NAS for poe CCTV cameras?
Discussion
I've got three Hikvision 2 megapixel poe CCTV cameras. I'm currently using a gen8 HP Microserver and Blue Iris software to run them.
Microserver is in the loft, headless, and I access it using Microsoft Remote Desktop on my iMac.
The system works reasonably well, but is probably contributing quite a lot to my "base" electricity consumption. This is more of an issue with current electricity prices. The server is probably costing around £200 a year - 50 watts, plus a bit more for two HDDs.
I was thinking about switching to Ring wifi cameras, but having just bought a Ring doorbell, I'm not convinced that the cameras are going to be up to the job. Video quality is fine when someone is standing by the streetdoor, but pretty poor if they are 15 feet away. They are quite expensive too.
This got me thinking about ditching the Microserver, and getting a small NAS that can handle the cameras. Power consumption should be a lot lower, may even pay for itself in a year or so - unless I'm missing something?
Synology seems to be the go-to product. Is it just a case of buying something like a DS120, slapping in a spare 2tb sata drive, and administering it from my iMac?
Do I need to pay a license for another app?
Is the basic Synology up to the job?
Microserver is in the loft, headless, and I access it using Microsoft Remote Desktop on my iMac.
The system works reasonably well, but is probably contributing quite a lot to my "base" electricity consumption. This is more of an issue with current electricity prices. The server is probably costing around £200 a year - 50 watts, plus a bit more for two HDDs.
I was thinking about switching to Ring wifi cameras, but having just bought a Ring doorbell, I'm not convinced that the cameras are going to be up to the job. Video quality is fine when someone is standing by the streetdoor, but pretty poor if they are 15 feet away. They are quite expensive too.
This got me thinking about ditching the Microserver, and getting a small NAS that can handle the cameras. Power consumption should be a lot lower, may even pay for itself in a year or so - unless I'm missing something?
Synology seems to be the go-to product. Is it just a case of buying something like a DS120, slapping in a spare 2tb sata drive, and administering it from my iMac?
Do I need to pay a license for another app?
Is the basic Synology up to the job?
Synology, hands down.
My DS218 runs my CCTV, DNS and Plex for audio/video around the house. It's very low maintenance, which is great. I would recommend getting a 2-bay 'just in case'. Though something to factor in is the additional camera license, Synology only give you 2-cameras gratis.
One thing that was a godsend, about 4 years ago the aged synology box died and was well out of warranty. I bought a new barebones model, expecting a painful recovery process. I put the HDDs in (the much newer model) and up it span, settings, files, and config in tact. I was very impressed.
My DS218 runs my CCTV, DNS and Plex for audio/video around the house. It's very low maintenance, which is great. I would recommend getting a 2-bay 'just in case'. Though something to factor in is the additional camera license, Synology only give you 2-cameras gratis.
One thing that was a godsend, about 4 years ago the aged synology box died and was well out of warranty. I bought a new barebones model, expecting a painful recovery process. I put the HDDs in (the much newer model) and up it span, settings, files, and config in tact. I was very impressed.
Expensive option, but a Unifi system would do what you want, and also give you a switch+router. I love tinkering with microservers etc, but for home networking + camera setup it's pretty good.
A dream machine pro, with POE
https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-...
Cameras (POE)
https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-...
A dream machine pro, with POE
https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-...
Cameras (POE)
https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-...
Why not just buy a Hikvision NVR? Only £131 quid
https://cucctv.co.uk/product/hikvision-ds-7604ni-k...
https://cucctv.co.uk/product/hikvision-ds-7604ni-k...
adamlstr said:
Synology, hands down.
My DS218 runs my CCTV, DNS and Plex for audio/video around the house. It's very low maintenance, which is great. I would recommend getting a 2-bay 'just in case'. Though something to factor in is the additional camera license, Synology only give you 2-cameras gratis.
One thing that was a godsend, about 4 years ago the aged synology box died and was well out of warranty. I bought a new barebones model, expecting a painful recovery process. I put the HDDs in (the much newer model) and up it span, settings, files, and config in tact. I was very impressed.
If you want to run lots of stuff on it consider synology's "+" models with faster processor and memory expansion slot. The DS220+ is currently on special on amazon and has been below £300 occasionally. But if it's just for CCTV you should be fine with a base spec one. Bear in mind that that different hard drives have different capabilities, NAS ones are usually slower, quieter and lower power consumption than you'd use in a PC, eg the WD Red and Purple series.My DS218 runs my CCTV, DNS and Plex for audio/video around the house. It's very low maintenance, which is great. I would recommend getting a 2-bay 'just in case'. Though something to factor in is the additional camera license, Synology only give you 2-cameras gratis.
One thing that was a godsend, about 4 years ago the aged synology box died and was well out of warranty. I bought a new barebones model, expecting a painful recovery process. I put the HDDs in (the much newer model) and up it span, settings, files, and config in tact. I was very impressed.
