Arthur
Honorary Master
Bigboy529, your setup should work fine. And using a HIKvision NVR makes everything very easy.
I have a HIKvision DS-7716NI-SP NVR with 12 x 3 megapel cams attached, all PoE from the NVR. The NVR is connected to the Ethernet network at home, and that has a modem/router which connects to the WAN (internet). I can of course access the cams on the local network, and I use the iVMS-4500 app on my mobile to view the cams from anywhere. I can also log in from any browser anywhere else on the planet and also view any cam. Motion detection zones are set up for each cam so recording to disk (in the NVR) starts as soon as movement is detected.
Of course you already know that each device on your network has a unique IP address. You can set these to be pretty much what you want, within certain parameters. These are called "internal IP adresses" because they are on your internal network - other people on their own discrete internal networks can use the same IP addresses without issue.
When you connect to the internet, your ISP assigns your modem/router a unique IP address, aka "external" or WAN address. This external address is what identifies your modem/router on the internet, and is used to route bits and bytes between your own internal network and other devices (such as servers with websites) on the internet.
Here's the key point: this external IP address assigned by your ISP changes from time to time. It is dynamic. You might get a different one every time your modem/router connects to the internet. Your ISP can change it every day.
When you access the internet from inside your local network (LAN), your modem/router handles all the internal and external addressing automatically and routes the correct bits to the correct device (your PCs, cameras, NVR, etc). It doesn't matter if the external address changes - that is quite transparent to you.
The problem comes in when you want to access devices on your own internal network from outside, ie from the internet. This is what you want to do - access your cameras from the internet using your cellphone or a PC. In order to do so, you need to know what the unique (and variable) external IP address is for your modem/router, so you can link to that address and from there pass through to the devices (such as PCs, NVR and cams) on your internal network.
But since your ISP changes your external IP address from time to time, how do you know what that address is?
Fortunately there is a solution, and it is widely used: Take out a subscription (usually free) at one of the many services on the internet where you can define a unique name for your internal network, and then use that unique unchanging name to access your private network from the internet. This service is called a Dynamic DNS service, sometimes shortened to DDNS. This is the "static IP" that you use in your program and it links to your changing (dynamic) modem/router external IP address.
Of course, for this to work properly, (1) the service needs to be available 24/7, (2) the static name you select must be unique on the entire internet, (3) that unique name must be linked to your changing external IP address, and (4) it must be constantly updated whenever your ISP changes your external IP address.
HIKvision offer their own Dynamic DNS service. It's also built-in to their NVR (as are a few others). It's on their own domain www.hik-online.com. I would not use it. Why? Because baddies and voyeurs on the internet know about this (and most other camera domains) and scan constantly trying to hack into your system.
I use DynDNS. org, and have taken out a paid subscription for the Pro service. They're one of the older and more established dynamic DNS service providers, with a good reputation. You can search the internet for other services.
How does the static name know what your changing IP address is? Almost all modem/routers have a built-in ability to update your unique static name with the current external IP address on your network. So, too, does the HIKvision NVR. If you run a PC 24/7, then you can even download a program and have it sniff your IP address and update the static name's link. By far the easiest is to have your modem/router do it for you. That way you can configure and forget - whenever your ISP changes your external IP your modem/router will detect that change and automatically update the static name with your new IP address.
Once these basics are set up, you will need to configure your modem/router so it knows which device you are trying to access from outside. This is done in the section called NAT - Network Address Translation. NAT basically maps one set of IP addresses to another, so your external IPs are mapped to the right internal IP for each device, allowing access from the outside.
You will also have to configure your firewall to allow defined traffic through certain ports used by the services. If you are not familiar with this stuff, you will probably need to use someone who does know networking.
Once this is done, download and install the iVMS-4500 app on your smartphone. Configure it to access your static name as defined on the DDNS service, and specify the server port for the NVR. If all is correctly done, you should be able to view your cams from anywhere, replay recorded past events, and take photos and video clips.
Of course you should enter the correct info and creds for your particular setup.
To save bandwidth, the smartphone program uses the low-bandwidth streams from your cameras. If you need high-res images, these are recorded on the hard disk in your NVR, and can be accessed locally when you need them.
One thing before I go for coffee: have the installer change the Server Port number on the HIKvision NVR. Its default is 8000, and this is known by hackers. In the pic above I used 92075, but that's just a dummy for the pic.
Good luck!
