Suggestions for Computer Tech in a New House

[Finly]

I have really enjoyed reading through all the responses. Mainly because it made me think in ways I hadn't. And lots of good advice to file away. I'm going to have to take notes from the thread once conversation dries up just to keep it all in my head.

Right now I'm left with the idea of pulling cable to wherever I can imagine needing it, and hooking up some (empty?) conduit for future projects which I'm sure will come as time passes. That's the abbreviated summary obviously

And along with all the practical, a bit of inspirational (something I was indeed hoping for, as Humpy just mentioned) from WackyDan was greatly appreciated. NAS backup mirrored in a shed! I was considering a workshop and now will be considering a sawdust-proof 'closet' in said shop in which to house extra goodies.

Great stuff everyone:thumbsup: And as said, if there are ideas about future tech that is arriving (or just arrived somewhere and I might not have heard about) in smart home tech or other home tech... feel free to drop info on me.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some more ideas:

- VM server(s) for various services (local intranet or web tools etc)
- NAS to store data
- HTPC such as a raspberry Pi or similar running something like XBMC which has drive mappings to the NAS for content, this connects to the TV.
- Wireless AP system like Unifi
- Home monitoring/automation: Raspberry Pi/Arduino with various sensors around the house like temperature sensor, humidity sensor, door latch sensors etc... Float switch in sump pump to trigger alarm, lots of things you can do
- CCTV camera system
- automated christmas or general lights for outside - ex: RGB LED strips that are addressable

Personally I like to take the DIY approach on lot of stuff so I'm not locked into any platform or some kind of cloud based stuff, and keep stuff as wired as possible. Preserve wireless for mobile devices. Sadly it seems most things are wireless only now days so it gets harder to find stuff that's wired, so that's why I just make my own. I have a lot of plans to rebuild my home automation and add more sensors and controls, but did not really get started on it yet. Currently I only have control of the furnace, and then monitoring of temps and battery voltage and AC power. If power goes out I get a notice on my phone, for example. Great if I'm at work so I can monitor the voltage and remote in to shut down servers if I have to.

 

[skyking]

acupsd will do that for you.

 

[Kaido]

After many years I might soon be building a home. In preparation, I'm trying to gather up all my wishlists, one of which is computer integration.

What I wonder is:

Are there architectural solutions that could solve computer problems or just create greater functionality? E.g., for Home theatre? Servers with thin clients? Fibre cabling? Tying things into smart-home server?

Those are things that occur to me but are there any special design considerations that apply to new home construction in particular? What are the things I should be thinking about?

Throw your ideas at me.

I have really enjoyed reading through all the responses. Mainly because it made me think in ways I hadn't. And lots of good advice to file away. I'm going to have to take notes from the thread once conversation dries up just to keep it all in my head.

Right now I'm left with the idea of pulling cable to wherever I can imagine needing it, and hooking up some (empty?) conduit for future projects which I'm sure will come as time passes. That's the abbreviated summary obviously

And along with all the practical, a bit of inspirational (something I was indeed hoping for, as Humpy just mentioned) from WackyDan was greatly appreciated. NAS backup mirrored in a shed! I was considering a workshop and now will be considering a sawdust-proof 'closet' in said shop in which to house extra goodies.

Great stuff everyone:thumbsup: And as said, if there are ideas about future tech that is arriving (or just arrived somewhere and I might not have heard about) in smart home tech or other home tech... feel free to drop info on me.

Congrats! Here is a big list of Home Automation stuff to browse through:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2358016

I need to update it with all of the goodies from CES 2016, but all of the basics are there. Also check out this list of modern home building stuff:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2409421

It really all boils down to 3 things:

1. What you want done
2. What your budget is
3. How involved you want to be

You can pay a contractor & Crestron, Savant, or Control4 to rig everything up for you, which is the easiest but most expensive route. Or you can piecemeal it with off-the-shelf stuff and still have a really great system. I like stuff that my family can use (i.e. equipment that is not so nerdy that it creates a barrier to being used) & doesn't suck up a lot of my time to manage, especially stuff that I can pay someone else to manage for a reasonable fee, like Netflix for video & Spotify for audio. Here's a basic list of what I would go with:

1. High-powered wireless Internet system: As big of a fan of wired Ethernet as I am, wireless just keeps getting better & better, and it makes sense to swap out your router every few years to stay current on home networking technology. Pretty much every new device that comes out is wireless. You can go complex and build a PFsense router using PC parts and go with Aruba wireless hotspots, or keep it simple with a turnkey TP-link Archer C3200 wireless router & some RE450 range extenders that sync up automatically via push-button WPS. The off-the-shelf stuff is the least headache & they handle updates for you, which is nice. I would get a small UPS as well. Also look into ResetPlug, if most of your stuff is going to be wireless.

