Question Trying to work with less than ideal builder-installed cabling

[JM Aggie08]

We have a 2 story home, with 2 separate attics -- one above the garage, and another off of the game room upstairs. We have CAT5E runs to every room in the house, with an additional 2 bundled with COAX that go from the upstairs attic, to the first story attic, and runs outside of the garage through the wall and outside (WTF is this? It's not terminated and wrapped around the electric meter OUTSIDE). All of the CAT5E ends in the second story attic off the game. I've installed a patch panel, and have run CAT5E off of the patch through the wall to a managed switch. This has addressed getting every room networked. Additionally, the switch is positioned to run additional runs to POE cameras that I intend to install at the back of the house.

The challenge now is that I want to install POE cameras at the front of the house. Since the attics do not connect, I have no recourse for running new lines from the second story attic to the first at the front of the house. My initial thought now is to yank one of the bundled CAT5E that's running outdoors, run it to a patch panel, then to an unmanaged POE switch in the garage. From there, run my POE camera runs from the switch, back up into the attic and to the necessary locations on the eves of the house.

Does this seem like a reasonable a reasonable approach for the cameras at the front of the house? Preference would be to have everything run directly to the switch, but that is unfortunately not an option. The secondary patch + unmanaged POE is the best I could come up with.

 

[KentState]

I'm not seeing any issues with that approach. Also keeps the load of POE devices split.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Thanks man -- just needed a sanity check! I'm still fairly new to home networking.

 

[Eric Fazekas]

You didn't mention what kind of POE camera system you're using. I have a LOREX NVR with 16 channels. As long as the cameras are on the same network/ IP space my NVR finds them.

So, I have the main NVR connected. Six cameras connect directly to the NVR, but the NVR gets its connection to the internet through a 24 port switch (POE switch, but irrelevant to this set up). Four cameras connect to a 8 port POE switch in my laundry room that is connected back to the 24 port switch. Two cameras connect to an 8 port POE switch in a separate building (detached garage) that connected to a LinkSys Velop (Mesh) tower that talks wirelessly to another Velop Tower in the house that is wired (backhaul) to the 24 port switch.

Since all 11 cameras flow through the same switch and get IP space from the same router, the NVR finds them all...or the cameras find the NVR and register (not sure which magic happens).

**actually, the six connected to the NVR use the 10.x.x.x private space while the other cameras use the 192.168.x.x private IP space, but the end result is the same.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I'm looking to get several Amcrest 4K bullet/turret cameras. As far as NRV goes, I'm going to just get a small enclosure with some addition WD purples, to build a PC out of some spare parts I have around the house. Should have enough horsepower to do what I need 🙂 Everything should be within the same range.

What cameras are you using?

 

[Eric Fazekas]

I'm looking to get several Amcrest 4K bullet/turret cameras. As far as NRV goes, I'm going to just get a small enclosure with some addition WD purples, to build a PC out of some spare parts I have around the house. Should have enough horsepower to do what I need 🙂 Everything should be within the same range.

What cameras are you using?

I bought a Lorex Systems that came with eight cameras. Some LNB3153s and some and LND3152s. I bought it in 2014, installed in 2015 so they're HD/ 1080P. The system has been pretty rock solid except for the original Hard Drive. It failed so I replaced it with two non-purple hard drives and I think at this point they've lasted longer than the original purple one.

At some point I'd like to start getting into 4K, but that would take me upgrading the NVR and at this point it's serving me well.

 

[mnewsham]

I bought a Lorex Systems that came with eight cameras. Some LNB3153s and some and LND3152s. I bought it in 2014, installed in 2015 so they're HD/ 1080P. The system has been pretty rock solid except for the original Hard Drive. It failed so I replaced it with two non-purple hard drives and I think at this point they've lasted longer than the original purple one.

At some point I'd like to start getting into 4K, but that would take me upgrading the NVR and at this point it's serving me well.

From what i've seen it's better to wait awhile if you're on 1080p already.

Most of the affordable 4k NVR and cameras are 4k/15fps. Only at the high end do you see 4k/30fps and those cameras are expensive as hell, and the NVR as well. Wait until 4k30 comes down in cost significantly.

 

[Eric Fazekas]

From what i've seen it's better to wait awhile if you're on 1080p already.

Most of the affordable 4k NVR and cameras are 4k/15fps. Only at the high end do you see 4k/30fps and those cameras are expensive as hell, and the NVR as well. Wait until 4k30 comes down in cost significantly.

Good info. Out of curiosity I looked at the Lorex cameras I would probably replace mine with today (if I were replacing my NVR), and they are 20fps. I'm not planning on replacing anything right now unless I have to, but I'll be looking for at least 30fps when I do.

 

[skyking]

If you had ready power in that attic, I would home the POE switch there, or where ever would make the shortest runs. But that's just me.

 

[JM Aggie08]

If you had ready power in that attic, I would home the POE switch there, or where ever would make the shortest runs. But that's just me.

We absolutely do -- my concern is temperature. I live in Texas, and during the summers it gets into the 110-120s up there.

 

[skyking]

I have experienced switch failures due to heat. Say no more 🙂