Server but needs to stream media & manage CCTV

[4Qman]

Hello all,

 

This is my first post here, i was very happy to find such a forum dedicated to servers.  I find it all very interesting and hope to educate myself in this area.


I have a working server at home with the following specs:

i3 CPU

4GB Ram

4x 2TB HDD



I currently run windows 7 however i was curious about using windows 2012
server as this would allow me more options. I need the system to run 3x
CCTV cameras and also be a media player for HD media plus i need to
remote login and backup to it.


Can windows server 2012 run HD media and CCTV applications or can windows 8 do what is needed?

Is this spec enough to do all 3 tasks.

How secure would it be, do i need to purchase a firewall?

[jmwills]

You router is your firewall.  I don't dabble in the CCTV arena but there are several of the guys who do so hopefully they will chime in.

[ikon]

Welcome to the forums!

 

Your CCTV requirement will all depend on what system you're using (e.g. which cameras and how they're linked). There are many CCTV applications out there; you will have to find one that works with Server 2012 and your CCTV hardware. Generally speaking, if an application will run on Win8, it should run on Server 2012, but there's no guarantee.

[pcdoc]

Welcome to the forums.  I assume that you are monitoring  the CCTV not recording?  If you are recording that this is more of a disk I/O concern than CPU if the recordings are native and are not transcoded.  As for HD media, again I assume you want to stream it to another computer not playing on that device?  The biggest concern  would if you answered no to either or both of these questions.  2012 does not play back very well but does serve any type of media.  The OS should handle everything else pretty well.  Might need a bit more detail on what you are trying to do and how your network is setup.

[ikon]

Interesting point pcdoc. I hadn't even considered monitoring CCTV without recording, no doubt because recording is an integral part of most installations I've worked on.

[4Qman]

Hi

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I am using:

Router Billion 7800N

Netgear 8port POE Switch

IP CAMERA 2x Dahua HDB3200C (2mb)

IP CAMERA 1x Dahua HFW3200SP (2mb)

 

Software - Blue Iris (I have been told this works fine on Windows server 2012)

 

I will be recording all movements on the cameras to the Server.  I will want to play the movies on the Server, so the server is in effect working as a media center.

[ikon]

OK, well this makes things a bit more demanding. I assume that you will want to play recordings while the cameras are also still being recorded? If so, pcdoc's point about disk I/O becomes very important. You could also have a concern about the video card.

 

Generally speaking, you will want fast hard drives. You may also want them configured in RAID0, to get maximum throughput. The issue is that RAID0 has zero redundancy and you would lose all the data on the drives if 1 of the drives failed. Therefor, robust backup is essential if the recordings are to be safeguarded. I would recommend testing 2 or 3 scenarios: RAID5, RAID1, and RAID0. If RAID5 can keep up with the demands, then I would go with it. If not, try RAID1, and if that fails try RAID0.

 

I think you will also want a hardware RAID card, to get the best disk I/O you can get.

 

I also have a question. You mention that the cameras you're using are IP types. Have you used these before? Have you been able to get a smooth, grain-free image, with good resolution and no stuttering? I have some experience with a few brands of IP Security cameras and found that they don't give good quality when using the IP image stream. They do, however, give very good images when used with SSIP, S-Video, or even Composite.

[4Qman]

Hello HSS Genius,

 

The cameras do record ok, i say ok because i do get a stutter every so often. The quality of the video is still very good, just the odd stutter which i put down the Sever.

 

I will want to play HD media whilst the cameras are recording.  The spec of the server is along the lines of

i3 3.2ghz 

4x 2TB

4GB ram

Ati 6450 Gfx card.

 

I was very familiar with PC hardware, building PC's etc. I was once into extreme benching, built my own Cascade cooling unit and frequented with LN2 on a regular basis.  This was however some time ago, 4years roughly (Dam, time flys).

 

I do have another PC which doesnt get used much. it has 16gb ram,i7 CPU and 128gb SSD, 2gb 6970 GPU,  if required i can use these parts if the i3 will not manage. Although i was hoping to be a little power conscientious.

 

In blue iris software it is possible to keep all recordings on the HDD then move over to a storage drive after 7 days (any amount of days can be chosen).  I was thinking, would it be better to use an SSD as the main recording drive, then set the software on the 7th day to move the old videos over to say one of the 2TB drives where they will remain as storage.

[ikon]

Recording to an SSD should work

 

If you don't go with an SSD, I think you need to concentrate on disk I/O rather than CPU. I suspect an i3 will work just fine, however you haven't stated how the HDD's will be connected to the PC. A good RAID card would help out with that.

[4Qman]

Hi Ikon,

 

I am relying on the motherboard at present, if i run the below configuration do you expect i will still require a RAID card? If so can you recommend one, something cost effective but also reliable.

 

I will check the amount of data that has been recorded when i return home from both CCTV's, at present the CCTV's has been running 20days so i should have a realistic amount of usage to determine if the 128GB SSD is adequate.

 

I also have a 60GB SSD in my laptop, I will remove this and use it as the Servers main OS drive and have the 128GB SSD for the CCTV recording.  Then a single 2TB External HDD connected to the computer by ESATA or USB and located in a secure area of the property.  This will hold the data for up to 6mths and as a secure backup method.

 

So far the Specs are as followed

i3 540- 3.06Ghz

Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) microATX Motherboard http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3503#sp

4GB Ram DDR3 1333mhz

Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6450 1024MB GDDR3

 

Hard Drive Configuration

60GB SSD - OS Drive

128GB SSD - CCTV Record Drive

2TB External ESATA - CCTV Backup Drive

3x2TB Internal HDD - Media Storage

 

Do you have any other recommendations for the hardware, do i need more ram?