Commercial CCTV Installation
Video surveillance built like infrastructure. VMS and NVR platforms, PTZ and licence plate capture, calculated PoE budgets, segmented networks and a retention policy that holds up when someone asks for footage from six weeks ago.
This page is for facility directors, security managers and IT teams responsible for surveillance across a large site or several of them. At this scale CCTV stops being a box of cameras and becomes infrastructure: it consumes network capacity, power budget and storage, it carries privacy obligations, and it has to be supportable by people who did not install it. Running a single shop or office instead? Our business CCTV page is the better starting point.
VMS Or NVR? The Real Dividing Line
The decision that shapes everything else. An NVR records a fixed camera count at one location. A VMS is software that scales across sites and users.
| Consideration | NVR appliance | VMS platform |
|---|---|---|
| Practical camera count | Up to ~32 per unit | Effectively unlimited |
| Multiple sites | One login per site | Single pane across the estate |
| User permissions | Basic accounts | Role-based, per camera and per function |
| Audit trail | Limited or none | Who viewed and exported what, and when |
| Health monitoring | Manual checks | Automatic alerts on camera or disk failure |
| Analytics | Basic motion | Object classification, line crossing, LPR integration |
| Up-front cost | Lower | Higher, plus licensing |
| Best fit | Single site, stable camera count | Multi-site, growing, or audit obligations |
The failure mode we get called to fix. An organisation grows to six sites, each with its own NVR and its own login, and nobody can answer "show me the loading door at all locations last Tuesday" without half a day of work. Migrating to a VMS later costs more than specifying one at the start.
Camera Types And Where Each Earns Its Cost
| Type | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed dome / turret | General coverage, corridors, retail floors, entrances | Fixed field of view — placement decides everything |
| Multi-sensor | Wide areas from one mount point: yards, atriums, intersections | Higher PoE draw and one cable carrying a lot of value |
| PTZ | Large yards and car parks where an operator actively monitors | Only points one way at a time; useless unattended unless on a tour |
| LPR / ANPR | Gates, weighbridges, loading entries where plates matter | Very specific mounting angle, distance and lighting |
| Thermal | Perimeter detection in darkness, fence lines, outdoor storage | Detects presence, does not identify people |
A common and expensive mistake is buying PTZ for perimeters nobody watches live. If there is no operator, a set of well-placed fixed cameras beats one PTZ almost every time.
The Three Things That Sink Large Deployments
PoE budget, not port count
A 48-port PoE switch does not deliver full power on all 48 ports. Total budget is usually far below the sum, and a PTZ with a heater can draw 60 to 90W under 802.3bt. We calculate worst-case simultaneous draw — every heater running on the coldest morning of the year — and specify switches with headroom. This is also where Cat6A earns its place, because 23 AWG conductors dissipate heat better under sustained high PoE load.
Storage that matches your stated policy
Retention is a function of camera count, resolution, frame rate, codec and how much movement each scene contains. H.265 roughly halves storage against H.264, and smart codecs cut it further on static views. We calculate per camera rather than applying an average, because averages are how a "90 day" system quietly becomes a 40 day one.
Network segmentation
Cameras belong on their own VLAN. It keeps sustained video traffic off business data paths, and it contains exposure when a camera firmware vulnerability appears — which happens with some regularity. We design segmentation alongside the cabling rather than handing you cameras to drop onto a flat office network.
Inherited a system nobody can support?
We audit existing cameras, recorders and cabling, test what is there and tell you honestly what is worth keeping before anyone quotes a replacement.
Privacy And Procurement Constraints
Two things that routinely arrive late in a project and force redesign if they were not considered at the start.
Privacy. Public bodies in Ontario follow IPC guidance; private organisations follow PIPEDA principles. Both point the same way: collect only what is necessary, post notice, define a retention period, restrict who can view footage and log that access. Camera placement, signage and access control are design inputs, not paperwork you attach afterwards. Our guide to Ontario video surveillance guidelines covers this properly. We are cabling contractors, not lawyers — treat it as engineering input.
NDAA Section 889. US legislation excluding certain Chinese-manufactured video equipment from federal procurement. It reaches Canadian organisations that supply US government, have US parents or partners, or whose insurer or client specifies it. Several extremely common camera brands are excluded. Raise it at the survey, because it changes the hardware shortlist significantly and is expensive to discover after purchase.
Standardising Across Locations
Where multi-site programmes go wrong is variation. Six sites specified independently give you six camera models, six naming schemes and six retention settings, and every support call starts with working out what is actually installed.
Same models everywhere, so a spare fits any site and your team learns one interface.
Site, zone, function. Sounds trivial until you are searching 300 cameras under time pressure.
Applied identically, so a legal request gets the same answer regardless of location.
All sites in one view with consistent permissions and a single audit trail.
As-builts, camera schedules and IP plans in the same format for every location.
Consistent execution and one number to call. See low voltage for the wider scope.
Commercial CCTV: Common Questions
An NVR is an appliance that records a fixed number of cameras at one site. A VMS is software running on a server, and it scales across sites, users and camera counts with proper role-based permissions, health monitoring and audit trails. The practical dividing line is usually around 32 cameras or the moment you have a second location — past that, managing multiple NVRs becomes the problem the VMS was invented to solve.
Retention is driven by camera count, resolution, frame rate, codec and scene activity. H.265 roughly halves the storage of H.264 for the same picture, and smart codecs cut it further on static scenes. We calculate it per camera rather than applying a blanket figure, and we size for your stated retention policy with headroom, because a system that silently overwrites early is worse than no system.
Public sector bodies are bound by IPC Ontario guidance, and private organisations by PIPEDA principles: collect only what is necessary, post notice, limit retention, control who can access footage and log that access. In practice it means camera placement, signage, a written retention period and access control are all part of the design, not afterthoughts. We have written this up in more detail in our guide to video surveillance guidelines. We are not lawyers, so treat this as engineering input rather than legal advice.
NDAA Section 889 is US legislation banning certain Chinese-manufactured video equipment from federal procurement. It matters in Canada when you supply US government, work with US-based parents or partners, or your insurer or client specifies it. Several very common camera brands are excluded. If it applies to you, tell us at the survey — it changes the hardware shortlist significantly.
Every switch has a total PoE budget that is usually well below the sum of its ports at full draw. PTZ cameras with heaters can pull 60 to 90W each under 802.3bt. We calculate worst-case simultaneous draw, including heaters running on the coldest morning, and specify switches with headroom rather than discovering the shortfall in January.
Yes, on a separate VLAN as a minimum. It keeps a large volume of video traffic away from business data, and it limits exposure if a camera firmware vulnerability is found — which happens regularly. We design the segmentation alongside the cabling rather than handing you cameras to put on your flat office network.
That is most of what we do at this scale. Same camera models, same mounting standard, same naming convention, same retention policy, aggregated into one VMS so your team looks at one interface. It also makes support far cheaper, because a spare part fits every location.
Often, yes. We audit what is installed, test the cabling, and tell you honestly what is worth keeping. Sometimes the cameras are fine and the recorder is the bottleneck. Sometimes the cabling will not support PoE++ and needs replacing first. You get an assessment rather than an automatic rip-and-replace quote.
Last reviewed 12 August 2026 by the Velocity Cabling install team.
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Surveillance Built Like Infrastructure.
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