Axis IP cam and wireless access point

[JimS 0]

I have an Axis IP cam connected via Ethernet to a 2.4Ghz access point in client bridge mode, which "talks" 200' (from barn to house) to my wireless router. The router does the DHCP, NOT the access point. I know static IP is recommended, but I've been more successful so far using DHCP.

 

When I look at the "connected devices" status in the wireless router's admin interface, it shows the camera and its IP addr, but it never shows the access point or its IP. Does this make sense? Should the access point be "transparent" and therefore not even show up? I read a TCP/IP book and learned a few things, but nothing that addresses this.

 

The only reason it matters is because my connection is not reliable, even 10' apart in the same room, so I can't tell if the access point is crapping out, or if the camera itself has an issue, or what.

[buellwinkle 0]

An access point has to have an IP address. Otherwise, how would you configure the access point it to use the SSID and password that your WiFi router requires, no?

 

200' for WiFi though walls is not going to be stable. 2.4Ghz requires line of sight, meaning you need the antenna to be outdoors. Take a look at cheap (under $100, maybe under $50 for the Nanostation Loco) outdoor bridges from Engenius or Ubiquiti. Those will go miles given line of site and usually have the option to have PoE output to power the cameras directly from the bridge and come with pole mounts or wall mounts and give reliable results.

[thewireguys 3]

2.4 will do some none LOS but not as good as 900mhz. Also on some of the Ubnt unit they have POE to power a camera but the output is not AF compliant so it will only work with Ubnt's cameras.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Guest

[Razer_SE 0]

The access point will be transparent to your devices, but it does have an IP address. I have one in the office today that I could not remember what I set the IP to so I ran the discovery tool it came with and it found its IP for me.

 

Then I can access it and do whatever I need to, but otherwise no device really knows it's even there. I would also recommend a static IP on the access point so you can easily access it and make sure it is working. If the camera drops and you cant access it then you can try the access point and see if it is accessible. Then you know if you have a camera issue or a access point issue and it will save you form a lot of troubleshooting and a lot of time.

 

If it has a utility to find it then it's not as important I guess, but still recommended. Without my utility today I'd have been looking for the right IP for a while. Now I remembered to write the IP on the access point like I normally do so this will not happen again lol.

[JimS 0]

The access point is an EnGenius ENH202. The RF path is through a wooden barn wall, 200' of air, and a pane of glass at the house, where the router sits in the window.

 

Yes, the AP has an IP addr, but it doesn't show up as a connected device in the router GUI. I'm weak at IP so I didn't know if it would be normal for it to be almost "hidden" since it's really almost just an RF extender so to speak.

 

Since my NetGear N600, WNDR3400 router (on my second one) is quirky, I don't trust it. When I can't connect to the camera, I can't tell if it's the camera, the AP, or the router. I did do a firmware update on the camera which didn't change anything.

 

Razer..... I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you saying that your router does not show the AP when it's connected? If they all work that way, I may have to get over it.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone......

[Razer_SE 0]

If you can see the routing table to see the connected devices your router should show you the IP of the device. So yes, the router should "see" the access point. Not all routers show you what is connected though, most of the netgears I have used would not show connected devices but some of my other routers do.

 

If you can see a list of connected computers and such in your router then you should be able to see the access point too.

 

The router is the only thing that would allow you to possibly see it, to the devices your are connecting it is transparent. The only way to talk to it directly is to connect to its IP directly. Seeing as your AP is DHCP and not static that could be an issue. If you set the AP to static then you will really fix your issue as you can just ping it and see if it is the AP or the camera. Then it showing in the router or not is moot.

[ak357 0]

The access point is an EnGenius ENH202. The RF path is through a wooden barn wall, 200' of air, and a pane of glass at the house, where the router sits in the window.

 

Yes, the AP has an IP addr, but it doesn't show up as a connected device in the router GUI. I'm weak at IP so I didn't know if it would be normal for it to be almost "hidden" since it's really almost just an RF extender so to speak.

 

Since my NetGear N600, WNDR3400 router (on my second one) is quirky, I don't trust it. When I can't connect to the camera, I can't tell if it's the camera, the AP, or the router. I did do a firmware update on the camera which didn't change anything.

 

Razer..... I don't want to put words in your mouth, but are you saying that your router does not show the AP when it's connected? If they all work that way, I may have to get over it.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone......

