Trouble getting IP address

[smokingjoe 0]

Hi guys

I have a networking problem (s).

I have installed a few of the lower end DVRs in a few homes around the small rural area where I live. None were set up with networking. I have had a few people asking about this option so I decided to set one up in home to try to get familiar with it.

So basically, I don't know what I am doing yet but hope someone could help me as I figure this out.

I have installed a Avermedia NV3000 card into a new computer at my home. (Which by the way works much better than the cheeper DVRs that I have been using.) I will be using this DVR for CCTV only.

I would like to be able to view this video over the internet. My local telephone company has me set up with a Comtrend ADSL+2 router

(CT-5621T). This router also supplies my cable tv and my personal computer with high speed internet. There is an open port on the back of this router that is not being used.

I have tried to access the IP address using the manual that came with the capture card but am not having much luck.

I searched the forum for information on how to do this but most of the information seemed a little over my head.

The other day I ran into one of the guys that works at the local telephone company and asked him if he had any idea how to get an IP address asigned to the open port on the router. He was not sure but he told me that I may have to call the telephone company and have an IP address set up. He also said that I may have to pay $25.00 a month for this.

I am not sure if this was good information because the telephone company also installs cctv cameras in this area and may not like competition. So I am not sure if I should call them or not.

Would anyone know if this might be true and if not, could someone give me some information on an easy way get this set up.

I don't know if this means anything or not but I have the DVR and my PC both hooked up to two diffrent ports on the router and I can access the internet from both at the same time.

Thanks Tim

[C7 in CA 0]

Hi Tim,

 

I would hold off calling the phone company yet. The tech may have been talking about buying a static IP address. You don't need to worry about that til you get the networking up and running.

 

Is the problem you can't connect from a remote location, or you can't even connect to the DVR locally? Please list the internal IP address' of your computer and DVR. Can you access the setup page of the router?

[sviviani 0]

I think c7 is right, what the phone tech was talking about is a static ip. your router should give out a private ip such as 192.168.0.??? to each device attached to it. on the public side you will get a dynamic address that will change a unknown intervals, when the router is rebooted, when phone company feels like it. So if you would like to see your dvr from inside your home you can see it through the 192 address, from outside your home you would first need to see what the public ip is, from inside the router config look at the WAN address, and that should work untill it changes. to keep your public side the same always, you will need to get a static address, which costs more per month, or subscribe to a dns forwarding service. these range from free to $$$ per month depending on the service and what it is used for.

[smokingjoe 0]

The problem is that I can't connect from a remote location or locally. I think it is how I have my DVR set up. I am working on getting the DVR set up with a new IP address that is closer to the IP address of my PC. The original DVR IP address was not even close to my PC IP address.

 

I will let you know how this works out.

 

Thanks

[scorpion 0]

I do not know what DVR you have.

 

I was wondering if it came with a disk so that you could load the remote software AP?

 

Go to your computer where the DVR is located. You may be able to bring up the AP and it may have a search feature to find your DVR on the network. It may be possible to click on the info line, and the computer might connect to it.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

For others who have come to this post from a search engine.

 

Try some of these manuals so that you can get a gist of how to set up the DVRs

 

http://scorpiontheater.com/videonetworkingwithavtech.aspx

 

 

Here are some of the tools that CCTV tech use.

 

Do what is called an ipconfig. Google it for your type of operating system.

 

EX Windows XP

Start

Run (type in cmd)

In the black box type in ipconfig

 

This should give you

 

Connection

IP address (outside)

subnet mask

 

http://ipchicken.com/

http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

Here is an interesting site for tools

 

http://www.yougetsignal.com/

 

The Port Forward Test is great for testing to make sure your port is open

 

http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/

 

Type in your customers Wan address with the port that they are supposed to open for that DVR. It will let you know if it is open, or closed.

[smokingjoe 0]

Hi guys, I am back.

Not having much luck connecting local or remote. I am sure it is my setup.

