Been using lorex nvrs for a few years, tired of the software they use.
Here's my layout....

Home network, 40+ clients wired and wireless. Asus GT11000 router, 2 other asus routers in AImesh mode. All networking works fine atm.
Lorex NVR is cabled to local network as well. I can view on PC, or switch source on samsung tv to hdmi for nvr viewing.
9 cameras, 4k, setting future expansion number to 16 possible total, for now. All are ONVIF. 1 of the 9 is a ptz, should be no problem in BI.
I will be fixing up an older pc by adding drives, ssd for boot and wd purple for cameras. This older pc will only be used for blue iris, -maybe- in the future running homeassistant in docker, that (HA) currently is on a Odroid nuc.
Older PC, i7-9700K, 16gig, z370 MB. No graphics card currently. That, and all drives were swapped to new build.
I'm going to record 24/7, and plan on using the deepstack ai, i've seen how to set it up on the hookup (youtube)
Might use the 6tb purple currently in the lorex nvr.

So, here's a few questions that I've learned I need to ask, so far.

Is it recommended to get an add on NIC card to keep the cameras on their own network, although I want to be able to access BI remotely and locally (tv and PC) for viewing?
Can I use both the 6tb purple and a second wd purple for camera storage through BI ?
is 9+ cameras going to bog down my current router? I do have an extra newer router (asus RX-55) if that's needed somewhere in this setup.
POE switch, I know is needed. I think I see where you just plug all 9+ cameras into the POE switch, then plug poe switch into a/the router (right?) or, using a second nic, should I possibly plug poe straight to PC second NIC, then use primary nic for current home network for access?
Update: ordered the Netgear GS316PP. Hope that is what it looks to be, and what I can use!
Windows 10 software taken care of.

Will I gain anything by using a cheaper graphics card, versus the CPU integrated ? I do want higher quality video where possible, using deepstack.

Using what I have now, getting purple drive for data and ssd for booting the older pc, if that poe switch will work, anything else I'm missing? And if I need to add/clarify anything, please let me know.
Thanks in advance!

My thoughts... don't listen to me, but if we were having a beer together, these would be my thoughts...

A second NIC is nifty, but not required for what you're after. You can always add one - but from a security perspective, that's the fine tuning stage.

You can use both of those drives for storage through BI - it easily manages clip storage and super flexible, so I'd put that to rest.

The router will handle it no problem. With dual streaming and such you'll be fine - until you aren't. But you won't be like "damn, what a mistake". To my way of thinking, fine tuning stage. I see no glaring flags...

On the graphics card... from what I've found, Number of cameras x DS settings will have a big impact on GPU. Some recommend Nvidia GPU because DeepStack has a GPU version - strikes me as something I'd look into.

Thought I was going mad as I replied to this thread but have actually replied to your other duplicate post so see my comments there.

I saw the comments, thanks.
Interesting setup, poe switch going straight, and only, into the Blue PC, correct? Are you able to see cams on your phone remotely that way, at least without a lot of logging in ?


Another question, at least while i'm in my thread here....

I currently have a lorex NVR, N882A6. Has anyone else change over from a similar lorex nvr to blue iris, and used the cams ? I know the cams are ONVIF, but I thought I read somewhere about finding out the IP before shutting down the NVR?
Anyone have any experience/input on this?

Adna another Q
I have a newer (2018) Samsung smart TV. I want to be able to view the cams somehow, at least a view, either over the network, or I do have a roku box on the TV. I have heard folks use the IP Cam viewer pro app to see the cameras... is there another way to do this?
Thanks!

And now, I have the current build specs, parts are coming all week. Thought I'd list them here, and hopefully this weekend into next week I'll be assembling it. Might help later with more newb/help questions.

Note - this build is more for fun, and use for other light programs, so I did not think I HAD to have all this hardware. I just built a DDR5 system, for myself, and thought I would build this also.

