Setting up a fresh system for the first time - what are the best first steps to take?

[elderflower]

Hello,

I'm about to receive a new Hikvision NVR and camera, and will have both on my desk for ease of set up (next to my monitor), before moving them into their final positions.

So after formatting the HD, do I connect the camera to the NVR straightaway or keep them separate until after both have been updated with the latest firmware and creating passwords etc? Or does this not matter at all? I have many sites and YT videos (including yours) bookmarked ready to walk me through the process. I just wanted to know the initial stages.

Thank you!

 

[JB1970]

Hello,

I'm about to receive a new Hikvision NVR and camera, and will have both on my desk for ease of set up (next to my monitor), before moving them into their final positions.

So after formatting the HD, do I connect the camera to the NVR straightaway or keep them separate until after both have been updated with the latest firmware and creating passwords etc? Or does this not matter at all? I have many sites and YT videos (including yours) bookmarked ready to walk me through the process. I just wanted to know the initial stages.

Thank you!

I’d recommend powering up the NVR first, activate it when prompted with a secure password and enter a password recovery e mail address and/or fill in the answers to the security questions. You’ll usually get a prompt to initialize the un formatted disk. You can then go through the wizard to set the basic parameters. Once that’s done connect the camera to Channel 1 of the NVR. The NVR will activate the camera using plug and play using the same admin NVR password that you’ve set.

New users often make the mistake of separately powering up the camera to have a look in the menus etc. This just makes things more complicated as the camera is already activated when added to the NVR and has to be added manually.

 

[elderflower]

Fantastic, thank you for the swift response! So once the camera has been activated via the NVR, then do all the firmware updates?

 

[JB1970]

Fantastic, thank you for the swift response! So once the camera has been activated via the NVR, then do all the firmware updates?

Yes get it all set up first then do the firmware updates.

 

[elderflower]

I've seen on other set ups where if there is a network switch (as in my set up), the camera plugs straight into it instead of the NVR (recording functions remain the same). Apparently it so that the user can connect directly to the camera? Is there any advantages/disadvantages to having it this way?

 

[sportster]

Best first steps ???

FWIW, in my world, the 1st step is to:

• understand your goals & budget
• come up with (aka create) a network design that supports those goals / budget, &
• document your network

To some degree, the equipment you have might dictate your goals, & thus the network design.... or the equipment you have may highlight your deficiencies.... requiring equipment changes or a re-evaluation of your goals. aka requires some trade-offs

Alternatively, just ignore all of the above (like most DIY people do), and just go for it. Fingers crossed it all works.
And I get it. Most are not network professionals, so shortcuts are taken.

BTW, network switches can be a great thing, when designed & used in your network correctly.

I've seen on other set ups where if there is a network switch (as in my set up), the camera plugs straight into it instead of the NVR (recording functions remain the same). Apparently it so that the user can connect directly to the camera? Is there any advantages/disadvantages to having it this way?

In your final configuration, how do you intend to cable the camera(s) ? i.e how are the cameras connected to your network ?

What's your FULL NVR model # ? Is your external network switch a POE switch ? Do your camera(s) require a POE capable switch ? (probably but I got to ask Incorrect assumptions will bite you.)

 

[JB1970]

I've seen on other set ups where if there is a network switch (as in my set up), the camera plugs straight into it instead of the NVR (recording functions remain the same). Apparently it so that the user can connect directly to the camera? Is there any advantages/disadvantages to having it this way?

Advantages:
- you can cable a camera direct to that switch or your router which may be more convenient.

Disadvantages:
- CCTV traffic is using your LAN rather than being segmented to only go to the NVR
- CCTV camera is exposed directly to the internet
- CCTV camera needs a PoE injector or 12V supply or to connect to a PoE switch
- Configuration is not so straight forward (though not particularly difficult)

There's nothing wrong with connecting the camera via the local network but it's unnecessary - why complicate the setup.

Enabling 'Virtual Host' in the NVR settings will allow you to connect direct to the camera for additional configuration via its web interface. However that's not needed usually as most camera settings can be configured directly via the NVR interface.

 

[elderflower]

It certainly sounds like something for the more advanced user which I am definitely not, so I'll be happily plugging the camera straight into the NVR! At first I thought that you could not gain direct access to the camera if it was connected to the NVR, but good to know that this is not the case.

I'll be having a play over the weekend...

 

[elderflower]

Best first steps ???

FWIW, in my world, the 1st step is to:

• understand your goals & budget
• come up with (aka create) a network design that supports those goals / budget, &
• document your network

To some degree, the equipment you have might dictate your goals, & thus the network design.... or the equipment you have may highlight your deficiencies.... requiring equipment changes or a re-evaluation of your goals. aka requires some trade-offs

Alternatively, just ignore all of the above (like most DIY people do), and just go for it. Fingers crossed it all works.
And I get it. Most are not network professionals, so shortcuts are taken.

BTW, network switches can be a great thing, when designed & used in your network correctly.


In your final configuration, how do you intend to cable the camera(s) ? i.e how are the cameras connected to your network ?

