bmouthboyo 0 Posted March 25, 2014 Hi Guys, Many firsts for me. First time setting up a Home Server, First time renting a house and first time installing a full home surveillance system. I live in Bangkok and am moving into a rented house soon and would like to install up to 3 cameras so that when me and my wife are away on holidays we feel a bit more secure about our home. I am installing a N54L home server soon, mainly for shared storage, media streaming and playing with windows server essentials 2012. All Cat6 wired around to the home with Gigabit switches etc. I have some experience with Yawcam and was impressed using just my logitech webcam. I would like: - To utilise my Home Server instead of a DVR - Have 3 infrared cameras for day and night usage - Option to view the cameras live over the internet - Option to view cameras when home (see who is at door etc) - Be alerted via email if motion is detected when on holiday with included image - Have reasonable quality images - Maybe option to record footage constantly on Home Server? (Not essential) - Not have to spend too much money (under £300 / $400) I have tools to make up Ethernet cable ends etc and fairly handy with DIY tasks. But as the property is rented I would like to keep drilling holes etc to a minimum. Am I correct in thinking I need IP cameras and I can get Cat5 cameras that could get power over the cable also? How would this connect to my Home Server? Additional Hardware or just over Gigabit network? What software would be able to meet my above requirements? Any recommendations on good value IR cameras? Finally is it even an advantage using my Home Server to do the job of a DVR? Or is it better to just go with a kit that has cameras and DVR all setup and ready to install? What would the benefits be of using my own Home Server with IP cameras over a DVR Kit ready to go? Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drocer 0 Posted March 26, 2014 PC NVR -uses slightly more power +expandable +upgradable +choice of software NVR kit +"just works" You're better off with the PC unless you don't want to screw with this. ________ Cameras: Dahua or Hikvision; prefer the latter myself. $100-$175 USD for the "good ones" + gigabit PoE Switch $100; choose fanless and you can thank me later. + Software is free with Dahua (PSS) or Hikvision (ivms-4200); prefer the latter, this will run on server. _________ HP ProLiant G7 N54L MicroServer Server System AMD Turion II Model Neo?? You don't need much but if you are doing other things on this like you want, it may be too much. Recent Celeron/Pentium is fine; an Intel i3 is the max I would use for your situation. Cat6 is a waste. IMHO, I would opt for cheaper Cat5e. Does gigabit and will carry power over ethernet the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites