AI surveillance on a NAS
Updated
What do you need for surveillance on a NAS?
A NAS makes a capable AI camera recorder: it stores footage across several drives and runs detection that tells a person from a passing car. You need enough bays for your retention period, a processor or accelerator for detection, and a vendor surveillance app or Frigate.
What does AI surveillance need from a NAS?
| Requirement | 2 to 4 cameras | 8 or more cameras |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | 2 to 4 bays, surveillance-rated drives | 6 to 12 bays |
| Processor | Current x86 or vendor chip with an NPU | Multi-core x86 with good graphics |
| Detection | Vendor app with AI features | Accelerator card or GPU |
| Networking | 1GbE to 2.5GbE | 2.5GbE or 10GbE |
| Software | Vendor surveillance app | Vendor app or Frigate in Docker |
How does AI detection help?
Plain motion detection triggers on leaves, shadows and rain. AI detection recognises people, vehicles and animals, so alerts and searches focus on what matters. Some vendors add face recognition and licence plate reading.
Which vendors support AI camera features?
Synology Surveillance Station, QNAP's QVR suite, UGREEN's surveillance centre, ASUSTOR's Surveillance Center and Zettlab's camera features all offer AI detection on supported models. QNAP supports accelerator cards such as Hailo-8 on several systems for heavier camera loads. Frigate, an open-source recorder, runs in Docker on any x86 NAS and uses a GPU or accelerator if present.
How much storage do cameras need?
It depends on resolution, frame rate and how long you keep footage. Continuous 4K recording fills drives quickly; recording only on detection stretches the same storage much further. Use surveillance-rated drives for continuous writing.
Common questions
Do vendors charge for camera licences?
Some include a number of free camera licences and charge for more. Check the licence count for your model before buying cameras.
Can the NAS still run other AI tasks?
Yes, but detection on many cameras uses steady processor time. For large camera counts, keep heavy language models on a GPU.
Which AI NAS systems suit surveillance best?
17 systems score 40 or more for this workload; the top 8 are shown, ranked by their Surveillance score.
- 1
QNAP QAI-h1290FX
Native AI NAS1024GB max RAM · 12 bays · 25GbE
- Up to 1024GB memory: 70B class models at higher-quality quantization, or large mixture-of-experts models at 4-bit (Estimated)
- GPU path: Full-size GPU
- 25GbE networking, 12 bays
90/100 Surveillance
No verified price
- 2
QNAP TS-h1290FX
AI Ready1024GB max RAM · 12 bays · 25GbE
- Up to 1024GB memory: 70B class models at higher-quality quantization, or large mixture-of-experts models at 4-bit (Estimated)
- GPU path: Full-size GPU
- 25GbE networking, 12 bays
82/100 Surveillance
£10,614.20
Amazon UK · Verified
- 3
UGREEN iDX6011
Native AI NAS64GB max RAM · 6 bays · 2 x 10GbE
- Up to 64GB memory: 32B class models comfortably, and 70B class models at 4-bit with little headroom (Estimated)
- GPU path: PCIe x8 slot
- 11 TOPS NPU for vendor AI features
72/100 Surveillance
£1,999.99
Amazon UK · Verified
- 4
UGREEN iDX6011 Pro
Native AI NAS64GB max RAM · 6 bays · 2 x 10GbE
- Up to 64GB memory: 32B class models comfortably, and 70B class models at 4-bit with little headroom (Estimated)
- GPU path: PCIe x8 slot
- 13 TOPS NPU for vendor AI features
70/100 Surveillance
$5,999.99
Amazon US · Verified
Ships from the US; delivery and import charges shown at checkout
- 5
NIMO Nexus Pro
Native AI NAS96GB max RAM · 4 bays · 2 x 10GbE
- Up to 96GB memory: 70B class models at 4-bit with room left for longer context (Estimated)
- GPU path: Full-size GPU
- 16 TOPS NPU for vendor AI features
65/100 Surveillance
No verified price
- 6
UGREEN DXP8800 Plus
AI Ready64GB max RAM · 8 bays · 2 x 10GbE
- Up to 64GB memory: 32B class models comfortably, and 70B class models at 4-bit with little headroom (Estimated)
- GPU path: PCIe x4 slot
- 2 x 10GbE networking, 8 bays
65/100 Surveillance
£1,189.99
Amazon UK · Verified
- 7
UGREEN DXP6800 Pro
AI Ready64GB max RAM · 6 bays · 2 x 10GbE
- Up to 64GB memory: 32B class models comfortably, and 70B class models at 4-bit with little headroom (Estimated)
- GPU path: PCIe x4 slot
- 2 x 10GbE networking, 6 bays
63/100 Surveillance
£874.99
£929.99Amazon UK · Verified
- 8
QNAP TVS-h874T
AI Ready64GB max RAM · 8 bays · 2 x 2.5GbE
- Up to 64GB memory: 32B class models comfortably, and 70B class models at 4-bit with little headroom (Estimated)
- GPU path: PCIe x16 slot
- 2 x 2.5GbE networking, 8 bays
59/100 Surveillance
£3,834
Amazon UK · Verified
What do they cost in the UK?
Live Amazon UK prices with the time each was verified. Where a system has no verified Amazon UK offer, its Amazon US price is shown in dollars and marked.
| System | Price | Stock | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| No verified price | Unknown | |
| £10,614.20 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
| £1,999.99 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
| $5,999.99 Amazon US · Verified Ships from the US; delivery and import charges shown at checkout | In stock | View Deal |
| NIMO Nexus Pro | No verified price | Unknown | |
| £1,189.99 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
| £874.99 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
| £3,834 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com, as applicable, at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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