Section 3: Managing a Network IP Camera System

Table of Contents
Section 1: P2P / EZCloud Skip to Section 1
Section 2: Port Forwarding Video Recorders Skip to Section 2
Section 3: Managing a Network IP Camera System Skip to Section 3
Section 4: Bandwidth and Throughput Limitations Skip to Section 4

Section 3 - Managing a Network IP Camera System

 

Besides port forwarding, managing a network IP camera system requires changing device IP addresses to prevent conflicts, plotting out power over Ethernet (PoE) switches and cable distances. This next section will give some basic information on how to organize and maintain a network camera setup. DH Vision recommends using a Windows PC so that the installer can use the ConfigTool or EZTools to configure a new network IP camera system. If a Mac is used, a custom network must be created and each camera must be attached and configured one at a time.

Configuring using EZTools (Windows)

1.

Download EZTools here. Uncompress the file and run the EZTools application file. Allow EZTools through any firewall alerts..

2.

In the top-left corner of the application click refresh. This searches for all IP cameras, NVRs and DVRs on the local network..

3.

Uniview cameras are set to DHCP by default. If you need to modify the IP of a Uniview camera within EZTools, left-click next to the camera then right-click the specific camera. Select “Modify IP Address” underneath the drop-down menu.

4.

Modify the IP address to what you need it to be. You will also need to insert the username and password at the bottom of the screen. Default is “admin” and “123456” for the password.

5.

Cameras from other manufacturers will need to be logged into to modify their IP address. Click the internet explorer icon to the right of the device and log-in to modify it’s network address.

6.

If the client wants to access the cameras remotely, independently from a video recorder, then each camera must have differing HTTP and TCP ports. DH Vision suggests using 2xxx for the HTTP port and 40xxx for the TCP port (i.e. 2001 / 40001, 2002 / 40002, etc.)

Configuring using the ConfigTool (Windows)

A.

Download the ConfigTool here. Uncompress the ConfigTool.zip file and run the ConfigTool.exe application file. Allow the ConfigTool through any firewall alerts.

B.

In the top right hand corner of the software, in the IP Version dropdown, select IPv4.

C.

Click the Refresh button. The ConfigTool should now list all attached devices IP addresses.

D.

With the latest firmware, the network IP cameras will be set to DHCP. If all the devices listed on the ConfigTool have different IP addresses, then the installer can move on to adding the cameras into the network video recorder(s) or VMS software.

E.

If the cameras are all set to the default static 192.168.1.108, then they must be changed to different IP addresses that match the current network segment. Using the ConfigTool, click the pencil icon to the right of the device listed in the program and log in. Modify the network address so that the camera has a unique network address. Modify only the last segment of numbers if you are on the same network.

F.

Repeat step E on all cameras, ensuring each one has a different IP address. DH Vision suggests ordering the IP address to keep things organized. For example, 192.168.1.201, 192.168.1.202, 192.168.1.203 and so on.

G.

If the client wants to access the cameras remotely, independently from a video recorder, then each camera must have differing HTTP and TCP ports. DH Vision suggests using 2xxx for the HTTP port and 40xxx for the TCP port (i.e. 2001 / 40001, 2002 / 40002, etc.)

Configuring using the ConfigTool (MAC)

A.

First check to see if the cameras are set to DHCP by default. To do so, connect all cameras to the network and log in to the router using the default gateway. Most routers have a connected devices menu that will show all devices connected to the router and what IP addresses are being assigned. Check if the cameras are listed in the connected devices and try to log in to a few of the IP addresses using Safari. If the cameras are confirmed as set to DHCP, then no further camera configuration is needed.

B.

If the cameras are not on DHCP, then a new network location must be created. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Network. Choose Edit Locations from the Location pop-up menu, and then click Add (+). Enter settings for that match the network segment the cameras are on by default which is gateway 192.168.1.1, subnet 255.255.255.0 and the local IP of the Mac computer can be set to 192.168.1.2.

C.

After setting up the new network location, connect one camera to the Mac. Usually this is done by connecting a PoE switch to the Mac's Ethernet port.

D.

Using Safari, connect to the default static IP address of the camera – 192.168.1.108. Log in to the Web Service using the default credentials – admin: admin. Click the Setup tab and navigate to the Network menu on the left. Change the IP address, default gateway and subnet mask of the target network segment in the TCP/IP submenu. Be aware that after changing the information, the installer will not be able to access the camera on the custom network location, so make sure the information is correct.

E.

Repeat step D for each camera, making sure that each IP address is unique and available on the target network segment.