I have a HIKvision DS-7716NI-SP NVR with 12 x 3 megapel cams attached, all PoE from the NVR. The NVR is connected to the Ethernet network at home, and that has a modem/router which connects to the WAN (internet). I can of course access the cams on the local network, and I use the iVMS-4500 app on my mobile to view the cams from anywhere. I can also log in from any browser anywhere else on the planet and also view any cam. Motion detection zones are set up for each cam so recording to disk (in the NVR) starts as soon as movement is detected.
Since no-one is born with networking knowledge, here are some basic concepts that might help you to get going and determine exactly how you wish to proceed. Apols if some of this is too basic, but it might help others get their heads around the elementary concepts in layman's terms:
Of course you already know that each device on your network has a unique IP address. You can set these to be pretty much what you want, within certain parameters. These are called "internal IP adresses" because they are on your internal network - other people on their own discrete internal networks can use the same IP addresses without issue.
When you connect to the internet, your ISP assigns your modem/router a unique IP address, aka "external" or WAN address. This external address is what identifies your modem/router on the internet, and is used to route bits and bytes between your own internal network and other devices (such as servers with websites) on the internet.
Here's the key point: this external IP address assigned by your ISP changes from time to time. It is dynamic. You might get a different one every time your modem/router connects to the internet. Your ISP can change it every day.
When you access the internet from inside your local network (LAN), your modem/router handles all the internal and external addressing automatically and routes the correct bits to the correct device (your PCs, cameras, NVR, etc). It doesn't matter if the external address changes - that is quite transparent to you.
The problem comes in when you want to access devices on your own internal network from outside, ie from the internet. This is what you want to do - access your cameras from the internet using your cellphone or a PC. In order to do so, you need to know what the unique (and variable) external IP address is for your modem/router, so you can link to that address and from there pass through to the devices (such as PCs, NVR and cams) on your internal network.
But since your ISP changes your external IP address from time to time, how do you know what that address is?
Fortunately there is a solution, and it is widely used: Take out a subscription (usually free) at one of the many services on the internet where you can define a unique name for your internal network, and then use that unique unchanging name to access your private network from the internet. This service is called a Dynamic DNS service, sometimes shortened to DDNS. This is the "static IP" that you use in your program and it links to your changing (dynamic) modem/router external IP address.
Of course, for this to work properly, (1) the service needs to be available 24/7, (2) the static name you select must be unique on the entire internet, (3) that unique name must be linked to your changing external IP address, and (4) it must be constantly updated whenever your ISP changes your external IP address.
HIKvision offer their own Dynamic DNS service. It's also built-in to their NVR (as are a few others). It's on their own domain www.hik-online.com. I would not use it. Why? Because baddies and voyeurs on the internet know about this (and most other camera domains) and scan constantly trying to hack into your system.
I use DynDNS. org, and have taken out a paid subscription for the Pro service. They're one of the older and more established dynamic DNS service providers, with a good reputation. You can search the internet for other services.
How does the static name know what your changing IP address is? Almost all modem/routers have a built-in ability to update your unique static name with the current external IP address on your network. So, too, does the HIKvision NVR. If you run a PC 24/7, then you can even download a program and have it sniff your IP address and update the static name's link. By far the easiest is to have your modem/router do it for you. That way you can configure and forget - whenever your ISP changes your external IP your modem/router will detect that change and automatically update the static name with your new IP address.
Once these basics are set up, you will need to configure your modem/router so it knows which device you are trying to access from outside. This is done in the section called NAT - Network Address Translation. NAT basically maps one set of IP addresses to another, so your external IPs are mapped to the right internal IP for each device, allowing access from the outside.
You will also have to configure your firewall to allow defined traffic through certain ports used by the services. If you are not familiar with this stuff, you will probably need to use someone who does know networking.
Once this is done, download and install the iVMS-4500 app on your smartphone. Configure it to access your static name as defined on the DDNS service, and specify the server port for the NVR. If all is correctly done, you should be able to view your cams from anywhere, replay recorded past events, and take photos and video clips.
Of course you should enter the correct info and creds for your particular setup.
To save bandwidth, the smartphone program uses the low-bandwidth streams from your cameras. If you need high-res images, these are recorded on the hard disk in your NVR, and can be accessed locally when you need them.
One thing before I go for coffee: have the installer change the Server Port number on the HIKvision NVR. Its default is 8000, and this is known by hackers. In the pic above I used 92075, but that's just a dummy for the pic.
Good luck!
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