Is this switch suitable to use with PC w/ Blue Iris

[MythicFrost]

I'm looking at getting this switch to plug into my system:

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/54051/tp-link-8-port-3-port-gigabit-desktop-switch-with-8-port-poe

Does that look suitable? I don't know anything about switch requirements for cams.

Alternatively there is this one which is close to 3x the price.

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/37393/ubiquiti-edgeswitch-8-port-managed-poe-switch-150w

More details:

I have an older 2013" iMac (running Windows 10) w/ a quad-core i5 4670~ 3.2GHz CPU, 16GB RAM. I'm wanting to re-use it for a starter cam rig.

I'll be starting out with 4-6 cams (EmpireTech IPC-T5442T-ZE 4MP) which I'll mainly use with substreams. Happy to drop them down to 720p or a lower FPS until I get a better cam rig so I think the CPU will be sufficient.
Eventually, I'll upgrade to 12 or so cams but this will be well down the line.

Appreciate any input / suggestions!

Cheers,
MF

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Great resource here....

PoE Switch Suggestion List

Update: 2/21/2018: I added images of all the switches: Update 2/15/2019: Prices & pics updated https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pwVaK4J83awpilnxOi7YTTB85OhPync8AMXoIDVnN-w/edit?usp=sharing I created a list of PoE switches from suggestions I came across on this site and from searching...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[DG99]

The TP-Link is unmanaged and Edge switch is managed. The TP-Link will work just fine .

 

[MythicFrost]

Great resource here....

PoE Switch Suggestion List

Update: 2/21/2018: I added images of all the switches: Update 2/15/2019: Prices & pics updated https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pwVaK4J83awpilnxOi7YTTB85OhPync8AMXoIDVnN-w/edit?usp=sharing I created a list of PoE switches from suggestions I came across on this site and from searching...

ipcamtalk.com

Thanks! I read through a number of pages and checked out the doc.

The TP-Link is unmanaged and Edge switch is managed. The TP-Link will work just fine .

Good to know!

>>>>

I'm also considering this one as it has 16 ports and is still fanless:

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/networking/switches/87993-es-18x

I have a question regarding connecting it up:

• Does the switch need to connect to both the router and PC directly via Ethernet, or just the router or just the PC?

 

[DG99]

The switch would need to be connected back to your router and the PC plugged into the switch. The best setup would be a dual network adapters in the PC. One for your network and the other for the camera's to isolate from the internet.
Look at the top of the forum and you should reed the WIKI. Some very good info for new users.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

...
I have a question regarding connecting it up:

• Does the switch need to connect to both the router and PC directly via Ethernet, or just the router or just the PC?

The most secure means is to isolate all camera traffic to its own network. This will prevent cams from phoning home, as well as clogging up the 'home' network of computers, printers, mobile devices, etc with the video traffic.

How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!)

Many camera networks are unsecure, even those installed by professionals. This guide gives basic instruction in how to secure a camera network from the most common types of attacks. Perhaps the most important rule of securing a computer network is to not forward ports to unsecure services...

ipcamtalk.com

If you go with a managed switch, you can isolate the two networks via the VLAN config of the switch. If less layers of configuration is preferred, buy an unmanaged switch, and the cameras will be the only devices connected to it along with one ethernet NIC of your iMac. Best practice is to have a second NIC on the iMac that will connect to your 'home' network. This will allow you to access the live feed and review footage while keeping the two networks separated. It would be best to buy a USB/Firewire ethernet NIC instead of relying on wifi as your second connection to the iMac. Wired connections are faster and are less susceptible to performance issues experienced via wifi

Dual NIC setup on your Blue Iris Machine

In making your system more secure this is a great option to eliminate your cameras calling home / connecting to the internet This is a great place to start to setup a bit more secure network and learn more about IP/Subnets etc. before adding dual NICs: Router Security - Subnets and IP addresses...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[MythicFrost]

Thanks for the help!

The switch would need to be connected back to your router and the PC plugged into the switch. The best setup would be a dual network adapters in the PC. One for your network and the other for the camera's to isolate from the internet.
Look at the top of the forum and you should reed the WIKI. Some very good info for new users.

Right, so the switch does indeed need to connect directly to the PC running Blue Iris? It isn't enough that both the PC and switch are connected to the router?

The most secure means is to isolate all camera traffic to its own network. This will prevent cams from phoning home, as well as clogging up the 'home' network of computers, printers, mobile devices, etc with the video traffic.

How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!)