The DVR that I am using is a desk top computer that I purchased from a local individual who builds computers as a side job. I installed a NV3000 capture card and it seems to be working well.

The DVR is located in the same room as my personal computer. Each having an individual cat5 patch cable that runs to my router which is located in my living room. I pluged the DVR into an open port that was not being used on the back of the router.

The router is a Comtrend CT-5621T multi-port ADSL+2. It was installed about two years ago by my local telephone company when I upgraded to high speed internet. This router also gives me cable TV. The telephone company did not leave me a manual or any information on this router.

From what I got from this forum my DVR and Personal Computer IP addresses would have to be similar in order for this to work.

The origional IP address of my DVR was somewhere in the range of 10.xxx.xxx.xxx. My PC IP address is in the 192.xxx.xxx.xxx range.

I changed the DVR IP address so that the last number was two digits higher than my PC IP address. When I did this it asked me for a default gateway address. I put in the same address that my PC has. Prior to this the DVR was set up to obtain an IP address automatically. On this same page, by choosing my own IP address, I had to choose a DNS server address.

PREFERRED DNS SERVER . . .

ALTERNATE DNS SERVER . . .

Not sure what to put here.

With these settings I am no longer able to connect to the internet through my DVR.

Anyone see what I am doing wrong. Or have any suggestions.

[sviviani 0]

it sounds like it is definately a problem with the network setup on your dvr. What os is it? Windows or Linux? if windows go to network connections, right click on local connection and select properties, click on tcp/ip and make it get ip automatically. if you were to put in your own numbers here you would also have to set them up in your router. once done ok out then get a command line and type "ipconfig/release" without the quotes then enter then type "ipconfig/renew" without the quotes then enter. you should then see it come up with the new ip in the 192 range

[smokingjoe 0]

One thing I could mention is that my DVR has it's own monitor so presently I am able to view my cameras through it. What I am tring to do is get this system set up so I can view the cameras locally, from my home PC, and once I get this working I would like to set it up to be able to veiw remotely.

[C7 in CA 0]

So your PC is a 192. address... The DVR was a 10. address and both had internet access?

 

If you can't get the ipconfig /renew to work I would keep the manually entered 192. address on the DVR. Can you ping the DVR from the PC? start>run>type cmd In black window type: ping 192.xxx.xxx.xxx (DVR ip). Do you get a response?

 

Also if you have to keep the manually entered IP address you can just enter a couple of name servers into the DNS settings to restore internet access to the DVR. Try these addresses from opendns.com:

 

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

 

I'm somewhat concerned about remote access after hearing you are getting IPTV through the router too. I wonder if the phone company keeps those routers locked down? Have you been able to log in to the router?

[scorpion 0]

http://www.comtrend.com/dbase/download/CT-5621T_A3.2.pdf

[smokingjoe 0]

Thanks for the information everyone. I will try all of this when I get off work tonight.

[smokingjoe 0]

Ok guys, Sorry if I am wasting your time but nothing seems to be working.

Sviviani -- My os is Windows 2000. When I select to get an IP address automatically I am able to access the internet with my DVR. But when I go back to look at my IP address it is in the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx range. This range is not close to the 192.xxx.xxx.xxx range of my pc. I downloaded the router manual (thanks scorpion). According to this manual I can access the router by using, putty-ssh-lroot192.168.1.1 (page 113), but this did not seem to work for me. So I was not able to use the ipconfig/renew option.

 

C7, When I have my IP address set automatically I can access the internet with both my PC and my DVR at the same time. I tried to ping the new 192.xxx.xxx.xxx address of the DVR from my pc but did not get a response.

[sviviani 0]

sorry if this is a stupid question, but are they both in the same router? Is one wired and one on wifi? if you are getting 2 different ip (10 and 192) it sounds like you are somehow connected to 2 different routers, even if this was in an enterprise and vlans were set, they would still start in the same range.

