[Solved - POE port went bad] How can I find the IP/network of missing IP cam?

[TonyR]

[Missing cam] and another IP cam were connected to switch 1, by first using a CAT6 splitter.

• So a splitter gets attached to the long main line (which now carries 2 vid feeds).
• Split-end #1 has 2 plugs that go into ports 1 and 2 of Switch 1 (inside the house near NVR).
• Then at the end of LONG main line (outside house), another splitter attaches (Split-end #2) > so now I have 2 paths > each connect to a different cam.

So 10 posts and 4 days later we find out that you have splitters installed at both ends (at 2 camera and at 2 switch ports) of the cable that feeds the "missing" camera.

That's the kind of info that may have helped considerably if placed in your FIRST post.

 

[aforum]

Update 4: the [missing cam] port on switch 1 is defective. All wires and splits - inside and outside - still work.
So new question: how can I test a POE port to see what is wrong with it? (Is it possible to clean out dust or is it a broken soldering issue due to heat? It shouldnt have dust in the port since it was connected for years.)

• In update 3, I exchanged the connections for which split I used (that Missing cam and Other cam share). I plugged [other cam] into POE port #4. It stopped working.
• But now I plugged its wire (split end B) into POE port #6, and it works. So port #4 is defective (missing cam was on this port when it stopped working).

 

[aforum]

So 10 posts and 4 days later we find out that you have splitters installed at both ends (at 2 camera and at 2 switch ports) of the cable that feeds the "missing" camera.

That's the kind of info that may have helped considerably if placed in your FIRST post.

Yes. But [other cam] was still working on a Split line - so I didnt think the line or split was the issue. (And the port light was blinking green the day I posted, but before I posted.) And 3 of those days, I could not get to the ladder to check the connections, do the tests Im doing today
And I have 2 other high powered cams that are on another set of Splits (by the same company) that are still functional. So I didn't suspect it was a Split issue, and could not test until today.
So it's a defective Switch PORT issue. How can I troubleshoot that? Ty

 

[aforum]

Also are there any recommendations for a Managed switch with 8 POE (powered) ports + 2 Uplink ports?

• Im looking for a low cost one. But if you know of a higher cost one that works, please specify if it's low or high. Ty.
• The defective switch I bought off Amazon. It worked for a few years with 6 cams connected, 2 ports unused (but I will need the full 8).

 

[TonyR]

Yes. But [other cam] was still working on a Split line - so I didnt think the line or split was the issue.

But it so happens that any mechanical, plug-in device can introduce an issue....one more place for failure and it can't be discounted until checked and eliminated, that's all I'm saying.

 

[mackmadera]

I assign static addresses in the DCHP section of my router's firmware and back it up. If there's a problem and the router's settings need to be restored, I can restore to factory default settings and restore my configuration backup file. All 35 of my cameras are at the addresses I expect them to be. To do that, you need to have MAC addresses and tie them to IP addresses. That's how I make life easy. You have a router disaster and you can spend a few hours chasing all that down.

 

[TonyR]

You have a router disaster and you can spend a few hours chasing all that down.

All my cam IP's are static and all I have in my router is its own LAN, S/M, gateway and DNS IP's. Took me all of of 5 minutes to replace mine 3 years ago when a nearby lightning strike took it out. Also had to change the DHCP pool range to stop where my cams began....took all of 10 seconds. In total, it took longer to physically remove and replace the router than to configure it.

That said, I agree that one should use what works best for them..... after all, the user is the one that has to maintain it, not me and not others. "What works for me may not work for thee."

 

[wittaj]

I assign static addresses in the DCHP section of my router's firmware and back it up. If there's a problem and the router's settings need to be restored, I can restore to factory default settings and restore my configuration backup file. All 35 of my cameras are at the addresses I expect them to be. To do that, you need to have MAC addresses and tie them to IP addresses. That's how I make life easy. You have a router disaster and you can spend a few hours chasing all that down.

What happens if that router dies and you replace it with a different model or brand and it doesn't recognize the configuration backup file?
By making the cameras static IP addresses then it is simply putting any new router on the same subnet as the previous.

 

[MTL4]

I assign static addresses in the DCHP section of my router's firmware and back it up. If there's a problem and the router's settings need to be restored, I can restore to factory default settings and restore my configuration backup file. All 35 of my cameras are at the addresses I expect them to be. To do that, you need to have MAC addresses and tie them to IP addresses. That's how I make life easy. You have a router disaster and you can spend a few hours chasing all that down.

I don’t understand why you would do that instead of assigning each static IP at the camera level? Usually someone would just make them all DHCP and keep track of everything via MAC address. Maybe I’m just missing something?

 

[mackmadera]

What happens if that router dies and you replace it with a different model or brand and it doesn't recognize the configuration backup file?
By making the cameras static IP addresses then it is simply putting any new router on the same subnet as the previous.

I've got a spreadsheet table of it. I group them when I assign addresses.

 

[wittaj]

I've got a spreadsheet table of it. I group them when I assign addresses.

So you would have to key all that in to a new router that doesn't accept the prior router configuration table instead of simply changing the new router IP address subnet to match the subnet of the static IP addresses assigned to the cameras.

 

[mackmadera]

So you would have to key all that in to a new router that doesn't accept the prior router configuration table instead of simply changing the new router IP address subnet to match the subnet of the static IP addresses assigned to the cameras.

I've gpt a Mofi router, no plans to do anything with it anytime soon. It's a beast. I never wonder about the wifi address of any of my equipment. I assign them myself.