Nothing works

[donminter]

I am not computer illiterate, but I'm certainly feeling that way right now.

I have been trying to connect to my cameras locally, but now I cannot even get the port scanner to see anything. I have purchased 3 cameras from EmpireTech via Amazon. I selected 1 eyeball camera and two varifocal POE ip cameras (5442).

I first tried a "normal" set up through a POE IP switch. Nothing happened. I went directly from the PC port to a TP-Link POE adapter. Nothing. I went directly from the PC ethernet port to the camera, using a 12V power supply. Nothing. I ran the config tool. Nothing found. I have tried a second computer. Same nothing. I then tried this with the IP camera instead of the eyeball camera. Still nothing.

OK... So I'm doing something wrong. I ran a port scanner (two different ones), scanning 192.168.0.1-254, and also 192.168.1-254. Nothing found. I have switched out ethernet cables several times. The computer connects to the internet just fine through the each ethernet cable via the installed POE switch. I also have a POE WAP set up through the POE ethernet switch, and it's working, no problem.

I am at a loss what to try next. I have a Hikvision camera that powers up using the 12V power supply, but I cannot see it on the port scanner, either. I have never felt so computer stupid in my life. I am open to any suggestions whatsoever.

Best regards,
Don

 

[sebastiantombs]

What is the IP address of your PC? Dahua cameras come with a hard coded address of 192.168.1.108 so if your PC is not on a 192.168.1.x network address scheme you won't be able to see the camera. Also only plug one camera in at a time since they are all on that same address.

There are three solutions for this.

One - use the config tool from Dahua. You will need to tell it what subnet to search, IE 192.168.1.x The tool will search network address outside of what your PC is configured to.

Two - In the network configuration of your PC you can change the IP address, probably set at DHCP, to a 192.168.1.x address with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0

Three - In the network configuration of your PC you can add a second IP address, and subnet mask, to 19.168.1.x

Once you can connect to them you can manually assign them an IP address to match your network configuration.

 

[holiday]

I went directly from the PC ethernet port to the camera, using a 12V power supply. Nothing.

another rookie mistake. do not plug in the camera directly to the PC without going thru a switch.

try the steps from this post.

Dahua duds or User dud?

Dare I say it? You might just be snake bit, my man. :confused: Feels that way.

ipcamtalk.com

 

[TonyR]

I vote for Sebastian's #2:

• Set PC to static (not DHCP) to 192.168.1.20, subnet mask to 255.255.255.0
• Power cam with 12VDC wall wart.
• Run good cable from cam directly to PC's Ethernet port.
• Open browser to 192.168.1.108

 

[TonyR]

another rookie mistake. do not plug in the camera directly to the PC without going thru a switch.

Don't know who you're calling a rookie......I haven't used a switch for setting up a cam in over 10 years.

 

[holiday]

i am not calling you a rookie, but u must be using a cross over cable, else it will never work.

 

[wittaj]

Hmm it works for me as well.

Plug camera into computer and set IP address, then take that same cable and connect to POE switch to bench test.

 

[jedi170]

Your (router) should already be set to provide DHCP so connect patch cable from router to the POE switch then plug PC into POE switch use a patch cable and plug camera into POE switch (it does not mater which port you plug devices into unless you have a managed switch with Vlans configured) wait a few minutes for the Camera to POST and acquire an IP from the router. There should be a power indicator light on or in the camera to let you know it is receiving power. Then run discovery tool.

 

[looney2ns]

Your (router) should already be set to provide DHCP so connect patch cable from router to the POE switch then plug PC into POE switch use a patch cable and plug camera into POE switch (it does not mater which port you plug devices into unless you have a managed switch with Vlans configured) wait a few minutes for the Camera to POST and acquire an IP from the router. There should be a power indicator light on or in the camera to let you know it is receiving power. Then run discovery tool.

You need to read all of this again, as previously stated, the camera comes factory default to a static IP address of 192.168.1.108, DHCP will not accomplish anything at all.
Best to set all Cams to a static IP, not use DHCP.

 

[fergenheimer]

Donminter, Congratulations on your camera purchases! You made a good choice on the 5442s. I aggravate myself every time I set one up. I go with Sebastian's #2. Just remember that the camera needs power. Just plug both into a Poe switch or power the cameras with a 12vdc power supply.

 

[samplenhold]

Like @holiday stated:

another rookie mistake. do not plug in the camera directly to the PC without going thru a switch.

try the steps from this post.

Dahua duds or User dud?

