Nighthawk RAX200 - Port Forwarding Multiple Cameras

Question

I realise that this must have come up before, so if someone could provide a link to a suitable discussion which addresses it I'd be grateful.

I have an IP camera which has ports 554 and 80 (the usual ones) forwarded on my router so I can stream the RTSP feed to my blog. It works.

So now I have a second camera. Same type, works on my home network. But I also want to be able to stream that separately.

How do you go about the port forwarding issue when you cannot forward on the same ports for different IP addresses? Can you get around it easily with some technique, or does it require changing port references on the camera so you can forward ports (say) 555 and 81?

I've learnt a lot about networking cameras since I started doing this, but I realise I am light years away from knowing anything like everything!

TIA.

Razor512 · Answer

Many IP cameras allow you to adjust the media port from the default ones set, and beyond that there is often no need to forward any web UI or management ports.

PS, keep in mind that many IP cameras are not designed around being exposed to the WAN directly, especially since many companies that make them, rarely ever release firmware updates for them, thus it is unlikely for any CVEs to ever get patched.

Ideally when it comes to streaming multiple IP cameras, people will use an old laptop or other low powered system that will not use too much power, and then have it stream to an intermediary. This prevents your WAN IP address from being leaked to anyone who goes onto the blog, and it saves bandwidth since your upload is not having to handle every single viewer individually.

An example of this method in use are these IP camera feeds https://www.wildlifeaid.org.uk/webcams

Some will use a service that will VPN in and pull multiple camera feeds (though they are expensive), while others will simply use a PC, and have it stream a bunch of the cameras, and then host multiple YouTube live events.

For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jyG5hJwVJU

Beyond that, if you choose to go a direct stream route, be aware of the security risks of having your WAN IP visible to everyone who views the blog, as well as having the cameras exposed to various IOT exploit toolkits.
With that in mind, simply check the advanced settings for each camera and see if they allow you to adjust the media port, and only forward the media port if it allows streaming from it.

Sualdam · Answer

Apologies for the delayed response, Razor, and thank you for the information.
I'm just trying to stream more than one camera to a streaming service (not YouTube) and need to figure out how to forward the same internal port for multiple cameras without conflict.

I'm missing something obvious.

Razor512 · Answer

Do you have the model for the camera? It is pretty rare for an IP camera to not allow you to change the media port. Usually you should be able to adjust it so that different ports can be used.
Usually the only exceptions to that are IP cameras that are designed to be used with a DVR.

Sualdam · Answer

They are small birdbox cameras of the generic Chinese type. Yes, I can change the various settings - this is the dialog(ue) box for that:&nbsp;This is where I think I am missing something, whereas people who know more than me might think I know more than I do&nbsp;🙂&nbsp;The camera I have working has ports 554 and 80 forwarded on my router. They test as 'open', and I can stream to my streaming provider. But if I try to add another camera, obviously I cannot forward the exact same details for that camera's IP address.The ultimate puzzle I am trying to solve is this. I have a camera with IP 192.xxx.xxx.110, and that dialog(ue) above is from it. These are my router forwarding rules:So if I add a second camera with the IP 192.xxx.xxx.111, what would I need to change in order to forward ports to stream that separately to the same provider?Thanks for your assistance on this.

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Nighthawk RAX200 - Port Forwarding Multiple Cameras

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