HikVision Compatability

[BOneZee]

Hi all,

I hoped to seek some insight into how a particular installation might be put together. My brother has been provided a complete HiVision setup consisting of a total of 22 cameras.

The guy who was meant to install it is away at the minute and I was asked if I could assist with the install, I'm fairly proficient with IT/networking etc but I'm a bit confused by the equipment they've ordered and how they planned to string it all together. The cameras themselves are a side topic, I'm initially focusing on the setup of the NVR and the switches they bought.

HikVision NVR's 2x DS-7616NI-I2/16P
HikVision POE Switches 2x DS-3E1318P-EI

I'm seeking some clarification on 2 questions.

Q1: Can the NVR's be connected to become a single instance ( I dont think so so)
Q2: Are these NVR's limited to support a maximum of 16 cameras each (I think this is the case)

The installation location is an old rented multi-storey property so new cabling is a real challenge, the proposed idea was to have:

1. 5 cameras on ground floor connected to one of the switches, a cable is already in place that will be used to uplink (G1 port?) to an office on the top floor
2. First floor has another switch connecting several cameras, and again a cable is already available to uplink (G1 port?) to the top floor office.
3. Second floor (office floor), again several cameras with cable all ran into the office.

Both NVR's reside in the office.

The camera's on the top floor will connect directly to the POE ports on the NVR itself.

The NVR's will need to connect to a hub/switch (via their LAN ports) which also has the uplinks from the Ground and First floor connected. This switch will also have a connection to the gateway for Internet breakout and also running a DHCP server. (It's a seperated LAN from the office network)

Q3: So this is where my first doubt has come in, can I still add cameras to the NVR if they are on the Hikvision POE switch, say it's got 5 camera connected directly to the NVR and I want to add 10 others residing on the LAN side of the NVR. I did try this but got a message saying I couldn't add anymore cameras ( I can see the blank squares on the NVR's screen which I'm assuming are related to each of the ports on back).

Q4: Should I use SADP to set Static IP's on all the cameras on the switch, or will they happily work effectivly if issued via a DHCP server?
Q5: Should I also set an IP on the switches themselves in the same IP range of the cameras/NVR Lan side?

Theortically it all sounds right, but I wanted to see if their where any obvious fails in this setup that I'm not aware of (outside of the questions I already have)

I've other concerns about the quality of some of the cameras, especially the fisheye one but I can deal with that seperately. I just want to start by getting everything talking to one another.

Hope that makes sense and any feedback, advice, recommended guides etc is muchly appreciated.

TIA

 

[Dan]

Hi @BOneZee

Answers below:

Q1: The NVRs can't physically be linked together, but you can use software like iVMS-4200 or a 3rd-party VMS (Video Management Software) which allow you to add multiple NVRs and then you can mix cameras from both NVRs in one live view/playback layout.

Q2: Yes, the 16-channel models you have are limited to 16 cameras, these can either be all directly connected to the built-in PoE switch, all connected over the local network via your PoE switches, or a mix of both. (e.g. 8 x directly connected / 8 x remotely connected) - This is also the answer to Q3

Q3: In addition to what I have said above, it sounds like you are trying to add the remote cameras via the direct monitor. To do this we recommend that you go to the camera menu and select one of the channels that is not being used for a directly connected camera, click the edit icon, switch the channel to Manual instead of Plug & Play, enter the remote cameras IP address and username & password, and then save those settings. after around a minute the camera should connect.

Q4: You can use DHCP in SADP to assign available IP addresses, but we would recommend after an address has been assigned that you disable DHCP so that the camera is fixed to an IP address. If you leave them with DHCP enabled and the power cycles due to a power cut or when firmware updates and the camera reboots may cause the cameras to look for and jump to a new IP address, which will cause the camera to disconnect from the NVR.

Q5: Your switches are Smart Managed models which does mean you can set IP addresses for them to access some more advanced functions, but the basic PoE/network functions of the switch will work without you logging into the switch.

 

[BOneZee]

Hi @BOneZee

Answers below:

Q1: The NVRs can't physically be linked together, but you can use software like iVMS-4200 or a 3rd-party VMS (Video Management Software) which allow you to add multiple NVRs and then you can mix cameras from both NVRs in one live view/playback layout.

Q2: Yes, the 16-channel models you have are limited to 16 cameras, these can either be all directly connected to the built-in PoE switch, all connected over the local network via your PoE switches, or a mix of both. (e.g. 8 x directly connected / 8 x remotely connected) - This is also the answer to Q3

Q3: In addition to what I have said above, it sounds like you are trying to add the remote cameras via the direct monitor. To do this we recommend that you go to the camera menu and select one of the channels that is not being used for a directly connected camera, click the edit icon, switch the channel to Manual instead of Plug & Play, enter the remote cameras IP address and username & password, and then save those settings. after around a minute the camera should connect.

Q4: You can use DHCP in SADP to assign available IP addresses, but we would recommend after an address has been assigned that you disable DHCP so that the camera is fixed to an IP address. If you leave them with DHCP enabled and the power cycles due to a power cut or when firmware updates and the camera reboots may cause the cameras to look for and jump to a new IP address, which will cause the camera to disconnect from the NVR.

Q5: Your switches are Smart Managed models which does mean you can set IP addresses for them to access some more advanced functions, but the basic PoE/network functions of the switch will work without you logging into the switch.

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the prompt reply that really helps clarify some points.

Thank you.