2. Home automation: The Wink Hub is the best central controller right now for DIY smarthome stuff in terms of maximum compatibility & ease-of-use. They are not perfect, but they are pretty good. Check out Lutron hardware (Caseta switches with Pico remotes, Serena motorized shades, and the Smart Hub for backup). Go with LED bulbs (I use 100w Philips for most lamps & 40w SlimStyles for reading lamps). Lots of LED options if you want indrect lighting too, like LED strips under counters or above crown molding (Philips has color-changing stuff, if you're into that).

For your door, I like Schlage Century smart locks. The Okidokey system is also excellent if you need to control lots of doors. The Ring video doorbell is the one to beat. For smoke alarms, I'd use a mix of Nest & Kidde connected models. While not yet fully integrated, if you want ceiling fans, Haiku smart fans are the way to go (they have a new line out that is half the price of the originals). Lots of thermostat options like Nest & Ecovent; I have a Honeywell color touchscreen thermostat in my current place & really like the simplicity of it. Chamberlain MyQ for remote garage door openers.

Sonos is the best for whole-house wireless audio. Also check out HTD's Lync system if you want an intercom system, or an alternative whole-house audio setup. ADP is pretty good for security & has some smarthouse options available. Lots of options for cameras, from cheap ones like Foscam & Blue Iris to wireless ones like Nest Cam & Logi's Circle cam. Or if you want a NAS to store movies & computer backups on, QNAP & Synology both have some great shove-it-in-the-closet box options that integrate with a variety of cameras, so you can rig up higher-end stuff like AXIS cameras inside & outside your home and have a ton of storage for recording without having to pay a monthly fee like some of the cloud cams require.

I use a giant wireless Android tablet with a battery in it in the kitchen & for family meetings at the dinner table; mine is an HP Slate 17, which isn't sold anymore, but Samsung has an 18" model out now called the Galaxy View. We each have a personal Gmail calendar, plus a family calendar, so that's where we review the week's schedule. I use Evernote on it for recipes, so I don't have to keep paper & books in the kitchen. I also use it for entertainment when cooking - fun games like Cut the Rope, something to watch on Netflix, music for the background, etc. I use Google Drive (via a central family email, with docs shared out to everyone) for stuff like emergency contacts, a shopping list, family/extended family/friend's birthdays on the calendar, etc. Next to my Wink Hub, this is probably my most-used piece of home automation technology (moreso for actually planning & using things, but still falls under the umbrella of smarthome stuff). I like Chromebooks for computers. LG has an iMac-style AIO that is great for kitchens called the Chromebase, which lets you surf safely (no antivirus required thanks to ChromeOS). This way you don't need a tower, monitor, etc. all setup for basic public-area browsing. I have lots of fun kitchen appliances recommendations, some that are smart-enabled & connect via WiFi or Bluetooth, but I'll save that for another discussion haha.

3. Home materials: So much cool stuff here. Check out Quad-lock for ICF-block walls, ceilings, and floors. Gerard Roofing for stone-coated steel roofing. Eldorado Stone for faux indoor/outdoor brick/stone facades. Lots of options for composite SIP roof panels. For HVAC, look into Spacepak, or if you want more control per-room, Mistubishi's Mr. Slim H2i systems. Check out stuff like eXapath for in-wall conduit systems. For home theater stuff, check out PowerBridge Solutions for in-wall power extensions & audio/video cabling.

For power, I'd go with a Milbank SYNAP6 ATS & some kind of power monitor like a TED Pro Spyder or the new EnergyCurb system. Whole-house surge protection systems might be worth looking into as an extra precaution. If you want some power outage options, Generac has some really nice whole-home automatic generators that have smartphone integration via Mobile Link. Tesla also has the PowerWall battery system, which is pretty neat.

For outdoors, Rachio has a nice irrigation controller (if you're in no rush, check out Spruce Irrigation, formerly Eve, which has wireless moisture sensors). Lots of robotic mower companies like Lawnbott that are basically Roombas for your grass. Also lots of neat curbing systems for driveways, fences, and shrubs - check out Kwik Kerb for starters (makes robotic mowers easier since it fences them in & prevents them to trying to eat plants on the lawn).

I could go on & on about this stuff forever, but that should cover the majority of stuff. Browse through the materials thread & automation thread to get more ideas. LOTS of great stuff is available these days if you're willing to do your research & figure out what's out there and what you want!

