SOLVED Which Motherboard, CPU etc. can I use in a new Desktop (Mi Home Security Camera 360° 1080p supports NAS) ?

[ThakurSN]

My Mi Home Security Camera 360° 1080p records High-Definition video with H.265 encoding and stores this video in a 64GB microSD card in it. The camera supports Network Attached Storage (NAS) besides, Network devices or routers with storage capabilities can also be used to store video files that are replicated from the 64GB microSD card to a NAS storage device. The camera takes about six (6) days to complete in filling the microSD that I backup to my existing computer's HDD manually, every six or even days.

However, I am planning to get another Desktop that I want to configure with as a NAS storage for the backup/synchronize the video stored by the camera in its microSD card. I may see these stored videos in a NAS in question, on my TV connected to the same WiFi Network.

Somewhere I read that I can use FreeNAS in an 8GB or 16GB external storage stick for said requirement.

So my usage of NAS would be limited to this. However, considering my limited home usage of NAS, I am uncertain what would be the configuration of my new PC so that I can order appropriate components like -

Motherboard,
CPU,
RAM,
Storage,
Hard Disk Drives,
Power Supply
Extra Cables (if any),
Additional Operating System for the NAS Storage?

I shall be highly grateful if anyone can help me about this.

UPDATE 05 Sep 2019
Yesterday, I have been able to resolve myself, the above questioned NAS storage problem with my Mi Home Security Camera 360° 1080p, as follows -

Applied to Windows XP Professional Service Pack-3 (Licensed Version)
Make Sure MI Camera is connected with the same WiFi network - the PC is connected to.
Go to your PC and open..
1. My Network Places
Select Tools
Map Network Drive
Specify a Drive letter (I have specified 'N')
Browse and Select -
Entire Network -
Microsoft Windows Network -
MS Home -
YourComputerName
Make a "New Folder", Name it.
Check- reconnect at logon
Finish

Then
2. Go to the "New Folder" - you have named
Right Click and Select properties
Select Sharing Tab
Check "Share this folder on the network"
Check "Allow network user to change my files"
Select Customized Tab
Chose Video under "Use this folder type as a template"
Check also "apply this template to all sub-folders"
To change the folder icon press Change Icon button
Press OK



The NAS storage can beset to “live” mode under “Time interval between uploads” (from Micro SD card to NAS storage). Since, it takes at least 2 minutes for the 1-minute video clip to arrive to Micro SD card, it takes the same amount of time (or more) for the 1-minute video clip to reach NAS storage as well.

3. Preferably "Mobile WiFi on" in the same network.
Open MI Home
Open Camera.....
Tap on setting "..." - the three dots.
Select Manage Storage
Tap on NAS Network Storage
Enter blank 'username' and 'password', if you have none
Slide on "Video Storage"
Select Video Length
Select Interval between uploads

Data Storage Setting - Select the Mapped Network Drive that you have created in step 1 above.




The system will take some time to setup, check the shared folder in your PC, voila. You are done!

 

[Stevie_1der]

Ok, some basic question first, just to make sure I understand correctly:

1. Do you want to buy/build a dedicated NAS which will be running all time?
2. Or is this going to be a normal PC (you called it "Desktop", with Windows or so on it?), and sometimes you want to put in the USB stick, boot FreeNAS and copy some stuff, and then you again use it as a normal PC?

If you want to build a standalone NAS, what amount of data would you need, now and over the next 3 to 5 years?
Is the data important, will it be critical if you lose it? Or do you just need some space to put it on, and it's not a major issue if the data would be lost?

If the data is not very important to you, just use an external HDD, connect it to a router with "USB NAS" capability, and perhaps sometimes make a backup.
But if you care about your data, FreeNAS could definitely be a solution for you.
FreeNAS itself is the operating system, based on FreeBSD.

If you intend to go for the dual-use option #2, no that won't work with FreeNAS. Really.

Please give some more details of your desired storage capacity, and other services the NAS should offer.
Streaming the recordings to your TV?
Backup for your personal files from other devices in your household (documents, photos from your phone, etc.)?

 

[ThakurSN]

@Stevie_1der

Seen above reply.

I thank you for your careful reply and seen your questions too. Your reply already resolved most of my fundamental questions.

Please allow me some time to update this post so that I can address your post completely ASAP.

I thank you again for your careful reply.

