32 channel NVR newbie question

[jeffseine]

Hi there, I purchased a Hikvision 7732NI-I4/16P 32CH NVR for my workplace. I haven't received it yet, but from what I understand, this unit allows 32 channels, but only has 16 ports. Do I get a POE switch and connect one of the ports to it to expand it?

I thought I could find my answer in a search, but for some reason I must be not searching for the right terms.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Do I get a POE switch and connect one of the ports to it to expand it?

The specs suggest that the NVR has a single gigabit LAN interface (I'd have expected 2 for this model).
You'd connect the NVR LAN interface to a gigabit port on your LAN, ideally to a gigabit uplink port on a PoE switch that is also connected to your LAN router.
This switch on the LAN would be used to service any cameras that won't be plugged in to the NVR PoE ports. The ports for the individual cameras could be 10/100Mbps though gigabit ports would be OK, just under-utilised.
This switch could be 2 smaller switches connected together provided their interconnect is via gigabit ports.

So with up to 16 cameras able to be connected to the NVR PoE ports, and up to 32 cameras able to be connected to an external PoE switch, you can have any combination between :
16 cameras on the NVR PoE ports and up to 16 cameras on the switch PoE ports
to
0 cameras on the NVR PoE ports and up to 32 cameras on the switch PoE ports
depending on how you need to do the wiring.

 

[jeffseine]

So I wouldn't connect the POE switch to the POE ports on the NVR, but to the same switch that I connect my NVR to the network? Will the NVR still automatically find the cameras, or do I need to add them manually? I bought the 32 channel NVR to have more flexibility, but I will only have about 20 cameras, so I should be good.

I have an existing surveillance system that I am replacing. I have the NVR in my office, and the cameras are outside and in a metal fabrication shop. I was hoping to put the POE switch in the shop, so I could minimize the complexity of the new cable runs I am adding. This should work, shouldn't it?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[alastairstevenson]

So I wouldn't connect the POE switch to the POE ports on the NVR, but to the same switch that I connect my NVR to the network?

That's correct.

Will the NVR still automatically find the cameras, or do I need to add them manually?

For the LAN-connected cameras, it's easy enough to set their addresses manually and configure them in the NVR.
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You'd want to define where they are on the LAN address range, and ensure either that they are outside the scope of the DHCP server on the router, or that you configure IP reservations for them on the router.

I was hoping to put the POE switch in the shop, so I could minimize the complexity of the new cable runs I am adding. This should work, shouldn't it?

That will be fine, with a fat gigabit link from the shop such that it has a gigabit route to the NVR LAN port and a route to the LAN router.

 

[jeffseine]

Thanks for all your help. So the cameras that are plugged directly into the NVR will be given ip addresses from the NVR, but the cameras connected to the POE switch will be placed on my network which will have a different subnet. How does this work?

 

[alastairstevenson]

How does this work?

The NVR PoE-connected cameras, when the NVR channel is set as Plug&Play (the default) and is given admin credentials for the cameras, manages them directly, so it can set the IP address, the default gateway, and many other configuration settings with no user intervention.
The NVR PoE ports operate on their own, largely separate, network segment with a different range of IP addresses, by default 192.168.254.x
This separation is a benefit in the security sense, but less convenient when direct access to the cameras is required (eg for detailed web GUI configuration), but this is mitigated by the 'Virtual Host' facility of the NVR that provides a NATed link to directly access the cameras via the NVR itself.

The NVR LAN port and the LAN-connected cameras operate on IP addresses that you decide, as part of the LAN IP address range.
You should assign these devices static addresses such that - you always know what they are, and they do not clash with other devices on the LAN, including those that will be assigned addresses from the DHCP server address pool that the router manages.

I hope that makes sense.