 

[Finly]

Hi Red Squirrel,

Some more ideas:

- VM server(s) for various services (local intranet or web tools etc)

I've used virtualbox to run instances of various OSes in the past for a variety of reasons (and still have a few installed for the occasional use).
What would require a full time server though? (like a terminal server? with lightweight clients on the network?)

- NAS to store data

A definite plan.

- HTPC such as a raspberry Pi or similar running something like XBMC which has drive mappings to the NAS for content, this connects to the TV.

I'll have to look at XBMC. I had MythTV running (just as a movie server since my capture card died) but was connected directly to the TV. You're right, the new home is probably better off with a Pi or similar feeding the TV from the NAS.

- Wireless AP system like Unifi

You mean this: https://www.ubnt.com/enterprise/?
In other words a 'system' being the attraction ... with all devices built to play together?
My impulse would be to take more of a diy hand in things ... allowing devices that support whatever interests I might have.

- Home monitoring/automation: Raspberry Pi/Arduino with various sensors around the house like temperature sensor, humidity sensor, door latch sensors etc... Float switch in sump pump to trigger alarm, lots of things you can do

This is a bit inspirational too. I have an interest in 'big data' and this would almost be a way of collecting big data for the home ... which doors/windows are opened, when, with what frequency? Which bathrooms are used? Count those flushes. Of course, I'd probably want to think of some practical use for the data before spending too much effort. Probably why my arduino sits idle -- my desire to see a truly practical result. Maybe I should just do it and find the reasons afterwards.

- CCTV camera system
- automated christmas or general lights for outside - ex: RGB LED strips that are addressable

Personally I like to take the DIY approach on lot of stuff so I'm not locked into any platform or some kind of cloud based stuff, and keep stuff as wired as possible. Preserve wireless for mobile devices. Sadly it seems most things are wireless only now days so it gets harder to find stuff that's wired, so that's why I just make my own. I have a lot of plans to rebuild my home automation and add more sensors and controls, but did not really get started on it yet. Currently I only have control of the furnace, and then monitoring of temps and battery voltage and AC power. If power goes out I get a notice on my phone, for example. Great if I'm at work so I can monitor the voltage and remote in to shut down servers if I have to.

How do you get notice if power goes out?

Thanks for posting this. It's making me think I should get started experimenting a bit more (instead of just reading).

 

[Finly]

acupsd will do that for you.

At the risk of sounding like google, did you mean apcupsd?

But again, how do you get alert after power drops? I lose internet with power (when my modem loses power) ... and actually now I lose phone too (just moved to voip). So... how? Or did you just mean that apcupsd handles the server powerdowns? Yeah, probably. My ups does that.

 

[Finly]

Congrats! Here is a big list of Home Automation stuff to browse through:
<snipped the extensive list/>

Wow!
You've given me a month of reading to do but I like it.
I'm reading about wink hub and others now

 

[Kaido]

Wow!
You've given me a month of reading to do but I like it.
I'm reading about wink hub and others now

Basically, you have to decide how much involvement you want in it - time, effort, and money-wise - both in planning & implementation, as well as maintenance down the road. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. For example, a Wink Hub is a reasonable $90 from Wink.com, about the price of a decent wireless router. It's compatible with a lot of stuff, so all you have to do is dump money into the system for the pieces you want & do basic install work for lightswitches, door locks, and so on. Or, if you really want to geek out, you can get into something like MisterHouse, which is written entirely in customizable Perl scripts:

http://misterhouse.sourceforge.net/

But then if something screws up & your family asks why, you have to tell them that something is mis-configured on a Perl script running on your virtual Linux server in the closet, vs. saying "just go unplug the Wink Hub for a minute". On the higher of end of things, you can get a dealer-installed system like Crestron, but you can hit $50k+ with those in pretty short order, so budget is something to consider as well.

I used to do a ton of nerdy stuff...had a small computer farm, Linux from Scratch, all kinds of tinker projects like Arduino, but over time I realized I wanted to use the stuff, not make or maintain the stuff - but I also didn't want to pay top dollar for a high-end system. So Wink & others like the SmartThings v2 hub are a nicer balance for DIY'ers because, while relatively expensive, they're not prohibitively expensive for most people. I have a friend who does smarthome installs professionally and has done places that had over a million dollars sunk into them for whole-home automation, home theater, etc. You can really go nuts if you want to.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Hi Red Squirrel,



I've used virtualbox to run instances of various OSes in the past for a variety of reasons (and still have a few installed for the occasional use).
What would require a full time server though? (like a terminal server? with lightweight clients on the network?)