Also depending how much you want to store, a 4 bay isn't that much more expensive and means you can use cheaper smaller drives. SHR lets you add more drives and maintain 1 drive redundancy, so I started with 2 x 4TB in my 920+, currently have 3 and it's only an extra €100 ish to add another 4TB when I need it. Extra 4GB RAM was only €20 and I now run a VM on it for other things.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 1st March 12:00
I’d suggest it’s a holistic question.
You have the purchase cost of the nas to consider, it’s ongoing electricity costs, there is a license cost for synology as a nvr, iirc it depends on the size of the nas as to how many cameras are included foc.
You should also check that the lower tier devices support cctv as they have fairly low spec arm processors & memory.
Obviously it also depends on your resiliency/redundancy requirements & if you run any other services on the server where these will move to.
You have the purchase cost of the nas to consider, it’s ongoing electricity costs, there is a license cost for synology as a nvr, iirc it depends on the size of the nas as to how many cameras are included foc.
You should also check that the lower tier devices support cctv as they have fairly low spec arm processors & memory.
Obviously it also depends on your resiliency/redundancy requirements & if you run any other services on the server where these will move to.
RizzoTheRat said:
If you want to run lots of stuff on it consider synology's "+" models with faster processor and memory expansion slot.
An excellent point, I do wish I'd gone for the "+" to enable memory expansion. My utilisation at idle, with 4 cameras running and two monitoring ipads running the synology application:
With *something* playing via the plex in 4K the resources do get eaten up a little.
Thanks for the replies.
I don't think a dedicated NVR will work for me. Looks like the cameras plug directly into the recorder, and you have to connect a monitor directly too - no remote admin. All my network cabling runs to the garage loft, so I'd either have to extend the cabling into my study (either for the cameras, or an HDMI cable for the TV/monitor), or go up into the loft to look at another monitor. Also, no chance of using it as personal data or media storage.
I've got a decent Netgear poe managed switch in the loft, no need to replace it.
Synology 218 or 220 look ideal. I've got a few 2tb and 4tb drives already in another Microserver that's been switched (and not missed) since electricity prices went crazy. No real need for more than 2 bays, and the idea is to reduce electricity consumption.
So, if I went for a Synology 2 Bay, and added a couple of drives, I'd get everything included for running 2 cameras? No extra licence, no subscription required? Now that I've got the Ring doorbell, 2 cameras will be sufficient to cover all the access points.
From what I can make out:
I can administer the Synology and the CCTV app using a browser on on iMac.
I can use it for media files and backups.
I can access any media with Plex on a suitable device, such as Roku.
Can it also be used for Time Machine backups?
Can I use it as storage for Alexa My Media music?
Edited to add:
Utilisation might be an issue, but a single Microserver struggles with more than 2 cameras and Plex at the same time. I had to run 2 Microservers, one for CCTV, the other for media.
If the Synology can do 2 cameras and serve mp3s to one device, that'll be enough for me
I don't think a dedicated NVR will work for me. Looks like the cameras plug directly into the recorder, and you have to connect a monitor directly too - no remote admin. All my network cabling runs to the garage loft, so I'd either have to extend the cabling into my study (either for the cameras, or an HDMI cable for the TV/monitor), or go up into the loft to look at another monitor. Also, no chance of using it as personal data or media storage.
I've got a decent Netgear poe managed switch in the loft, no need to replace it.
Synology 218 or 220 look ideal. I've got a few 2tb and 4tb drives already in another Microserver that's been switched (and not missed) since electricity prices went crazy. No real need for more than 2 bays, and the idea is to reduce electricity consumption.
So, if I went for a Synology 2 Bay, and added a couple of drives, I'd get everything included for running 2 cameras? No extra licence, no subscription required? Now that I've got the Ring doorbell, 2 cameras will be sufficient to cover all the access points.
From what I can make out:
I can administer the Synology and the CCTV app using a browser on on iMac.
I can use it for media files and backups.
I can access any media with Plex on a suitable device, such as Roku.
Can it also be used for Time Machine backups?
Can I use it as storage for Alexa My Media music?
Edited to add:
Utilisation might be an issue, but a single Microserver struggles with more than 2 cameras and Plex at the same time. I had to run 2 Microservers, one for CCTV, the other for media.
If the Synology can do 2 cameras and serve mp3s to one device, that'll be enough for me
Edited by clockworks on Wednesday 1st March 12:20
adamlstr said:
An excellent point, I do wish I'd gone for the "+" to enable memory expansion. My utilisation at idle, with 4 cameras running and two monitoring ipads running the synology application:
Whereas my 920+ is a quad core celeron now with 8GB RAM on it, but presumably with higher power requirements. Good point above though on the spec requirements though, They have a calculator on thier website to see what spec you need for surveilance station
https://www.synology.com/en-global/support/nvr_sel...
Synology also make the DVA series that are designed for running CCTV and don't need extra camera licenses. No idea if they can also do all the other NAS stuff as well
ETA: Yikes, twice the price of a NAS though.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 1st March 12:30
clockworks said:
So, if I went for a Synology 2 Bay, and added a couple of drives, I'd get everything included for running 2 cameras? No extra licence, no subscription required? Now that I've got the Ring doorbell, 2 cameras will be sufficient to cover all the access points.
