Options to increase storage ?

[Ajpepe72]

My cameras record to my blue iris pc which is a Lenovo M93p tiny form pc, the pc hard drive is a 500gb ssd.
What are my options to increase this capacity to give me more space to store recorded video?
Ideally something external would be easiest but are there any downsides to this?

 

[TonyR]

My cameras record to my blue iris pc which is a Lenovo M93p tiny form pc, the pc hard drive is a 500gb ssd.
What are my options to increase this capacity to give me more space to store recorded video?
Ideally something external would be easiest but are there any downsides to this?

No, except store-bought external USB hard drives are not generally surveillance-rated. I would buy a WD Purple of the size I wanted (1TB, $55; 2TB, $78, 3TB, $99, 4TB, $120; all on amazon) and this external, USB 3.0 Rosewill RX308 enclosure for $19, total $75 (1TB) to $140 (4TB). Keep the Blue Iris program itself and the BI 'db' folder (database) on the SSD and all other BI video files on the external drive.

 

[Ajpepe72]

Thanks Tony,
That seems a fairly easy addition to make, I was looking at the wd purple drives so will investigate this further.

 

[TonyR]

Thanks Tony,
That seems a fairly easy addition to make, I was looking at the wd purple drives so will investigate this further.

You're welcome. And you may already know this: when you get your external drive and it's plugged in, you go to BI 'Options' (the gear), 'Clips and archiving' to change paths of db, new, store, alerts, etc.

 

[Ajpepe72]

Yes, I’m aware of that procedure, but you’d recommend keeping the dB path as it is (on the internal ssd)

 

[TonyR]

Yes, I’m aware of that procedure, but you’d recommend keeping the dB path as it is (on the internal ssd)

Yes. Having the BI program and the BI 'db' on the SSD optimizes the speed of BI.

 

[Ajpepe72]

Thanks Tony, have ordered a 2tb wd purple with an external enclosure.

 

[Ajpepe72]

I’m wondering now if I’d be better off installing the wd purple drive into a nas enclosure ? Synology or similar, a lot of the reviews for these external hd caddy’s/enclosures mention they get quite hot, so not sure that would be good to be left on 24/7 ?

 

[TonyR]

I’m wondering now if I’d be better off installing the wd purple drive into a nas enclosure ? Synology or similar, a lot of the reviews for these external hd caddy’s/enclosures mention they get quite hot, so not sure that would be good to be left on 24/7 ?

The Rosewill I linked has good reviews and is all aluminum, The plastic ones do get hotter; I have similar enclosures that I have used for hours on end (not 24/7) for going on 6 years now with no issues. I do think, however, that a NAS would be a better, more reliable choice for the type of duty you intend to subject it to.

I considered the type of PC you described when I made my suggestion, I may have assumed incorrectly that you weren't up to the task or had the budget but I do think a NAS is preferable.

 

[Ajpepe72]

Thanks again Tony,
You are correct in that I am unfamiliar with nas units.
I have managed to set my blue iris pc and config all my cameras etc so am fairly pc savvy although by no means expert level..lol
There is an option to add a 2.5” drive to my m93p pc but the wd purple is 3.5” so looking for the easiest/most reliable (I know those two don’t go hand in hand) option.

 

[TonyR]

In that case, put that WD Purple drive in a single bay, entry-level but highly rated NAS by Synology, the DS115J ==>> here.

 

[Ajpepe72]

That’s the exact one I was looking at (mainly because it’s cheap)
Have ordered it from amazon uk, luckily was able to cancel the caddy/enclosure order.

A few years ago I bought a nuuo nvr2040 mini for next to nothing but could not get it to recognise my old Foscam cameras and couldn’t get any support as it had been discontinued, it’s been sat in a cupboard ever since.