 

Do Google search for network scan app

tons avail

will show you everything on your network and more

[hardwired 0]

You may want to keep in mind a few things- one is that using WDS repeating (what you are doing with the Engenius AP) cuts your network bandwidth in half, as the unit has to listen for an incoming packet, store it, and then forward it to the next device.

 

Probably not a problem for a single camera application, but something to keep in mind as you scale up.

 

A bigger issue is that WDS bridging/repeating is not standardized between different manufacturers, and you may get quirky problems with it, or no operation at all.

[buellwinkle 0]

Not all routers are created equal. I don't mind paying for something decent, but have not found what that is yet. The closest is to use a good router with DDWRT firmware. If the router assigned an IP address to the access point through DHCP, it has to have the information because it assigned that device a lease, meaning it has to honor the lease terms and reassign that address back to the same device for the term of the lease. You don't have to know the details other than there's no way a router does not know, but the problem is they may not display it to you, then it's a bug. You may need a firmware upgrade from your router company.

[JimS 0]

I'll check the scanning apps.

 

My intent was for the AP to transmit only the hardwired camera input. I'll have to recheck the settings, but I don't think it will repeat WiFi signals the way it's set up. Point taken though.

 

Most router reviews on the internet say their firmware is buggy or they need improvement and my NetGear is no exception. Somebody on a networking forum suggested I buy an enterprise grade router, but then I'd have to buy another AP for the wireless function, and then a switch for multiple ports.

 

I don't know if the DDWRT firmware is supposed to offer more solid operation or more functions but it might be time to find out.

[buellwinkle 0]

I've used DD-WRT for years and it has many plusses. It's less buggier than the feces that most vendors put out these days, it's free, it allows you to do things that you are not able to do with many routers because they dumb down the interface to the general consumer. So things like port forwarding is better than most consumer routers. For example, I can leave all my cameras at port 80 but map them so 8000-9000 range for external access. I can also change the power of the transmitter (you may need a heatsink if you do this), I can assign seperate antenas, one to transmist, one to receive. I can setup multiple SSID's, I can setup custom firewall settings. I can make it a router, a bridge, an access point. You can also setup WiFi hotspots, which one place I use it, to provide people in a park WiFi access while having a seperate SSID that's firewalled away from the public. I can drop people on one SSID if on too long.

 

What's also a huge plus is that no matter what router I use, when I put DD-WRT on it, it all works the same, no relearning a new interface. So my Buffalo router and my Linksys router with DD-WRT work exactly the same. I'm lazy, so I buy routers with DD-WRT already installed on eBay, many times for cheaper than the big box stores sell routers for and some have been hacked with more memory, better antennas and such that's too tedious for me to invest my time doing myself.

 

My best WiFi router without DD-WRT that I own is this tiny matchbook size router from Edimax. The model is the BR-6258n and costs about $30. I used to carry it in my laptop bag as a portable router as some hotels or client offices I go to only have wired internet and my Macbook Air or my iPad only connect via WiFi. But I needed a router and started using it and it is solid, good interface with lots of options and you can use it as a router, a repeater, an access point, or a bridge. It puts Netgear, DLink, Cisco/Linksys to shame.

[JimS 0]

I returned my NetGear and got a WRT54GL. All is well so far except that I can't make the wireless work, even with the encryption shut off. The laptop connects but apparently isn't authenticating.

 

Once I get the wireless to the laptop going, I'll try to make the client bridge and camera work.

[buellwinkle 0]

Perfect candidate for DD-WRT.

[fran 0]

Perfect candidate for DD-WRT.

can you provide a suitable Axis ip camera for home security?

[buellwinkle 0]

Perfect candidate for DD-WRT.

can you provide a suitable Axis ip camera for home security?

 

Indoor or outdoor? Budget? Is the area very dark or well lit. Axis has a wide berth in cost from $159 for the M1011 to the $4k Q6035-E. Check out my blog, click Axis under catagories so you can see what I've already reviewed. The next one to review is one coming out in August that's their first camera with IR illuminators built in.

[JimS 0]

Perfect candidate for DD-WRT.

I swapped my NetGear for this. "WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router with Linux Firmware"

Based on the description and model number, I thought it already came with the DD-WRT firmware installed.

