[OPLINTECH] security cameras

[Ken Butler]

We just installed 8 new IP Cameras at our main library location. We ran a
new ethernet drop for each to avoid congesting our LAN. We used Ubiquiti
AirCams and are using the AirVision software from Ubiquiti to monitor /
manage them. The software is 100% free and runs well on many Linux distros.
I use Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and have had very few issues. If you have a VM host,
this is a great job for a VM running on an ESXi or Hyper-V. It doesn't need
to be a server though - I know of people running it just fine on Windows 7
or a desktop version of Linux.

All told, for the cost of the ethernet cable and 8 cameras, we paid under
$1,000. We also paid nothing for the labor as we did it all ourselves. The
picture quality could be better, but you get what you pay for. If you want
higher quality picture, you need to purchase higher quality cameras, and
that means more money. For our purposes the basic AirCam model worked fine.

Some of the advantages of using IP cameras:


   - Staff can view any camera(s) that you give them access to over the
   network, on any internal computer, both live view and recordings.
   - It is possible to set up remote viewing of the cameras for access on a
   mobile device outside of the network.
   - They do not require their own dedicated system to be purchased - you
   can run the software on any decent server or even a desktop with sufficient
   memory, CPU, and disk space.
   - POE means no electrical hookups necessary at the camera.

We did have one camera that "bricked" after the first few months. I emailed
Ubiquiti, went through their troubleshooting steps, and after still not
having any luck, they allowed me to RMA the device at no cost, and sent me
out a new one promptly.


On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 1:56 PM, Steve Owley
<sowley at westervillelibrary.org>wrote:

>  We went with IP cameras, but we put them on their own wires to keep the
> traffic weight off our internal network.  These things chew up a lot of
> bandwidth if you want a decent picture.  We used AXIS.
>
>
>
> When you consider it, since analog requires a run of coaxial anyway, it
> does not add too much cost to run CAT5/6 instead, get a couple small/cheap
>  POE switches, and use a private, physically separate network to feed the
> information to the video capture server.  When they installed the new
> cables, I had them run extra cables in case we wanted to add cameras or for
> any other use.  We have found that a prudent investment, as we have put in
> POE clocks and added more wifi access points using those extra cables at
> great FTE savings.
>
>
>
> Hope that helps,
>
>
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> *From:* oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org [mailto:
> oplintech-bounces at lists.oplin.org] *On Behalf Of *Chris Wisniewski
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 14, 2014 1:40 PM
> *To:* OPLINTECH at lists.oplin.org
> *Subject:* [OPLINTECH] security cameras
>
>
>
> We are currently investigating getting some security cameras for both
> inside and outside the building.  I am trying to decide between IP cameras
> (we can vlan the camera traffic and we do have switches with POE) and
> analog cameras.  Can anyone share which type they chose and why?  Also any
> model and systems suggestions would be helpful as well.
>
>
>
> Chris Wisniewski
>
> Technology Administrator
>
> Hubbard Public Library
>
> 330-534-3512 ext. 116
>
> Chris at beyond-books.org
>
> Http://www.beyond-books.org <http://www.beyond-books.org/>
>
>
>
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>


-- 
Ken Butler
hcotech at holmeslib.org
Head of Information Technology
Holmes County District Public Library
3102 Glen Drive
Millersburg, OH 44654
PH: 330-674-5972 ext 224
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