Advice on using old PC as dedicated NAS for security cameras

[awediohead]

We got a couple of PoE cameras recently and while it'll be a few weeks before I can run the ethernet cable, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to set them up.

Previously I'd planned to hook these up to my current Unraid server using a docker such as Shinobi, but some videos I've watched have made me rethink that idea, as they mention how hard the cpu can be made to work trying to do stuff it wasn't really designed for - compared to an ASIC or a GPU.

The problem in part is that my Unraid NAS is built on a Ryzen 3700 - X570 - these Ryzen CPU's have no iGPU. The ancient nvidia GPU that does media transcoding duties perfectly well is unlikely to also cope with anything else, especially 24/7 recognition and movement detection processing of video from the cameras.

So since I have a an old mini ITX - Haswell era (4460 with 4600 Intel graphics) I was thinking about using that with Proxmox - so I have all options open to run a VM or docker containers. The good thing about this board is that it has two ethernet ports so I can use one for management and one to pass through for the cameras.

First question is whether such an old iGPU on the Intel CPU would cope with a couple of cameras? At least temporarily until I can afford something like the Google Coral TPU?

Secondly, I've looked at a couple of online storage calculators and with 1080p and 10 frames per second, it looks like a couple of 500GB 2.5" SSDs will be more than enough for a week or two of storage. Is there any reason in a home situation to budget for longer term storage or for more frames per second?

Anything else I should consider or think about?

 

[sfx2000]

I think you'll be fine with your current AMD Ryzen 3700 - while there is no GPU, there's more than enough CPU resources to handle your task...

 

[awediohead]

I think you'll be fine with your current AMD Ryzen 3700 - while there is no GPU, there's more than enough CPU resources to handle your task...

For sure if that was all it was doing, but apart from media server duties and running the *arrs it will also be doing nextcloud, game server duties and running a VM or two. Adding anything to that which is also running 24/7 might be a stretch - I think it'll cope but not sure it'll cope efficiently.

I'll just have to give it a try I guess, though I'm leaning towards Proxmox on the older system just because I want to play with Proxmox. Also if I break it then I just have a security camera recording problem, while if I break the Unraid server then I'll have to deal with the wife and kids!

 

[bbunge]

I use an old Dell with an i3 processor, 8 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD running Linux with Zoneminder. Currently have 5 cams with the system saving only detected motion. Delete events after 14 days. Using less than 20% of the drive space. Recording at 1080P.

 

[awediohead]

Thanks bbunge. That's really helpful real world feedback. While I currently only have 2 cameras the plan is to eventually have 3 or 4, so the fact that you have 5 at a 1080p is very reassuring I'll also be sure to check out Zoneminder!

 

[bbunge]

Thanks bbunge. That's really helpful real world feedback. While I currently only have 2 cameras the plan is to eventually have 3 or 4, so the fact that you have 5 at a 1080p is very reassuring I'll also be sure to check out Zoneminder!

I have been involved with Zoneminder for years. Sometimes it seems like forever. While I am not a programmer I try to use some of my software skills in writing install instructions. Many of the install procedures on the ZM WIKI for Ubuntu and Debian are my work. https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Helpful_user_contributed_resources
Actually I have three cams at 1080p and one at 1440p all at 10 FPS. All four have SD cards installed just in case the main server goes down. One last cam is a PTZ that is set up for my relatives to see my train layout and does not record. It is easy for me to set it to record when we are away and watch the basement window instead of the trains.