 

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0302906

 

When you're in a router with DD-WRT firmware, is there an obvious way to see that?

 

I've spent literally all day today just trying to make the wireless work. I've tried every combination except for the correct one obviously!

 

It connects with excellent signal strength but it never authenticates.

[voip-ninja 0]

Put the wireless access point in bridging mode. Plenty of tutorials on how to do this with DD-WRT.

[quick_pick 0]

My netgear wnce2001 costed around $20 dollars refurbished from newegg and is pretty much plug and play

It allows me to use a wired ip camera wirelessly and was EASY to set up and has been working flawlessly for weeks and weeks

[buellwinkle 0]

You would know if you were using DD-WRT as it would say so in the menus.

 

[JimS 0]

Thanks for the screen capture. That's not what I have. Somehow my ebay searches for pre-flashed routers (like you recommended) turned into Google searches, that ended with me rushing off to MicroCenter for the WRT54 router. I let the Linux verbiage in their ad and the WRT in the router name fool me. Now I'm doing the required reading to do the DD-WRT upgrade. We'll see if I know how to read and follow directions in a few days. Maybe then the wireless will work with the laptop and the camera. Thanks for all the help.

[JimS 0]

I finally did the DD-WRT firmware update on the WRT54GL router using the FW version recommended by the DD-WRT team. I indeed got the nice admin interface posted by buellwinkle. Unfortunately the wireless operation after the DD-WRT upgrade is still buggy. The DD-WRT team knows it, but I guess they don't have the resources to correct the issue. That’s okay. I'm still happy with the improvements the FW update provided.

 

Since the "wired" part is great, I abandoned the wireless operation of the router and just shut off the radio and removed the antennas. Removing the antennas was not necessary, but it made me feel better.

 

I bought another EnGenius wireless Access Point/Client Bridge and have the following set up:

 

In the barn, the Axis IP camera is connected via network cable to the co-located EnGenius device which is configured as a Client Bridge. The Client Bridge communicates on the 2.4GHz band to the other EnGenius device in the house, which is configured as an Access Point. The Access Point is connected via network cable to the co-located WRT54GL router. My laptop computer also communicates on the 2.4GHz band to the EnGenius Access Point in the house. I use MAC filtering and encryption in the Access Point so presumably nothing else can connect to my network via the wireless Access Point.

 

For people like me that don't know much about networking, here are a few observations:

 

The router admin interface has a screen that shows the IP address of each device that is currently connected to it. Each powered up computer in the house shows up in the list. The Axis camera and laptop that are connected via wireless through the Access Point also show up. But the Access Point and Client Bridge devices themselves NEVER SHOW UP AS CONNECTED DEVICES. I guess this makes perfect sense now, considering they are part of the infrastructure. But when I was struggling with getting all of this configured, I didn’t know how it should work and was confused over not seeing their IP addresses as connected devices. Their IP addresses are however in the static IP address list in the router admin interface. I originally let the router hand out IP addresses using DHCP, then switched to static.

 

One last note. I’m using an EnGenius ENH202 as the Access Point and an ENH200 as the Client Bridge. This is only because when I went back to buy another ENH202 they didn’t have any so I bought an ENH200 instead. Both are configurable for Access Point mode or Client Bridge mode (and other modes). The main difference is the ENH200 is an 802.11b/g device and the ENH202 is an 802.11b/g/n device; the latter capable of more bandwidth. They both seem very stable, and have great, intuitive admin interfaces.

[GrouchoBoucho 0]

The router admin interface has a screen that shows the IP address of each device that is currently connected to it. Each powered up computer in the house shows up in the list. The Axis camera and laptop that are connected via wireless through the Access Point also show up. But the Access Point and Client Bridge devices themselves NEVER SHOW UP AS CONNECTED DEVICES.

you were probably looking at the 'system info' page, which shows wireless clients and dhcp clients, but not all connected devices. the 'lan' page should show everything.

[JimS 0]

I just rechecked and the Status/LAN screen doesn't show the access point or client bridge as connected devices, but they are listed under Services/Services screen as devices that have been issued an IP from the DHCP server. If the access point or client bridge went down right now, I couldn't tell by looking at the router admin interface. I'd have to go to each device's admin interface via its individual IP and discover it's down. The more I think about it, I don't think the router even knows how the camera packets are reaching it, other than through one of the wired ports.