Which is the best OS to use Microsoft or Linux??

[Warren 0]

I have decided to go the pc route with my home based system as I can slowly build it up in sections & invest in better quality equipment.

I have seen CCTV systems running both Microsoft & Linux but I haven't seen topic relating to which one is better.

I have read that for internet usage Linux is more hacker resistant.

I would like to know which is the best Operating server to use, Linux or Microsoft regarding being hacked & stability?

[jtetterton 0]

Stability and security? A properly managed Linux install would be your best bet.

 

I've never used ZoneMinder before, but I understand that it's a popular Linux CCTV management system.

[Warren 0]

Thanks I will do a bit more research in that field

[graphicw 0]

Zoneminder stores all frames as JEPG images. It is heavy on the CPU a little, but performs VERY well. It is also not that hard to set up and has an excellent community. If you want to install it with ease and have mastertheknife's performance patch as well (highly recommended) then follow the instructions on this post:

http://www.zoneminder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=17652

[Horizon 0]

Another recommendation for Zoneminder.

It's very flexible, and you can use most web browsers to remotely view the cameras, or configure the Zoneminder server.

It's as reliable as the PC or server it's running on.

[Warren 0]

I have decided to buy a computer built to my spec instead of using my old one. The best place I seem to be able to find on the net is comx .

http://www.comx-computers.co.za/Buy-Computers-BLKDH61SA-PC-BLKDH61SA-build-to-spec-computer-system-pc-57492.php

I would like to have done a bit more research but am pushed for time, so I have decided to go with the following:

( My budget for my computer is approximately R5000-00)

Motherboard: R 538 BLKDH61SA INTEL "Classic Series" "Scallon Bay" H61 Chipset LGA 1155 Motherboard : INTEL "Classic Series" "Scallon Bay" H61 Chipset: Socket LGA1155, 2.5GT/s DMI, For: 2nd Generation Core i3, i5, i7 LGA1155 2x DDR3-1333 Slots (Dual Channel - 8GB Max), 2x SATA2 Ports, 6x USB 2.0 (2x Cable), 1x Parallel Port, 1x Serial Header 1x PCI Express x1, 1x PCI, Intel HD Graphics (On CPU), Intel Gigabit LAN, 5.1 Channel HD Audio Graphics Requires Core i3-2xxx / Core i5-2xxx / Core i7-2xxx With Graphics Support On The CPU - Please See Intel LGA 1155 CPU List Rear IO Panel Display Ports Available: VGA D-Sub Port

 

Processor: BX80623G460 Intel Celeron G460 - 1.80GHz Single Core, Socket 1155, 1MB L3, DMI Bus, 32nm, x64, Intel HD Graphics @ 850MHz, 3 Year + R 350

 

Graphics cards: GV-N210OC-512I Gigabyte® NVIDIA® GeForce GT210, 512MB 64Bit GDDR2, CUDA, PCI-E 2.0, D-Sub, DVI, HDMI, DX10.1/ OpenGL, Vista Premium + R 287

 

Hard drives: ST250DM000 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 Series - 250GB Hard Drive Serial ATA III (SATA3) Plus - Serial ATA 600 (6Gbps) With 8MB Cache @ 7200RPM - NCQ. + R 726

Memory: JM1333KLU-1G Transcend® JetRam™ High-Performance 1GB DDR3-1333 240-Pin Module : CL9, 6-Layer PC Board(Desktop) + R 82

 

Power supply: GZ-ODIN-370-C2 GIGABYTE® ODIN 370W 24-Pin Power Supply, 2 Molex & 3 SATA Power Connectors, Intel LGA775 Ready & Approved, Includes Power Cable + R 250

 

Optical Drive: IHES212 LITEON Blu-ray Combo - SATA - 8x BD-ROM, -R, RE (4x DL) / - 16x DVD+R/-R/-R DL/+R DL, 8x +RW/-RW, 48x CD-R - Black + R 751

 

Keyboard: GK-K7100 GIGABYTE K7100 Wired USB Keyboard - Desktop Simple Multimedia Keyboard - USB + R 99

I am currently running Open Suse on my laptop & am fairly familiar with it.

Can I still use it on my computer I will be using for my CCTV system or is there a better distro that I could use?

[graphicw 0]

Open Suse will work just fine and Zoneminder will still work with it. I checked your system specs and I recommend an i5 or an i7 as the Celeron is weak. I would also forget about that Seagate Barracuda too, that drive is not designed for continuous use and will fail quickly in a CCTV setup. Look at a Western Digital RE3 or RE4 series since they are designed for continuous use and is perfect for CCTV or server use. You should be able to get ahold of a 500gb RE3 fairly cheap. I do suggest you run Zoneminder on a CLI only install, no X window or any of that. You will view your Zoneminder from the browser of your other computers and devices. Running it in a CLI will guarantee more resources for your Zoneminder and will provide greater reliability in the long run. If you will run it in the CLI, you can simply got with a basic integrated graphics card and save some money on your build. If you build an i5 or i7 you will want to intall your RAM modules in sets of 3 so as to not bottleneck the bus, so go with 3 x 2 gigabyte modules for a total of 6 gigabytes.

[Soundy 1]

"Which OS" is the wrong question to start with - always has been.

 

"Which application" is what you want to start with... then use the OS that it runs on. If you decide on an OS first, you may be limiting yourself to DVR apps that you don't like or that don't suit your needs.

[graphicw 0]

Good point there Soundy. If he opts for a BT878 based card like one of the Kodicoms, he will be better off using Diginet because it is less CPU intensive than Zoneminder when used with Kodicom card or clone. I do know that to get 8 cameras at 640x480 at 30fps nearly uses the full CPU resources of dual 32 bit Xeon 3.2ghz processors and that is using 8 bit grayscale. In Diginet, you can easily handle 16 channels in color at 30 fps without a hiccup on the same setup even though Diginet does not use multi-threading and therefore only actually uses one of the processors. If he opts for Diginet, the software is $99.00 through Say Security for Diginet 5.2 that will work with Windows 2000 and XP Pro. You can get it to work in Windows 2003 as well, but it takes a little trickery to make it work. Diginet 5.3 is $300, but it will work in Windows 7 on a 32bit install. CCTV in Windows usually does best in 32 bit, in Linux, a 64 bit system is fine and will work better actually, especially if you have an SSE3 capable processor. Zoneminder is about all there is in Linux, but it is free and performs well on a 64 bit setup.

[Warren 0]

Due to the high crime rate people have turned they property into fortresses. (In rich areas some people have perimeter walls exceeding 5 meters). This has resulted in criminals catching a person entering the property & forcing him/her to disarm any security devices they have in place e.g. alarm system. If they see a camera they force you to show them where the system is kept.

Sometimes they go as far as shooting any men & raping any females on the premises. A few years back there was a case where the perpetrators even raped a six month old baby.

 

The reason why I am choosing Linux is because I have been informed that it is less hacker proof.

Once my system is completed I want it to be connected to my alarm system.

In the event of an alarm activation the affected areas will be recorded either on a third party premises or in cyber space where they footage cannot be deleted or tampered with. If a panic or silent remote panic button is pressed or a duress code inserted into the key pad all cameras are recorded on a third party premises. I also don't want someone hacking into my system & getting footage of my premises.

[graphicw 0]

If you want to integrate with a security alarm, then Windows is your best bet because there are simply more options when it comes to integration with alarm system. You can interact with X10 devices via Zoneminder, but it is not easy to set up and that function is not very reliable in the software. An improperly setup Linux can be hacked with ease. Linux is more secure by nature, but in the process of making it easier to use, there is not as much focus on security. You would be amazed how simple it is to slip a VNC server on an Android device giving you the ability to see everything on the screen without the user being aware whatsoever. Windows can be made more secure by disabling certain services and functions within it(many of the same functions and services that dumb it down to make easier to use). In the end, it wont matter what system you have if the perpetrator can gain physical access to it. The way you describe your situation, your best option a full time armed guard and using remote storage of your CCTV video capture. Fortunate for you that all the major software allows that function, including Zoneminder.

[Warren 0]

These days armed robbers use R1, R4 & R5 rifles.

The only places they can get these weapons is either in the Police force or in the Defence force.

My aim is to use less man power & rely more on technology.

Strikes are making it more & more difficult to rely on guards.

In the old days if a policeman striked he was charged with mutiny, today if POPCRU says strike you don't see a policeman in site. http://popcru.org.za/

In JHB there is a camera on every corner & it has reduced crime drastically, the problem is not every residential area has the finance to do the same thing. As soon as they see an incident they send a response team out.