 

[ThakurSN]

@Stevie_1der

In your earlier post, you have stated, "If you intend to go for the dual-use option #2, no that won't work with FreeNAS. Really. "
However, I have found a solution that can address this issue and can be used to connect both broadband Internet and NAS.
I am referring GIGABYTE 7 series Mini-ITX motherboards - GIGABYTE Z77N-WIFI and GIGABYTE H77N-WIFI , following link
describes the models https://www.gigabyte.com/MicroSite/318/images/models.html

Would you approve this?

 

[Stevie_1der]

As far as I know, FreeNAS has no Wi-Fi drivers, so that won't help.

I think there might be some language barrier, so please give some more details, what devices (make and model) do you already own, what shall be connected to what, and what should be possible?
What is your budget, are used components (ebay) possible?

For FreeNAS, you would normally need a mainboard, CPU and RAM that support ECC, and some HDDs of the same size for data storage.
You can put the components into a desktop chassis, a tower chassis or a rack-mount chassis, just as you please.
This FreeNAS system is then connected to your local network (normally to your router) using a LAN cable.
If you use a router that supports Wi-Fi, then the FreeNAS system can also be reached by other Wi-Fi devices in your network.
The FreeNAS system should be powered on and running 24/7 because of regular maintenance tasks.
So this FreeNAS system should only be a FreeNAS system, a dual-boot configuration where you can boot FreeNAS or Windows (or something else) is strongly discouraged.
You can put it into a desktop chassis, but you shouldn't use it as a desktop (that's what I meant with "dual-use").

 

[ThakurSN]

Answers to: @Stevie_1der

What devices (make and model) do you already own?

Answers:
1. Mi Home Security Camera 360° - The camera supports Network Attached Storage (NAS) besides, Network devices or routers with storage capabilities can also be used to store video files.
2. 64 GB microSD Card inside the Security Camera.
3. A running JioFi M2 router device with 4G LTE WiFi Connection.
4. A running D-Link Wireless AC750 Dual Band Router (DIR-819) (setup in Repeater mode).
5. Anycast M2 Plus Miracast Dongle for TV
6. Three Smart Wifi Wireless Switches (Connected to same Wifi Network)
7. Three Android phones Redmi 6A and two more connected to same Wifi Network
8. a. Xiaomi Home Manages the camera said.
b. Google Home operates the camera
c. Google Assistant too operates the camera
d. eWeLink App controls Three Smart Wifi Wireless Switches - added to . Google Home and Google Assistant
e. Three Android phones manage and operate the following -

• i. Mi Home Security Camera,
• ii. 64 GB microSD Card,
• iii. JioFi M2 device,
• iv. D-Link Wireless Router in Repeater mode
• v. Smart Wifi Wireless Switches
• Anycast M2 Plus Miracast Dongle for TV (New Edit)

9. An existing PC with ports LAN, WAN, WiFi connected.

To Be owned:

10. (In question) A Tower Case for NAS and PC with Motherboard Z77N-WIFI or H77N-WIFI

• CPU intel i3/i5,
• SDRAM 16GB,
• SSD Boot Device 120GB,
• WD NAS Enabled Hard Disk Drives (2*2TB later 2*2TB),
• Seagate Hard Disk Drives (2TB),
• Power Supply 450W,
• Cables for Interconnectivity,
• Operating Systems - NAS & Windows in separate hard drives

What shall be connected to what?

Answers:
1. Mi Home Security Camera 360° should be connected to NAS drive or HDD in same wifi Network or routers with HDD storage. The camera supports Network Attached Storage (NAS) besides, Network devices or routers with storage capabilities can also be used to store video files
2. Anycast M2 connected to Wifi Network Operated through Apps in Android phones
3. (In question) A Tower Case for NAS and PC houses both NAS Enabled Hard Disk Drives and Normal Hard Disk Drives said.

What should be possible?

Answer:
1. (In question) A Tower Case with Operating Systems for NAS & Windows in separate drives said.

Thank you

 

[Stevie_1der]

Phew, that's a lot of devices, and all connected to the internet by that JioFi router thingy that runs on battery and allows for 32 clients max.

1. (In question) A Tower Case with Operating Systems for NAS & Windows in separate drives said.

This is neither possible nor useful with FreeNAS, as I said before.
FreeNAS uses only ZFS filesystem for storage, and Windows uses NTFS or FAT.
FreeNAS cannot read or write NTFS and FAT (well it can, but that ditches all the great advantages of ZFS, so it doesn't make sense to use FreeNAS for that), and Windows cannot read or write ZFS.
So no OS can access the data that the other OS holds, both OSes cannot exchange any data.
You cannot see your FreeNAS files when in Windows.
And as I said before, a NAS - and especially FreeNAS - is supposed to be up and running 24/7, and an independent device.
So this is just pointless. Really.