Vbox works, vmware ESXi free is also an option though quite limited. I'm actually in the process myself of brainstorming a new solution. KVM/Qemu is the defacto standard in Linux though it's much more complex to setup especially as far as networking goes. (teaming, vlans etc)

You mean this: https://www.ubnt.com/enterprise/?
In other words a 'system' being the attraction ... with all devices built to play together?
My impulse would be to take more of a diy hand in things ... allowing devices that support whatever interests I might have.

Yeah, the nice thing with unifi is that it is fairly cheap and easy to setup, but still enterprise grade. The controller can simply be a VM, you don't need an expensive piece of hardware like other solutions. It also supports vlans, so if you want several wireless networks for different purposes with different restrictions you can do it.

How do you get notice if power goes out?

Kinda crude, but I have a 12 volt relay powered by a wall wart which is plugged directly into AC (no UPS) and the switch side is connected to the arduino connected to my home automation server. When power goes off, the relay turns off, then arduino digital input goes from 0 to 1. (order does not matter you just set the alarm, either normally open or normally closed)

I wrote my own monitoring software that monitors my servers and physical stuff through the arduino. Even mouse traps. The snap ones, when they're set the copper makes contact with the other side of the trap, when they trip it breaks the contact. I don't really have a mouse issue anymore but the traps are in the attic, set and forget, more or less.

Screenshot of monitoring software:



I still have a lot of work to do on it but eventually want to release it to public. My hvac is a seperate system and software but I want to eventually combine it with the monitoring software and turn it more into a full featured home automation software.








My plan is to replace all of this with a Rasbperry Pi though, as it itself is a computer but also has GPIO pins, so rather than having an arduino connected to a full blown server the RPI will be able to do everything, and use much less power in the process. Will probably set it all up in a Nema enclosure with DIN rails and stuff.


In the case of a new house I would just run all the wiring for something like this, have it all go to a large NEMA cabinet, then at some later point you can add sensors and controls and stuff. Like you can even have temp sensors in your fridge or freezer so if the temp goes too high you get an alarm notice.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Being a tech forum, and the OP specifically asking for interesting smart-home related technology ideas, I was actually looking forward to all the responses covering the latest future tech that makes everyone's life easier.

Everyone agrees you need a bunch of wiring. To connect what? No one really knows...

If someone comes out with a network connected garbage disposal, or you suddenly realize the need for a 7th TV, you of course want to be prepared. Other than that there just doesn't seem to be much going on here. :\

Different answer every six months.

Also, all the gadgets are wifi now - you just need cat6 to centrally-located jacks in the ceilings (maybe next to chandeliers) for WAPs.

The infrastructure's the important part. That has to last the life of the house.

 

[skyking]

At the risk of sounding like google, did you mean apcupsd?

But again, how do you get alert after power drops? I lose internet with power (when my modem loses power) ... and actually now I lose phone too (just moved to voip). So... how? Or did you just mean that apcupsd handles the server powerdowns? Yeah, probably. My ups does that.

since you brought up google, try 'apcupsd send email' for several answers.

 

[Finly]

Basically, you have to decide how much involvement you want in it - time, effort, and money-wise - both in planning & implementation, as well as maintenance down the road. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. For example, a Wink Hub is a reasonable $90 from Wink.com, about the price of a decent wireless router. It's compatible with a lot of stuff, so all you have to do is dump money into the system for the pieces you want & do basic install work for lightswitches, door locks, and so on. Or, if you really want to geek out, you can get into something like MisterHouse, which is written entirely in customizable Perl scripts:

http://misterhouse.sourceforge.net/

But then if something screws up & your family asks why, you have to tell them that something is mis-configured on a Perl script running on your virtual Linux server in the closet, vs. saying "just go unplug the Wink Hub for a minute". On the higher of end of things, you can get a dealer-installed system like Crestron, but you can hit $50k+ with those in pretty short order, so budget is something to consider as well.

I used to do a ton of nerdy stuff...had a small computer farm, Linux from Scratch, all kinds of tinker projects like Arduino, but over time I realized I wanted to use the stuff, not make or maintain the stuff - but I also didn't want to pay top dollar for a high-end system. So Wink & others like the SmartThings v2 hub are a nicer balance for DIY'ers because, while relatively expensive, they're not prohibitively expensive for most people. I have a friend who does smarthome installs professionally and has done places that had over a million dollars sunk into them for whole-home automation, home theater, etc. You can really go nuts if you want to.

