Using a Synology NAS as a CCTV recorder
Discussion
Is this something anyone here has done?
Looking to maybe get a camera or two in order to keep and eye on what happens when we are away, as much for curiosity as security as I understand its often hard to get any convictions regardless of the quality of kit.
Already got the NAS, which is almost invaluable for its primary use, but also gets very little use in terms of the amount we access it.
Daniel
Looking to maybe get a camera or two in order to keep and eye on what happens when we are away, as much for curiosity as security as I understand its often hard to get any convictions regardless of the quality of kit.
Already got the NAS, which is almost invaluable for its primary use, but also gets very little use in terms of the amount we access it.
Daniel
As it happens, I’m just looking into doing a similar thing: have been running a PC server with Milestone on it for 8 cameras, and now considering moving them to my Synology NAS instead.
Have been testing with 2 cameras for a week or so (I’m running a DS1817+ which came with 2 licenses included) and am very impressed so far - recordings seem good, app access works well, everything is nice and speedy and seems to put no noticeable load on the NAS, so it can carry on with its normal duties.
Have been testing with 2 cameras for a week or so (I’m running a DS1817+ which came with 2 licenses included) and am very impressed so far - recordings seem good, app access works well, everything is nice and speedy and seems to put no noticeable load on the NAS, so it can carry on with its normal duties.
Yep, I have had a Reolink camera hooked up to a Synology NAS for almost a year and have had no problems. The camera wasn't listed in the compatibility list but the NAS software supports ONVIF standard and worked fine.
The Synology software works well as usual, and has its own motion detection that's decent enough so I use that and can check it on my phone from wherever (which can all be done on the camera itself of course).
I use the NAS for all sorts of other things too, so I limited it to about 20Gb of space, which was just enough to cover a couple of weeks when I went away recently but obviously that depends on many factors. Mine is watching the drive so gets triggered regularly if somebody drives or walks past.
It all gets backed up to another Synology NAS in another location, which is now six years old and still working flawlessly
Not sure what it'll do to the life of the HDDs.
The Synology software works well as usual, and has its own motion detection that's decent enough so I use that and can check it on my phone from wherever (which can all be done on the camera itself of course).
I use the NAS for all sorts of other things too, so I limited it to about 20Gb of space, which was just enough to cover a couple of weeks when I went away recently but obviously that depends on many factors. Mine is watching the drive so gets triggered regularly if somebody drives or walks past.
It all gets backed up to another Synology NAS in another location, which is now six years old and still working flawlessly
Not sure what it'll do to the life of the HDDs.
The video recording will be active 24/7 and can consume quite a lot of network bandwidth depending upon camera resolution and quantity. Compare that to something dedicated and I think it is a bit of overkill as it will use more power and may impact your use of the nas. I can understand if you already run a nas 24/7 but I don't so the standard nvr is a better solution for me.
gottans said:
Two things, yes this does work but do select a camera from the compatibility list on their site and the application only has one licence i.e. one camera so you will need buy additional licences for more cameras.
I ended up buying a proper NVR as it seemed to be a waste of a NAS.
I have an older DS 4 bay at home, and a newer RS 4 bay rack mount in the office. I ended up buying a proper NVR as it seemed to be a waste of a NAS.
The RS is a higher spec device and comes with a licence for two cameras.
If you're using it Solely for CCTV, it is a bit of a waste of an excellent device, but if you're looking for a NAS that can also do CCTV then it's well worth looking into
gottans said:
The video recording will be active 24/7 and can consume quite a lot of network bandwidth depending upon camera resolution and quantity.
Valid point about network bandwidth, and certainly I wouldn't by a nas for use as a cctv, but as I have it and am more after a play with one camera for a bit than a permanent eight camera system I thought it was worth a shot, which it sounds like it is.Has slightly forgotten about this, but as someone just kicked over or reversed into our fence again it's back on my mind. Again, mainly just for curiosity.
Will have to have a look at the comparability list and some camera reviews and pick one. Outdoor, not too obvious, night vis, medium quality.
Daniel
I've been using a DS214 for years now with a single camera and the built in surveillance station software,
Been great all round. You can just allocate a certain portion of the storage for the camera recordings.
As to network bandwidth, just make sure it's hardwired.
I still get 200mb plus downloads on virgin media via wireless downstairs.
Dougie.
I'm currently running Xpenology on a Gen9 HP Microserver. Cheaper, Faster, and more powerful than the Synology box.
Got 6 cameras running on Surveilance Station as well as automatic laptop backups via Cloud Station.
Also runs a media server, 3 virtual machines running Windows 10, and all that with 6 drive slots (with RAID 1 redundancy).
Depends if you want plug & play with the hardware, software is identical.
Got 6 cameras running on Surveilance Station as well as automatic laptop backups via Cloud Station.
Also runs a media server, 3 virtual machines running Windows 10, and all that with 6 drive slots (with RAID 1 redundancy).
Depends if you want plug & play with the hardware, software is identical.
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