NAS means Network Attached Storage, so it's some storage space that is accessible from the (whole) network.

(In question) A Tower Case for NAS and PC with Motherboard Z77N-WIFI or H77N-WIFI

Unfortunately, this is not an ideal choice for NAS hardware.
As I said before, the Wi-Fi module is not supported in FreeNAS, and the audio ports aren't either.

If you want to have a FreeNAS system, it could look like this with all new components:
Mainboard: Supermicro X11SCH-F retail (MBD-X11SCH-F-O) 1151v2 socket
CPU: Xeon E3, Core i3 or Celeron 1151v2 socket with ECC support
RAM: min. 1x 16GB ECC RAM, go for 2x 16GB if budget allows for it
OS SSD: Kingston A400
Data HDDs: Western Digital Red or Seagate IronWolf
Power Supply: Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 550W
Chassis: Fractal Design Define for example are quiet, well-built and worth their money, but any chassis with enough HDD bays will suffice.
Put everything together, plug it in, connect the IPMI and a LAN port to your router, install and configure FreeNAS, and you're basically done.
Once you have set up everything, you can configure your cameras to use your NAS for storage.

If this is over your budget, you could also look for used components on ebay, like for example Supermicro X9...-F or X10...-F boards, these come often bundled with a Xeon CPU and ECC RAM, when companies upgrade their gear.

Or you could look for a used HP Microserver Gen7 or Gen8.
These are small cubes, not as powerful as a Xeon setup (the Gen8 is available with Xeon also, or the installed Celeron can be upgraded), but maybe sufficient for your needs.
I own a Gen7 myself, transfer rates don't quite saturate a 1GbE link with RAIDz2, but ok for general light use.

If you want to go that route and get suitable components, please tell us your budget.

This will be be a solid NAS basis, and even used server gear is supposed to last many years.

If you insist on your "dual-use" idea, you simply cannot use FreeNAS.
Just buy what will fit your needs, install Windows, and set up a share to your data HDD.
You could use the onboard RAID functionality, or set up Windows storage spaces, but storage spaces can be rather messy.
Then that share can be used from your camera to save the videos.
But mostly, a NAS is expected to be always available, so your camera could complain if you shut down your PC and thus the share will be gone, until you switch your PC back on.

So the choice is up to you.

1. Do you want a real NAS running FreeNAS?
   Then you could go with my suggestion from above, or look around through the forums what others have built, @Chris Moore provides excellent recommendations for used server gear.
   Of course you can build your suggestion as a new PC, additional to the FreeNAS system if you like.
   
   
2. Do you prefer the "dual-use" option?
   Then go with your selected components, install Windows and create a share.
   FreeNAS is not meant for everything and everyone, so it's ok if you choose something that better suits your demands.

 

[pro lamer]

What should be possible?
... with Operating Systems for ...dual...

Alternatively you can virtualize both but better twice your planned RAM and rather use hardware recommended in these forums. Otoh it'd be extra layer of complication and extra point of failure...

Sent from my phone

 

[ThakurSN]

@Stevie_1der

I thank you very much for such an elaborate reply.

Note: The JioFi router constantly on main power as well as there is a battery in the device (acts like an UPS) and the D-link router excellently expanded JiFi's signal strength and speed. Transmitting in two bands - 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. I have a field signal strength meter and I can see the status.

Your reply strongly suggests a dedicated FeeNAS system, so that also compels me to rethink and to make a replan for my intended purchase.

Considering my existing PC (which still runs unsupported OS Windows XP Pro. SP-3 with chosen Antispyware, Registry cleaner installed) but I will have to get a new PC to cope up with present OS.

Therefore, I will have to have a new PC as well as a dedicated NAS server.

I can decide configuration of a PC myself, according to my need. However, for selection of a NAS system, I will preferably explore from the options available in your suggestion -
i) Supermicro X11SCH-F
ii) Used components for Supermicro X9 or X10 or,
iii) used HP Microserver Gen7/Gen8 (preferably Gen8 with Xeon).

Moreover, I have no specific budget for my above requirements, as I have reserved fund - only usable for an economic and best possible purchase that appropriately commensurates to my original requirelemnt. I.e. no luxury permissible in any purchase.

Therefore, considering the above stated facts and circumstances, now I will have to explore and assess which (out of three purchase options) currently available to me.