Dare I say it? You might just be snake bit, my man. :confused: Feels that way.

ipcamtalk.com

The above captioned post illustrates the problem the OP was having, exactly like yours. Plug the cam into a POE switch, or use a POE injector between the cam and a normal switch, or a wall wort power plugged into the cam's power cable and then connect the cam to the normal switch. Do one at a time and change the IP address of the cam such that there are no IP conflicts.

 

[CapeCod]

FWIW, I go with cameras that can be factory reset manually (with a button inside) and then set a static IP address with my user name and password. Then I label them with my assigned IP to skip the search process and log into the camera directly. The IP address starts at the router and propagates from there. If you start with 192.168.1.xx or 10.1.0.xx everything down the line has to be in agreement and they will if they are set to dynamic (DHCP) because this lets them pick up an appropriate IP. If You have cameras or an NVR and they are set to static on a different IP you won't see them. You must go in and set them back to dynamic so they get a correct IP. Once everything us up and running setting the IPs to static will keep them from changing. I fly jets and do this because I'd rather learn and do it my self, so if I'm wrong, I'm happy to learn more.

 

[samplenhold]

My network is set up much like the diagram below. I am running BI and my cams are on sub-net 2. What is not shown here is that in my office there is a POE switch on sub-net 2 and a standard switch on sub-net 1. So when I get a new Dahua cam from Andy, I plug the cam into a POE injector and that gets plugged into the sub-net 1 standard switch. This allows me to make all setting on that new cam from my office PC and then the last thing I change is the IP address on sub-net 2.

I then move the cam to the POE switch on sub-net 2 to verify the correct IP address and then add it to BI BEFORE I mount it in it's permanent position.

This set up isolates the cams from the internet and the rest of my home LAN. This allows me to access the cams from both PCs and allows me to access the internet from my BI PC. This allows me to use UI3 in my office and I can RDP into the BI PC if needed.

PS: I miss fried clams.

 

[sebastiantombs]

There are two problems with using DHCP for cameras. It keeps the cameras on the same subnet as all your other equipment and potentially leaves them open to being hacked quite easily. The second problem is what can happen if the DHCP lease is lost for some reason, either time related or just a glitch. That camera will get a new address, but VMS software will know nothing about that.

It is best practice to manually assign an IP address and, if it's on the same subnet, block that IP address from internet access. An improvement to that is to use a VLAN to isolate the cameras or use a second NIC card in the VMS to provide a second subnet for the cameras that has no internet access. At no time should camera traffic be passed through router.

 

[CapeCod]

My network is set up much like the diagram below. I am running BI and my cams are on sub-net 2. What is not shown here is that in my office there is a POE switch on sub-net 2 and a standard switch on sub-net 1. So when I get a new Dahua cam from Andy, I plug the cam into a POE injector and that gets plugged into the sub-net 1 standard switch. This allows me to make all setting on that new cam from my office PC and then the last thing I change is the IP address on sub-net 2.

I then move the cam to the POE switch on sub-net 2 to verify the correct IP address and then add it to BI BEFORE I mount it in it's permanent position.

This set up isolates the cams from the internet and the rest of my home LAN. This allows me to access the cams from both PCs and allows me to access the internet from my BI PC. This allows me to use UI3 in my office and I can RDP into the BI PC if needed.

PS: I miss fried clams.

It's really hard to find good ones.

That's a really good setup. I got a second wireless router to take that next step. Running some wireless cameras without bogging down the home network was the goal and, having security like that is the best. I'm using Mac and Security Spy.

Is there some way to set up another subnet if you don't have the luxury of putting in another NIC?

 

[TonyR]

i am not calling you a rookie, but u must be using a cross over cable, else it will never work.

No, no crossover cable used. The camera's port and the PC's port are both AUTO MDI-X; you can use straight-thru OR crossover, either one.
And yes, I do know the difference.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Back in the "good old days" a "crossover cable" was called a null modem cable, but that was for serial devices which were really "dumb".

 

[looney2ns]

It's really hard to find good ones.

That's a really good setup. I got a second wireless router to take that next step. Running some wireless cameras without bogging down the home network was the goal and, having security like that is the best. I'm using Mac and Security Spy.

Is there some way to set up another subnet if you don't have the luxury of putting in another NIC?

Study the Wiki at the top of the page.

 

[CapeCod]

Study the Wiki at the top of the page.

Doesn't help me. I use a 16 core Mac. Just looking for a simple answer.

 

[TonyR]

Is there some way to set up another subnet if you don't have the luxury of putting in another NIC?

How about a USB to Ethernet adapter for your second NIC?
Apple USB Ethernet Adapter