We're on the same page I think. I also have hesitated to get involved with enormous projects because of problems of maintenance (or having to write too much of my own code to make something work that should just be there). And I agree, the cost is not significant considering the time I've sunk into making things like Myth work the way I've wanted them to. I've been looking at OpenHab but like you say, who enjoys being tech support 24/7.

Considering that I'm still probably 2 years from breaking soil, I'll just keep a close eye on the options. I agree Wink looks like a winner in many respects. They've grown quickly and have good backing for future development according to what I've read.

And no, my budget doesn't reach into the clouds for this sort of thing. So good thing there are many options within reach.

 

[Finly]

since you brought up google, try 'apcupsd send email' for several answers.

Ha, as it turns out the search terms should be, "why to keep your modem/router on a ups".

Because right now my ups is in my 'office' keeping my computer data safe. And the router/modem are located far away in the spare bedroom (where they enter the house).

So when power drops for me, I lose internet instantly. So how do you send email alerts without internet? I thought perhaps they were wiring in some cell-enabled internet (which seemed pretty deluxe to me).

So... either I re-run cabling, or get another ups, or leave the router/modem unprotected until the new build!

I've learned another detail!

 

[skyking]

yeah my entire network gear is on UPS. The ISP will often go down a short while after our home, but the email gets out.

 

[Kaido]

Ha, as it turns out the search terms should be, "why to keep your modem/router on a ups".

Because right now my ups is in my 'office' keeping my computer data safe. And the router/modem are located far away in the spare bedroom (where they enter the house).

So when power drops for me, I lose internet instantly. So how do you send email alerts without internet? I thought perhaps they were wiring in some cell-enabled internet (which seemed pretty deluxe to me).

So... either I re-run cabling, or get another ups, or leave the router/modem unprotected until the new build!

I've learned another detail!

If you have a UPS on your network equipment, some services can still operate depending on where you live, so you may be able to skate through. Otherwise you can get a dial-up landline for backup, or a 3G modem if you don't mind paying a monthly service. There are also some free online monitors that can at least tell you when your home network connection goes down:

https://uptimerobot.com/

Note that good UPS & surge protection devices will have Ethernet pass-through & RF cable pass-through for extra protection so you don't get fried through those vectors should a surge happen.

 

[Kaido]

Different answer every six months.

Also, all the gadgets are wifi now - you just need cat6 to centrally-located jacks in the ceilings (maybe next to chandeliers) for WAPs.

The infrastructure's the important part. That has to last the life of the house.

FWIW, wireless range extenders (as opposed to wired hotspots) are MUCH better these days; I typically always recommend hardwiring everything you can, but since I'm only renting this place until later this year, I didn't want to do any work to it. I just bought a TP-Link combo to go 100% wireless in my current place:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=38014367&postcount=1

$325 shipped for the router & range extender off Amazon - not cheap, but I get full 5-bar coverage in the whole place now with only a 1/6th speed loss when connected to the range extender (drops from ~60 MB/s to ~50 MB/s, which isn't ideal, but 50 megs is still plenty fast & I didn't have to fish any lines in the wall, yay!). I wish it wasn't so expensive, but you pay for convenience & it's actually working solidly so far, so I'm happy with it. Literally 10 minutes worth of setup & I was done :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

We're on the same page I think. I also have hesitated to get involved with enormous projects because of problems of maintenance (or having to write too much of my own code to make something work that should just be there). And I agree, the cost is not significant considering the time I've sunk into making things like Myth work the way I've wanted them to. I've been looking at OpenHab but like you say, who enjoys being tech support 24/7.

Considering that I'm still probably 2 years from breaking soil, I'll just keep a close eye on the options. I agree Wink looks like a winner in many respects. They've grown quickly and have good backing for future development according to what I've read.

And no, my budget doesn't reach into the clouds for this sort of thing. So good thing there are many options within reach.

If you're a couple years away from building, then I would suggest taking some time to learn some 3D packages. I'd start out with a lightweight one like Google Sketchup or even SweetHome3D to get the layout down, and then move on to Revit to start getting things measured out (Lynda.com has some great video tutorials that slowly build up your skills in a very easy, non-difficult way).

If you can show up to an architect with a clear vision of what you want, life will be waaaaaay easier. In addition, if you've got your home building materials picked out & your smarthome stuff planned out, then you can pretty much go in with a list of stuff to order and the project will go a lot smoother. I'd also recommend picking up a copy of "Building your own home for dummies" to get familiar with the process: (ignore the name, it's a good introduction to the process & the players)

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Your-Own-Home-Dummies/dp/0764557092/

I worked for a custom home builder back in college...building a home is a tremendously huge effort, even for a relatively simple design. Knowing what goes into it ahead of time is a huge benefit for you & your stress levels, and going in prepared with what materials you want, colors, hardware, design, etc. makes it a lot easier on everyone. From there, they can make real blueprints out of your design, bring it up to code, and create an installation plan & schedule to make it happen.

