5 Keys to Designing an IP Camera System

When designing an IP camera system it can be quite different from a traditional system. Below are five key areas to focus on when laying out your new IP camera system. Starting out with an overall plan for your new IP camera system is critical to the overall success of the project. Using the 5 key success factors that are described below will help you to achieve a successful IP camera system installation.

1. Knowing your distance limitation - In traditional camera systems, coaxial cable could easily be pulled up to 1,000 feet from the camera to the recording equipment without difficulty. In the world of IP cameras, we are limited to only 100 meters or 300 feet. For smaller buildings, this may not be a problem but for larger buildings, this can be a hurdle that needs to be overcome. Placing cameras in the appropriate locations is the first step but your IP camera system needs to have Intermediate Distribution Frame or IDF locations. Typically, IDF's are network switches that are located throughout a building. These network switches link network traffic back to a Master Distribution Frame or MDF. The MDF is typically a server room. The Network Video Recorder or NVR would be located in the MDF. Cameras can then be connected to any IDF or MDF location. Strategically locating the IDF's throughout the building allows for easy scalability and future expansion of the system.

2. Calculate your storage requirements - Megapixel cameras can mean large storage needs. Depending on the compression technology used to store the video can drastically change your storage requirements. These are storage calculators that determine the amount of storage required for a camera system. Using these calculators requires you to have the following information:

a) The approximate frame size of each image and the compression type used.
b) The number of frames per second you are going to record.
c) The number of days that you need to store or archive the video.
d) The approximate percentage of motion activity the camera will record in a day.
e) Number of cameras that the system will have installed.

Inputting this information into the calculator will then give you the amount of storage that will be required by the system. Always remember that as you add cameras to the system your storage retention will be decreased. Allow room for future storage expansion as you add additional cameras.

3. CMOS vs. CCD IP cameras - Deciding on the type of chip is an important choice. This decision is one that comes down to seeing is believing; have the cameras demonstrated at your site in the most difficult lighting conditions. CMOS chips are typically less expensive and offer high mega-pixel values. The down side to CMOS chips is their performance under low lighting conditions. Having the cameras demonstrated at your site or seeing a live demonstration at a vendor's site is the best way to determine whether to use CMOS or CCD chip cameras.

4. Using CAT5e or CAT6 for your new IP system - The difference between these two cables is the speed of the data transmission. CAT5e cable transmits at speeds up to 100MHz where CAT6 cable can transmit up to 1GHz speeds, which is 10 times faster. A standard mega-pixel camera uses about 6Mbps of bandwidth, this is far below the 100MHz possible on a CAT5e cable. Using CAT5e cable is fine for connecting a single camera to IDF or MDF location. The reason for looking into using CAT6 cable is that no one knows what the future holds. Pulling CAT6 cable may be a smart choice to help ensure that the cable you install today will provide service for cameras that have yet to be invented. Investigate the price difference and look at your options.

5. The benefits of PoE - PoE or Power over Ethernet allows you to have a single cable supply power to the camera as well as transmit the video data. PoE is a great way to save on cable costs and installation. In order to use this technology you have to use either a PoE network switch or a midspan. A midspan is a device that injects power onto the network cable. Deciding which to use will depend on your existing infrastructure and power needs on the system.

Considering the above five key areas when designing your new IP camera system will help ensure that you have a properly designed system. Remember to consider future expansion and scalability of the system, network bandwidth requirements, and allow for future technology that may not exist yet. IP camera systems require planning ahead. Using the information above during your security planning stages will help ensure a successful installation.