Need Help Finishing My Ip Setup

[Phrosty]

I'm trying to round out my first ever IP camera setup. The site is for my parents and I've been going through a lot of reading to get a better understanding of what I need. I've got 12 3MP cameras on motion detection (about 4 of those will be in a busy area) that will be running off a 9020 Optiplex (i7 Haswell, 128GB SSD, 16GB ram) with Blue Iris.

The last two components I'm looking for recommendations on are the Hard Drive and a POE switch (I live in Canada so I may not be accessible to some hardware).

I've seen and read a lot of talk on RAID setups and what not but I don't know enough about it fully, is it necessary? I understand that if a drive fails it keeps working and you can replace (so to speak) but I'm more curious how many people use a Blue Iris without a RAID setup? Can I simply have a single HD backup to a NAS? The computer will be hidden in a separate building so the chances of thieves breaking in and stealing the NVR are slim to none.

I was looking at a a 4TB Purple drive (based on this http://www.video-insight.com/calc.php - 3M h.264 10-15 FPS, 60% motion 14 days retention, of course this could all change).

Is there any preferred POE switches to use? I'd need about a 16 port switch.

 

[japjoe7]

12 camera is a lot to record but the 4TB purple will do just fine. If your worried about redundancy then you may want to go with a RAID setup but it's certainly not necessary. When looking for a switch make sure that the POE ports are supply enough power to handle all those cameras. I wouldn't recommend "el-cheapo" switches. Stick with reputably brands. If you're looking to get all 12 on a single POE switch you may be looking at a enterprise model since most consumer base only go up to 8ish or you can stack 2 switches.

Here's one, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GKTZP60AREHE77M664N this is 10/100 unmanaged though.

 

[Phrosty]

12 camera is a lot to record but the 4TB purple will do just fine. If your worried about redundancy then you may want to go with a RAID setup but it's certainly not necessary. When looking for a switch make sure that the POE ports are supply enough power to handle all those cameras. I wouldn't recommend "el-cheapo" switches. Stick with reputably brands. If you're looking to get all 12 on a single POE switch you may be looking at a enterprise model since most consumer base only go up to 8ish or you can stack 2 switches.

Here's one, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GKTZP60AREHE77M664N this is 10/100 unmanaged though.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not to terribly concerned with the redundancy, I figured for now I would just stick with one single 4TB and do some backups along the way. It may be something I change down the road. I ended up landing on this as I think someone had mentioned this brand on the forum before and it seems to have good enough reviews.

 

[japjoe7]

Never heard of BV Tech but the specs look fab. Personally I'd be kinda nervous though spending that much on a brand I've never heard of. Let us know how you make out!!

Edit: Now that I'm looking at it seems like a re-branded switch. I don't see that it's UL or CE listed, just an fyi.

Netgear Switch

 

[Phrosty]

Never heard of BV Tech but the specs look fab. Personally I'd be kinda nervous though spending that much on a brand I've never heard of. Let us know how you make out!!

Edit: Now that I'm looking at it seems like a re-branded switch. I don't see that it's UL or CE listed, just an fyi.

Netgear Switch
View attachment 11174

Hmm well, to late now haha, we'll see how she pans out I guess.