As soon as I find one, I would like to get your approval for such an intended purchase and I shall be constantly update you till a NAS server is successfully running as intended. *Limit in completion six months.

Am I in the right track? I shall always appreciate your careful suggestions.

 

[pschatz100]

The Mi camera information suggests that NAS is supported, but they don't say what kind of support or which NAS systems they support. It looks like the data is copied from the microSD card to the NAS system. Can you provide more information about how this functionality works?

I think that you are making this a more difficult project than it needs to be.

 

[ThakurSN]

The Mi camera information suggests that NAS is supported, but they don't say what kind of support or which NAS systems they support. It looks like the data is copied from the microSD card to the NAS system. Can you provide more information about how this functionality works?

I think that you are making this a more difficult project than it needs to be.

Yes... probably the data is copied from the microSD card to the NAS system, Network devices, Routers with storage capabilities etc

• Mi Camera 360° records HD video (H.265 encoding) stores (the entire video) in a 64GB microSD card in it.
• It seems, Mi Server through MI Home App replicates 10 Seconds clips - the alerted movements in a scene, for remote viewing in Android mobiles.
• The camera supports NAS or,
• Network devices, or
• Routers with storage capabilities.
• Mi Home App or (2) detects my PC ("Full Computer Name" in same wifi network) but It asks for some username and password unknown to me, I am not sure what will happen next if somehow I could login to my PC through said App.
• Additional Resources related to above
• 
• 
• a guide to the camera.pdf

 

[pschatz100]

If the data is simply copied from the microSD card in the camera to another PC or NAS, then you probably don't really need a NAS at all. A PC with enough disk capacity should be sufficient. The Mi Home App might have a way to automate this for you, but it looks like the Mi Home App expects you to register with Xiaomi in order to enable support for all the features.

You probably need to find a Mi forum for help and advice about this.

 

[ThakurSN]

If the data is simply copied from the microSD card in the camera to another PC or NAS, then you probably don't really need a NAS at all. A PC with enough disk capacity should be sufficient. The Mi Home App might have a way to automate this for you, but it looks like the Mi Home App expects you to register with Xiaomi in order to enable support for all the features.

You probably need to find a Mi forum for help and advice about this.

Yes! Your answer now hits my senses.

However, the data cannot simply be copied from the microSD card in the camera to another PC. Network devices, or, Routers with storage capabilities seems to be NAS enabled too. Besides, once the microSD stores in full then it restarts storing from the beginning by overwriting the previous recording, synchronising data in microSD with some PC HDD won't yield a desired result, soon after the initial storage fills in the microSD. The original video stream seems to be stored in a network device, not really replicating the video file stored in the microSD card. It seems so.

I thank you a lot.

 

[ThakurSN]

If the data is simply copied from the microSD card in the camera to another PC or NAS, then you probably don't really need a NAS at all. A PC with enough disk capacity should be sufficient. The Mi Home App might have a way to automate this for you, but it looks like the Mi Home App expects you to register with Xiaomi in order to enable support for all the features.

You probably need to find a Mi forum for help and advice about this.

@pschatz100 Right you are !
Finally I have been able to resolve said problem and that does not require an extra NAS system, all I will do is to install another 2TB SATA HDD in my existing system. The method follows -
Applied to Windows XP Professional Service Pack-3 (Licensed Version)
Make Sure MI Camera is connected with the same WiFi network -the PC is connected to.
Go to your PC and open..
1. My Network Places
Select Tools
Map Network Drive
Specify a Drive Letter (I have specified 'N')
Browse and Select -
Entire Network -
Microsoft Windows Network -
MS Home -
YourComputerName
Make a "New Folder", Name it.
Check- reconnect at logon
Finish
Then
2. Go to the "New Folder" - named
Right Click and Select properties
Select Sharing Tab
Check "Share this folder on the network"
Check "Allow network user to change my files
Select Customized Tab
Chose Video under "Use this folder type as a template"
Check also "apply this template to all sub-folders"
To change the folder icon press Change Icon button
Press OK
3. Preferably "Mobile WiFi on" the same network.
Open MI Home
Open Camera.....
Tap on setting "..." - the three dots.
Select Manage Storage
Tap on NAS Network Storage
Enter blank 'username' and 'password', if you have none
Slide on "Video Storage"
Select Video Length
Select Interval between uploads
Data Storage Setting - Select the Mapped Network Drive that you have created in step 1 above.

This will take some time to setup, check the shared folder in your PC, voila. You are done!
Thanks