DW Spectrum – Technical Note – Resolving Camera Video Loss for a Cisco Meraki Setup
-----------------------------------
Affected Roles: Owner, Administrator
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum IPVMS
Last Edit: December 9, 2022
-----------------------------------
Cisco Meraki & Network Equipment
When a DW Blackjack Server site is using a Cisco Meraki and/or other Cisco networking equipment, administrators may see a high number of camera-related drops (video loss) from their system. The source of these types of issues will typically come down to an overflow of network traffic occurring with a relatively small network bottleneck. This can lead to dropped packets, video loss and other network-related problems.
The technician notes below will outline the common situation and recommended solution when encountering video loss when using the Cisco Meraki.
**NOTE: As with all network troubleshooting situations for enterprise network configurations, it is recommended to first consult with your company’s IT or network administration team before making any major alterations to your setup.
Supported/Affected Devices:
- DW Blackjack Server Series
Recommending a Split Network Setup
DW Blackjack Servers are purposely built with the expectation that they will be deployed as hosting equipment for the DW Spectrum IPVMS platform. Being that a split local network environment is highly recommended for DW Spectrum Server installations, DW Blackjack Servers come with two (2) Network Interface Cards (NICs) already installed.
The reason for this recommended setup is if the local network is divided into a separate subnetwork, that is dedicated only to the IP Cameras, and a subnetwork for all other network traffic routing (i.e. Internet, peer-to-peer computer communication, etc.), the high levels of network traffic that continuously occurs between the cameras sending video streams and metadata to the recording server can be mitigated. By doing this, the network load and potential packet loss that can occur from an overflow of network traffic can be effectively reduced.
Recommended Solutions
In addition to dividing the local network into separate subnetworks to reduce the overall network load between the cameras and the Server, here are more recommendations to avoid the issues mentioned above:
- Use an unmanaged network switch for your camera network. When using an energy-saving or managed network switch for the camera network, issues can arise with improper network configurations (IP conflicts, etc.) and/or upgrading equipment firmware, software, etc.
- Use the two (2) separate NICs that come with DW Blackjack Servers. By doing so, it can be easier for System Owners to connect with the local routing network (Internet, other local devices, etc.) and the dedicated camera subnetwork without creating a significant bottleneck at the hosting computer.
- Use a separate workstation when viewing video streams with the DW Spectrum Client. In addition to considering network hardware setups, there is a processing resource limit for the hosting server hardware. This can vary, depending on the overall quality of the computer’s components (CPU, RAM, GPU, etc.). But if the hosting hardware is constantly reading/writing data for the video archives while also using resources to provide a stable user interface and other processes, this can all prove to be a lot more than an average computer can handle.
Troubleshooting Cisco Meraki
When encountering video loss with cameras dropping from the network in network environments using the Cisco Meraki network switch or other Cisco network devices, network administrators can use the CDP Discovery Tool for troubleshooting.
Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a network discovery tool that can be used to identify neighboring Cisco devices that are running Network Layer-2 or Layer-3 transparent protocols. By default, CDP is turned ON for all Cisco Meraki ports and cannot be turned OFF by the end-user. This will instead require that a support ticket is submitted to the Cisco Meraki Support team to have the Meraki network switch changed to use either an LDP or LLDP protocol instead.
When submitting a ticket to the Cisco Meraki Support team, the end-user must provide the following:
- Title – title the support ticket request with “Request to switch CDP protocol on selected switches and ports”.
- Switch ID/Serial – provide the identifying ID/Serial number of your Cisco Meraki switch.
- List of Ports – provide a list of the ports that are being managed/used by the Meraki setup; DW Spectrum and DW Cloud use Ports 7001 (TCP), 80 (TCP) 443 (TCP/UDP) and 3345 (UDP) by default.
- Desired Protocol Change - request to change from using the CDP protocol to using either an LDP or LLDP protocol; consult with your IT or Network Administration team to determine what is best for your setup.
- Desired Time/Date of Effect – provide the requested time and date for when the changes should be applied. Cisco Meraki Support requires at least 24-hours of advanced notice before any changes can be applied.
**NOTE: The customer will lose reporting features for the ports only in the Network Topology option. If this option is required to remain intact by the customer, the issue will remain until the cameras encountering the issue are moved to an unmanaged switch instead.
After the Cisco Meraki Support ticket has been completed, it is recommended to physically reset the camera ports. By doing so, the changes made by their support team can begin to operate from a refreshed status.
For More Information about DW Products or DW Technical Support
DW Technical Support: 866.446.3595
https://www.digital-watchdog.com/contact-tech-support/
______________________________________________________________________________
DW Sales: 866.446.3595 [email protected] www.digital-watchdog.com
