How to Set Up Network Settings of a VMAX® IP Plus™

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Affected Roles: Administrator

Last Edit: August 15, 2024

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Installation and Setup

The benefits of having your VMAX IP Plus recorder connected to your router include the ability to monitor the NVR from your phone or computer, access to the FTP server for firmware updates, and access to other functions of the NVR (Email Notification, Pathfinder, Push-Notifications, etc.).

This guide will explain the basic steps for connecting the VMAX IP Plus to a network for LAN connection and for WAN connection.

Supported/Affected Devices

VMAX® IP Plus™
VMAX^® IP G4

Local Area Network (LAN) Setup

The first portion of the Network Setup is to configure the NVR to communicate over the Local Area Network (LAN), so that you can view your system remotely when you are onsite.

Connect the VMAX IP Plus to the router with an Ethernet cable. The Network Cable port (LAN/Ethernet port) can be found near the USB port and display ports on the rear panel of the NVR.

Next, we will need to have the NVR retrieve an IP Address from your router so that it can identify your network and talk with your local computers, phones, tablets, etc.

At the NVR, log in as an Admin, right-click with your mouse, and select Menu Network Network.

On the Network menu, set the NVR to a DHCP (Dynamic) Network Type. By default, the NVR is set to IP Address – 192.168.1.160 and Gateway – 192.168.1.1.

To have the NVR request an IP Address from the router, click the IP Detect button and allow the progress to complete.

Once the progress bar has reached 100%, change the Network Type to Static, so that you will not need to worry about the address automatically changing.

The NVR’s IP Address will have changed as a result of running the IP Detect function. This is an indicator that the NVR can successfully communicate through your router with other devices.

If there is another NVR on the network, make sure that neither NVR is assigned to the same IP Address or Web Port to avoid a network conflict.

Click Save to apply the settings. The NVR is now set up on the Local Network.

**NOTE: Network information in the included images may appear differently than what displays at your NVR. This information is determined by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the router that you are using.

Testing LAN Connection (Optional)

It is recommended to test the communication between the NVR and a local device over the Local Area Network (LAN).

If you have a computer connected to the same LAN as the NVR, open a web browser and enter the NVR’s IP Address into the address bar. If the NVR has been assigned a Web Port value of anything other than 80, you will also need to specify the Web Port value in the address bar.

Example:

NVR IP: 192.168.1.90

Web Port: 8245

Example URL for connecting from a browser:

If the address is entered correctly and the NVR is communicating over the LAN, the NVR’s Web Viewer will display. The User ID and Password will be the same login that is used at the NVR as well.

Alternatively, you may test the LAN connection from a mobile application (DW Mobile Plus).

Wide Area Network (WAN) Setup

If your NVR communicates successful over LAN, the next step is to set up the network for Wide Area Network (WAN) connection, so that you can view your system when you are offsite.

DDNS Address Setup

Routers will typically change their Public IP Addresses regularly, unless you are paying for a subscribed Static IP Address service with your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Instead of having to regularly check that the Public IP Address of your network has not changed, we recommend the use of a DDNS address.

The DDNS is a static “stand-in” address for your router’s Public IP Address that can be configured through the NVR.

**NOTE: : Port forwarding TCP/IP port and Web port on the router is required for DDNS to function. If you are unfamiliar with router networking, we recommend that you contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or camera Installer for assistance. For more information on Port forwarding, please refer to article: Port Forwarding Simplified

To set up a DDNS address for your NVR:

To set up a DDNS address:

From the main screen, right-click and select “Menu” from the resulting context menu.

Select “Network”, then select the “DDNS” tab.

In the DDNS menu, configure the following:

Use DDNS – enable this setting to activate the DDNS function. You will still need to configure the Host Name setting and to validate the settings.
DDNS Server – enter a custom DDNS address from a third-party service if you choose to use the DDNS feature.
TCP/IP – leave this setting as its default (80). The DDNS server that is provided by Digital Watchdog will use the TCP/IP port found in the Network menu. If you will be using a DDNS service that is not provided by DW, then you may need to change this value.
Host Name – enter a unique name (ex. “dw16220”) that will be used to help the DDNS service to identify the NVR. This value will embody the first part of the DDNS URL that can be used to connect with the NVR

After entering a Host Name, you must verify that the proposed entry is available for use. Click the “Check” button and allow the NVR to confirm that it has not already been claimed by another customer.

Upon a successful verification, click the “Save” button to retain the settings and apply the Host Name to the NVR.

**NOTE: The DDNS will accept alphanumeric characters only. Do not use spaces or special characters (!?$&#@) in the Host Name.

After successfully verifying and saving the DDNS address, the URL can be used to remotely connect with the NVR instead of a public IP address. The URL configuration is structured as follows:
- URL Structure: .
- Example Host Name: dw16220
- Example DDNS URL: dw16220.myddns.net

Setting Up Pathfinder (P2P)

The Pathfinder function offers an option for customers to connect with the VMAX IP Plus system through a proxy server which allows for the P2P (peer-to-peer) connection to be established more securely over wide networks.

For more information on setting up Pathfinder, please refer to article: Connecting to a VMAX IP Plus Using PathFinder (P2P)

Summary

Network Setup for the VMAX NVR is complete! Remember that the address used for connection with the NVR is dependent on the type of network that is being used.

Local IP Address – used for connecting with the NVR when your device is connected to the same internal network as the NVR.

Example: 192.168.1.190

DDNS – used for connecting with the NVR when your device is connected to an external network to the NVR. This address is statically assigned to the NVR.

Example: digitalwatchdog2015.ddns.net

Public IP Address – used for connecting with the NVR when your device is connected to an external network to the NVR. This address type is likely to change and will require checking for an updated Public IP Address. Contact your ISP for issues regarding public IP lease times.

Example: 47.180.64.226

Pathfinder (P2P) – used for connecting peer-to-peer (P2P) with the NVR over the Internet through a proxy server. This address type is statically assigned to the NVR.

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