What's your FULL NVR model # ? Is your external network switch a POE switch ? Do your camera(s) require a POE capable switch ? (probably but I got to ask Incorrect assumptions will bite you.)

This is kind of a follow on from my first thread about my set up and model advice here but I wanted to know the initial steps after I had the equipment.

I think I have all 3 of your bullets covered! But hopefully this security system will last me a good few years and beyond.

Ah just to answer your questions:
For my first camera, DS-2CD2387G2H-LISU/SL, it will be using PoE which will be connected to the DS-7608NI-M2/8P, which in turn will be connected to a 24 port PoE switch. I wanted to set up a VLAN but quickly realised that I probably won't have the brain power for that

 

[sportster]

VLANs are great, but they do bring a new level of complexity that one has to deal with. I use them in my setup, but that's me. Just a couple of considerations should you want the extra security that VLANs offer:

• does your 24 port switch even support VLANs ?
• do you need/have a router that is VLAN aware & can route packets at Layer 3 between VLANs ?
• your VLANs will need visibility to a Time Server somewhere in your network.... either via a public network or on your internal network. Some switches have a Time Server capability...... use it if you can (& if it makes sense).
• do you need/have a DHCP Server that can serve devices on those VLANs ?

That Hybrid camera (nice camera BTW) will work in either a NVR POE port or 24 Port POE switch.

A word of caution re: the 24 port POE switch. Do NOT inter-connect your 24 port POE switch with the NVR POE ports. Should you do it anyways:

• you "might" get something to work initially, but HIK won't support that set up.
• do NOT cable your home network into this 24 Port switch too. You'll now have 2 DHCP Servers competing on your network. Things will become a mess in a hurry.
• should you add more cameras in the future, things will degrade & eventually break. A single NVR POE port was not designed by HIK, to handle multiple devices. (even tho in limited cases it has been shown to work).

 

[JB1970]

This thread has derailed a bit from the original question which was 'the best way to set up an NVR and single camera'

I think you're saying not to interconnect an NVR to a PoE switch using both its LAN port and one of its PoE ports. Agreed, as that defeats the object of the NVR providing two network interfaces to keep camera traffic separate. However just to clarify:

• There is no issue connecting the NVR to a PoE switch using it's LAN port as the PoE switch will not deliver power on that link.
• There is no issue connecting an NVR PoE port to a PoE switch for the purpose of adding more than one camera via a single cable link. The NVR PoE port will not deliver power on the link to the PoE switch.
• Hikvision NVRs do not have a DHCP server. The PoE ports will assign an IP address to Hikvision cameras using plug and play but thats it; it doesn't provide DHCP. If you were to connect a device (configured to receive its IP address via DHCP) to an NVR PoE port, the device will fallback to using APIPA (automatic private IP addressing) and assign itself a non routable address in the 169.254.xxx.xxx range as it will fail to reach a DHCP server.
• A single NVR PoE port will happily run multiple devices and won't break. As the link will not deliver power to another switch, no power is used on that link at all (the multiple cameras being supplied via PoE from another source). The only limiting factors are number of channels the NVR supports, the NVR total incoming bandwidth and the 100Mbps PoE port. You wouldn't want to connect more than 4 cameras via one port.

 

[elderflower]

This thread has derailed a bit from the original question which was 'the best way to set up an NVR and single camera'

This is my fault for not giving a more accurate title so apologies for that. However I have learnt a lot just from the two posts so I thank you both!

Just to clarify I will be connecting the NVR (using the LAN port) to a PoE port on my managed switch. The 8 PoE ports on the NVR will be used solely for cameras but doubt I will need that many tbh.

 

[JB1970]

This is my fault for not giving a more accurate title so apologies for that. However I have learnt a lot just from the two posts so I thank you both!

Just to clarify I will be connecting the NVR (using the LAN port) to a PoE port on my managed switch. The 8 PoE ports on the NVR will be used solely for cameras but doubt I will need that many tbh.

Not at all, all good. I was just clarifying that it is ok to connect more than one camera using a single PoE port so long as 100Mbps is not exceeded.

 

[elderflower]

Hi, just a quick one, I've opened up the camera but still not powered it up yet as I've been busy but will do this week.

Just planning exact mounting location etc. so upon fixing the base plate to the wall, do I use the 3 screw holes (around the outer edge) or the 4 screw holes (on the inside in a rectangle formation)? The supplied template is for 3 holes but there are 4 screws included. Just want to make sure...

Many thanks!

 

[JB1970]

Hi, just a quick one, I've opened up the camera but still not powered it up yet as I've been busy but will do this week.

Just planning exact mounting location etc. so upon fixing the base plate to the wall, do I use the 3 screw holes (around the outer edge) or the 4 screw holes (on the inside in a rectangle formation)? The supplied template is for 3 holes but there are 4 screws included. Just want to make sure...

Many thanks!

3 at the outer edge but it’s not overly important. The inner 4 are used when mounting the camera on a deep base wall box or bracket.