On March 26, 2013 at 01:57, Mario said...
The number one rule with IP cameras (and a lot of IP capable devices) is OWNING THE NETWORK. Don't bother installing IP cams if you don't have full control of routers, switches, etc. One change on and/or swap of the router and there is a high probability that some or none of the cameras will work.
Next, physical isolation is your best bet.
One switch (most likely PoE) for the cameras, and everything else (PCs, printers, data type network stuff) on another switch.
If you're doing this on the budget, most likely you won't have redundant managed switches in place.
Even with VLANs, you're still maxing out at what Cat5/6 can push over that single wire.
If you're doing small installations with 4-8 cams, depending on bandwidth and settings on the camera, you 'should' have enough overheard.
But if you're moving large files between PCs and already straining/maxing existing copper network infrastructure, adding IPs to same wire is only going to make matters worse.
Every IP camera will have specs on data throughput. It will depend on resolution, FPS, compression used (CODEC) and so forth.
Do simple math and see what it adds up to and go from there.
I'm sure other IT gurus (Chris, Paul, Jason, etc.) will chime in with suggestions, and maybe even a web based calculator.
+1.