I plan on building someday as well, which is why I created the smarthome & modern home materials threads - to get a head-start & keep up with all of the new stuff coming out. Things like ICF blocks & SIP panels make life so much easier when building & maintaining a house...it doesn't have to be a standard flammable wood-frame house anymore. On the flip side, you also have to learn the quirks of the new materials. For example, ICF block homes are fairly airtight...in fact, they're too airtight, so you need an HRV/ERV system to keep the air flowing, or else build a design with large windows (there's a size percentage that allows for air leakage to provide sufficient breathability in tight homes) to allow for air permeability. Pros & cons to everything, but needless to say the materials technology has gotten a lot better if you don't mind diving into google to see what's out there.

 

[Kaido]

One thing you may want to consider is a Synology NAS. In a nutshell, Synology makes mini computers that can house multiple hard drives (they sell them in various sizes) & can run special apps, similar to a smartphone. You control it through a web interface; their "operating system" is called DiskStation Manager or "DSM". There are two powerful features on their system:

1. Special RAID setups
2. NAS apps

You can do traditional RAID, or even better, you can do Synology Hybrid RAID, which among other things allows you to (1) add more drives in the future without breaking the RAID array up (grow in size as your budget allows), and (2) transfer the RAID to a new box (like if you want to move from a 2-drive system to an 8-drive system, or if you have a hardware failure & the machine dies - you're not hosed!). That eliminates a lot of the headaches of traditional RAID setups. I like to use SHR-2, which uses two drives for failover. For example, I typically recommend the 1815+ model, which is an 8-bay unit for a grand, so two of those drives could fail and you still wouldn't lose your data. Might be overkill for home use, but it adds more protection & hard drives are pretty cheap these days (single 6TB HAS HDD is $249).

http://www.amazon.com/Synology-Station-Network-Attached-DS1815/dp/B00P3RPMEO

So on top of the great storage system, you get apps, which is what makes them really good units for home use. Different apps require different models, so you have to make sure you buy a decent unit so you get full app support (the cheapie ones may not have enough onboard RAM for some programs, for example). Here is a list of apps available for the Synology NAS units:

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/all_app

Some specific apps that may be useful to you:

1. Surveillance Station: This basically lets you connect a compatible network webcam & use the NAS as a recording drive.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/SurveillanceStation

Over 4,000 cameras are supported. Indoor, outdoor, pan/tilt/zoom, HD, there's all kinds of models available. There's a listing here:

https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/camera

2. PLEX: Basically lets you store & stream your multimedia files. So you can rip all of your DVD & Bluray movies to the NAS, then stream them to your TV via say a Roku or to your Android tablet or iPhone. Basically like a personal Netflix...never lose a movie you own again!

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/Plex_Media_Server

3. VPN server: This lets you remotely connect to your home network. So you could be at work, but stream your movies & music or look at your security cameras as if you were on your home wifi network, without having to forward any ports for those services to the outside world.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/VPNCenter

4. File storage: Lots of uses here - store your files on the network, create backups on the network (I image-clone my Windows computers using Macrium Reflect & my Macs using SuperDuper), mount the NAS as a local drive using iSCSI (so it looks like you have one mega-storage drive), store your virtual machines on there, etc. Basically a central location to put everything.

5. Download Station: Basically a download manager for files off the Internet, so you can shut down your computer at night & still have the download going (and have it stored on the NAS). Supports BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP, NZB, Thunder, FlashGet, QQDL, eMule, auto-unzip, and RSS feed subscriptions.

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/app_packages/DownloadStation

The basic workflow would go like this:

1. Buy a Synology box
2. Buy the drives & install them
3. Setup the RAID system however you want (I recommend at least one-drive failover)
4. Install the apps you want

This way, you can centrally store your computer files & backups, archive & stream all of your music/photos/videos, remotely connect away from home, setup a really nice security camera recording system, and have files downloading all the time. The nice models are a fairly sizeable investment; the 1815+ model I like, which is about the size of a shoebox, is a grand for the barebones unit, plus whatever drives you want to put in it...you can bring it up to 30 terabytes for $2,000 worth of drives ($3k total), which will let you store an awful lot of movies, downloads, computer backups, and security video footage.

