Last night at 8:30 pm all networked 7 cameras on Blue Iris were online and displaying fine. This morning at 6am when I looked all cameras had black displays giving errors saying check ip/password etc. 1st I rebooted the Motorola Surfboard 6580 Router ... no help. Rebooted BI no help. Rebooted the computer, no help. Did a computer Restore to about 3 days ago, no help. Since the local LAN is also failing to reveal the network I deleted the LAN driver files on my computer/server (long shot) and rebooted, no help. Then deactivated BI, and then moved a 2nd computer system here in it's place and installed BI and imported the reg file ... nothing .. all black. Checked with Advanced IP scanner and ONVIF and no cameras are showing. Rebooted all the ProSAFE 8-Port Gigabit Switches (3 ) and also the last in line a 4th, a Linksys POE and checked to see if that helped ... no help. In desperation I direct wired (Cat5) camera in the computer room to the only port left open on the Surfboard Modem and I was able to bring up that camera .... 192.168.0.200. So it appears to this novice that nothing is getting past the Gigabit Switch? Or maybe incorrectly? Out the modem ok but not out the switch ok. The Router ports used are: 1: To Computer 2: To NetGear GS108v4 Switch 3: A Second Office Computer 4: Brother printer. I have 2 computers downstairs that also do not see the Internet. My wifi on the laptop and cell phones are fine. In the back of my mind I remember a longshot something about using ivp4 .... but I think that was when you have "Limited Internet". Anyway ... I'm grasping at straws right now as I have no network and no cameras. Logically it seems that the Gigabyte 8-Port Gigabit Switch (GS108v4) must not be passing the data correctly. ??
Lost all 7 cameras overnight
- Thread starter jlindblo
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SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
Provide a drawing of you network layout. I am having a problem visualizing your lay out.
Are you using static IP address for the PC and the cameras ?
Are the lights on each of the GS108 switch ports.
Are you using static IP address for the PC and the cameras ?
Are the lights on each of the GS108 switch ports.
Ok on the drawing it will take a little time, and I'll have to head over to Gliffy and see if I can put one together ..
I use static on 3 Dahuas and 1 Reolink as they seem to lose IP addresses now and then. All of the GS108 lights work.
+1 on that network layout.
If the first switch is bad between the router and everything else (like a port is bad)....very little can 'fly' from there on.
If the first switch is bad between the router and everything else (like a port is bad)....very little can 'fly' from there on.
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
Very good drawing. Will help a lot.
Move the bi machine off the router to a switch.
From the bi machine can you ping the other PC on the network?
Can the up stairs and down stairs tv access the Internet ?
Move the bi machine off the router to a switch.
From the bi machine can you ping the other PC on the network?
Can the up stairs and down stairs tv access the Internet ?
Well, Sunday afternoon I dug into my network again hoping to track something down concerning my missing 7 cameras. 1st .... I began by ID'ing each Cat5 cable with a Sharpie, pulled those cables no longer in use and renamed correctly those who had been repurposed. I then swapped out the suspect Gigabit Switch for an older 10/100 Switch and things started looking up. First everything in the Office came back to life including it's cam, but not from Switch #2 on down the line. Slept on it and the next morning all cameras were back online with the exception of the 2 Logitech Alerts. I could see and ping both camera IPs but no settings in BI would bring them back to life even though the other 5 were online. And I had copies of the old settings ... So I booted the Logitech Alert Commander and both cameras came online .... but no dice with Blue Iris. I suspect, but have no proof, that since they were installed on a different Desktop ... maybe the password was locked? Probably a long shot. Anyway, those 2 cameras IPs are online ... but not reachable to display. So ... I re-tuned and corrected my diagram. I still suspect Switch #1, but In a couple of days I will have a new Gigabit Switch ... and if it stays as it is now I am good. Eventually I will replace the 2 Logitech cams ...or they will just die.
Followup .... FYI ........... Total loss of ALL cameras and network last Wednesday, AGAIN! Yes ... I'm going crazy. Last wednesday I did my normal early morning computer stuff answering email and paying bills. Looked at all 7 cameras and all was well. Went on a 45 minute with Buster my dog and came back to my computer. Everything downstream out of Switch #1 (Netgear GS108) was down and non-functional... no cameras, no network. Used Advanced IP Scanner to verify the IPs were there and alive and ... all dead, except wifi ... but all Cat5 connections out of Switch #1 were not responding. And the Cat5 lights both light up with one blinking. I tried troubleshooting the rest of the day to get any devices back online, but failed. Since I've changed Switch #1 twice with brand new switches ... both Netgear GS108s my only thought was that the Surfboard modem was unstable so I headed over to Cable One and the customer contact brought up my account and looked at my modem performance. She said ... Yep, your modem is pretty unstable and flipped the monitor around for me to see, and a graph showed signal intermittently running up to the top of the screen and then down to the bottom. Well, what do I know ... So I picked up their modem (probably a refurb), I suppose, their run of the mill modem, the Hitron CGNM2252, went home and installed it. After install, no change .... nothing goes past the first switch. Called Cable One support and after conferring with several other techs ... he didn't have an answer. Perhaps ... he thought, it's the switch. He said ... you could take it to another account you have (the church) and substitute it to see if it fails there. Well ... I could, but I don't want to break something that works now! So ... went into the shop and pulled out an old plastic D-Link 8-Port Switch (one with a rounded top) and substituted it. Well guess what .... it all now works. All the network is back including the 7 cameras. So it seems ... to me anyway ... that the GS108 is failing to handle traffic downstream?? I have 2 more older GS108s ... but downstream of GS108 # 1 Switch. So they worked after putting the D-Link in place of #1. But is this a permanent fix ..... I would never say yes after all this ......................
tangent
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tangent
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Any place you can simplify the overall topology by running another cable or two I would consider doing it. I'd also probably put a larger 16-24 port switch at the center of your network.
Do the cameras have static IPs?
Do the cameras have static IPs?
CCTVCam
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That's a complicated set up. The minute I read though that connecting a camera direct, brought it to life it points to the switch being at fault. I'm no expert but as everything goes through the GS108 nearest the pc, and everything is down, that is where I'd start to point the finger initially. It would be highly unusual for multiple independent network components to fail at the same time unless there's been some kind of surge.
My thoughts almost exactly, as in post #4 above.
Thank you all for your for input and experienced diagnostics. I know I'm above my pay grade when I do dip into this deep network stuff ... but thanks to the ipcam.com forum I know where to go for help.
Tangent: I have 3 Dahuas, and 1 Reolink that have static IPs above 200. I also have a HKVision Varifocal that I need to hunt down the software to make the IP change. The other 2 cameras are Logitech Alerts. You said place a larger Switch at the Center of my network ... looking at the diagram which Switch would you say would be close to center?
CCTVCam: I have ordered a replacement D-Link Gigabit Switch to replace the temporary D-Link 10/100 that is in Switch #1's place right now. I don't know if ithe Gigabit Switch actually improves the throughput but it seemed like a good idea.
Fenderman: Thanks. I learned a hard lesson about twisted Cat 5/6 wire vs solid Cat 5/6 wire and using the correct connector for each type (although the connector that has the 3 peaks is supposed to be the replacement for all connectors. I also bought a new pair of Telemaster Crimpers before I learned this, which was probably unnecessary but they do crimp well.
TonyR: Thanks for confirming the likelihood of the Switch being at fault.
Tangent: I have 3 Dahuas, and 1 Reolink that have static IPs above 200. I also have a HKVision Varifocal that I need to hunt down the software to make the IP change. The other 2 cameras are Logitech Alerts. You said place a larger Switch at the Center of my network ... looking at the diagram which Switch would you say would be close to center?
CCTVCam: I have ordered a replacement D-Link Gigabit Switch to replace the temporary D-Link 10/100 that is in Switch #1's place right now. I don't know if ithe Gigabit Switch actually improves the throughput but it seemed like a good idea.
Fenderman: Thanks. I learned a hard lesson about twisted Cat 5/6 wire vs solid Cat 5/6 wire and using the correct connector for each type (although the connector that has the 3 peaks is supposed to be the replacement for all connectors. I also bought a new pair of Telemaster Crimpers before I learned this, which was probably unnecessary but they do crimp well.
TonyR: Thanks for confirming the likelihood of the Switch being at fault.
FYI.... Follow up after my last supposedly "Follow Up". After replacing the 10/100 Switch with a new D-Link Switch my network was running like a clock. But then, a NEW problem erupted!!!! Or maybe it was there but I failed to see it. I must be paying for the sins of my youth. But .... 1st things 1st! I took Fenderman's suggestion and contacted BI about the 2 Logitech Alerts not launching in Blue Iris and unchecked the "Hardware Acceleration" and both Alerts came online ... Wowow ....Great! But that's ok, I have enough cpu (i5 6600K) to not to have to worry about cpu usage so that's ok. But now .... irritating as hell is my main system is stalling for from 2 to 5 seconds during online gaming ... specifically WOT. I think this may not be related to BI .... but then again it may have been lurking in the background all the time and interjecting problems. The screen freezing from 2 seconds up to 5 seconds during gaming only, and made the game virtually unplayable and after troubleshooting for 1 1/2 days I made a trip down to Cable One for a possible new modem replacement for my aging Surfboard 6580 as I mentioned earlier ... which is the hitron 2252. Got it and took it home and installed it to try and fix the in game freezing. The cameras are still fine, but maybe the earlier problems with the cameras were related, who knows???? However ... No go on the stalling .... Called Cable One support and he saw trouble on his end ...an alarming amount of T-3 errors and had me reset the modem ... and thought it would be ok... It was not and I called again the next day and a Cable One Tech came out. After diagnosing he thought the underground cable was causing the problem and replaced both cable ends being from the box, and going underground to my modem in the house. He found corrosion on the end in the box and replaced both ends cutting off about a foot, with new connectors and after measuring SS said the signal is now perfect. After using my system for a day .... it seems that it be. Well .... the hangups are gone. ... I guess that's what they call "experience" . Never heard of T-3 Timeout errors causing game hangups until now and saw this diagnosed as the culprit in several forums. But I thought I would mention it as so many came out to help me.
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