To be able to access your security system while you are away from the physical location of the DVR, you will need to enable port forwarding with your network router. Within your router you must create what are called “port rules” to allow traffic from the internet access your security system. To create port rules you need to know what port numbers are associated with the HTTP and TCP ports within your DVR’s networking section. The default port numbers are 80 for HTTP and 37777 for TCP. You can use whatever port numbers you’d like, but make sure to change the corresponding port numbers within your DVR to match.

While the default port number within your DVR is 80 for the HTTP port,  80 is a commonly blocked or used port on your network, so we will instead use port 8080 to avoid complications. You can use any port number as long as you also change it within the DVR's networking section for the appropriate service. (HTTP or TCP)

Using the port numbers 8080 and 37777, we will make the port rules within the router. We have laid out the steps to configuring port forwarding with the Zhone 1512-A1 router.

Step 1) Access your router

The first step to configuring port forwarding is accessing your router. To do this, bring up your internet browser and type in the “default gateway” of your router. This is the router’s IP address.  If you do not know your network information, you can follow this guide here:  https://www.cctvcameraworld.com/port-forwarding-for-dvr-and-nvr/

Once you bring up your router, type in the login credentials of your router to gain access. If you do not know your login information, you can search online for the manufacturer defaults or call up your ISP and they can provide you the information.

6-25-2015 11-44-36 AM

Step 2) Find the port forward section

The next step after gaining access is to find the appropriate section for port forwarding.  After you access the router you should then look at the left tab. Under the NAT tab there should be a option for "virtual servers." Click this option to get to the port forwarding section that we need to make the appropriate port rules.

7-20-2015 5-00-04 PM (Copy)

Step 3) Create the port rules

While in this menu you will see a few different options. There will be two options for "select a service" and "Custom service." You will want to select custom service and then give it a name. You should name it something you can remember like "DVR 8080." Then in "Server IP Address" you must add the IP address of the DVR that you want the rules to apply to. In this scenario our DVR IP address was 192.168.1.4.

7-20-2015 5-09-51 PM (Copy)

Now underneath this there will be a chart laid out to enter the port numbers you want to make the rule for. In all the boxes in a row for  "External Port Start", "External Port End", "Internal Port Start," and "Internal Port End" you put in the port number that you are concerned with, 8080. In the next row underneath, place the port number 37777 in every box. Now with this all filled in appropriately you can click apply/save to create these port rules. If everything was created correctly you should then be ready to connect to your system via internet traffic.

7-20-2015 5-13-54 PM (Copy)

Step 4) Scan the ports

Last, you want to make sure that the rules you configured are applied to your router and active, meaning that these ports are now open for use. You can check if your ports are open by scanning the ports. Go to GRC.com to scan for open ports on your internet connection. This must be done from the same internet connection as to which the DVR is connected

Click Proceed to begin, and wait for the next page to load. When the page reloads, you will then type just the two port numbers in the search bar separated by a comma such as "8080, 37777" not  "port 8080, port 37777."  Click "User Specified Custom Port Probe" to check for open ports on your router.

bell_2wire_7-17-2015 3-58-14 PM

Look only at the status next to each port after the scan is complete  If the status next to the ports is "Open", then the port rules should be applied correctly and you are done. If they say "Closed" then the rules were not created properly or there is some other issue happening.  If they say "Stealth" however, this points to an issue with your internet service provider (ISP). Your ISP is blocking these or all ports from being used for whatever reason and you will have to contact them to resolve this issue.

6-25-2015 1-28-20 PM

grc-commonly-blocked

Matt Rossi is a Technical Support Manager at CCTV Camera World, a leading CCTV Camera distributor located in Buffalo, NY. He is a technical support expert for everything video surveillance related.

Connect with Matt via: Email  |  YouTube