What to do first?

[cam26]

New (used) PC, cameras and PoE switch should be here in a few days. I'll have to install the new HDD, do a fresh install/updates and get BI up and running on it before it's ready.

Asus router came and should be ready to be installed.

Cat5 (pre-existing) is already ran to existing cameras that will be replaced.

That said, what should I do first? Should I go ahead and get the router (passthrough and VPN) set up since it's in and before the PC is ready?

Should I wait and get the PC/cameras up and running first, then do the router (I have a feeling that could be the toughest part)?

 

[SouthernYankee]

I would get the PC up and running with bi recording the cameras. It is going to take a while to run the cables.

The VPN can to set up later, the need to remote view the cameras is not as important as recording the video.

 

[cam26]

Thanks @SouthernYankee. Cables have already been ran (there's an existing system I'm replacing) so once the PC is up it should be a piece of cake. I went ahead and got the router set up with OpenVPN which was a breeze. Thanks for your recommendations, super helpful.

Do you know if there's any site that will test the security of your network to see if there are any vulnerabilities?

 

[tangent]

bench test

 

[cam26]

Unfamiliar with that, @tangent. I apologize and note that a Google search didn't help me.

 

[tangent]

Unfamiliar with that, @tangent. I apologize and note that a Google search didn't help me.

Plug things together at a work bench or desk and get them setup and working before you climb a ladder.

 

[cam26]

@tangent I got ya. Good call and will do. Thank you

 

[pmcross]

Plug things together at a work bench or desk and get it working before you climb a ladder.

You may even want to go a step further and put static Ip's on each camera and label them accordingly as well as add them to BI while you are doing the bench test. This will make installation go much smoother. That way you can view each camera in BI as you install it.

 

[cam26]

@pmcross I was thinking that as well, although I'm not sure exactly how to go about that yet as I'm new. I believe my plan was to dl the Dahua software and change their IP's in there, then in BI. Also, I was going to change them to something outside of the WAN to keep them from being accessed outside of my VPN.

Does that sound like I'm on the right track?

 

[pmcross]

You should be able to plug them into your router/switch initially. They should pull an IP address. You will need to log into the router to see what IP address it was assigned. You should then be able to access the camera using a browser and browsing to the IP. The default credentials for Dahau is admin/admin. You’ll then want to pick an IP outside of your DHCP scope that your router is handling out. You can find this from within the router too. Most routers start handing out from .100-.254

Once you have the IP assigned you can add it to BI and name it. I hope that this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cam26]

@pmcross, you rock. Thanks for breaking it down for me. I didn't even think of plugging them into the router and accessing it through there.

I just got an Asus AC1900 bridged with my ISP model and set all the IP's last night, so I'm pretty familiar with the router setup. But, just for clarification, once I set those cameras outside of my routers DHCP scope and utilize my routers firewall plus VPN server, I should be good to go in terms of network security, right?

 

[pmcross]

Happy to help, @cam26

Yep you should be good to go from a network security standpoint once you do that. Some people will create a separate VLAN and isolate their cameras and their BI server from the rest of their network, but that is pretty advanced networking and requires a router/switch that supports VLAN tagging. I think that you'll be fine with your setup. Let me know if you have any other questions.