My system will work but I think I need to sit back a bit & do a lot more research before I take a step forward again. I think I will get a small 2 channel system in the mean time lust to cover my front & back until I ahve decided what I want.

[graphicw 0]

So you are in South Africa from what I am seeing. It is pretty chaotic there indeed. If you cannot have an armed guard on hand, then you will need to set up a CCTV with remote storage. You can direct it to an IP address on premise where the perpetrators cannot find the NAS or if you have sufficient bandwidth you could use an offsite server. Zoneminder willl allow you to do all of as will Diginet and most other major CCTV software. Most of my experience is with Zoneminder and Diginet. Those are the two PC based systems that I set up most often. I have worked with Geovision before as well . The same can be done with that software too. I was beginning to think you were making up stories because I thought you were in the US, but now that I see you are in South Africa it is believable. I suggest you run a PC based DVR using some form of remote storage. Keep in mind that the presence of cameras may draw more attention to you and make people think you have something worth protecting. You may be better off in your situation with discrete cameras. In America, it is usually best to make them obvious, but most of our communities at this time have reliable police response and the crooks know it. Over here, they are apt to avoid a house with CCTV, of course there are exceptions, but as a general rule, most crooks here will pick an easier target. Good luck on your setup. Let me know what software you decide on in the end and I will provide you some pointers on the hardware. If you go with a Diginet based setup, you can get by with lower powered hardware than if you go with Zoneminder, however you will need an ATI based card with at least 128 megs of ram. If you go with Zoneminder, you will need to focus on CPU but video card will not matter since you will be running in text only if you set it up correctly. Running Linux as a CLI will give you a more secure and reliable system in the end. Keep in mind that your Zoneminder is really a web server, that is where the focus will be if you take that route.

[groovyman 0]

The reason why I am choosing Linux is because I have been informed that it is less hacker proof.

I think you meant to say more hacker proof, not less.

 

That being the case, the statement is not necessarily true. How secure a system is depends on quite a number of factors. At the top of the list, in my opinion, is how the system is configured, who is using it and how it's being used. Just keep in mind that a poorly configured Linux box is no more secure than a poorly configured Windows box.

[Warren 0]

The reason why I am choosing Linux is because I have been informed that it is less hacker proof.

I think you meant to say more hacker proof, not less.

 

That being the case, the statement is not necessarily true. How secure a system is depends on quite a number of factors. At the top of the list, in my opinion, is how the system is configured, who is using it and how it's being used. Just keep in mind that a poorly configured Linux box is no more secure than a poorly configured Windows box.

 

I know that I am no computer Guru but we usually have a saying RTFM (Read the freegin manual).

That is why when I decided to load Linux on my computer I went & bought "OpenSUSE 11.0 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Bible" I still refer to it if I want to load or update something.

I think the best thing for me to do is get a book on software security before I set up my new computer.

[graphicw 0]

There is no reason to buy opensuse. It is an open source OS. You will need to do more than study software, you will also need a good understanding of hardware as well. Linux based DVR will make a good DVR, but do not expect to integrate that with any alarm system. There is a large selection of Windows based DVR software that will integrate with motion detectors, reed switches, alarm relays and all kinds of goodies. I use Linux on my desktop, but I tell you the facts when I say a properly set up Windows box can be just as secure as Linux that is properly set up. You can very easily disable many of the services that make Windows insecure. You also have to change your habits in regard to a Windows machine once it is set up as a DVR. In other words, don't browse the web with it, use it for playing games or anything else other than runnings software for your security/dvr system. It is OK to use it as a file server, though I would refrain from using it as an app server at any time. You will find that once you disable certain services, your use of the machine will be restricted to the actual intended purpose. You will also find that most retail establishments use Windows based DVR software with Diginet, Protech, Avermedia and Geovision being quite common.

[Warren 0]

I think I was being a bit biased by trying to compare the two systems but before doing my analysis I saw Linux outweighing Microsoft.

The computer I will be using for my security system will only be used for my security system.

At the end of the day I have decided to go for Microsoft.

In S.A we have a big problem with cable theft & power outages, should this happen I would want my system to run of a UPS.

That should have been enough to convince me in the beginning

Secondly I want a system that is silent which means I might need more than one fan to keep it cool which means more noise.