DW Spectrum - ADT I-View Now Integration
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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS
Software Version: DW Spectrum v4.2 or higher; I-View Now v1.0 or higher
Last Edit: November 18, 2021
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ADT’s I-View Now software is intended to be used as a cloud-based service that allows their users to remotely manage and respond to security alerts from their ADT security setup. When integrated with a DW Spectrum system, ADT customers can experience the convenience of the I-View Now software with the robust processing and archive management of the DW Spectrum IPVMS platform.
This article will outline how to set up the I-View Now Portal and connect with a DW Spectrum System to configure event rule settings.
Once the Video Management System (VMS) has been set up and is ready for testing with I-View Now.
The following illustration shows the path of two message flows comprising a typical “video verification” scenario.
The I-View user can then view one or more consecutive alarm event video clips as they arrive from the I-View Now portal on the mobile application or by a web browser on a PC or tablet device.
The I-View Now Portal Installation Worksheet is a document that can be created after adding the server device to the I-View Now site.
**NOTE TO THE INSTALLER: It is recommended that Installers generate this sheet from the system before attempting to set up the I-View Now site for integration with I-View Now as it will help to keep track of the DW Spectrum login information, as well as the means that will be used to send SMTP messages back to the I-View Now server. There is a place on the form for documenting the public/external IP Address (Location IP Address) that will be used by the onsite Internet-facing router to identify over the Internet/WAN.
In addition, the necessary DW Spectrum network ports will need to be port forwarded on the router and should be documented on this form. This address information must be entered into the I-viewnow.com system to allow I-View Now to identify the external IP address and ports that are used to communicate from the recording site, through the router, and to the I-View Now platform.
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A portion of an example worksheet is displayed below:
You can retrieve the public/external IP address of the network that is hosting the DW Spectrum server hardware by asking the customer’s IT department for the public IP address of the main, Internet-facing router. Alternatively, you may visit http://whatismyip.org while onsite and connected to the local network to obtain the public IP address of the router.
Be sure to verify with the IT department that the external IP address you are using is valid as a target for the I-View Now servers. The IT Site Administration must enable port forwarding from their router/firewalls with the IP and port information of the DW Spectrum Server. This will allow the DW Spectrum Server to be accessible from outside of the site’s local network (LAN) for incoming and outgoing messages. The external IP address can then be used by the I-View Now Portal to identify the router and ports that are used to communicate with the server.
The DW Spectrum Server software should be already set up and configured on its supporting hardware before proceeding. If you have yet to do so, you may refer to the self-help setup articles below.
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**NOTE: To reserve processing resources for management of the security system, it is typically advised to avoid using the DW Spectrum Client when also utilizing the DW Spectrum Server hardware (PC) itself. For regular viewing and configuration needs, use of the DW Spectrum Client software on a separate computer is recommended instead.
On the I-View Now Portal Installation Sheet, be sure to document the local IP address of the DW Spectrum server device and the external IP address of the router. The external IP address of the router can be obtained by asking the customer’s IT department for the public IP address of the main, Internet-facing router. Alternatively, you may visit http://whatismyip.org while onsite and connected to the local network to obtain the public IP address of the router.
**NOTE: When using DW Blackjack Series hardware as a DW Spectrum Server, the DW Blackjack unit is set to a DHCP network configuration by default. In this event, a local IP address will be assigned to the unit by the local router that is overseeing the same LAN. This, however, will not affect/change the router’s external IP address.
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To add the DW Spectrum Server device to the I-View Now account, use the I-View Now Portal Installation Sheet as a reference. Otherwise, you will need to know the IP address, port number (7001) and user information of the DW Spectrum Server.
In the displaying Device Configuration page, the Device Identifier (SMTP/E-Mail Address) will display. Copy the Device Identifier (SMTP/E-Mail Address) information as it will be needed when setting up the users and SMTP server settings in the DW Spectrum IPVMS software.
**NOTE: For the sections of Part 2 of this guide, the following steps will occur while using the DW Spectrum IPVMS software.
To set up the Email Notification settings of a DW Spectrum System:
To log in, click on the device tile that represents the DW Spectrum System and enter the login credentials.
To configure the system settings for I-View Now, click on the Main Menu and select “System Administration”.
Click and Enable the “Advanced Settings” toggle in the Outgoing Email Settings. This will allow a more specific setup for the email notification service.
Using the device ID and E-mail information that was provided to you by the I-View Now Portal Device Identifier (SMTP/E-Mail Address) information back in Part 1, Step 5, configure the following:
Click the “Apply” button to save the SMTP email settings for the DW Spectrum System.
Click the “Test” button to have the DW Spectrum System send data packets to test the connection with the I-View Now SMTP server. If the test fails, check that the @ivnview.com email address has been correctly entered.
While using the DW Spectrum Client, any users with administrator permissions can easily prompt and configure IP cameras that have been added to the DW Spectrum System. With the wide variety of IP cameras that are available on the market, the following guidelines have been determined for the best experience.
To configure camera settings through the DW Spectrum Client:
If you intend to click the “More Info” toggle to view advanced information about the camera. For example, the camera’s MAC Address, Camera ID, and other identifiers that can be used to locate the camera within the network if needed.
Use the Recording Schedule grid to set the recording type (record always, motion only, motion + lo-res) as needed.
Under the Motion Recording settings, you can adjust the Pre-Recording and Post-Recording settings to manage the length of video that the pre-alarm and post-alarm footage will archive when the event alarm triggers.
If you make any changes to the Camera Settings, click the “Apply” button to save the settings.
The recommended video quality settings for this I-View Now setup are:
If you would like to provide access to the DW Spectrum System for the new I-View Now user:
To create a new DW Spectrum user profile, click the “New User…” button.
When you have finished configuring the user information, click the “Apply” button to save the settings, then click the “OK” button.
Event Rules are essentially virtual triggers for event notifications that are overseen by the DW Spectrum System. For example, the system can be configured to send email notifications (SMTP) when a specific camera detects motion or when an I/O door sensor detects activity. To accomplish this for I-View Now, custom Event Rules must be created.
In the Event Rules menu, click the “Add” button to create a new rule.
Click the “Apply” button to save the new event rule.
Click the “Add” button to make a new rule and configure the following:
Click the “Apply” button to save the settings.
As this DW Spectrum IPVMS setup is intended for the sole purpose of integration with the I-View Now Portal, it is recommended to disable all other event rules in the DW Spectrum System that are assigned to send email notifications. This is because all email notifications will be sent through the I-View Now proxy service and will otherwise be unreachable to any other destinations.
To disable the additional event rules:
Now that the DW Spectrum System has been configured, please return to the I-View Now Portal.
In the portal, edit the new DW Spectrum site and complete the missing settings with the following information:
IP Address/Hostname |
Use the external IP Address of Internet-facing router that oversees the DW Spectrum Server’s network |
Username |
Use “iviewnow” – the new user that was created in the DW Spectrum Client |
Password |
Use the password that was assigned to the user in the DW Spectrum Client |
Port |
Use the port of the DW Spectrum Server (default – 7001) |
In coordination with the event rules that were created in the DW Spectrum System, Alarm Events will need to be created.
In the I-View Now Portal:
After completing the setup in the I-View Now Portal, you test the communication between the DW Spectrum Server and the I-View Now Portal. You can perform this by using the Test function in the DW Spectrum Client’s Email menu that was referenced in Section 2-1 of this guide.
It is recommended to test that the alarm trigger and Event Rules at the DW Spectrum Server’s location work locally as intended as well.
If the test fails and notifications are not successfully communicating from the DW Spectrum Server out to the I-View Now proxy server: