18 IP cameras lagging - CAT5E??

Hi Guys

We have 18 cameras around my business. Using external TPlinks which have upto 300mbps bandwidth.

We have cat5e cable coming from the main office to 1 tp link which is receiving all 18 cameras. Then it is going to a large switch in the office used for the computer network then from that into the NVR. The cameras are 4mp hikvision set to medium and 16 frame rate. There are no runs of cat5e cable over 20 meters long.

Cameras are slow/laggy, jerky, even though the quality is set to fairly low. Im wondering if 18 cameras from the office TPlink down a cat5e cable to a large switch could be causing the issue, not enough bandwidth or maybe the cat5e cable? Could i be right?

There are 7 cameras going to a 100mbps switch half way, which then another tplink beams those 7 cameras to the office. But this shouldn't work out at much more than 75mbps going into that switch?

Any advice would be a huge help? I'm wondering if the 7 camera (half way) switch should be upgraded to a gigbit switch as well?

Realllllly hope someone can throw some ideas

Thanks in advance

 

I recommend AV500 as a minimum in domestics

how does it look on playback from the NVR.

Cameras, resolution frame rate and encoding?

The next question is what are you viewing the cameras on.

 

Try pinging the cameras from the computer network. What speed are the other switches?

 

Im using external links - TP-Link CPE210 (these allow 300mbps)

Resolution is 1080, frame rate 16fps, encoding h.264.

 

Other switches are standard HIK 4 port poe switches 100mbps.

 

at 1080P 18 cameras isn't going to use a lot of bandwidth per camera that is for sure.

so how are you viewing them?

 

You could always unplug a few to see if its a network bottleneck? Or pings will be through the roof if the network is saturated. My 5mp camera records at 700kB/sec

 

The question could be the NVR being used and bandwidth restrictions.

but need to know the model.

How you are viewing can also impact, ie all 18 at once, if viewing via a browser, and waht else you have going on device your viewing.

 

Cat 5e is perfectly adequate for those speeds unless it's an extremely long run.

18 cameras is a lot to be received by one access point, even if the nominal bitrate is not exceeded. It will be working hard to keep all the paths in sync. Can you temporarily connect the NVR directly to the AP output to check the display is OK there?

 

How many cameras would you trust per 1 AP???

If i temp connect the NVR will it not just display 1 camera?

 

The NVR is a DS-7732NI-K4/16P1EA288 Hikvision, NVR 32CHN 4K 1080P 16 ports PoE.

Simply trying to view on the nvr monitor attached via HDMI. Lags on phones and NVR.

 

one thing I should have said earlier.

I put the quality to medium/low and 16fps as anything higher and we lose cameras.... they just stop displaying and go to 'no link'.

 

Yes. But the AP is still receiving all 18 streams. It doesn't know whether you are looking at one channel on its output or all of them. You are not affecting the wireless paths at all. Switch to several of them in turn.

Difficult to say how many links the AP can receive. It will depend on a number of factors, signal strengths, interference from other WiFi, other 2.4GHz devices, etc. A quick test will show if this is the problem or not.

 

Even better, if you have a spare router you could connect it at that point and test all the camera links running. That would eliminate all the downstream links.

 

Sorry for the late reply, been flat out at work

So maybe I should go to each switch and view the cameras on a laptop plugged into the switch check the cameras are running fine. Then to the mid way point switch (after the first tp link) and watch again to see if it is bottle necking?

Or again maybe unplug other cameras to see again if it is a bottle neck issue.

I'm thinking it must be as it is the furthest tp link cameras which switch off if quality goes up. Point A, to point B, to control room. All the others are just TP link straight to control room.

B also has its own cameras 3 cameras so B is sending A (4 cameras) and B (3cameras) information. If this makes sense.

I'm wondering if a gigabit switch at B should be used instead of a 100mbps switch.

I may just have to buy the bits and have a play...