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[MikeSD]

Now that I've bought a gazillion camerals, I'm noticing a slowing of my system. Duh!  Guess I should have considered all this beforehand.  But it is what it is, now.  Still, I'd like to ask some simple questions. Not really a good forum for this broad a question but since I have more of this camera than anything else, I'll start here.

My System

1) 5 DCS-2330L Cameras (main exterior cameras)
2) 2 DCS-936L Cameras (for portability)
3) 1 DCS-5222L Camera
4) 1 DNR-312L
5) Xfinity router (Came with Xfinity X1.  not actually using WiFi)
6) Linksys 1900AC

My Xfinity router is wired to my Linksys, and all wifi is via Linksys 1900AC. I'll ask some questions about this setup later.

What I noticed

Last night, I was watching a movie on my phone, using WiFi. It was constantly reloading (buffering).  Never really had any problems before but last night it was really bad.  So I reset my phone, made sure I cleared all memory, and shut down all unnecessary apps.  But the slowness was still there.  Didn't really determine if it was external internet or wifi.  Assumed wifi.  I was connected to my 2.4GHz band.

So, I reconnected my phone using the 5GHz band, and the problem was solved.  My speed was up and the TV was no longer constantly buffering.  So that got me thinking about bandwidth and my video cameras.  So here are my questions.

1) Based on my 8 cameras and 1 DNR, how much bandwidth should I be consuming at most from these?  I know it depends on what types of video the cameras are using and the bit rates.  How do I estimate this?  I should be able to figure this out but time is important. I need to setup my 2nd house with a system, and there is opportunity to make changes.

2) I assume, if there is no streaming (i.e. no one viewing, and no recording to DNR) that the bandwidth shouldn't be affected.  True or false? Explain if false. 

3) Cameras can be configured to record locally, send emails, FTP to internet, view remotely, etc.  Is there much or more bandwidth use with some of these compared to others.  I assume the greatest bandwidth might be if using the DNR-312L to monitor all video simultaneously. True or False? 

4) What would cause the greatest bottleneck, in my setup?  I know that there is a maximum bandwidth on my router but not sure what the max bandwidth need would be for my cameras. 

5) Is there any buffering in the cameras (or possible) to allow bottlenecks to be resolved and data sent later (i.e. for recording)?

6) With this setup, should I be expecting major hit on speed of system?

7) Are there any D-Link cameras that operate on 5GHz?  IF there are, can they be mixed with the 2.4GHz cameras?

Now to my two routers.  I have the Xfinity, simply because it came with my X1 system when I upgraded. I already had the Linksys 1900AC setup. To save setup time, I just stuck the Xfinity X1 router between modem and Linksys and port forwarded everything to my Linksys (one port change instead of all my others).  So here are my questions. Guess I could as the first one to Xfinity.

1) Since I don't need the Xfinity X1 Wifi (TC8305C), can I simply remove it from the system? OR will it affect my other Xfinity stuff. I don't use phone.  The only Xfinity stuff I use is the X1 TV stuff. I have one of their DVRs and 2 remote.  Currently I just have Wifi turned off on the Xfinity X1.

2) Is there any reason I should be using the Xfinity X1 WITH Wi-Fi router (TC8305C), for my system. Does it offer anything that my web cameras might would work better with?

Back to General Questions

1) Is there a better WiFi Router I should be using, based on wanting to setup a WiFi camera based security system?

2) I like the reliability of the D-Link and MyDlink system.  I've had cameras working over a year and they are always connected. Rarely do I ever have to restart or reconnect.  They just work. I've had one out in the rain, snow for over a year and it just keeps working. So I'd like to stay with what works. But it would be nice if I could get some 5GHz cameras with HD. Any available that are compatible with this?

Best mitigating setup

* I assume I can put the cameras all on the 2.4GHz band and do my TV (via phone and tablets) on 5GHz). That should resolve the conflict with cameras hogging band, right?

* Does it gain me anything, if I use both routers with wifi?  I could turn the XFinity X1 wifi on, and use it along side the Linksys routher.  Could I put some of the cameras, for instance, on the Xfinity X1 router, and the remaining cameras on the Linksys router.  Would there be much loss if both WiFi routers were used?  Say 4 cameras on the XFinity X1 Wifi system, and the other 4 cameras on the Linksys wifi system.