[C7 in CA 0]

Yeah, the 10. thing is interesting. Is your PC set to obtain an IP automatically? Have you tried accessing the router by entering http://192.168.1.1 in your web browser? The manual says the user name is root and the password is 12345

 

When you had the DVR manually set to a 192. address did you happen to try the viewer software? I'm pretty sure the only reason you didn't have internet on the DVR was because you didn't enter DNS servers.

[Soundy 1]

Just a postulation on where the 10. address is coming from...

 

10.* and 192.168.* IPs are universally considered as "reserved" for private LANs. With our local telco (Telus), when you use their DSL internet, whatever device you connect to their modem (computer, router, etc.) will initially pull a 10.* address on their internal network. This allows you to connect to their "customer service" page, where you can register your device's MAC address with the system, after which it gets an "outside" internet IP.

 

What may be happening, if you're plugging the DSL modem into one of the router's LAN ports, is that it will acting as a switch, rather than a router, and your DVR is probably pulling a 10.* address from your ISP, and may be intermittently getting a 192.168.* address from the router itself.

 

First thing you want to do, is make sure your DSL modem is connected to the WAN or Internet port on the router.

[C7 in CA 0]

 

What may be happening, if you're plugging the DSL modem into one of the router's LAN ports, is that it will acting as a switch, rather than a router, and your DVR is probably pulling a 10.* address from your ISP, and may be intermittently getting a 192.168.* address from the router itself.

 

Yeah a mis-cable will get ya every time! Thumbing through the manual it looks like the modem is built in. It also serves up his IPTV. Maybe some weird bridge mode thing going on?

[coolie11 0]

This just doesn't make any sense. Is your Comtrend exactly

the same as the one in the manual posted by Scorpion?

 

1. Do you have both units directly connected to the Comtrend?

2. Are they both wired to one of the Lan ports 1X-4X?

 

On your PC not the DVR, go to ipchicken.com

and compare the IP Address to the one your

DVR gets when configured to DHCP.

 

Based on the manual this unit appears to be a

regular ADSL Modem with a built in Router

which is not that difficult to setup as long as you

have access to the setup options of the unit.

 

If you're not allowed to change any settings on

the Comtrend then you should buy your own Router,

call your ISP and have them set there unit to bridge

mode configure your router and you should be good to go.

 

The only way I can see you getting two different

IP Address with this unit is to have the DVR connected

directly to the Comtrend and your PC connected to

another router which is connected to the Comtrend.

[smokingjoe 0]

OK guys, I think I am getting closer.

 

But first I will try to answer everyone’s questions.

 

Sviviani - At this point no question sounds stupid to me. My PC and my PC base DVR are both connected to the same router. Each having their own cat5 cable that runs straight to the back of my router. My DVR is connected to a port labeled LAN 1X on the router and my PC is connected to a port labeled LAN 2X on the same router.

 

C7 - My PC is currently set up to obtain an IP address automatically. I typed in http://192.168.1.1 in the web browser ( from my PC ). I get INTERNET EXPLORER CANNOT DISPLAY THE WEB PAGE.

 

Soundy - Both devices are connected straight to my router. My local telephone company installed this router.

 

Now for an up date. I did two different things last night so I am not sure which one made the difference. Maybe a combination of both.

1) Using one of C7's ideas I took the same DNS Server address that are set up in my PC and put them in my DVR. Maybe I should have done this in the beginning with but I didn't know.

2) With information from Soundy's post I switched the DVR and PC router ports on the back of the router.

 

I am now able to access the Internet with both the DVR and PC. Even after manually obtaining a DVR IP address.

 

But I am still unable to access my DVR from my PC. ---- (From my web browser.) I type in http://192.xxx.xxx.xxx This is my new DVR IP address with the last number being two digits higher then the IP address of my PC. I get INTERNET EXPLORER CANNOT DISPLAY THE WEBPAGE. What should I be seeing at this point?

