Setting up a separate network for IP cameras and NVR

[Nathan Huynh]

Hi,

My current problem is that I have 6 wireless IP cameras running around the house, with mostly every devices being wireless. I can live view the cameras from my phone perfectly fine, no slowdown on any other devices in the house whatsoever, including outside the house using data. I want to hook up an NVR so that I can playback the cameras for security purposes. This is where the problem begins. When I set up the NVR using a wired connection to the router, it begins to slow down the entire network. I’m very new to networking, with almost no experience at all so please bear with me. I read somewhere that there’s a lot of traffic coming into the router because it is trying to record everything and that I should connect the cameras and NVR to a secondary network by themselves. How should I go about this to fix the slowdown and still have an NVR set up? Any help is greatly appreciated. There’s so much information online about switches, second routers, etc.
My current set up right now is 1 modem connected to one router with only a computer wired connecting to it. Every other devices are connected wireless.


Modem: Arris SB8200 3.1 DOCSIS

Router: Netgear R6250
2nd Router: Asus TM-AC1900 (not in used)

 

[kanewolf]

Since your cameras are wireless (which is bad, IMO), you will need to setup a separate WIFI source. You could get a dedicated access point (AP) or you could use a repurposed WIFI router configured as an access point. You would want to setup the second WIFI source with a unique SSID and on a different channel than your primary WIFI.

 

[Nathan Huynh]

Since your cameras are wireless (which is bad, IMO), you will need to setup a separate WIFI source. You could get a dedicated access point (AP) or you could use a repurposed WIFI router configured as an access point. You would want to setup the second WIFI source with a unique SSID and on a different channel than your primary WIFI.

Thank you for the quick reply! I also agree that wireless is bad but that is out of my control in this situation. You mentioned several things in your post. So is the second WiFi source the same as the repurposed WiFi router (AP) in your solution? If so, how would I go about turning the router I'm not using into an AP with a unique SSID? Would I then have to switch all the IP cameras to that AP with the NVR wired to it?

 

[kanewolf]

A second WIFI source would be accomplished either by a WIFI access point OR a WIFI router repurposed as an access point. Functionality is the same, purpose at time of sale is different. Here is the sticky for repurposing a router as an access point -- http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/36406-43-convert-wireless-router-wireless-access-point You would connect the AP to your primary router via an ethernet cable.

Once you had a new independent WIFI source, you would convert all the cameras to the new SSID. The router would have ethernet ports which would allow you to connect the NVR to it. That would isolate all the NVR traffic to the AP, except when you access the NVR.

 

[Nathan Huynh]

A second WIFI source would be accomplished either by a WIFI access point OR a WIFI router repurposed as an access point. Functionality is the same, purpose at time of sale is different. Here is the sticky for repurposing a router as an access point -- http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/36406-43-convert-wireless-router-wireless-access-point You would connect the AP to your primary router via an ethernet cable.

Once you had a new independent WIFI source, you would convert all the cameras to the new SSID. The router would have ethernet ports which would allow you to connect the NVR to it. That would isolate all the NVR traffic to the AP, except when you access the NVR.

With regards to your last statement, what do you mean when I access the NVR? does that means whenever I check my playbacks via my phone, the network would slow down for every other device until I stop watching the playback?

 

[kanewolf]

If you are streaming from the NVR to a WIFI device connected to your primary WIIF signal, then all other WIFI devices shaing that signal would be impacted. There is only so much bandwidth to go around. If you are remotely accessing the NVR, then you might impact your entire network, depending on how much internet upload bandwidth you have.

WIFI is not an optimum networking technology for streaming.