Help with multi-location set-up
Apologies for a long explanation - I have a warehouse with 9 POE cameras and a NVR by Q-See - the NVR POE ports failed, so I ended up getting a POE switch. That worked fine with the QSee, but today I showed up and my front driveway gate was open, and the NVR hadn’t recorded a thing - so - I have SS running on a mini at home, with 3 of the same Qsee cameras - it works fantastic, and I would like to have a similar experience at my warehouse - I have downloaded SS at the warehouse (mini M1) and have the cameras recognized, but need to try and get the email alerts happening and a few other little things figured out.
But I would like to do a few things at the same time, and I could use help with each -
First - I’d like to separate my cameras from the rest of my network at both locations. I have read about setting up a subnet on my router, and assigning IPs on that subnet, but I also read a post that indicated I could just manually assign IPs outside my network, and SS would be just as happy with that. But what I’d really like, is to be able to access either SS very easily from any computer, iOS device, or AppleTV to check on things. Is there a better way to set it up to accomplish this? Is there a way to have all the cameras at both locations show up on a single monitor, at either location? (Preferably without logging in and out of each server - )
Second - I use the NVR with its alarm outputs to ring a buzzer when the back gate is opened, or if its open, when someone walks in. The NVR has relays that I just needed to tie into - how do I accomplish similar with SS on a mini?
Finally - I use a Ring doorbell on the public entry to the warehouse. It rings on my phone, and I can see who’s there and answer if appropriate from anywhere ( LOTS of homeless and junkies in the neighborhood ) - I’d love to lose the Ring, and have similar functionality but integrated in my SS - possible? And if so, the same at home?
But I would like to do a few things at the same time, and I could use help with each -
First - I’d like to separate my cameras from the rest of my network at both locations. I have read about setting up a subnet on my router, and assigning IPs on that subnet, but I also read a post that indicated I could just manually assign IPs outside my network, and SS would be just as happy with that. But what I’d really like, is to be able to access either SS very easily from any computer, iOS device, or AppleTV to check on things. Is there a better way to set it up to accomplish this? Is there a way to have all the cameras at both locations show up on a single monitor, at either location? (Preferably without logging in and out of each server - )
Second - I use the NVR with its alarm outputs to ring a buzzer when the back gate is opened, or if its open, when someone walks in. The NVR has relays that I just needed to tie into - how do I accomplish similar with SS on a mini?
Finally - I use a Ring doorbell on the public entry to the warehouse. It rings on my phone, and I can see who’s there and answer if appropriate from anywhere ( LOTS of homeless and junkies in the neighborhood ) - I’d love to lose the Ring, and have similar functionality but integrated in my SS - possible? And if so, the same at home?
Comments
-
In terms of separating the camera on their own network, this blog post should explain how to set this up: Segregating IP Cameras on their own LAN. Please let me know if you have any further questions about this.
It is possible to set up the home cameras to stream into the warehouse SecuritySpy and vice versa, however this would use continuous bandwidth of the internet connections at each location, so unless you have very fast internet speeds I wouldn't recommend it; it would be best to keep each system separate.
But if you do want to set this up, the procedure would be to set up remote access to SecuritySpy, and then use these instructions to set up SecuritySpy as a viewer to another copy of SecuritySpy.
Alarm outputs/relays can be achieved with WebRelay devices, which link up to SecuritySpy via built-in scripts available under Preferences - Cameras - Actions. Alternatively there are some HomeKit relays/switches that could provide this functionality (see HomeKit Integration for info on how this works in SecuritySpy).
As for doorbell cameras, unfortunately the Ring is a closed subscription-based system that can't be used with SecuritySpy. The doorbells that work with SecuritySpy include the dbell, EZVIZ Video Doorbell Cam, Dahua doorbells, and Hikvision doorbells. -
Hi Ben. Is is possible to use the digital inputs on the WebRelay devices, such as the X-408, to trigger camera recoding in SecuritySpy? I haven’t taken a look at the example scripts yet so please forgive me if this is already spelled out. Thank you.
-
Thanks for the response -
I've ordered a USB-C port extender to give me a second ethernet port on my mini M1, and as soon as I get that I'll try to separate out the cameras - I was tempted to put the cameras on the ethernet port, and use the wifi port for the the internet access, but decided I'd get the expander, as I need a SD card reader as well -
I've installed SS at the warehouse, and opened 8000 and 8001 on the AT&T router as best I could, but am completely unable to access the server remotely either thru safari, the iOS app, or appletv - As it works incredibly well on the intel mini at home thru any choice, I'm wondering if this might be a limitation of the evaluation license?
The WebRelay devices look really good - I'm considering which one might be the best choice looking at possible future needs - at this point the POE 4 relay model is at the top of my list. But do you feel that Homekit might be a better way to go, especially if I want to delve deeper into the Apple mire and add HomePods or similar to the warehouse for music and notification alerts? If I could get the system to make simple announcements like "Parking lot gate motion detected" or "Someone is approaching side entry door", that would be pretty cool (and possibly somewhat creepy - )
I'll look into the doorbells once I get the system running smoothly - still have to decide if I want to pop for the 16 channel version so I can use my 9 cameras, or if I just drop a camera from the mix for the beginning -
Appreciate the help!! -
Ignore the web access - it was a very weird operation to open ports on the ATT Router - figured it out, and it looks like that access is perfect! (I'll check the Apple TV app when I get home - )
-
Oops - ignore that 0 iOS app works, but web access does not -
-
If the iOS app works to access SecuritySpy from the Internet (i.e. when you're not on the same local network as SecuritySpy), then you have successfully set up remote access, and web viewing will also work. Just make sure you are entering the correct address into the web browser, which would be:
For HTTP access: http://name.viewcam.me:8000
For HTTPS access: https://name.viewcam.me:8001
As for WebRelay vs HomeKit for outputs (Actions), it all depends what the specific use case is. Some considerations are as follows:
- The relays in the WebRelay-Quad are rated up to 28VAC/24VDC only, so you can't switch any mains-powered devices with them. The single-relay WebRelay device, on the other hand, is rated for 240VAC/30VDC, so you can switch mains-powered devices with this one.
- WebRelay setup is a bit more complicated, with some IP setup and wiring, whereas HomeKit is basically plug-and-play.
- HomeKit works using WiFi or Bluetooth (depending on the accessory) and therefore has a limited range. When you say you have a warehouse, I'm imagining a very large space, so this could potentially be an issue.
- HomeKit allows control of any accessory you add via Apple's Home app as well as via Siri, which may be very useful for you. -
I have a similar setup but on the same LAN
Warehouse has 4 cameras, will be 12
Office has 5 cameras,
Would having a separate copy of SS running in the warehouse from the office SS reduce traffic on the LAN?
-
Hi @dougbitt if you have a Mac at the warehouse recording from the warehouse cameras, and a second Mac at the office recording from the office cameras, then yes this will reduce the amount of camera traffic that needs to be sent between these locations. However, I suggest that having all cameras on one single Mac (presumably at the office location) will give you a better user experience. Streaming 12 cameras over a Gigabit network should not degrade its performance too much, especially if these cameras use H.265 encoding and frame rates that aren't too high (we recommend 10fps for general-purpose CCTV).
If you're worried about LAN performance degradation due to the camera traffic, one option is to set up a separate network for the cameras, in order to offload their traffic off your main LAN. Or, if the switches at the office and the warehouse support link aggregation, you can connect them using two Ethernet cables instead of one, to double the bandwidth between these two locations (this feature is generally only available on managed switches).
