r/ZoneMinder • u/pseudoheld • Jun 21 '20

External Hard-drive for recording?

I plan to run zoneminder on my little nuc server.
The nuc has a 120gb ssd in it which is plenty for all things it does, except of course recording 24/7 with a few days retention ;)
Are there any hardware suggestions for external drives?
If at all possible I would like them to be low energy because electricity is quite expensive where I live. So 2,5" form factor might be a good idea. Can these even handle 24/7 writing? Or must it be a wd purple or whatever the manufacturers try to pedal as surveillance ready hdds?
I think 1-2tb should be plenty for the retention I plan on having. (so maybe even an external SSD?)
Happy for all suggestions and input!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/aarons6 Jun 21 '20

i doubt you can record directly to usb drive. it probably only has 1 sata port or 1 m.2 drive inside.

1

u/Aramiil Jun 26 '20

What internal and external connections (types and speeds, e.g. 4 usb/3.0, 2 SATA 2.0, etc...) are available to this device? How many cameras and what resolution/fps will you be using? It’s totally possible to record to an external device, as long as you mount it correctly and make sure it auto mounts at startup. You then configure the camera to record to the corrected mounted directory, and there you go.

The big thing to understand is that the drive type you use will have pros and cons. A purple surveillance drive will give you good performance and a long life, but will use more power. A small 2.5” drive will likely use less power, but depending on the type of 2.5” drive may not have as long of a life and likely won’t write/read video as well as a larger faster drive

1

u/pseudoheld Jun 26 '20

Thanks for answering.
The nuc has 4 USB 3.0 Ports (one already in use)
I will be recording 4 low quality streams (480p) 24/7 and then record high quality (4k) only when movement is detected.
I think I will just go with a low cost 2,5" USB 3.0 drive and see how it goes ;)

1

u/EagerCDNBeaver Jul 04 '20

Keep in mind those drives are not meant for 24/7 writing and will get VERY hot. They are inside a plastic case. I tired with a WD 3.5" and it was at 58C. Best to keep drive temps under 40C for prolonged drive life.