Tie that in with a Wink Hub system to control your door locks, video doorbell, garage door, blinds, lights, HVAC system, sprinklers, fire/smoke alarms, motion/door/window sensors, etc. & you have a pretty powerful system! And Amazon's Echo can now talk to Wink, so you can just talk to your house and tell it what you want it to do, which is pretty Star-Treky.

 

[Red Squirrel]

yeah my entire network gear is on UPS. The ISP will often go down a short while after our home, but the email gets out.

Yeah good idea to UPS the network stuff.

It's nice to be in a game and power goes out and you have time to log off because your internet is still working. I've had it happen, in middle of a boss fight and it's like "oh my power just went out, need to log, invis me!". My computer itself is on a small UPS so I get maybe 5-10 minutes but my network/server stuff is on a bigger UPS which gets about 4 hours. That also means wifi access for that long so I can just watch youtube videos or something if power is out and I'm bored.

Oh on subject of power and building a new house, I would look into what it would cost to install a solar or wind system as part of the build as it can then be rolled up into the mortgage, as oppose to paying for it later. Or at least plan for it, by running conduit up to the roof for the DC cabling and have it go to an area that could have a charge controller and other equipment and leave room for a battery bank.

 

[Finly]

Yeah good idea to UPS the network stuff.

Yep, if there was a facepalm emoticon I would have used it.

Funny, considering the time I've spent getting backups and redundancy in place for my workstation that I wouldn't take the time to take care of the whole network. I guess the (relative) infrequency of power outages has left me complacent (now that I've said that, we'll have at least half a dozen outs next fall).

I've considered solar but given my location in the pacific northwest it would probably serve just as well to have trickle charge from the mains... outages don't usually last over 24 hours .... hmmmm. On the other hand, ... all right, you've got me considering it... home automation changes everything.

One thing you may want to consider is a Synology NAS.
...<snip>
...you can bring it up to 30 terabytes for $2,000 worth of drives ($3k total), which will let you store an awful lot of movies, downloads, computer backups, and security video footage.

On the one hand, you're stoking my desire for new technology. On the other, the practical questions pop up ... how much storage space is necessary for things like security cam footage. I assume they are motion activated to minimize waste (?). And what sort of hardware is required to write out video? I'll have to go look into it.

Thanks again, guys.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

how much storage space is necessary for things like security cam footage. I assume they are motion activated to minimize waste (?).

The system constantly over-writes the oldest footage within its storage footprint. Like say that you want to dedicate 2TB to security cam footage. (Which would last for a couple of weeks in many setups, but can vary greatly depending on how many cameras, how high of resolution, how high of framerate, video encoding method, etc....*). Say that this provides enough storage for 14 days worth of footage from your cameras. Once it fills up after the initial 14 days, it starts over-writing the oldest stuff, and just continually re-writes over itself. This is generally fine for most people since if something unusual happened like a break-in that would require looking at the footage, it would likely be discovered within the 14 day period, and the video would still be there.

*E.g. see here http://www.seagate.com/files/staticfiles/docs/pdf/whitepaper/video-surv-storage-tp571-3-1202-us.pdf

 

[Kaido]

On the one hand, you're stoking my desire for new technology. On the other, the practical questions pop up ... how much storage space is necessary for things like security cam footage. I assume they are motion activated to minimize waste (?). And what sort of hardware is required to write out video? I'll have to go look into it.

Storage is a complex question, because you have to account for what you have now, plus future growth for the next X number of years (when do you want to do your next NAS upgrade? if you don't plan ahead, you'll have to do it sooner rather than later). Do you want to run a media server on it? If yes, do you want to copy your DVD & Bluray movies to it? If yes, do you want a full ISO dump? That's up to 25 gigs per average Bluray disc, unless you compress them, but most high-quality rips shrink down to around 8 gigs. If that's the case, 125 encoded movies = 1 terabyte.

Plus computer backups, plus file storage, plus photos, plus music, plus security camera footage, plus downloads, plus anything else you want on it. But that's what's nice about equipment like the Synology NAS lineup...you can buy a box with room to grow, and if you need more space, you can expand their custom SHR RAID easily, unlike traditional RAID systems...so it's not a headache down the road.

slashbinslashbash covered the security recording model pretty well. Recording 60fps in 1080p 24/7 with a month's worth of storage is going to eat up a LOT more space than 30fps at 720p with a week's worth of storage, for example. And remember, that's per camera - if you have five or ten cameras recording, that adds up. Some people just do intermittent snapshots & only record actual video when motion is detected. Lots of different ways to play the game.