Case - Fractal Meshify C
Noctua fans all around
bequiet Dark 4 Pro CPU cooler
PS -Corsair RM850
CPU - Intel i7-11700 plain ( no K, no F)
MB - z590 Gigbyte auros ultra
RAM - Gskill trident RGB 16g (2x8g)
SSD - Crucial 1TB (for Win10 boot)
-Crucial 1TB (for BI and newer files)
- 2x WD purple 6TB drives (for archiving files)
GPU - Nvidia 3060 Vision OC 12G (won a newegg shuffle for card and MB )
4k monitor - repurposed from old system
POE switch - Netgear GS316PP - 16 port unmanaged POE - for the cameras
Router, existing - Asus GX11000
********

My plan/goal is, running blue iris on this pc, and dropping the lorex nvr out of the equation, using just the lorex cameras.
Cameras - LNE4422B (x2), LNE8964AB (x3), LNB8963B (x2), LNZ44p4B (x1)
Want to be able to view cams on main PC (not just this build)
- understand some folks use remote desktop to do this. Open to other ideas as well on how to do this

Challenges -
(viewing only) cams on Samsung (2018) smart tv (hooked to roku box and home network) (currently hooked to NVR via HDMI cable)
Remote viewing cams on android and apple phone ( think I saw BI was able to handle this via BI app )

Thanks for reading through.

Interesting setup, poe switch going straight, and only, into the Blue PC, correct?

Yes, I have an unmanaged POE switch plugged directly into a second NIC on the BI5 pc. I use static IP addresses, and you don't need a router doing that. This is 10.0.0.1 to make it clear to me that it isn't the main LAN.

Are you able to see cams on your phone remotely that way, at least without a lot of logging in ?

Yes, as the actual BI5 pc will usually be on your normal LAN (192.168.0.x) using the primary NIC. The cameras cannot reach the internet, but BI5 can see them. BI5 will work normally locally and remotely like this.

It may not be the 2022 way of doing things, as it is simple old school segregation of networks, but it's cheap and it works. Only issue is if you are using a NTP clock on cameras, or want to update their firmware.

I have a newer (2018) Samsung smart TV. I want to be able to view the cams somehow, at least a view, either over the network, or I do have a roku box on the TV. I have heard folks use the IP Cam viewer pro app to see the cameras... is there another way to do this?

Will the tv run UI3 ?

My two cents. Firstly, that's a sexy rig you're building there... mind if I dance wif yo date? (Animal House reference)... on the SmartTV, you can use the browser to view your cameras through an html interface called UI3 on the TV. UI3 is packaged with BI - below is a screenshot.

Well, I'd like to know exactly how you see those cams through the TV.
I currently have BI running on the same network, I'll get to migrating the cameras and PC to the other nic card soon. Wanted to get things up and running for now.
The only way I could get BI to be seen on my android is setup openvpn on the router and get the openvpn app for android. Lots of logging in, not sure i like that.

So far, what you're asking about isn't a stretch for BI. Maybe you already know this but UI3 comes packaged with BI and is an html interface for streaming. I have a Fire TV Stick and can access the UI3 via the installed browser (Silk). And with sub-stream support, video is live streamed wherever there's a monitor in my house. The screenshot I posted was via a browser.

The only way I could get BI to be seen on my android is setup openvpn on the router and get the openvpn app for android. Lots of logging in, not sure i like that.

Don't know if you're using the Blue Iris Android app, or how you're trying to view your camera, but in either case, you have to set up your camera in BI for any joy.
Check this out: Camera Connector - IP Config Dialog Also, check out the board index -> Onboarding and Self help.

The only way I could get BI to be seen on my android is setup openvpn on the router and get the openvpn app for android. Lots of logging in, not sure i like that.

You clearly know your stuff as you are building the pc, but I think you are overcomplicating things with BI5. If BI5 is running on your LAN, then:

1. Your mobile phone will be able to view BI5 via UI3 using http://your BI5 IP:81/ui3.htm if it is on your home wifi on the same LAN.
2. Any pc on the same LAN can do the same.
3. A smart tv should be able to do the same. I use dumb tv's and 4k Firesticks with the Silk browser and UI3.
4. The android device could use the official BI app using the LAN IP address.

If it isn't that simple, then you may have a complicated network which is blocking it somehow !

I do use OpenVPN, but that is only for remote BI5 viewing with my mobile phone; nothing to do with home use - this is because I didn't want to poke holes in the router firewall. I also use "Splashtop" to remotely log in to my BI5 server for maintenance, and of course you can use a second (paid for) BI5 licence to view and control BI5 from another pc. UI3 is normally good enough.

Take a deep breath !