[All cameras] How to use PowerShell to test if the camera IP and ports can be accessed?

Question

How to use PowerShell to test if the camera IP and ports can be accessed?

Answer

There are several ways to test if your camera IP can be reached, one of the most used is the "ping" command:

• [All cameras] How to use the ping command in the Windows command prompt to verify if the camera is still ONLINE
• [All cameras] How to send a continuous ping to the camera to verify its connectivity stability

Unfortunately, the ping command has its limitations and wont be able to verify if the ports of the pinged IP are open (ping commands are sent using random ports). In order to check the port connectivity you can use the "Test-NetConnection" command in power shell which can test connectivity to a specific IP and port. To do so please follow the next steps:

Step 1. Open the Windows PowerShell, you can do it by typing "PoweSheel" in the start menu search:

Step 2. Type the following command:

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName [IP address] -Port [port number]

Where the [IP address] is the camera IP and the [port number] is the port that you are trying to verify. 

Step 3. Press enter to run the command and the following will appear:

The process will take a couple of seconds and once finished it will display the connection status as follows:

If the connection cannot be stablished, the following error will appear:

Note: the same process can be used to check ND/VAST2/VSS connectivity (all of those devices/software uses different ports to communicate). 

If there is a connection error you can do the following to ensure that the camera port can be accessed:

1. Be sure that the camera and the client PC are on the same subnet. 
2. Verify that the port that you are trying to connect is not being blocked by a firewall or a router.
3. Check that the camera ports have been properly configured in the web interface of the device.
4. Check that there are no any other conflicting IP that might be using the same port as your device.

If after checking the points mentioned above you are still unable to access the camera using its IP and port please contact Technical Support for assistance.