 

[Finly]

Storage is a complex question, because you have to account for what you have now, plus future growth for the next X number of years (when do you want to do your next NAS upgrade? if you don't plan ahead, you'll have to do it sooner rather than later). Do you want to run a media server on it? If yes, do you want to copy your DVD & Bluray movies to it?

Good questions. Have to think about how I have things set up now and how I want to move in the future. The Synology product looks nice. Have to spend some more time with the tech details but hard to argue with the (apparent) ease of adding new/more/larger drives into the mix. I had a raid 5 array some years back (10-12y ago?) and I remember headaches with wanting to resize... of course, it became a bit moot when I was able to buy one drive and move all the data from my 5 (?) raid drives onto the one drive. None of the performance or redundancy but then SSD came along for performance and I moved on. Anyway, not sure exactly the details but I do recall the headaches involved. Seems like Synology is incorporating a bit of future proofing in the design. I wouldn't mind picking up something that would last a decade (assuming that drives get swapped out before they burn out).

 

[Finly]

The system constantly over-writes the oldest footage within its storage footprint. Like say that you want to dedicate 2TB to security cam footage. (Which would last for a couple of weeks in many setups, but can vary greatly depending on how many cameras, how high of resolution, how high of framerate, video encoding method, etc....*).http://www.seagate.com/files/staticfiles/docs/pdf/whitepaper/video-surv-storage-tp571-3-1202-us.pdf

I was browsing to see what the bleeding edge of things were at (hevc/4k+ cameras) and read some comments by a guy who still made complaints I see with the camera I put in at my parents' place.... white balance blowing out the bright areas and leaving the rest dark. And also that he tried to zoom on a license plate from a car that had come of the driveway, and found himself unable to read the plate ... I wonder if his framerate was too low, or if it was a matter of lack of light shining in the right direction when filming. My experience with cameras is more with still photography. Anyway, judging from what you were saying, such cameras would certainly eat up disk space (especially with more than a few)
... and what makes quality pictures beyond the usual of good lighting? Is pulling usable stills from a video something that can normally be done?

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I was browsing to see what the bleeding edge of things were at (hevc/4k+ cameras) and read some comments by a guy who still made complaints I see with the camera I put in at my parents' place.... white balance blowing out the bright areas and leaving the rest dark. And also that he tried to zoom on a license plate from a car that had come of the driveway, and found himself unable to read the plate ... I wonder if his framerate was too low, or if it was a matter of lack of light shining in the right direction when filming. My experience with cameras is more with still photography. Anyway, judging from what you were saying, such cameras would certainly eat up disk space (especially with more than a few)
... and what makes quality pictures beyond the usual of good lighting? Is pulling usable stills from a video something that can normally be done?

White balance isn't the issue, it's exposure. If the exposure on a given frame is long enough (assuming fixed ISO and aperture on a low-end camera) to capture the dark areas, the light areas are blown out. If the exposure is short enough to capture the light areas, the dark areas are too dark. Same thing happens in film cameras.

This is where I think a multi-layered/diversity approach would work. I'm not sure how many cameras/systems actually do this, but I would think that an ideal camera would have a cycle:

1) Take a bunch of frames at a high speed and lower resolution, but save every 10th/20th/100th frame at a high enough resolution to really pick out details such as license plates.

2) Alternate exposure settings to the degree possible on the high-resolution frames; A) fast framerate, high ISO and wide aperture; B) slow framerate, low ISO and wide aperture; C) slow framerate, high ISO and narrow aperture. This gives one of the 3 frames a chance of picking up detail the others might have missed. E.g. if a car is moving through the frame then (A) might be able to stop the motion blur that (B) and (C) would have had.

3) Beyond (2) above, in the case of high contrast in the image (very dark areas and very light areas) the camera should alternate the high-resolution frames such as to properly expose the light areas, and then the dark areas.

Basically I'm laying out a camera algorithm that would cycle through settings rapidly in order to ensure the production of *some* useful images no matter the lighting situation (while others would be less-than-useful....we're taking 10x the number of frames in order to hopefully catch the 1 that gives us what we need). All of these high-resolution frames would be interspersed among the lower-resolution, higher framerate video frames. There's no reason why a camera couldn't be programmed this way, but I don't know if any on the market currently do this. I'm sure that many of them use "AI" / smart programming to adjust the exposure on the fly, but maybe not to the degree I lay out here. Basically I want the camera to constantly "HDR" and/or "bracket" the exposures in order to make sure that it will be able to bring out the detail in both brightly lit and dark areas of the scene.