Subscriber Discussion

Help - Network Problem With Sony IP Camera

AP
Aditya Prabhu
Jun 07, 2014

Folks, have been pressed with a peculiar problem. When we "Ping" the Sony HD IP Camera, we seem to loose data packets and it returns with data loss or no reply. On the Other Hand, when we Connect a Standard Laptop to the same Port, the Ping Reply is Perfect. This is not a Typical Product issue. We have used a couple of other Spare Cameras and the Result is the Same. Is there a Setting that we are missing on the Camera or the Network. If its the Network we need to Inform with Logic the Results to the IT Team. if its with the Camera, we need advise on this. Will be reaching out to the OEM too, but wanted to know if any of you have faced this problem before with a Concrete Solution.

Cheers! Thanks!!

DM
Duncan Miller
Jun 07, 2014

Have you certified the network line? If not can you get your hands on a certifier? Using the Ping command is not a acceptable way of testing a network cable and without a proper certification report you can't rule out the cabling and terminations.

AP
Aditya Prabhu
Jun 07, 2014

Challenge - IT Network done by the Customer. So getting an External Network Engineer is a long shot.

BUT - is there any specifics when you say that the "Ping Command is not an Acceptable way of Testing a Network Cable"....is there a Network Testing Tool ? Procedure ?
Thanks for your Reply. Taking me Closer to the Solution
SP
Sharvil Patel
Jun 07, 2014

Aditya, besides a couple of suggestions I've made above/below, you should try a network cable tester ($10-$20~onwards), to see if your cable pin-out is correct. The cable has to be either straight-thru' or a cross-over, depending how it's used with your camera.

A lot of people make mistake of just using random pin-out on either ends of a network cable to make it straight-thru' or cross-over, without following T568A / T568B standard, but I've seen this more oftenly leads to problems like yours. ALWAYS ensure your network cable is terminated using IEEE T568A / T568B standards.

Check for any video-streaming issues too directly from the camera, for packet-loss etc to confirm your pinging problem.

RW
Rukmini Wilson
Jun 07, 2014

Aditya, can you connect your Standard Laptop to your Sony Camera with a crossover and ping it? Just to isolate. You will either need to setup the camera wih a static ip or make the laptop a dhcp server. If the camera is POE only though it gets tricky...

SP
Sharvil Patel
Jun 07, 2014

Check your ARP / PING settings on the camera/s.

JH
John Honovich
Jun 07, 2014
IPVM

Sharvil,

Can you elaborate? What is a PING setting on a camera?

SP
Sharvil Patel
Jun 07, 2014

Sometimes ping / ARP packets are blocked on IP devices for security purposes. This includes routers, managed switches, cameras etc.

JH
John Honovich
Jun 07, 2014
IPVM

Pinging is enabled by default on Sony IP cameras and I can find no reference in their manual for a setting to disable it.

SP
Sharvil Patel
Jun 07, 2014

Besides checking PING / ARP settings, the best testing would be to plug in the camera one-one-one to your PC / Laptop using cross-over and check for any abnormalities. This way you limit your problem to only 3 entities - the camera, the cable and the pinging device (PC / Laptop). You've got to take a 'process-of-elimination' intitiative to derive conclusion.

JA
J. A. 'Cal' Calcaterra
Jun 07, 2014

Basic items to validate. Distance from connector to connector. Is it POE? Does the Sony camera have LEDS at the connector? A green link(?) Led and an amber/white flashing data LED (when data is present). The cable run is free of electrical interference. Were the connectors afixed at the sight? There are two types of connectors that are easily mixed up. One for solid strand copper and one for twisted strand copper. Is the cable shielded? More after breakfast. :-)

Avatar
Luis Carmona
Jun 07, 2014
Geutebruck USA • IPVMU Certified

If the customer is responsible for the network, all I would think you would need to do is just verify the camera is working. If you can direct connect or locally connect to the camera and do a continuous ping test (ping -t xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) for at least 10 minustes or so without dropped packets (or I would say 1 or 2 packets in a 10 minute timeframe would be acceptable), and get live video from the camera by using the web interface on your laptop, and if you certify whatever jumpers or short cables you may have used connecting the camera to the customer's network, then you've discounted the camera being the problem.

But if you can't explain with confidence to the customer why your equipment is not the problem, then you may need to subcontract an experianced network technician who can confidently say the problem is not your equipment, but their network.

You may have properly used techniques and procedures to verify your equipment is working, but sometimes it's not just about doing the procedure, it's about having the confidence in your words that you know what is or isn't. And your'e really going to need an experianced and knowledgeable network person working on your staff if you are going to be attaching more security stuff on customers' networks, because IT staff will always blame and make you troubleshoot your stuff first so they don't have to do the work if they don't have to. That is just the way most of them are.

Avatar
Marty Major
Jun 07, 2014
Teledyne FLIR

Please clarify this statement: "when we Connect a Standard Laptop to the same Port"

Are you connecting the laptop with it's own cable 'to the same port'?

Or - are you using the same cable that the camera (and the replacement cameras you also tested 'on this port') was using to connect to that port?

AP
Aditya Prabhu
Jun 08, 2014
So guys - thanks for all the help. Great insights., Preliminary observation - 1. Cable from Network Switch to Cam could be a point of failure, will check this out 2. However, I understand from our team that when they connect a cross cable to the camera using the same cable as above, there is no packet loss. I am starting the eliminating problem issue from tomorrow and will keep you guys updated. Thanks a lot.
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