Arlo Pro 2 backup HD brand recommendation

[Highlysprung]

Can someone guide me as to the right product to use for a small business for after hours monitoring? I require 5 or 6 cameras and would prefer wireless.

[steve_t]

Do you want completely wireless or is power wiring OK?

[AncientGeek]

The best solution would be completely wired.  Second best would be wired power and wireless network.  You probably won’t be happy with 100% wireless due to the latency (lag time) between motion detection and recording start.  You really want continuous recording with motion events flagged.  It also makes a difference whether you will have someone watching monitors (active surveillance) or whether the system is unattended.  Power Over Ethernet (POE) cameras allow fairly easy wiring for both network and power with a single Cat-5e or 6 cable.  Cameras that record to only the cloud are vulnerable to network outages.  Cameras that only record locally are vulnerable to recorder theft.  Some combination is good.

If you have to go wireless, you should consider overlapping coverage by multiple cameras and trigger recording on multiple cameras when motion is detected on one camera.  Still not as good as continuous recording.  Many Arlo models allow for local recording when the network is down, but offer no tools for reviewing the video remotely.  A big void, IMHO...but better than having no recordings at all.  I use a mixed vendor solution even for my home so as to leverage the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of each system.

[steve_t]

Oh wait. Are you asking about a hard drive for backups?

[Highlysprung]

Your first response was spot on thank you, however backup advice as well?

[AncientGeek]

Personally, I use a USB flash drive on my Arlo base unit.  I have another system that records locally on a device that is an 8 port POE switch and a 4 TB Network Video Recorder.  A flash drive is ok as a small, cheap and easily transportable device.  You could easily swap USB drives from time to time and review the contents at home,  rotating disk drives likely have a longer life for reads and writes.

[steve_t]

I'm just using a 32GB flash drive. It takes a surprisingly long time to fill up. The system can take up to 2TB

[Highlysprung]

Hi, I am getting a sense that a wired solution is the way to go.

[AncientGeek]

@Highlysprung wrote:

Hi, I am getting a sense that a wired solution is the way to go.

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If it is practical, I recommend it.  Wired power for sure, since that allows continuous recording.  I like POE because the cable is so easy to run compared to power wires and outlets, unless you have outlets near your desired camera locations.  Sometimes a combination is optimal for various reasons.

Wire free is fantastic when you need wire free, but sub-optimal when you don’t.

[AncientGeek]

One other thought came to mind.  If you use POE, you can also install a UPS with your POE Switch and storage device which will provide power for all of your devices during a power outage (duration depends on the size of your UPS) and it will protect your system from power surges.