Yes. There is the synology 'advanced' C2 surveillance upgrade, but I do not use it. It adds cloud backup and few other things. The standard surveillance station package is a free install, and enables you to have two cameras by default. clockworks said:
I can administer the Synology and the CCTV app using a browser on on iMac.
Yes, the web gui is very easy to use and a breeze to administer from any browser.clockworks said:
I can use it for media files and backups.
Yep, with uPNP all of my TVs pick it up by default and can browse the shared folders (with correct permissions set) with ease.clockworks said:
I can access any media with Plex on a suitable device, such as Roku.
I'm using Plex on my AppleTV's to access the local Plex instance on the synology and the 4K HDR quality is excellent compared to doing the same via the VLC application. clockworks said:
Can it also be used for Time Machine backups?
Yes.clockworks said:
Can I use it as storage for Alexa My Media music?
Not sure, but itunes/wmp pick up the shared library straight away. Excellent, so it'll do everything I want straight out of the box, for less extra money than a couple of Ring cameras.
I've googled using Alexa My Media, and I'd still need the Alexa software to be running on my iMac to find the files on the NAS, although there is a workaround. Apparently a Linux virtual machine can be set up on the Synology, and the Alexa server app installed in that.
I've googled using Alexa My Media, and I'd still need the Alexa software to be running on my iMac to find the files on the NAS, although there is a workaround. Apparently a Linux virtual machine can be set up on the Synology, and the Alexa server app installed in that.
clockworks said:
Excellent, so it'll do everything I want straight out of the box, for less extra money than a couple of Ring cameras.
I've googled using Alexa My Media, and I'd still need the Alexa software to be running on my iMac to find the files on the NAS, although there is a workaround. Apparently a Linux virtual machine can be set up on the Synology, and the Alexa server app installed in that.
Again be aware that it will depend on the specific model, for example I looked recently at running docker containers & this was only possible on intel based devices not arm.I've googled using Alexa My Media, and I'd still need the Alexa software to be running on my iMac to find the files on the NAS, although there is a workaround. Apparently a Linux virtual machine can be set up on the Synology, and the Alexa server app installed in that.
Check the memory requirements for whatever VM use for that, some of the lower spec models don't have an option to increase it. The higher spec ones get a SODIMM slot, official expansion for mine is extra 4GB, but people online report successfully installing larger modules but synology don't support it.
Setting up a VM is trivial, install the VM manager from the list of available packages, specify what resources you want to give it, and install from the relevant ISO file. Took me about 5 minutes including looking up a guide on how to do it.
Setting up a VM is trivial, install the VM manager from the list of available packages, specify what resources you want to give it, and install from the relevant ISO file. Took me about 5 minutes including looking up a guide on how to do it.
clockworks said:
Looks like it's worth spending £320 on the DS220+ over spending £230 on the DS218play then?
Faster Intel CPU, more memory as standard, and the option to add another 4gb.
Definitely, if you intend to run the HV/VM from it. Worth checking your exact camera model is in the Synology HCL too...Faster Intel CPU, more memory as standard, and the option to add another 4gb.
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/compatibility/camer...
clockworks said:
Thanks for the replies.
I don't think a dedicated NVR will work for me. Looks like the cameras plug directly into the recorder, and you have to connect a monitor directly too - no remote admin. All my network cabling runs to the garage loft, so I'd either have to extend the cabling into my study (either for the cameras, or an HDMI cable for the TV/monitor), or go up into the loft to look at another monitor. Also, no chance of using it as personal data or media storage.
They have a network out port on them which you can then connect into your network (I have mine on powerline adaptors). This gives you the hik connect app connection plus access to the web interface of the NVRI don't think a dedicated NVR will work for me. Looks like the cameras plug directly into the recorder, and you have to connect a monitor directly too - no remote admin. All my network cabling runs to the garage loft, so I'd either have to extend the cabling into my study (either for the cameras, or an HDMI cable for the TV/monitor), or go up into the loft to look at another monitor. Also, no chance of using it as personal data or media storage.
adamlstr said:
Definitely, if you intend to run the HV/VM from it. Worth checking your exact camera model is in the Synology HCL too...
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/compatibility/camer...
I thought onvif or RSTP cameras were pretty much universal?https://www.synology.com/en-uk/compatibility/camer...
Mission creep!
If I go for a ds420+ 4 Bay, is it possible to use one bay as a single drive for CCTV (doesn't really need redundancy) and use the other 3 bays as a RAID of some kind?
And what are my options if the 3 drives are different sizes?
If I go for a ds420+ 4 Bay, is it possible to use one bay as a single drive for CCTV (doesn't really need redundancy) and use the other 3 bays as a RAID of some kind?
And what are my options if the 3 drives are different sizes?
Edited by clockworks on Thursday 2nd March 10:56
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