Topic: IP camera - external access?

[natsys]

Okay guys ... first post ... go easy please!

I'm running SME v7 beta and I have an ip camera on my lan that I would like to access from external locations. I used to be able to do this with another server product where I mapped the external ip to the internal one and it was easy but I can't see a similar facility in SME. Can I have your 'polite' suggestions please??

Cheers .. Tom.

[mapangojoe]

Hello.  You just need to "portforward" access from the internet to your camera.  Assuming you are using SME 6x, in the server-manager panel, click on port forward, and create a port forward rule.  

If your server is 192.168.0.1, and your camera is .2, I would create a rule like:
forward port 8888 to 192.168.0.2, port 80.  

You will then be able to access your IP camera like this,

http://Http://myexternalIPaddress:8888

I hope that makes sense!

Chris Curtis

[natsys]

Thanks Chris ....

I followed your instructions but I'm afraid it didn't work. I didn't get a response and the timeout seems to be very long so I quit. I tried the domain, the IP adddress, a TCP rule and a UDP rule and I even tried to include the camera login username and password - http://username:password@domain:8888 but still nothing.

Thanks meantime ... Tom.

[wsmeurope]

The navigator you use to access you cam web page is important; I have a Linksys WVC11B network cam and I can't connet with Firefox, I can only connect with M$ IE with the linksys video plug-in loaded.

I use also SME 7.0b5

[natsys]

Thanks for the browser comment.  I have tried IEv6 as well and it has just the same problem as Firefox.  I can however use either Firefox or IE to successfully connect directly to the camera on the internal lan. Also worth mentioning; in the past when I was using a different network server, I could connect externally using both browsers, but this was by mapping a public IP to the internal camera. I feel it's either the syntax I'm using or there's something amiss with my SME setup.  The camera is an Axis 2100. ...

Cheers ... Tom.

[Archangel]

I have the same setup (IP Camera) and it works wonderfully and I can access it externally.  I am using SME server 6.01.

This is how I did mine.

IP cam address is 192.168.2.2, and I am using port 81 to access it internally and externally.

Port Forwarding menu
TCP, port 81, 192.168.2.2, 81

Next, make sure your camera is also set to be browsed at port 81.

You're done.  I hope this helps ya.

Archangel

[natsys]

Thanks Archangel .... I hate to say that it still doesn't work!  The only difference would appear to be the version of SME being used; I'm using v7.0beta4.

Thank you anyway for taking the time to post your suggestion and ... enjoy your camera!

Cheers .. Tom.

[Archangel]

hmmn... btw this is how I access my camera from internal or external....  www.arkanjel.com:81

Archangel

[wsmeurope]

I use my webcam externally with the same port forwarding rule than Archangel on a sme v7.0Beta5 and it works. Try to upgrade b4 to b5.

[NickR]

It's *really* important that you set the netmask & gateway address correctly to view the camera externally.  It doesn't matter when you are local because you can connect directly to it.

I've been caught like this myself when moving cameras between subnets.

[natsys]

Thanks for the suggestions but I still seem to be hitting a brick wall!   There's most likely something simple going on here but I just can't put my finger on it.

wsmeurope - I have not been successful at creating a new v7.0beta5 installation CD so haven't been able to try that yet.  I downloaded the image twice and have attempted burning on two separate PCs but I still get the pre-inatallation CD check telling me that they are dud disks; despite the MD5 keys checking out.  Now, 6 burning attempts later, I don't feel confident that I'm dealing with a good source so can anyone comment on their success (or not) in creating a good installation CD from the current v7.0beta5 iso image?

NickR - The camera netmask and gateway info you refer to are just the same as I used previously (with success) so I am reluctant to suspect anything there. Thanks though.

Archangel - I can see your login page ... it's exactly what I want so your configuration there is obviously correct ... this of course gives me the correct focus to say that based on your previous advice, I'm trying the right things. Thank you.

I'll go over everything again with a fine-tooth-comb and see if I can come up with anything that might have been missed.  Thanks guys.

... Tom.

[wsmeurope]

ftp client download at :

http://mirror.contribs.org/smeserver/releases/7/iso/smeserver.iso

[Archangel]

Hi Tom,

What kind of net cam do you have?  Does it have a network connection setting menu?  If so, make sure that you have the correct HTTP Port keyed in there, i.e. port 81.  This port number must be the same as the one you set in the port forwarding rule.

AA

[natsys]

Sorry for the long absense ... been away.

The camera is an Axis 2100.  I've just (eventually) had the chance to upgrade to v7beta5 and it has made no difference - yet again!  I'm going to have to park this for a while but I really do appreciate your help guys.

