Hikvision POE Cameras with Synology and Powerline Adapters

J

jshutterbug

n3wb
May 22, 2018
4
3
Bay Area
Hi,

Newbie here so my apologies if this has already been discussed. I've got a 6 Hikvision POE cameras hooked up to my Synology Diskstation but the ethernet cables are not directly connected. Given the location of the cameras and inaccessibility of attic crawlspace I opted for Powerline Adapters. For the front of the house, 4 of the cameras are plugged into a POE switch which is connected to the powerline adapter. The other powerline adapter is connected to the Synology which is connected to my internet router. The other 2 cameras on the back of the house is set up similarly (camera-POE switch-powerline adapter).

I frequently lose connection. When viewing on my tinyCam PRO app, the screens would go out and then come back in. When viewing on DSCam app, I notice some cameras had stopped recording.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've read Synology is supposed to allow for more flexibility on configurations but after wasting my money on the camera licenses, I'm thinking of just starting over with a all-in-one system like LaView, Lorex, etc...

My powerline adapters are TPLink 200mbps and my POE switch is TPLink TL-SG1008P 8 port gigabit switch. My Xfinity speeds allowed is 60mps. Could my issue be with my hardware or because I'm using the powerline adapters?

Also, those who use Synology, is it easy to backup to the cloud and if so which cloud provider do you use and how much does it cost?

Thanks!
 
jshutterbug said:
I frequently lose connection. When viewing on my tinyCam PRO app, the screens would go out and then come back in. When viewing on DSCam app, I notice some cameras had stopped recording.
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This is indicative of networking problems.
jshutterbug said:
Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've read Synology is supposed to allow for more flexibility on configurations but after wasting my money on the camera licenses, I'm thinking of just starting over with a all-in-one system like LaView, Lorex, etc...
Click to expand...
If the erratic behaviour is caused by network problems, you will still get it even with a different NVR.
jshutterbug said:
because I'm using the powerline adapters?
Click to expand...
Very likely these are not performing well enough to handle constant video streams without interruption.
Did they come with any performance-checking tools that would allow you to see independently what they are cap-able of?
 
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Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't think my TPLink powerline adapters have Ny tools. I guess I could plug my laptop on the adapter that connects to the Poe switch and see what kind of network speeds I'm getting but might not help in measuring the consistency of the speed. Maybe some people have suggestions on a better powerline adapter? Since my ISP speed is 60mbps max, I figured a powerline adapter with 200mbps would suffice but maybe my thinking was wrong?

In order to restore the connection, unplugging the powerline adapter does the trick. Problem is one of the powerline adapter is up in the attic so it's a pain to get to.

I'm also not sure if it's my camera settings are not correct causing the network to bog down.
 
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jshutterbug said:
Since my ISP speed is 60mbps max, I figured a powerline adapter with 200mbps would suffice but maybe my thinking was wrong?
Click to expand...
As it's LAN traffic that you are handling with the cameras, it's more relevant to consider that when choosing a suitable power-line adaptor as opposed to internet traffic, which from the cameras will be negligible.

jshutterbug said:
I'm also not sure if it's my camera settings are not correct causing the network to bog down.
Click to expand...
You could probably improve things by turning down the traffic level - but you'd be compromising the effectiveness of your CCTV installation for the cost of getting improved networking.
 
Some things you might consider: you can download the Utility ==>> here.

Have you noticed if 240 volt AC items running (like clothes dryer, HVAC, electric water heater, stove or oven) helps or hinders the PLA performance?

Is any PLA installed in the attic where high temps could cause it to overheat? Even if on a porch with an overhang, an hour of direct, setting sun or rising sun (getting under the overhang) can raise temps tremendously and cause failure. One of the triple LNB's on my DirecTV satellite dish was doing this last July; it would conk out about 2 PM when the sun was high and on it for an hour. I wired-tied a golf umbrella on it on a Saturday to shelter it until they could come out and fix! (This in strict compliance with the 'Duct Tape Users Manual', as it only had to last a few days).

I've read that modern PLA's are supposed to work more reliably when the units are NOT on the same side of the 120/240 volt, 3 wire, single phase electrical service, which is typical of residential service. Early units required to be on the same leg OR a capacitive coupler be installed between the two hot legs of 120 VAC (L1 and L2) to assist PLA signals. I've also heard stories where having a 240VAC device turned ON actually improved PLA performance because the 2 legs got improved coupling when the 240 volt device was running. I cannot attest to any of this, as the only PLA I have is a pair of TP-LINK TL-PA101's networking a Ubiquiti AirCam looking out a garage window for the last 5 years VERY reliably, but it's on the same leg of 120 volt, just a different breaker.
 
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As TonyR said, use the PLC utility to determine the EoP-EoP reported rates and also check while loads are running on the rest of the mains wiring. Also be aware of any items that may cause EMI/RFI interference, for example some LED lightbulbs are quite electrically noisy and can cause rates to drop by large amounts.

If you can establish that you are able to get a good stable data rate across the EoP setup, test the actual rate - you'll need to do this with 2 PC's and measure the data rate when transferring large and several small files to get a good idea on how well its performing. Once you have proved your EoP setup can be stable, then look to upgrade to a more up-to-date version, the AV200 range you are using is OK for general PC file transfer and maybe light streaming to one target, but could well cap out with several cameras running.

I'm using 1GBe TP link AV1000 units (4 of) here and they run at transfer rates of 450mbps upward handling server, streaming and camera traffic, but then UK wiring is differently done compared to US as I understand it so you may not get the same results. There are faster ones out there now but I've no need to upgrade yet. A lot depends on the mains wiring quality/topology and distances. Be sure to have turned off any energy-saver features on the EoP adaptors and switch, else you can find connections dropping.

Also, never mix adaptor families, as in 200 and 500 etc, it'll slow the entire set down to lowest speed capability present, even if you pair the AV500's and AV200's into their own network groups, since they run across the same mains cable infrastructure.
 
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Aengus4h said:
Also be aware of any items that may cause EMI/RFI interference, for example some LED lightbulbs are quite electrically noisy and can cause rates to drop by large amounts.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And some light dimmers (triacs) can cause havoc as well.
 
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TonyR - Thanks for the utility link. Thanks everyone for your input.

As I mentioned, my ISP speed is 60mbps (I confirmed 60mbps down/6mbps up by plugging laptop directly to router and using speedtest website). So I plugged my laptop to the PLA in the garage and only got 4-4.5mbps down/6mbps up. The PLA in the attic tested 13mbps down/6mbps up. So definitely a significant drop in speed. I plan on purchasing the TP-Link AV2000 PLA and hopefully it will improve the speeds.

If that doesn't work, maybe I'll have to go with a wireless camera where I'd still be able to use the POE cable to power it since the lines are already there.

In the end, I'll probably end up with a mix of cameras (my Hikvsion and maybe something like a Nest/Ring as backup but not a big fan of subscription fees).
 
I run the av2000 powerlines from the garage to the router with 6 cameras off that spanning tree
And they run perfectly fast and I have never had a problem with them the only thing to watch with them
Is not to put them on a power board just plug them into the wall and that can block the other socket as the older ones are quite wide the newer ones probably have addressed that issue I just keep everything at giga bit speed
I had a switch once I didn’t realise it at the time but it bottlenecked the network really bad
That was found and changed out and never had another problem
 
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