1. Gateway
Your Gateway address is how your DVR knows how to get to the Internet. Networks with a broadband router (Cable, DSL, Fiber) that share your Internet connection, the Modem/Router will be the Gateway. Without the correct Gateway address your DVR will not be able to get out to the Internet in order to be able to viewed externally from your mobile phone or from your laptop while on vacation. Finding out your Gateway address will also clue you into what your IP and DNS address will be.
Do you know what your ISP's (Internet Service Provider) router address is? Great. Now you know what you will enter in your Gateway settings. For most basic home and business networks there are a couple of default Router Gateway addresses. There will be other posts on how to find this if you do not already know what it is.
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.1.254
- 10.1.10.1
2. DNS ( Domain Name System)
DNS Translates Internet domain names to an IP address. If DNS would have never been created then we would have to remember the IP addresses of our favorite websites. IP addresses are the directions the Internet uses to get to your favorite website. Instead we have Domain Names htvsi.com that are attached to a specific ip address. This way when you type in HTVSI.com that domain name is sent to a DNS server where it converts it to an IP address to find your site.
There are various methods to find out what you will use for this number in your configuration. The easiest one is to simply use your Gateway address as most Routers will either act as a DNS server or will forward on your request to one designated by it. A correct DNS address is needed when setting up DDNS or Email notification.
3. Subnet Mask
For this purpose I will give you a basic definition of what a subnet mask is, because explaining it would take advanced networking knowledge and a couple of days. An IP address has two components, the network address and the host address. A subnet mask separates the IP address into the network and host address.
The subnet mask that you will use on most home and small business networks will be 255.255.255.0 unless otherwise specified. When it will be different than that will be in the case of a company or home a with a knowledgeable IT person that has an advanced configurations. In this case they will most likely already have all of the network settings needed for the DVR if it will be different.
4. IP Address
An IP (Internet protocol) address is a number assigned to a networked equipped device by which other devices on a network can identify it. This is the address that you will enter in order to identify where your DVR can be found on your home or business network. There are many ways that different people will tell you to make this address but the one thing I will tell you is if you have to do this often. Make sure to keep the number in the same range if you can every time. This will alleviate confusion for you if you ever have to go back and find the DVR on the network.
Here is an example of how you will come up with your DVR IP address. Do you remember earlier when I mentioned that knowing what your Gateway address will clue you into what your IP address will be. Here is where all of that previous information will come into play.
With a Gateway of 192.168.1.1 The first 3 sets of numbers 192.168.1 will designate the network address the fourth digit is what designates the host (DVR) address. To give the DVR an address on your network to be able to be found we will make the forth set of numbers a number between 2 and 254. In this case I will make the number 80. So my DVR IP address will be 192.168.1.80 With this logic we can also use the Gateway address of 10.1.10.1 and have a DVR IP address of 10.1.10.80
Now when designating a number keep in mind that no 2 devices on the same internal network can have the same IP address. The Gateway router assigns an address automatically for your computer/smart phones/tablets. This is why when I assign an IP address to a DVR I remain in the 60 to 99 range, so that the DVR will not conflict with a lower number given out by the router. For example.
192.168.1.172
10.1.10.172
or
192.168.1.84
10.1.10.84
5. HTTP Port
The HTTP port is how you are able to connect to the DVR from Internet Explorer or Safari on a MAC. It is the website server on your DVR that allows you to connect and view the cameras from your browser. There is usually a rule when setting your HTTP port depending on the type of ISP that you have. DSL and Dial up providers usually block port 80. Cable, Fiber and T-1 providers mostly do not. But in some cases they may block it as well. In order to save time and not have to remember this you can simply use the next number up 81.
6. Command Port
The command port is the port in which the camera video is actually streamed on. This why this information is needed on the log in screen when connecting on the browser. This is the only port that you will enter on the mobile phone app and the VMS (Video Management Software)computer software. Even though it can be changed it is best to just keep this at 8101.
If you still need some help understanding this you may need some more knowledgable help. Call us up and we can help you get your system online.
High Tech Video Security International
1-866-411-9130 Option 2