My system now  is:
Internet --> Modem --> XFinity X1 Router --> Linksys Router (all wifi is from Linksys)

My system could be:
Internet --> Modem --> XFinity X1 Router (with cameras on wifi) --> Linksys Router (with some cameras on wifi)

Does the 2nd system provide more? I understand there could still be a potential bottleneck at the Xfinity X1 to the internet but with two Wi-Fi systems (2 for 2GHz and 2 for 5GHz) it looks like it might be possible to split cameras over two different routers.  I'm just not sure what 2 systems might do to reliability.

[FurryNutz]

Having that many cameras, you may need to install 1 or 2 more LAN connecte wireless APs to help off load the bandwidth that the cameras seem to be putting a load on the router. I would try to keep maybe the cameras to one segment of your network while keeping your media streaming to another as a consideration. Having just one wireless AP can only handle a certain amount of devices and that's also a variable that depends on what each device is doing as each device can consume more than just one connection. In my house I have 3 including the main host router. However I only have one camera and a DNR. Other devices as well.

Moving to 5Ghz can help with some media streaming and is preferred use for streaming if you going to be wireless.

Can you use the Xfinity router as an AP only as seen here? Turning a router into an AP.
This is was I use for my remote APs that are connected to the main host router.

Yes there a now a few cameras that support 5Ghz wireless.

http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=48327.0

[RYAT3]

I haven't read all that yet, will later.

But what helped me was wiring as much up as I could with gigabit switches and putting a second router behind the first.

Wifi clogs up too easy.

[FurryNutz]

Good point. LAN wired can handle lots of bandwidth. 

[MikeSD]

What's the functional difference?

Since I have the Xfinity X1 router connected (but not used), along with my Linksys 1900AC.  I decided to do an experiment.

* I turned on wifi on the TC8305C (xfinity, 2.4GHz)
* I connected a device to the 8305C
* kept other cameras on the Linksys 1900AC
* I removed 1 camera from wifi and connected by Ethernet

Results:  Everything still worked as before, except (at least that I noticed). So, I know I can connect two access points without any issues, so far as I've tested anyway.

* The camera connected by Ethernet was notably faster frame rate than before. Guess that makes sense

My Question

I'd rather not have to drill holes in my house, to run Ethernet cables. So I'm looking for a compromise.  I'd rather just buy more routers and stick with wifi, than run cables, IF (and only IF) I can get increased performance.  Since I have 2 already, I'd like to see what's possible and what kind of performance it might gain. Guess I could just try it but it's a lot of setup changes.

* What is the functional difference between a bridge and just another router/access point?
* Say I have 5 cameras on a single wifi.  And say, for argument sakes, I split those 5 cameras over 2 routers (2, 2 and 1). Will I gain much performance?

Currently my xfinity is setup at 10.0.0.1, my Linksys is on 192.168.1.1, my PC is connected to my Linksys. As a result, I can't access my subnet that's connected to the xfinity, from behind the firewall.  Is it possible to have all routers/access point on the same 192.168.X.Y such that I can access everything from the PC?

Example: Can I have the xfinity on say 192.168.1.1

This is what I have on top, and what I'd like on bottom, with what I have now.


The only reason I'm using the 8305 is because that's what came with xfinity. I have no loyalty to that, and could switch it with another access point, if it made sense and gave me more performance. AND didn't break anything on xfinity TV setup. I don't think I'm using it for anything with xfinity except for the test I did.

One thing I left out was my DNR-312L.  That might make a difference since it does put a load of wifi to record the video.  I'm setting up a similar system on her house, but using mine as test bed.

If I can't get reasonable performance, I may just bite the bullet and run a few cables through the walls.  Just hate getting up in the attic area. Who knows what's up there. Havent opened the access in over 30 years I don't think. 

If I do decide to run some Ethernet cables, I'll be needing at least 100' for a couple of the cameras. What cable should I use, and what should I avoid?  I'm suspecting all cables are not equal.

[MikeSD]

Still need to understand something about the operation over Wi-Fi.

* If I have local recording, mostly, to SD card,
* Email or FTP ONLY, on motion detection,
* Recording to NVR 312L ONLY, on motion detection
* Don't use screen monitor like remote viewing of DNR-312L, where all cameras are streaming simultaneously

I would think that there is zero bandwidth consumed by cameras, over wifi, except during motion detection.  True or false?

I'm trying to determine if there is another way to reduce bandwidth requirement and still have good security.  Presumably, I should only be streaming one camera at a time, if operated like above. That would mean, wifi should be ok, for one camera at a time. But I'm not sure if there is still streaming to somewhere, when none of the conditions above are met.