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I have two IP cameras with Ethernet connectivity (TV-IP313PI from TrendNet). The cameras are identical models and have unique MAC addresses. The two cameras are connected to an unmanaged Industrial network switch (Advantech EKI-2528I-BE). A router (GL-AR300M-ext from Gl.iNet) running OpenWrt (with DHCP server) is also connected to the network switch. The system is being setup to provide camera access to a remote field site for university (academic) research and the hardware has been chosen to be power-efficient, small and requiring 12V from a battery and solar panel system.
The two cameras perform well when connected to another network switch (such as a US-8-60W-US from Ubiquiti Networks) and associated Ubiquiti hardware.
However, when connected to the unmanaged network switch and the OpenWrt router, the cameras exhibit strange behavior.
The strange behavior:
- When both cameras are connected at the same time to the switch, only one camera is found in the NAT table.
- The same behavior occurs when both cameras are set to static IP addresses and also dynamic IP addresses provided by a DHCP server running on the OpenWrt router.
- When the cameras are initially plugged in, there is a sporadic problem where sometimes the Ethernet port status LEDs on the switch will turn off. In other words, one camera will have status LEDs that are blinking, whereas the other camera will have no status LEDs visible. Sometimes this will happen, sometimes not.
The particulars:
- Both cameras are adequately powered using a 12V power supply.
- I have tried the cameras with and without static DHCP leases and the same behavior occurs
- I've tested the Ethernet cables with a cable tester and both are performing normally.
- The Ethernet cables are commercial (not made by hand) and are less than 25 ft long.
- There is only one PHY per camera, unlike this question (https://serverfault.com/questions/974273/ive-encountered-a-strange-network-interface-is-this-a-standard-practice)
My suspicions:
- There is a problem with UPnP as implemented by the cameras
- The embedded network stack of the cameras is not completely compliant with the router
- Problems arise due to the auto MDI/MDI-X feature of the switch
- The Ethernet cables are Cat7 and are being used since they are rated for outdoor applications. I've used these Cat7 cables without any issues for other devices, but there could be a signal integrity issue.
I would like to have both cameras accessible on the network and connected to the network switch. What can I do?
UPDATE
As indicated by @AppleOddity in the comments, this appears to be a problem with powering the cameras. I used a PoE injector to power both of the cameras and the problems go away. Both cameras have an IP address on the network when the power is provided as PoE. This is strange since the cameras are supposedly designed to be powered using the barrel jack connector as well. However, with a PoE injector, the problems go away. I'm not certain why this is the case, since testing the cameras with a barrel jack DC input seemed to work well on my lab bench, but other contributions as answers to this question are welcome.
Nicholas Kinar
Posted 2019-12-18T01:40:29.257
Reputation: 131
1Are these units powered directly by two independent 12v power supplies? The ubiquiti switch you mentioned is a PoE switch. The switch is probably supplying power. The industrial switch is also PoE. The cameras are probably designed to use PoE rather than any external power. This is most definitely a power delivery issue or something related to PoE functionality. Is there any indication the camera has power when it is not functioning? – Appleoddity – 2019-12-18T01:53:13.270
1Also, how long are the power cables you are using? – Appleoddity – 2019-12-18T02:03:14.807
1I think I made a mistake on the advantech being PoE. Regardless, my initial assessment that this is a power issue remains. The ubiquiti switch is probably supplying power, so that is something to keep in mind. – Appleoddity – 2019-12-18T02:22:13.177
@Appleoddity that is a good assessment. I've tried to power both cameras using two independent power supplies (two AC to 12VDC adapters) and a supply where both cameras are connected in parallel with a 12V DC source. The AC-to-DC adapters have a power cable length of about 3 ft whereas the other supply consists of two separate 20 ft cables connected to each camera by a barrel jack. The problem is present for both power configurations. Tomorrow I will try a 48V power injector for PoE and report back what I find. – Nicholas Kinar – 2019-12-18T02:32:15.800
@Appleoddity Yes indeed, the Ubiquiti switch is auto PoE and is supplying power over the Ethernet cable when each camera is connected to the Ubiquiti switch. – Nicholas Kinar – 2019-12-18T02:39:32.167
?? You've determined exactly that the problem is related to (unmanaged network switch + OpenWrt router). Why are you looking for a reason in their powering? Try to exclude one of the devices in problematic pair by replacing it with another analoguos by the function or by connecting the cameras to another device directly - maybe one of these devices causes a problem, maybe as a pair only... It makes no sense to search "why" until you know "what". – Akina – 2019-12-18T05:05:18.960
@Appleoddity You were absolutely right. Using a PoE power injector fixed the problem and now both cameras have an IP address on the network. It is strange that 12V@1A applied to the barrel jack does not adequately power these cameras. Can you write up your solution as an answer? I will mark the answer as correct. Thanks for your help. – Nicholas Kinar – 2019-12-19T01:22:53.277
The update looks like a solution. Solutions may appear in the question if they are insufficient / flawed / inconvenient / whatever and therefore you want us to know what to exclude and provide other solution(s). Solutions that are acceptable should be posted as answers, not edits to the question. – Kamil Maciorowski – 2019-12-19T02:24:35.237