BI server storage

[jamesaston]

Hey guys, first post.
I'm going to use my BI on a dedicated server. I have several options with OS install and hard drives. What would make a better sense?

1. Windows Server 2016 with 1tb fast drive for OS and 4tb WD purple as BI drive. With this option, will having surveillance drive as not primary help?
2. Dump that 1 gig and install WD as primary for OS and BI?
3. No need for surveillance drive, just keep the original as primary and install BI on it.

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[bp2008]

I think you meant your units to be TB, not gb.

1) That sounds fine. You don't need much space at all for Windows and the Blue Iris program files and clip database. It can help performance somewhat to have recordings saved to a separate non-OS drive, particularly if you record continuously because the disk won't have to constantly seek back and forth between writing video recordings and doing tons of other little tasks. But by no means is it required. Blue Iris PCs can work fine with a single drive.

2) Hard drives don't use very much power so you would not gain much from dumping it.

3) WD Purple/surveillance drives are not 100% necessary. Most users could use literally any working hard drive of sufficient capacity and never know the difference between that and a drive optimized for video recording. If you're going to buy a new hard drive anyway, then you might as well choose one that is optimized for the task.

Just using the 1 TB OS disk for recordings too can go a long way if you record only on motion detect. If you want to record continuously, it is better to have a bigger drive dedicated to that purpose.

 

[jamesaston]

Yes tb, corrected

Some cameras will record continuously, others will do motion detection. My original thought was to partition the drive and use it this way, but after reading some of the comments, surveillance optimized drive came up a few times. I haven't bought hardware in years, so this was new to me.
I don't mind spending another $100 or so to make a better system, but if doesn't make any sense and will not improve performance...

 

[bp2008]

SSDs do blow away mechanical HDDs for speed, but Blue Iris doesn't really need a fast disk. In theory having the clip database on an SSD will make clip database operations faster, but I haven't ever seen any numbers, or even general impressions, to say how much it helps.

 

[jamesaston]

My main box has SSD as OS drive, I don't see a point of making it a primary here.
Would you install BI on it and just use the surveillance drive for storage or install BI on the surveillance drive and keep just the OS on the primary?

 

[fenderman]

My main box has SSD as OS drive, I don't see a point of making it a primary here.
Would you install BI on it and just use the surveillance drive for storage or install BI on the surveillance drive and keep just the OS on the primary?

Keep the OS, BI and the BI database on the SSD...video on the storage drive..