Many camera networks are unsecure, even those installed by professionals. This guide gives basic instruction in how to secure a camera network from the most common types of attacks. Perhaps the most important rule of securing a computer network is to not forward ports to unsecure services...

ipcamtalk.com

If you go with a managed switch, you can isolate the two networks via the VLAN config of the switch. If less layers of configuration is preferred, buy an unmanaged switch, and the cameras will be the only devices connected to it along with one ethernet NIC of your iMac. Best practice is to have a second NIC on the iMac that will connect to your 'home' network. This will allow you to access the live feed and review footage while keeping the two networks separated. It would be best to buy a USB/Firewire ethernet NIC instead of relying on wifi as your second connection to the iMac. Wired connections are faster and are less susceptible to performance issues experienced via wifi

Dual NIC setup on your Blue Iris Machine

In making your system more secure this is a great option to eliminate your cameras calling home / connecting to the internet This is a great place to start to setup a bit more secure network and learn more about IP/Subnets etc. before adding dual NICs: Router Security - Subnets and IP addresses...

ipcamtalk.com

So my network setup right now is one Edge Router X with two 4-port Managed Netgear switches. My first switch has my WiFi and Ethernet devices connected whereas the second one I intend to use for anything that shouldn't connect to the internet. I will then setup OpenVPN on my Edge so I can connect remotely.

So it should be: ERX > Netgear Switch 2 > Cam Switch > Cams.

Do I still need a second NIC for the iMac?

 

[sebastiantombs]

While your Edge router probably does have the bandwidth to handle constant video traffic most ISP routers don't. The bottom line is to not run that much traffic through router to keep overall network performance as high as possible. The video only needs to get to the Blue Iris machine.

Mac or PC, if you want to physically isolate your cameras from the internet a second NIC for the camera subnet is the cheapest and easiest way to do it.

 

[MythicFrost]

While your Edge router probably does have the bandwidth to handle constant video traffic most ISP routers don't. The bottom line is to not run that much traffic through router to keep overall network performance as high as possible. The video only needs to get to the Blue Iris machine.

Right, that makes sense. I'd rather not unnecessary load the router so I'll definitely connect it directly to the PC then.

Mac or PC, if you want to physically isolate your cameras from the internet a second NIC for the camera subnet is the cheapest and easiest way to do it.

I can isolate the cams from the internet by plugging the cam switch into my managed netgear switch which is cut off from the internet and doesn't allow local traffic, right?

EDIT: Would this be suitable to add a second NIC?
Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

 

[sebastiantombs]

If the Netgear switch lets you create a VLAN for the cameras that will work fine.

As far as that Thunderbolt adapter, I'm not an Apple fan or user so I have no real advice other than a card plugged in to the PCI buss is always a better choice IMHO.

 

[MythicFrost]

If the Netgear switch lets you create a VLAN for the cameras that will work fine.

Great. VLAN is setup on the Router and the switches are configured to operate on those VLANs already.

As far as that Thunderbolt adapter, I'm not an Apple fan or user so I have no real advice other than a card plugged in to the PCI buss is always a better choice IMHO.

Ah well that's good because apparently Thunderbolt is just like connecting directly to the PCI-E slot.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

...

EDIT: Would this be suitable to add a second NIC?
Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Yes, that will work

 

[mioutlook]

I'm also considering this one as it has 16 ports and is still fanless:

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/networking/switches/87993-es-18x

One reason this switch is fanless is that it does not support POE on the 16 ethernet ports. It will not power cameras. The POE referenced in the specs are for powering the switch itself only.

 

[MythicFrost]

Yes, that will work

Thank you!

One reason this switch is fanless is that it does not support POE on the 16 ethernet ports. It will not power cameras. The POE referenced in the specs are for powering the switch itself only.

You're right! Good pickup!! I'll keep looking for another one. If I can't find a 16 port model that powers cams without fans, I'll go for one 8 port model.

 

[MythicFrost]

Would it be a massive bottleneck to plug this Netgear Prosafe GS116PP 16 Port switch into one of my Netgear GS305E switches?

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Why are you uplinking the 116p to the 305? Can you post a description of the network layout you're envisioning?

FWIW... I've used the 4 port and 8 port version of these un-managed POE+ netgear's. Another related thought... if you have one 16 port switch and encounter a hardware issue, all cams will be affected. Consider installing two 8-port switches instead

 

[MythicFrost]

Why are you uplinking the 116p to the 305? Can you post a description of the network layout you're envisioning?

FWIW... I've used the 4 port and 8 port version of these un-managed POE+ netgear's. Another related thought... if you have one 16 port switch and encounter a hardware issue, all cams will be affected. Consider installing two 8-port switches instead

I'm pretty new to setting up a network like this so I'm sure I've messed some things up. Right now, I have the ERX, two GS305E's and my Unifi 6 Lite WAP.

Attached is what I'm thinking for the GS116p/GS308p. I think your idea about splitting it into two 8 port switches is a good idea, although the convenience of having it all-in-one would be nice.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

...

Attached is what I'm thinking for the GS116p/GS308p. I think your idea about splitting it into two 8 port switches is a good idea, although the convenience of having it all-in-one would be nice.

Beyond the uplink of the two 308's to each other, and the cams (of course). No need for the 308's to connect to anything other than the BI machine. Consider maintianing a third network/VLAN for your IOT devices.

 

[MythicFrost]

Beyond the uplink of the two 308's to each other, and the cams (of course). No need for the 308's to connect to anything other than the BI machine. Consider maintianing a third network/VLAN for your IOT devices.

Oh right, so it's BI machine -> switches -> cams. Got it! Thanks a lot. Yeah, I think I'll do that sometime in the future.