Help with initial setup

[_osiris_]

Hi, I'm based out of Eastern Canada and new to the forum as well as IP cameras/networking in general. I'm trying to setup cameras for my house and need some help with that. Here is what I have so far.
1. 2 Synology NAS - DS920+ (main) & DS224+ (Backup)
2. Amplifi Alien Router
3. Planning to get used 24 port POE switch (CISCO or Netgear)
4. Planning to get 4-5 cameras based on these recommendations by Wittaj.
My setup would be Router -> Switch -> NAS & Cameras. Based on this setup, I'm trying to understand how to best set it up. Here are the questions that I have
1. Where can I get these cameras in Canada? Is AliExpress reliable?
2. Do I need an NVR to use all features or can Synology Surveillence Station take care of it? I mainly need 24/7 recording and live access on my phone when needed.
3. Since my router doesn't support VLANs, what's the best way I can block outside access for the cameras? I'm using quickconnect for remote access only on my main NAS.

 

[MTL4]

Hi, I'm based out of Eastern Canada and new to the forum as well as IP cameras/networking in general. I'm trying to setup cameras for my house and need some help with that. Here is what I have so far.
1. 2 Synology NAS - DS920+ (main) & DS224+ (Backup)
2. Amplifi Alien Router
3. Planning to get used 24 port POE switch (CISCO or Netgear)
4. Planning to get 4-5 cameras based on these recommendations by Wittaj.
My setup would be Router -> Switch -> NAS & Cameras. Based on this setup, I'm trying to understand how to best set it up. Here are the questions that I have
1. Where can I get these cameras in Canada? Is AliExpress reliable?
2. Do I need an NVR to use all features or can Synology Surveillence Station take care of it? I mainly need 24/7 recording and live access on my phone when needed.
3. Since my router doesn't support VLANs, what's the best way I can block outside access for the cameras? I'm using quickconnect for remote access only on my main NAS.

I can definitely help with #1. Andy has an Empiretech store set up right on Amazon.ca or you can order from Amazon.com and ship across to Canada too. You can use AliExpress but Amazon is just super easy to do refunds or returns if needed. He should be having a sale from July 15th to the 21st so might be good timing if you need to pick anything up soon.

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[Rob2020]

Have you ruled out using Blue Iris? I run a Synology NAS but I determined Blue Iris and a dedicated PC was a better solution for my Dahua/EmpireTech Cams. I use my Synology for backup, Synology Photos, etc and I have the cams isolated from the Internet on the PC via a dual NIC Card. There is a good tutorial on this site that covers dual-NIC if you end up going that way.

 

[_osiris_]

I just thought it would be cost effective to deal with my existing setup if possible esp. since I have 2 NAS. I read somewhere that you can combine the free licenses (2 each) to get 4 cameras without the need of buying new. I am open to Blue Iris as well, if my existing setup can't fulfill my requirements. Does Blue Iris provide something that I can't get from Synology? If so,
1. I have an extra 2018 intel mac mini, can I use that for Blue Iris?
2. Can I still use my NAS for continuous recording/storage?

 

[MTL4]

I just thought it would be cost effective to deal with my existing setup if possible esp. since I have 2 NAS. I read somewhere that you can combine the free licenses (2 each) to get 4 cameras without the need of buying new. I am open to Blue Iris as well, if my existing setup can't fulfill my requirements. Does Blue Iris provide something that I can't get from Synology? If so,
1. I have an extra 2018 intel mac mini, can I use that for Blue Iris?
2. Can I still use my NAS for continuous recording/storage?

Short answer is that nothing beats Blue Iris for control on your surveillance cameras. Synology does have some ability to do this and NVR is good too but nothing near BI. If I were designing your system with what you have, I would also add a good POE switch (Ubiquiti, Netgear, TPlink, etc) and a PC with dual NIC setup to isolate your cameras from the internet without needing VLANs. This POE switch would basically just run your cameras, it would be isolated/separate from your main switch by the PC machine. Then you can use your BI PC to manage all the cameras and Synology to store all the files. Lots of used PC options on ebay or even an old gaming machine works well too. I suggest at least an Intel i7 8th gen or newer, good RAM and SSD with a dual NIC card. You can get away with less but this will ensure you don’t have any bottlenecks in your system (many folks start with a few cameras and eventually realize they need more). Then set up a VPN in your router to access your system on your phone with the BI app.