CCTV networking problem

[F]

I've set up a Hikvision DS-7608NI-E2/8P/A NVR with four Hikvision DS-2CD2042WD-I cameras plugged directly into and running on it. They're all currently in the same room as I wanted to get them working before I started running cable.

However, once they're installed outside, I will need to be able to plug them into a TP-Link TL-SG1008P eight port PoE switch in the garage which is connected to a router inside the house and next to where the NVR will live. Problem is, as soon as I remove the cameras from the direct connection into the NVR, plug them into the switch and then plug the switch into the NVR, they can no longer be found by the NVR.

The house network has addresses in the range 192.168.178.***

The NVR is on the network at 192.168.178.50 but has an 'internal NIC address' of 192.168.254.1 and has allocated the cameras with

192.168.254.22/26/28/11.

Is that where the problem is? If it is, what do I need to change?

[F]

Not quite accurate... when I run the cameras through the switch, camera

1 is detected and the image shown. The other three are not.

[Mike Humphrey]

OK, you've got two networks here. When you plug the cameras into the recorder directly, the recorder configures them automatically on its internal network of 192.168.254.0 - and since it does this, it knows about the cameras and adds them automatically. When you plug into the switch, the cameras are on the house network. They'll get an IP address from the router, and since the recorder doesn't know about them you'll have to add them manually. The process is in chapter 9 of the manual - see

if you haven't got it. You might have to look at the router interface to see what IP address the cameras got. The alternative, if you don't have anything else in the garage, is to unplug the garage switch from the router and plug it into a port on the recorder. This should then configure the cameras automatically the same as when they're connected directly.

Mike

[Graham.]

Are you saying that the DVR has its own DHCP server in addition to your router?

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Mike Humphrey escribió:

I'm wondering if he could just change the netmask to 255.255.0.0 on everything (and configure DHCP on the router to hand out that netmask). That would bring it all (his existing LAN and the camera LAN) within one network.

Since the 192.168.0.0 range isn't publicly routable, I don't see there being a problem.

[Brian Gaff]

It does sound a little strange this. I wonder if the problem is that now everyone has fixed their addresses and so only one agrees. Be interesting to see if any one on its own works as well. Also all the data from all the cameras is now going to just one port on the router from the switch and some switches and some routers find it lets say a challenge to cope.

I've seen this with multiple computers as well. Strangely the dumbest of network switches seem to be far less hassle in this respect. Brian

[dennis]

The only time I have seen similar symptoms was when someone put the same MAC address into multiple instances of a device (by mistake?). Then the switch will only route to one port for that mac address and you only see one of them. Without the switch (using a hub) they appeared to work fine as each devices stack would just throw away the wrong IP address packets after receiving them. Needless to say when investigated the test setup used a hub and not a switch.

[Dave Liquorice]

sub-net BWTH. You'll then have two DHCP servers (router and recorder) in the same sub-net. When a bit of kit comes online it'll be a race as to which one it gets it's configuration from. I don't think there is anyway of forcing a device to use a given DHCP server.

The obvious solution is to give the cameras static address's within the sub-net range of the recorder. Hopefully the recorder can also be told that Cam 1 is 192.168.x.y, Cam 2 is 192.168.x.z, etc

Also is there an assumption that the recorder can take multiple cameras over a single ethernet connection. Perhaps there has to be a direct camera to port connection.

[NY]

Yes I'd go for static IP addresses, either configured at each camera or else (if the router will do it) by address reservation in DHCP so the camera still uses DHCP but always gets the same address. That's what I've done with our cameras and also our wifi printer.

Then I know which IP addresses to browse to when I want to look at or control a camera. If I had recording software I'm sure it would be configured to know which IP addresses to record.

[F]

Thanks for this. I didn't have that version of the manual and I've now got it all working by setting the cameras up manually. What didn't help, was that the monitor I was using had defaulted to a resolution that omitted the menu on the left so I couldn't see, and wasn't aware of, the options there!

All I need to do now is add in my ageing collection of indoor IP cameras: a Foscam F18918W, a Storage Options SON-IPC1, and a Panasonic BL-C131. The NVR can see them once I've added them manually but there's no picture. Each one is on the 192.168.178.*** network and each one is port forwarded so I can check it remotely. Odd that I can see their output through a browser both inside and outside the house but not on the NVR. Presumably there's some subtle tweak needed...?

[F]

And it worked! And the router is set to give them static addresses.

No, the four cameras are available through the switch.

[F]

Static addresses set up on the router and the NVR can see the cameras! I've got everything else set up like this so it seemed sensible. But thanks for the confirmation.

[Dave Liquorice]

What codec(s) can he NVR handle? What codec(s) can the cameras use? If there isn't one in common it'll be difficult requiring realtime transcoding.