My BI Server has two network interfaces. An internal Ethernet that my cameras are connected to and a second interface that is on my local network.
Any time my BI server restarts (power outage, server updates, etc) the configuration for the web server lan switches back to my internal card making my server unaccessable from any other computer or app. I have to log into the server and change the configuration back to tell the BI Web Server to use the Other network adapter. I would think this would be a setting that would be saved in a configuration file, but I have to fix it every time. I also have the "Bind Exclusive" checkbox checked on the outside LAN adapter.
Web Server Lan Interface
Re: Web Server Lan Interface
Hi Jeeper44,
I have a two NIC system which works fine over reboots, and the main difference from what you have said is that my NICs are swapped over i.e the cameras are connected to the second NIC (PCI-e), and the house LAN to the motherboard NIC.
I am wondering if your second interface takes some time to initialise, and BI5 grabs the only NIC it can see. That could force it to override settings.
1. I am running BI5 as a service. That would appear to be the most difficult situation if there is a "race" condition for the NIC but my system is OK. Are you running it as a service too ?
2. If running as a service, can you test running BI5 normally (NOT as a service) after a reboot to see if the problem still exists ?
3. Would it take a lot of work to try swapping over the NIC's ?
You can also send an email to support - let us know what they say if you do.
I have a two NIC system which works fine over reboots, and the main difference from what you have said is that my NICs are swapped over i.e the cameras are connected to the second NIC (PCI-e), and the house LAN to the motherboard NIC.
I am wondering if your second interface takes some time to initialise, and BI5 grabs the only NIC it can see. That could force it to override settings.
1. I am running BI5 as a service. That would appear to be the most difficult situation if there is a "race" condition for the NIC but my system is OK. Are you running it as a service too ?
2. If running as a service, can you test running BI5 normally (NOT as a service) after a reboot to see if the problem still exists ?
3. Would it take a lot of work to try swapping over the NIC's ?
You can also send an email to support - let us know what they say if you do.
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Re: Web Server Lan Interface
Not the answer you’re looking for, but when I was trying to lay out my system I was originally thinking of the two NIC approach. Others elsewhere convinced me that a single network is easier to setup and manage and how I approached it. I thought about VLANs but instead went with creating an alias of all of the camera’s static addresses in my pfsense router (this is all a bit new to me - it seemed easier this way). Then locked it down so they can only access NTP. No restrictions of things accessing the cameras, but I could limit that if I thought that might be a problem.
And yeah, don’t fight it and swap NIC uses. Seems the quickest most reliable fix.
And yeah, don’t fight it and swap NIC uses. Seems the quickest most reliable fix.
Re: Web Server Lan Interface
Jeeper44: Any progress ?
atreyu: The primary reason for me using the two NIC method was to keep camera traffic from my ever growing camera collection away from my normal LAN. It was easy to set up and even without a second router, it manages very well with 100% static IP addresses. I also use OpenVpn for remote log ins, so with those two methods, there is very little chance of my cameras calling home.
atreyu: The primary reason for me using the two NIC method was to keep camera traffic from my ever growing camera collection away from my normal LAN. It was easy to set up and even without a second router, it manages very well with 100% static IP addresses. I also use OpenVpn for remote log ins, so with those two methods, there is very little chance of my cameras calling home.
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Problem ? Ask and we will try to assist, but please check the Help file.
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Re: Web Server Lan Interface
I have run into this issue as well. In my case, it doesn't happen every time, so I can't figure out why Blue Iris sometimes grabs the wrong interface. Bind Exclusively definitely makes it work better, but sometimes still grabs the wrong one. I also have set the metric on the camera NIC to a higher number so the PC doesn't attempt to use that NIC for other PC tasks, but that didn't make a difference with this issue either.
The VLAN method on a seperate NIC is my preferrred method as it truly seperates the camera network from the rest and as OP mentioned is easier to add cameras that way.
The VLAN method on a seperate NIC is my preferrred method as it truly seperates the camera network from the rest and as OP mentioned is easier to add cameras that way.
Re: Web Server Lan Interface
Just an update. I haven't solved the problem although I think the suggestion about the 2nd NIC taking longer to initialize after a restart might have something to do with it. Its a wifi card connected to my network as opposed to the onboard ethernet connected to my POE switch. I could drop another cat6 line to my internal network and switch the wifi card for an ethernet card. That would even allow me to switch my lan interface to the onboard port and put my cameras on a second card. Not a huge amount of work, except running the cat6 cable to a convenience place to plug into my network. I'll have to sleep on that one and decide if its worth it. Maybe I should just buy a UPS so the camera server and POE switch don't drop off for short power interruptions. One thing I did just do to see if it might solve the issue is I set the blue iris service to delayed start. This might make the wifi card visible before the camera service tries to access it. I'll let you know if this solves the problem.
As far as everything being simpler to set up with just one interface, yes it would be easier but I prefer the extra little bit of security knowing my cameras are not directly accessible from outside. Most of the camera brands have known security problems with people being able to access them. This way they are behind at least two firewalls and the only thing making them visible to the outside is the blue iris software.
As far as everything being simpler to set up with just one interface, yes it would be easier but I prefer the extra little bit of security knowing my cameras are not directly accessible from outside. Most of the camera brands have known security problems with people being able to access them. This way they are behind at least two firewalls and the only thing making them visible to the outside is the blue iris software.