Reconnecting some cams after campus remodel

Johnny_Mac

Johnny_Mac

n3wb
Aug 4, 2020
3
5
Florida
Trying to figure out what additional hardware, if any, if I'll need to re-connect 6 cameras on this property.
Core Hardware is:
(NVR): LTS LTN8932
(Switch): LTS POE-SW1602
(Cams): LTS CMIP9142W

This is a church campus where they bulldozed the center building which was the network "hub," where the camera system was housed. Previously, all cams connected directly to the POE Switch that uplinks to the NVR. Then 4 buildings became 3, fiber now connects the buildings. NVR & POE switch are now in a building at one "end of the line." I want to re-connect 6 cameras, all of which are no longer in reach of direct-connect to the NVR/POE switch. The fiber links feed Netgear/TP-Link/Dell switches in each of the buildings, yes a bit of a hodge/podge but it's good stuff and it simply works. Current network is flat, no VLANS.

The active cameras are on a 192.0.0.0 subnet. LAN subnet is 10.10.1.0. My question is, can I re-program the cams I want to re-connect with 10.10.1.x IPs and have them work? Or is a VLAN an absolute requirement. I think the VLAN approach is probably best, but it adds cost which they are sensitive to after the remodel project. I downloaded & read the manual for the NVR but I can't find any info that addresses this, it seems to assume you're going to use the 192 addresses & that's the end of it.

Follow-up question: We're adding a new cam that we still need to buy. Since everything is LTS, I figured I'd buy one more of those. 2 of the existing CMIP9142Ws I plan to mount on the side of a building across a small field from 2 doors that are about 75' away or so. Or I could take one of those and point it at another door that needs coverage, the mount point is much closer in that location, maybe 20 feet. Then the new cam could be a better model for the 75' shot? Just trying to think it through, use what we have, and maybe improve the end result...

Thanks for any help!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
Johnny_Mac said:
Trying to figure out what additional hardware, if any, if I'll need to re-connect 6 cameras on this property.
Core Hardware is:
(NVR): LTS LTN8932
(Switch): LTS POE-SW1602
(Cams): LTS CMIP9142W

This is a church campus where they bulldozed the center building which was the network "hub," where the camera system was housed. Previously, all cams connected directly to the POE Switch that uplinks to the NVR. Then 4 buildings became 3, fiber now connects the buildings. NVR & POE switch are now in a building at one "end of the line." I want to re-connect 6 cameras, all of which are no longer in reach of direct-connect to the NVR/POE switch. The fiber links feed Netgear/TP-Link/Dell switches in each of the buildings, yes a bit of a hodge/podge but it's good stuff and it simply works. Current network is flat, no VLANS.

The active cameras are on a 192.0.0.0 subnet. LAN subnet is 10.10.1.0. My question is, can I re-program the cams I want to re-connect with 10.10.1.x IPs and have them work? Or is a VLAN an absolute requirement. I think the VLAN approach is probably best, but it adds cost which they are sensitive to after the remodel project. I downloaded & read the manual for the NVR but I can't find any info that addresses this, it seems to assume you're going to use the 192 addresses & that's the end of it.

Follow-up question: We're adding a new cam that we still need to buy. Since everything is LTS, I figured I'd buy one more of those. 2 of the existing CMIP9142Ws I plan to mount on the side of a building across a small field from 2 doors that are about 75' away or so. Or I could take one of those and point it at another door that needs coverage, the mount point is much closer in that location, maybe 20 feet. Then the new cam could be a better model for the 75' shot? Just trying to think it through, use what we have, and maybe improve the end result...

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Hi @Johnny_Mac

Ideally you want to isolate the IP cameras from the rest of the network, as well as isolate the "smart / IoT" items, and any guest WiFi from the core LAN.

To do this, yes looks like you will need to go VLAN .. normally I prefer actually physically separate LANs as I do not fully trust VLAN security ..
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
I'm slowly losing my grip on my networking basics. ( lack of use)
Went to Cisco Net Acad for 1 semester, and an Intro into troubleshooting PC's class.
( just enough to be dangerous)
You ought to be able to google the question is various ways and see if you can find an example of your situation.
Some folks here may swing by to offer input...
I'm sure there is a way to get this done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
Thanks for all the replies.

Thanks, @Flintstone61 , the NVR sections off the 2nd LAN with its 2nd network port. Must have an inbuilt router/firewall. If I VLAN the cams, I can run a single cable into an open switch on that segment, although I'm going to try to set the cams up on the 10x network first.


mat200 said:
Hi @Johnny_Mac

Ideally you want to isolate the IP cameras from the rest of the network, as well as isolate the "smart / IoT" items, and any guest WiFi from the core LAN.

To do this, yes looks like you will need to go VLAN .. normally I prefer actually physically separate LANs as I do not fully trust VLAN security ..
Click to expand...

Yes, agreed. I would like to know if this is required, tho, on this particular NVR. Getting things going will be a bit simpler without the VLANs. But I will add VLAN-capable switches in the areas where I'm out of switch ports.


looktall said:
First things first, are these switches POE?
Click to expand...

Yup, I've got this covered. I'll be adding (at least) 2 POE switches. Looks like the Ubiquiti USW Lite 16 POE switch is a winner. The 45 watt power budget is a tad anemic, but it'll do. Looks like it plays in the Unifi Network Controller ecosystem, which will be awesome in terms of setting up VLANs if needed, and I run their WiFi on Unifi already. Hope I don't need a USG...
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
I believe I have the final plan. I went out there yesterday and hooked up one of the disconnected cams at a desk to try a few things. Did a factory reset on the cam & had to use their "Platinum IP Portal" installed on a PC to find the cam, which had defaulted to a non-DHCP IP of 192.0.0.65, which was a surprise to me. I changed the IP right there on the portal to put it my 10x range. Next I logged into the web gui of the NVR, added the cam to the camera management section, and bam! it came right up.

Considering the expense of the Unifi 16 port switch (and the 8-port ones are out of stock unless you get lucky), I've ordered 3 of the Unifi USW Flex Mini 5-port switches, hard to go wrong at $29 each. I'll connect the fiber media converter & cams directly to these so the VLANS are intact over the fiber all the way through, as well as one right before the NVR/private cam switch and all cams can go back on the private range, and I can keep all other switches in place.

Now I just need to pick an LTS cam that will be good for a shot about 75 feet away from a door we'd like to monitor.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: sebastiantombs, mat200 and Flintstone61
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom