Camera Security Systems???

[goeduck]

Unfortunately a lot of that high end stuff is quite proprietary. I just put in some cameras (Hikvision) that provide 1080P over coax, but they only work on the new Hikvision Recorder. It was an Evil plan. One of two outside cameras had failed and when I replaced it with 1080P suddenly the customer didn't like the old cameras anymore and requested I replace them all.

I would not consider Axis proprietary, in the commercial market they focus on cameras for other manufacturers head end systems. The number of commercial manufacturers that keep up to date on Axis camera compatibility indicates they are about as non proprietary as you can get. The thought is that the money is in the cameras at the commercial level where a customers system might have thousands of cameras but only one recording software enterprise running on cloud with clients.

Those Hikvison cameras you mention that only work on Hikvision recorders are proprietary.

 

[dragoneggs]

Any router will support PoE, it's all in the switch/pass-through that injects power into the final cable. I use the US-8-60W here Ubiquiti Networks - UniFi(R) Switch 8 that gives me 4 PoE ports. Two of them run my two access points and the third runs some other hardware that I have.

PoE is the way to go IMO. Brings power and data right to the camera which is hard to beat for simplicity.

Well I don't see the dedicated PoE in and pass through ports as shown on the Ubiquiti switch. I would like to get it right the second time! . I hate it when I have to sort through and troubleshoot... kind of like the starter/soleniod/safety switch run around with cars and tractors. :confused2:

 

[Overtaxed]

Well I don't see the dedicated PoE in and pass through ports as shown on the Ubiquiti switch. I would like to get it right the second time! . I hate it when I have to sort through and troubleshoot... kind of like the starter/soleniod/safety switch run around with cars and tractors. :confused2:

The Ubiquiti switch I selected does not pass through POE, it injects it. That switch has to be plugged into 110V. I may have missed it, but I didn't see that there's not power (only a POE run) available at the 2nd location. If that's the case, you need something like this:

Ubiquiti Networks - UniFi(R) Switch 8
(The 60W version)

For the switch that I selected the first time, yes, you plug that into 110V, and then you plug your router into that switch (any port). Then you take a bank of ports (say 4-16) and set them all to POE on (24v passive) which is what most cameras require. Some of the cameras have the 802 standard for POE, if that's the case, then you set the ports for auto (the cameras will ask the switch, "Hey man, give me power" and then the switch will turn on automatically). With 2 locations, it usually winds up looking like this:


Internet - Router - Switch 1 - Nano (POE port) -----(wireless link)---- Nano (POE port) - Switch 2 - Camera1, Camera2, Camera3

You, of course, can also have cameras connected to switch 1, and you can put wireless APs on either switch 1 or switch 2 (or both). The recorder is typically connected to switch 1, but, again, that doesn't matter, it could be either.

 

[forgeblast]

Not sure if anyone else posted on the Ring system. We have it. Our door bell is battery powered version had to charge it once since July. The other cameras are plug in (for power) and wireless signal. The picture is great, install was very easy and they work great. It costs 100 a year for as many cameras as you want to store on their cloud server.

 

[kcflhrc]

Just remember guys when you are adding POE Switches behind routers to keep an eye on your static IP configurations for the routers and switches. A conflict there can send your system into chaos. Probably better to go with a Layer 3 POE switch and skip the router if possible.

 

[JamesHW]

We have the Ring in the country and Blink in town. We got the original Ring doorbell and the battery eventually died, mostly from us checking Live view too frequently. We since got the doorbell 2 and a nifty solar charger it mounts on and a higher def image. Added a wired spotlight cam as well. Overall I think the Ring system beats the Blink, but both systems do a job.

 

[dragoneggs]

Just remember guys when you are adding POE Switches behind routers to keep an eye on your static IP configurations for the routers and switches. A conflict there can send your system into chaos. Probably better to go with a Layer 3 POE switch and skip the router if possible.

Okay, you had to throw that wrench into the works. What do you mean? Put the switch after the modem and in front of the router? I'm lost more than ever.

Currently I have a cable modem feeding a Linksys Wifi Router that I also hard wire to an 8 port Netgear switch w/PoE. Doing some research on that, it appears to be a Layer 2 switch. I was figuring I just needed to get a bigger switch or add another in series.

Did a little reading on Layer 2 vs. Layer 3
How Useful Is a Layer 3 Switch for Network Routing?

 

[goeduck]

Okay, you had to throw that wrench into the works. What do you mean? Put the switch after the modem and in front of the router? I'm lost more than ever.

Currently I have a cable modem feeding a Linksys Wifi Router that I also hard wire to an 8 port Netgear switch w/PoE. Doing some research on that, it appears to be a Layer 2 switch. I was figuring I just needed to get a bigger switch or add another in series.

Did a little reading on Layer 2 vs. Layer 3
How Useful Is a Layer 3 Switch for Network Routing?

I am not a network guy but as far as I know a layer3 switch puts the router functionality in the switch. I have some pretty savvy guys working for me and I do not hear router. Just hear managed switches, layer 3, etc. But be advised, you can easily get into thousands of dollars at the commercial level with these upper switches. That was not where the thread intended to go is my bet.

 

[kcflhrc]

Okay, you had to throw that wrench into the works. What do you mean? Put the switch after the modem and in front of the router? I'm lost more than ever.

Currently I have a cable modem feeding a Linksys Wifi Router that I also hard wire to an 8 port Netgear switch w/PoE. Doing some research on that, it appears to be a Layer 2 switch. I was figuring I just needed to get a bigger switch or add another in series.

Did a little reading on Layer 2 vs. Layer 3
How Useful Is a Layer 3 Switch for Network Routing?

I think in your configuration I would put wireless access points connected to the switch and skip the wifi router. A layer 3 switch does routing so no router needed.

 

[Overtaxed]

A L3 switch is VERY useful. I use them every day and the world we all take for granted wouldn't exist today if not for them! This message is probably passing through 5+ L3 switches to get to you. However, that said, there's almost NO reason to have an L3 switch in any kind of moderate size home configuration. The use for them is if you want to run multiple VLANs and have high speed routing between them. Let me just cut to the chase, you don't want to do that 99% of the time (the 1% where you might is when you should hire someone like me). Use the switches as L2 devices and, if you really need to, expand the private subnet your using internally to get more IP addresses. I use a /24 at home, it lets me have ~250 devices connected at one time. But there's a whole class A you can use, 10.X.X.X. Use a /8, 255.0.0.0 and you'll be able to have millions of devices connected on single subnet. Now, if you have millions of devices to connect, again, you should probably hire me to come help you out (and no, we won't use 10/8 as our range, we'll use L3 switches and routers).

Keep it simple. Let the router hand out IPs, make sure the range is big enough to support all your devices and run a single flat (non-routed) network at home unless you have a really, really good reason not to. I have a server farm in my basement running VMware; 100's of VMs that I spin up for testing and work, dozens of devices in my house that use the network, about 5 full time servers running.. I don't need L3 switching. I could make a case for it, there have been times it would have been nice, but, honestly, it's not enough benefit for me to introduce the additional complexity.

Big, flat network. Router hands out the IPs. Switches move packets. AP's provide access (and aren't routers). That's the easiest and, IMHO, most reliable way to build a home network.