
After researching this topic for the past 3 months, I have found little info pertaining to a setup of this scale, with the use of an Altice Modem.
Setup A and Setup B
I have come up with two Setups for my proposed plan. Please provide feedback on either option.
Setup A seems to be the easiest for me to accomplish. I would use one router connected to my Altice Modem and then connect a 24 Port POE switch to my router. All devices would connect to the Switch. I would use VPNs on my camera ports and Blue Iris Server port (forgive me if that’s the wrong term to use). I would then send the camera signals to the Blue Iris server port and have it so they would only talk with the BI server.
I have decided I would like to use a Wifi 6 Gigabit router capable of VPNs such as an ASUS or Netgear Nighthawk. This would hopefully have enough power to give my entire home signal if mounted on the first floor. I don’t feel that a mesh wifi with Access points is completely necessary.
Question 1) Will ASUS/Netgear routers still work with a UniFi POE Switch and be able to do VPNs for the cameras and allow remote viewing? Or would the setup have to be a complete UniFi system?
Question 2) Would the UniFi Pro 24 POE switch be a good switch for this project, considering it is managed? Do I need the Dream Machine?
Question 3) Could anyone recommend a gigabit router that has a strong range if used on the first floor of the home. (Keep in mind, most devices in home will be wired, so this will be mostly for mobile devices).
Question 4) Would connecting the cameras to this Switch in Setup A, have an effect on network speeds? Or can they be “hidden” in this setup?
Setup B is a bit more complex. This approach would involve two switches and a Dual NIC server. I am confused with this setup and how I would be able to remotely view the cameras. Also, The server I found only has one NIC installed.
Setup B uses Ubiquiti UniFi setup with a UDM Pro Router, 24 Port POE switch, and two Access Points.
I would like the system to be easy to manage, with one or two max interfaces for configuration.
Question 5) Does the UDM replace the need for a router? Without an Asus router, I would obviously need access points.
Question 6) Can I run the UniFi Controller software on the Blue Iris Server?
What I Still Need:
Blue Iris Desktop Server Suggestion:
This is the desktop server I am looking at purchasing for my BI Server. I would prefer new so I have a warranty and since I am not skilled at building a computer from scratch. Does this computer meet BI Requirements?
Dell Optiplex 7090 Desktop Tower,10th Gen Intel Octa-Core (8 Cores) i7-10700 up to 4.80 GHz 32GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Intel HD Graphics,Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Pro
www.newegg.com
I would like to view the cameras 24/7 in 4K and 4MP @ 30fps. I would like them to record when an event takes place or it detects something with 5-7 days of recording. No audio will be recorded.
Question 7) This computer only has 1 NIC. Could a second be added easily?
Question 8) Do I need any additional components for the Bl Server or is it just a download? Are any other software programs needed?
Question 9) Down the road, I am considering a Whole Home Automation such as Control4 or Savant. Will Blue Iris be constable with these systems for viewing of cameras via the C4 or Savant Apps?
Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I have come to a halt until I can better understand this portion of the project
Cheers,
Intro:
Hello all! New member here. I have been reading many topics on these forums for the past three months and have learned a lot about camera and Blue Iris setups…. Let me start by saying I am very unfamiliar with computer networking/IT protocols. VPNs, Port Fowarding, Subnets are a foreign language to me. I am however familiar with AV Surround, Telecommunications, Low voltage lighting and other ethernet automation related topics. I will do my best to understand your responses, but please try and simplify it for me haha.
There are no budget concerns for this project so please offer suggestions.
Home Specs:
I have begun a large renovation of my home which includes multi-zone surround sound amps, smart interior and landscape lighting, and adding CAT6 lines to each room for hardwiring devices. I have begun installing 6 AXIS cameras via Cat6 POE. These will record at 4MP and 4K at 30fps. They will be connected to a POE switch.
All electronics are mounted in a 7 foot server cabinet in the basement. The Blue Iris server will be mounted in a second 4 foot server cabinet. There is approximately 20-23 devices requiring ethernet in the basement, and another 6-10 In the upper floors. I have decided I want a 24 Port POE+ Switch in the rack and a second 8 Port POE Switch on the second floor. If I have to do a Dual NIC setup, I will purchase another 8 Port POE specifically for the Cameras.
