ACTI IP camera - losing connection

[chmod755 0]

Hi

 

This is my first post. I've been lurking for a while and hopefully this is the right place to post my question.

 

For my residential setup, I have two ACTi ACM-7411 dome cameras connected to a Netgear 8 port POE switch (FS-108P). This switch is then connected to my home router. All connections are with Cat5 cable and cameras are powered by POE.

 

I'm guessing the length of the cable from the cameras to the POE switch is about 15m (45 feet) and the length of the cable from the POE switch to my home router is about 20m (60 feet).

 

Here's my problem:

 

After some time, (could be a day or a few days), I'm not able to connect to the camera's web server, NVR live video stops and cannot connect, and the camera stops recording video to my ftp site. This happens to one first and then the other one after a day or two. The only way to re-establish the connection is to reboot the cameras.

 

The strange thing is that I'm still able to ping the cameras while this problem occurs.

 

I contacted ACTi tech support and they suggested that my switch is not supplying enough power and that I need a class 3 switch. I wonder how this could be the cause since I'm only connecting two cameras and the total power budget is 32W.

 

Any ideas?

[thewireguys 3]

What vms software are you using?

[ssmith10pn 0]

Check the time on the cameras.

 

We had some of those doing the same thing and after reboot they were on December 31st 1999 23:45.

Like it had a Y2K bug.

I set the date and time and all issues went away.

[ando 0]

It is recommended to use industrial switches (Hirschmann, Ruggedcom, Moxa, Schneider, Cisco, Siemens, Korenix, etc.) instead of consumer switches while building up a security surveillance solution. Any Class 3 switch that does not guarantee 15.4W in ALL PoE ports is not an industrial grade switch. With unstable power supply from PSE, several camera modules might stop working as a protective mechanism, including video, and only remain basic functionality (network adapter, ping works).

 

With the unstable PSE, any manufacturers' camera might eventually fail, whereas the symptoms of the failure might be different depending on the design of the camera.

[ssmith10pn 0]

So Ando,

Did you just dismiss what I said above?

I had 8 7411's do as I described with a Geovision NVR and Layer 3 Cisco POE switch.

[chmod755 0]

@thewireguys: I'm using ACTi's bundled VMS.

 

@ssmith10pn: The date/time is synchronized with NTP time servers so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

@ando: I guess I should start looking for a better switch.

 

Any recommendations? I'm on a budget. How's this one:

 

http://us.zyxel.com/Products/details.aspx?PC1IndexFlag=20040520161143&CategoryGroupNo=B191241C-31C6-465A-A199-C7B3BB0F9248

[mike_va 0]

After some time, (could be a day or a few days), I'm not able to connect to the camera's web server, NVR live video stops and cannot connect, and the camera stops recording video to my ftp site. This happens to one first and then the other one after a day or two. The only way to re-establish the connection is to reboot the cameras.

I had a similar problem with a 4200 in addition to artifacting, returned it.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

@thewireguys: I'm using ACTi's bundled VMS.

 

@ssmith10pn: The date/time is synchronized with NTP time servers so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

@ando: I guess I should start looking for a better switch.

 

Any recommendations? I'm on a budget. How's this one:

 

http://us.zyxel.com/Products/details.aspx?PC1IndexFlag=20040520161143&CategoryGroupNo=B191241C-31C6-465A-A199-C7B3BB0F9248

 

I just installed a few of these zyxel switches at a school where we installed a number of TCM3511. I found them to be real easy to work with and very reliable so far, install only makes a little over a month now.

 

For the 7411's we are in a cold environment so we have to power them via a separate 12 source due to the heater, however, my office demo ACM7411has been powered by a zyxel switch for a while now with no issues. Using exacq for the NVR software.

[chmod755 0]

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

I left only one ACM-7411 plugged into my current netgear switch and it's been up for several days now so I'm sure the problem was the inability of my switch to supply enough power.

 

I've just ordered the Cisco SF302-08MP which is able to supply 15.4W per port. It has 8 ports and a total power budget of 124W. The price is reasonable too.

[scuba-junky 0]

I've been searching around for a reasonably priced PoE switch that can provide enough power for 4-6 cameras. I want something that is as dependable as possible for my budget <$250. Some of the newer ACTi cameras seem to want all 15 watts and I've read (here and elsewhere) where several consumer switches are failing to provide enough power and causing some pretty flaky network problems.

 

Two of the switches I've been looking at are the TRENDnet TPE-80WS and the Zyxel ES2108PWR. Can someone tell me if either one of these switches are dependable enough for IP Camera Security System? Are either designed for "small business" or "commercial" use?

[beukenoot 0]

I have exactly the same problem. constantly needing to reset the camera's by taking the utp out and in the switch. The switch was also the same, Netgear FS108p, only I have the Acti ip camera's KCM-5211E and KCM-7211. After reading this thread I also replaced my switch by a Cisco SF302-08P but unfortunately it didn't help.

 

@chmod755: You got the Cisco SF302-08MP (mine doesn't have the M). Did replacing the switch help for you?

[buellwinkle 0]

I use a $50 switch from Trendnet with 4 cameras per switch and all ACTi cameras, all with illuminators so they use more power than the acm-7411 and one with a motorized zoom and never have trouble with cameras dropping signal. So it could be the switch is bad or you have a cable issue.

[kifaru 0]

Wow....I was seeing the exact same symptom with my ACTi 7811, it would loose conectivity & the only thing I can do is reboot it. My cameras are connected to an 8 port Netgear GS110TP. 1 Acti & 3 Dahua 2 MP & 1.3MP cameras. Every once in a while it would stop recording video to a Dahua 16 Channel NVR. Will be testing in a week or 2 with a Cisco 8 port 3650 catalyst switch.

[beukenoot 0]

I now have them running in a test setting with short cables of 2 meters. So it seems that my cables are too long (40 meters). Now I wonder, could I use a stronger PoE injector? Could even a PoE+ inject be used or would it damage the camera's?

[buellwinkle 0]

Check the specs on the cameras. I know the TCM-7811 needs 12V if it's used in cold climate (not an issue today) and I know then fan comes on when it's warmer and that may be using more power than some injectors but I've had no trouble with using a cheapie Trendnet $50-60 8 port PoE switch.

[Kawboy12R 0]

This is a bit late (doing database searching on ACTi cameras) but I was wondering if those with flaky power issues were using home crimped cables? Poorly crimped RJ45 ends can cause intermittency issues far enough apart that you think that the cables are good. BTDT when I first started crimping my own. Some'll work quite well for a while but gradually get worse as the poor connection heats up, fails, cools, starts working, heats up, fails, etc.