Hardware Requirements & More

Server discussion
#1

Hello,

I am looking for a VMS to run on an older server; something like a R610 or R810. I’ve come across a different VMS that is Windows based and seems to be CPU intensive, but today I came across Bluecherry.

This is for a small business that will be using ~28 HikVision T24F2/T24F4 cameras, with future expansion planned. Cameras will record 24/7. I am not sure if it matters, but it will record to a Synology NAS.

Is there any way to know what kind of CPU/RAM power is needed for Bluecherry?
Is there a (free) mobile app that can be used for viewing/playback?
Is there a (free) Windows application that can be used for viewing/playback?
Is it possible to record to two locations - that Synology NAS and a remote server as a last-hour off-site backup?

Thank you!

#2

You will see a decent amount of CPU usage if you plan to use motion detection, if not then CPU usage will be very minimal. 28 cameras will be fine with either system w/ Xeon’s.

Version 3 will support camera side motion detection so CPU usage will be very low, but you are looking atleast 2 months before v3 is ready.

~28 cameras I would have 32GB of ram (older DDR3 memory is cheap), if the systems have dual Xeon’s that is fine, a single would be sufficient too.

We do not have a Bluecherry branded mobile app, you can use IP Cam Viewer or other mobile apps - http://bluecherry.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/31000120270-iphone-android-mobile-application-ip-cam-viewer-

We offer a free Windows / Linux / OS X client application for playback of videos.

You can add different storage paths, however the system won’t (by default) record to do places at once.

You could look at setting up FreeNAS on an extra server and NFS or SMB mount a dataset to the Bluecherry server then use zfs send to backup that dataset…or just use rsync and copy it routinely from a crontab to an external USB drive to the NAS.

Thanks

#3

Thank you.

I forgot to ask, does it support H.265+?
And is there a trial? I’m thinking to get a camera or two and test them out.

Out of curiosity, why does Bluecherry have much lower system requirements than a common Windows alternative? From what I was seeing with it, it is extremely CPU intensive - an R810 with 4 CPUs would be loaded for 32 cameras at 4MP (oops, I forgot to mention that).

#4

Currently we do not support H.265 (any variation) in v2, we plan to support H.265 in v3.

Version 3 does use some VAAPI tricks to reduce CPU usage, the Xeon’s you are using does not support VAAPI and you would need to switch to a i? series that supports integrated Intel graphics to make use of those features, but it may not be worth the hassle if you already have hardware laying around.

You can install the software on Ubuntu 18.04 (in a VM if you prefer) by using this command:

 sudo bash -c "$(wget -O - https://dl.bluecherrydvr.com/scripts/install)"
#5

if its just recording … its just a simple write the data to the drive as the camera output the video
its like watching a video …
but to do the motion detection its killer …
try like blue iris … OMG … playing videos over web interface is high CPU killer on the host box
two camera … 4 days uptime CPU load was sitting around 30 - 90 %
and using almost 2 GB of RAM

my bluecherry box has being up for like over 110 days and used about 300 MB of ram …
and mysql is the biggest user of memory

to use h265 use the unstable ver 3 …
is what i have being using … with no problems

but on your first post

i would use two Network cards
one for the camera … and one for the live view / backup of the CCTV videos

i would record to the local box … and do a remote / NAS backup

#6

You mentioned it for me. Yeah, Blue Iris seems to love CPU. I was going to get an R810 and hope it’d be powerful enough to handle the 28 cameras at 30FPS and 4MP. Down the road, we do plan on adding more cameras, so having a server that can handle it all would be nice.

I don’t want to over buy because the server is being used as a VMS and whatever little unneeded VMs I decide to put.

I don’t want to record to the local server. Budget is key and the NAS is the better solution, IMO.

By the time I’m ready to put this all in place, v3, or even v4, will be out :joy:. Till then, I’m going to try to buy a HikVision or two and test them out with an old laptop.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help.

#7

ATM i got 5 camera on a mini intel atom CPU
running in a proxmox container
its use like 10 % CPU max
for 24/7 recording
3 x 1 MP 1080p cameras
2 x 5 MP cameras
and old laptop will do the job nice without a problem

personal i a USB HDD plug in, to record to
and a USB to NIC for access to the server
the onboard NIC is used for the camera and to keep them off of my personal LAN network

#8

Hey @curtishall, is it possible to purchase the 16 camera license and then “upgrade” to the 32 camera license - and the potential for a 64 camera license down the road - by paying the difference?

#9

Yup, licenses are stackable so you can add more licenses as you go.