Our home is 60Ft x 40Ft, Wood Frame, Non-Insulated Interior, Concrete Basement, Two Floors, and an Attic. 5Bed/3Bath
Our Internet Service Provider
Currently we use Cablevison/Optimum Altice One which combines the modem and router into one standalone box, which is also used as the primary cable TV box. Optiumum will allow use of your own router, however they put the Altice One box into Bridge Mode and you must use Port 4 to connect to your own router. The Altice Box will still act as your Modem. We currently have 500Mbps service via Cable, not Fiber Optic. I planned to switch to a router due to poor signal strength with the Alice Box and limited access configuration with the proprietary Altice Box.
At this time, we must keep the Altice Box as our Modem, in order to continue to have cable TV service.
Speeds w/ Altice Router mounted in first floor corner of home:
- First Floor 419.66Mbps / 41.67Mbps (in front of router)
- Second Floor 34.42Mbps / 17.58Mbps (farthest corner from router)
- Basement 329.05Mbps / Upload 41.50Mbps (center of basement)
After researching this topic for the past 3 months, I have found little info pertaining to a setup of this scale, with the use of an Altice Modem.
Setup A and Setup B
I have come up with two Setups for my proposed plan. Please provide feedback on either option.
Setup A seems to be the easiest for me to accomplish. I would use one router connected to my Altice Modem and then connect a 24 Port POE switch to my router. All devices would connect to the Switch. I would use VPNs on my camera ports and Blue Iris Server port (forgive me if that’s the wrong term to use). I would then send the camera signals to the Blue Iris server port and have it so they would only talk with the BI server.
I have decided I would like to use a Wifi 6 Gigabit router capable of VPNs such as an ASUS or Netgear Nighthawk. This would hopefully have enough power to give my entire home signal if mounted on the first floor. I don’t feel that a mesh wifi with Access points is completely necessary.
Question 1) Will ASUS/Netgear routers still work with a UniFi POE Switch and be able to do VPNs for the cameras and allow remote viewing? Or would the setup have to be a complete UniFi system?
Question 2) Would the UniFi Pro 24 POE switch be a good switch for this project, considering it is managed? Do I need the Dream Machine?
Question 3) Could anyone recommend a gigabit router that has a strong range if used on the first floor of the home. (Keep in mind, most devices in home will be wired, so this will be mostly for mobile devices).
Question 4) Would connecting the cameras to this Switch in Setup A, have an effect on network speeds? Or can they be “hidden” in this setup?
Setup B is a bit more complex. This approach would involve two switches and a Dual NIC server. I am confused with this setup and how I would be able to remotely view the cameras. Also, The server I found only has one NIC installed.
Setup B uses Ubiquiti UniFi setup with a UDM Pro Router, 24 Port POE switch, and two Access Points.
I would like the system to be easy to manage, with one or two max interfaces for configuration.
Question 5) Does the UDM replace the need for a router? Without an Asus router, I would obviously need access points.
Question 6) Can I run the UniFi Controller software on the Blue Iris Server?
What I Still Need:
- Router capable of VPNs (This is to be able to remotely view cameras)
- 24 Port Switch with POE (I think managed is what I want) USW-PRO-24-POE (400W)
- 8 port POE switch for second floor
- Blue Iris Server
Blue Iris Desktop Server Suggestion:
This is the desktop server I am looking at purchasing for my BI Server. I would prefer new so I have a warranty and since I am not skilled at building a computer from scratch. Does this computer meet BI Requirements?
Dell Optiplex 7090 Desktop Tower,10th Gen Intel Octa-Core (8 Cores) i7-10700 up to 4.80 GHz 32GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Intel HD Graphics,Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Pro
Dell Optiplex 7090 Desktop Tower,10th Gen Intel Octa-Core (8 Cores) i7-10700 up to 4.80 GHz 32GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Intel HD Graphics,Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Pro - Newegg.com
Buy Dell Optiplex 7090 Desktop Tower,10th Gen Intel Octa-Core (8 Cores) i7-10700 up to 4.80 GHz 32GB DDR4 512 GB SSD Intel HD Graphics,Dual Monitor Capable, Windows 10 Pro with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!
I would like to view the cameras 24/7 in 4K and 4MP @ 30fps. I would like them to record when an event takes place or it detects something with 5-7 days of recording. No audio will be recorded.
Question 7) This computer only has 1 NIC. Could a second be added easily?
Question 8) Do I need any additional components for the Bl Server or is it just a download? Are any other software programs needed?
Question 9) Down the road, I am considering a Whole Home Automation such as Control4 or Savant. Will Blue Iris be constable with these systems for viewing of cameras via the C4 or Savant Apps?
Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I have come to a halt until I can better understand this portion of the project
Cheers,
