Using IP Finder For Bulk IP Assignment

How To Use DW IP Finder™ For Bulk IP Assignment

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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS, DW IP Finder™
Complexity:  Medium

Software Version: IP Finder v4.4.1 or later

Last Update: October 6, 2020

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Bulk IP Address Assignment

Adding cameras can be a time consuming process, especially if the cameras need to be assigned to an IP address scheme that differs from the default settings.  DW IP Finder™ simplifies this process with a Bulk IP Assignment function that allows you to change the IP address of several Digital Watchdog MEGApix® IP cameras all at once.

This article will outline how to use the DW IP Finder™ tool to locate locally connected Digital Watchdog MEGApix® IP cameras and assign IP addresses to multiple cameras as a group.

**Note:  DW IP Finder™ is only supported by Windows operating systems.

**Note:  Please be aware that DW IP Finder™ will only be able to find Digital Watchdog branded IP cameras.

Supported / Affected Devices:

• DW Blackjack® Server Series (Windows OS)
• MEGApix® IP Camera Series

Additional Resources

The Digital Watchdog knowledge base features informative articles for self-help.

The following articles may be of interest to you:

• MEGApix IP Cameras Default Address List
• Adding New Cameras To The Network
• Assigning A Static Address To An Individual IP Camera
• Assigning Passwords to MEGApix Cameras
• Configuring Device Authentication in DW Spectrum IPVMS
• Configuring Windows Firewall for DW IP Finder

Assigning IP Addresses: 

1. Open the DW IP Finder™ tool.

DW Blackjack® Servers (Windows) should already have DW IP Finder™ installed. If you need to update or install DW IP Finder™, you can acquire the latest version from the DW IP Finder product page, under the Software tab.

2. Set the Network setting to scan the NIC that is communicating with the camera network, then click “Scan Devices”.  DW IP Finder™ will then display the detected Digital Watchdog devices within that subnetwork.

3. Check the box next to each camera that you wish to affect and click “Bulk IP Assignment”to continue.

In the popup menu, set the Start Range and End Range of the desired IP addresses that will be applied to the cameras.

Enter the Gateway for that network, enter the camera login (default: admin/admin), then click “Assign”.

**Note: The quantity of IP addresses between the Start Range and End Range must be the same as the number of devices that will be assigned.  For example, selecting a range of 192.168.100.2 – 192.168.100.5 is the equivalent of four (4) devices.

If there is a conflict with another device that is already assigned to one of the IP addresses that falls under the IP Address Range, DW IP Finder™ will inform you as so.

4. Once the process has been completed for each camera, you will be notified.

Click on “Scan Devices” again to confirm that all of the cameras have been assigned the IP addresses as desired.

Repeat this process as needed.  You may proceed with adding the cameras to your DW Spectrum® Server.