Connecting Over The Internet - Toshiba Surveillix IKS-WP816R User Manual

Connecting Over the Internet

There are some challenges with connecting to Surveillix IP cameras over WAN (internet)
connections because the camera streams video over RTSP. RTSP is an excellent
protocol for media and is now used on many IP cameras (including Surveillix) as the
default streaming option.
However, RTSP is not suitable for transmission between two locations that are behind
different routers. In this case, the client (for example, the Surveillix server software)
connects to the camera, then requests a stream. The camera uses that connection to
return a stream, but since the connection originated on the client side and has now
switched to the camera (remote) side, the router does not have any way to determine
where the traffic should be routed, so no video appears at the recorder.
There are three solutions to this:
1. Connect modems on both sides directly to the recorder and camera. If there is no
router, no network address translation is needed.
2. Use routers with VPN support and set up a small VPN. Once this is done, the traffic
will be treated as though it were all on the local network.
3. (Best solution) – Use routers with connection tracking. This is quite easy; VOIP
also uses RTSP and faces the same challenges. If a router is marketed as having
"VOIP Support", it will have the necessary connection tracking capability to allow any
type of RTSP communication (not just VOIP).
With proper planning and the correct equipment, RTSP cameras CAN stream over the
WAN to a recording device for minimal additional cost and labor.
Please contact Toshiba support if you require any additional information on these topics.
34