One thing I have noticed is while connected to the Internet with my DVR, there is no link icon in the lower right hand corner of my DVR monitor. Not sure if this means anything or not.

 

coolie11 - Does this information answer your questions? If you think I need to buy another router and it could possibly fix my problem I will pick one up this week. I don't know much about routers so my question would be, with this router also supplying my cable TV, through my local telephone company, which they set up, will installing my own new router effect my TV? I am not sure if the problem is with my equipment or that I really don't know what I am doing. Probably the latter.

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help me with this problem and I have learned a lot in the past week, although I know that I have much more to learn.

Thanks again

[smokingjoe 0]

One new up date. I just went back to look at the IP address of my PC. (ipconfig) Now the PC has the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx address. It is close but not exactly the same as what was an originally in the DVR. The PC and DVR switched IP addresses. I guess this happened when I switched ports on the router.

Sorry if I am confusing everyone.

[C7 in CA 0]

 

C7 - My PC is currently set up to obtain an IP address automatically. I typed in http://192.168.1.1 in the web browser ( from my PC ). I get INTERNET EXPLORER CANNOT DISPLAY THE WEB PAGE.

 

...

 

But I am still unable to access my DVR from my PC. ---- (From my web browser.) I type in http://192.xxx.xxx.xxx This is my new DVR IP address with the last number being two digits higher then the IP address of my PC. I get INTERNET EXPLORER CANNOT DISPLAY THE WEBPAGE. What should I be seeing at this point?

 

 

It doesn't sound good that you can't reach the login page of the router using http://192.168.1.1. The manual lists that as the default address. When you do the ipconfig thing from your PC does it list the gateway as 192.168.1.1? (by the way, it's safe to list full 192. addresses.)

 

As for using the http://192. to reach the DVR would depend on the DVR manufacturer. Is one of the features listed web browser support? If so then you should see a login screen when you goto that address. Also do you have proprietary software that came with the DVR? Have you tried it at all?

 

I would call the phone company and ask about admin access to the router. If you can get into the router a lot of questions might be answered. Plus you will need access to it to setup viewing from the outside world.

 

If you happen to have a CAT5 "crossover" cable you can bypass the router completely. That is a great way to test questionable network access to a DVR.

[scorpion 0]

Now that you have switched ports on the router, and the computer is pulling a 10 address then look at your IP config, and use that gateway to log in to the router/modem.

 

Failing that I would call tech support, and let them no what you are doing, and lets see what they say, or should I say hear what they say.

Edited March 28, 2009 by Guest

[C7 in CA 0]

One new up date. I just went back to look at the IP address of my PC. (ipconfig) Now the PC has the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx address. It is close but not exactly the same as what was an originally in the DVR. The PC and DVR switched IP addresses. I guess this happened when I switched ports on the router.

Sorry if I am confusing everyone.

 

Interesting. I'm guessing your tv still works. But is your tv set top box plugged into a specific port on the router?

 

I'd call the phone company. They probably won't help too much, but they might at least be able to answer questions about the IP addresses and stuff. I wouldn't get into too much talk right now about you trying to get the DVR running on the web. Most ISP's frown on the idea of you running a server. I'd just say I am trying to network 2 PC's and the IP's are goofy and you can't ping one PC from another.

[coolie11 0]

were you able to compare the Wan IP Address?

 

Whose your Service Provider?

Edited March 28, 2009 by Guest

[ak357 0]

One new up date. I just went back to look at the IP address of my PC. (ipconfig) Now the PC has the 10.xxx.xxx.xxx address. It is close but not exactly the same as what was an originally in the DVR. The PC and DVR switched IP addresses. I guess this happened when I switched ports on the router.

Sorry if I am confusing everyone.

 

I think it is about time somebody will provide to this poor guy "Remote help"

 

almost 25 posts for 2 min solution

if u interested sent me pm

[scorpion 0]

Hello AK357!

 

Would you be kind enough to enlighten the rest of us with your solution?