All the best .. Tom.

[pfloor]

Tom,

Are you using the server behind any kind of dsl or cable router/firewall?

Paul

[natsys]

Hello Paul ... yes I am.

It's a Draytek 2600 configured for no NAT.

Tom.

[pfloor]

Tom,

By that do you mean you have it bridged and the SME server is using the public ip address on it's external ethernet adapter?

Does the server have 2 network adapters and is it setup in server/gateway mode?

Was the previous server that worked hooked up to the exact same router with the exact same settings?

Paul

[Archangel]

How exactly do you have your LAN set up?  Is it like this one below?
 
                  Internet
                     |
                   Router
                     |
                 SME Server
                     |
                 Hub/Switch
                     |
       computers, ip cam, printers, etc.

AA

[natsys]

Paul / Archangel ... thanks ...

AA - I'm not an expert so please bear with me.  This configuration was set up by a 'learned' friend of mine who's off sailing on the high seas right now. As far as I can see and am aware of, the router passes IP requests to eth1 which has a public IP.  The server does indeed have 2 NICs and it does operate in server/gateway mode. And 'yes', the previous server did work with this configuration.

Paul - Yes, this is precisely how the connectivity is organised.

I feel the answer will be simple, and maybe it's a case of, can't see the forest for the trees!

Thanks to both for your persistence!

... Tom  

[natsys]

Ooops, sorry both ... got your names round the wrong way!

T  

[Archangel]

Hey Tom,

If you are using the SME as a server, then your IPcam issue in within the configuration of your router and not the SME server.  Depending on what kind of router you have check the following website.  It has helped me in the past.

http://portforward.com/

Archangel

[natsys]

AA, thanks ....

The http://portforward.com/ site has a wealth of good info.  I'll spend time studying how to take my router back to a less *non-standard* setup.  This has been in the back of my mind but I had more or less been ignoring it because the previous server setup had worked with it.  It was really this previous server product (Icon,) which had originally been E-BoxIT, then Icon then became HubworX, that was such a good firewall itself, that kinda suggested that the router be configured for no NAT at the time.  Things however have moved on and I feel I need to take the router back to its more standard configuration. This may have as yet undiscovered benefits!

Thanks for the pointers and your patience AA ...

Cheers .. .Tom.

[Ness]

The camera is an Axis 2100.  I've just (eventually) had the chance to upgrade to v7beta5 and it has made no difference - yet again!  I'm going to have to park this for a while but I really do appreciate your help guys.

Tom, I have used an AXIS 2100 successfully, remotely with SME Server 6.0.1.

I established a port forwarding rule that pointed incoming requests for the IP and port of the camers (example 192.168.0.50 port 8080) was available through the public IP of the server on port 8000 (again, an example).

At first it failed yo connect until I realised that the connection was being blocked by my router's firwall settings.

I decided to kill the firewall in the router in preference for the SME's own firewall by configuring the router with a DMZ address that pointed to the server's external address.

After this, all was well.

Does this move you further forward or are you still stuck?

Let us know and good luck.

Chris

[natsys]

Chris, AA, Paul ....

Well, it's working ... and I'm embarrased  

After parking the issue for a while till I had more time, I performed an upgrade to SME 7beta8 and also to my router's firmware.  At first I couldn't communicate with the router to do the upgrade (using its own firmware update utility) but after getting advice from Draytek support that an upgrade was *highly recommended* to my very old version, and helping me out to get it done, it all started to work.  I can only assume that *something* to do with the router had *probably* been causing the original problem. Well, that and my own limited experience!  Anyway, mapping is now via port 81 to 80 on the camera and all's well.

Thanks again guys, I greatly appreciate your patience and advice.

Have a safe and happy Christmas ... Tom

[Ness]

Nice one Tom!

Well done and good luck for the future

Chris

[osiris9510]

Is there a general HOWTO on setting up a security cam in Linux that refreshes to a web page?

[martinhick]

I had exactly thr same kind of problem with my Cameras.

I could view them anywhere on the internal network but not externally despite having set SME to forward the port 8080 (in my case).

After various discussions on this forum it was suggested that I check my router.

That also has a port forwarding capability. I forwarded 8080 and several other ports to the SME box.

Everything now works! even FTP and SSH.

When I checked with grc.com I discovered that most ports were closed, some open. After forwarding these ports to SME they are all now reported as stealthed.

If you try shieldsup (grc.com) you will porbably find that port 8000 is closed (by the router)

Martin

[Archangel]

I am glad you got it to work Tom ...  

Merry Christmas and a blessed new year for you and your family.

AA