Infrastructure

As previously mentioned, there are some givens about how the next version of my video surveillance system will be built:

1. The system will utilize my existing home network in some respect - in others, new infrastructure needs to be added.
2. The system will be based on IP cameras; both POE & WiFi.
3. The system will employ an Network Video Recorder (NVR).  At this time I am not sure what version of software I will use, nor what operating system it will run - but it will not be an off-the-shelf NVR/Software combo.
4. Being that I'm using POE cameras, I will need to pull some new CAT 6 cable.

Here is my existing Infrastructure before this project:

• ISP: I use Comcast Xfinity for Internet access with Blast.  The speed is wicked quick - but it comes at a price.
• Internet Modem: I'm using a cheap $99 Motorola cable modem.  Coax comes in from Xfinity, and 1 RJ45 out which feeds into my router/firewall.
• Router/Firewall:  I built and extremely overkill piece of hardware to run pfSense (open source) as a firewall.  I like the fact that I know the router/firewall is not a bottleneck - and I couldn't say that previously.  When I'm getting 130Mb download speeds I had doubts about the performance of my previous Netgear router.
• Network:  My house is pre-wired with CAT 5e from the manufacturer back in 2006.  Some of this network wiring will be used for the backbone (NVR to backbone, POE switch to backbone, etc).
• WiFi: I use 1 - Ubiquity Unifi Long Range Access point  $95 at Amazon.  I was able to place this near the center of my house and I get much better coverage then when I was using the Wifi on a Netgear router located near my demark in the corner of the property.

You don't need all that;  you can certainly do this with a simple router/firewall/wifi device provided by your ISP, but to take full advantage of remote access you will need to be able to gain admin access to that device to forward ports.

Here is what I purchased to build this video surveillance system:

• POE Switch:  I went with the Ubiquity US-16-150W 16 port, 150w switch mainly because I already use Ubiquity WiFi in my house, and their equipment can be managed from one console.  $299 at Amazon.
• 4 - 500ft rolls of full-copper, direct burial CAT 6.  I got 4 - 500's instead of 2 - 1000's because it allows me to pull 4 cables at a time.  Don't cheap out here.  Get full-copper, and even though I will have it in conduit, I wanted the insulation quality that comes with direct burial  $79 each at Amazon.
• Computer to use as an NVR:  I spec'd and built my own PC for this usage - I went overboard on some of the components because I want it ultra quiet, but powerful enough to run multiple operating systems on VMWare during testing.  The machine below is $1300 - but certainly you don't need to spend that much:
• Silverstone GD09 HTPC case ($80 on eBay)
• EVGA 450 BT Power Supply ($35 on Amazon)
• MSI Z270 SLI mainboard ($139 at Fry's)
• Intel Core i7 - 7700 4.2GHz CPU ($275 on eBay)
• Noctura CPU cooler ($49 on Amazon)
• 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4 3200MHz memory. ($239 at Fry's)
• Samsung 960 M.2 SSD - 512GB ($289 at Fry's)
• 6TB Skyhawk Surveillance Hard Disk ($169 at Fry's)
• 2 - Corsair ultra quiet 140mm case fans ($17 each)
• Cameras:
• 1x - Amcrest 4 megapixel outdoor camera in vandal-proof dome for the front door ($129 at Amazon)
• 4x - Amcrest 3 megapixel Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) Wifi Cameras for inside the house in various rooms.  ($99 each on Amazon)
• 1x - Amcrest 4 megapixel Outdoor bullet camera ($99 on Amazon)