Please let me know if everyone would like a step by step on how to properly setup the advanced configurations on the Modem to work with NVR’s and VOIP Phones that are being difficult and not connecting to the internet.
The ones I sell are straightforward, but when you run into business class NVR’s and certain VOIP providers, the customer may need to do extra work to get things working.
The Story:
I had a customer that chose to upgrade their Spectrum Business plan instead of switching to us. Getting a new Modem and Router means the whole network lost the configuration the original camera installer did. NVR and Remote Access stopped working.
-The first technician started messing with physical ethernet cables and made everything worse. This is considered Out of Scope for most if not all ISP installers.
-The next day a second came to try to fix what the other guy did. He didn’t touch anything further and said that the equipment looks good from their end. And that’s all they are authorized to do.
Fortunately, the Manager is my friend. I told her if I can’t fix it, I won’t charge for my time there. Long story short, the Spectrum Router is not business class and created more problems after custom configurations. Once the NVR worked, everything else stopped working(PC VOIP software, Remote Camera Access, Local Camera software, physical VOIP phone).
I came back with my demo modem and got everything up and running within 2 hours.
- SIP ALG has to be disabled.
- Port Forwarding needs to be enabled.
- Specific Ports need to be configured to an NVR that is on a separate internal network.
Example:
- Router is 1 network with the address 192.168.0.x. Where the Router assigns itself the very first spot as 1. So 192.168.0.1 . The highest number is 255 and it is reserved. So all other units can be assigned 2-254.
- NVR is a Separate Network with the address of 192.168.200.2, which means it can’t communicate with the Router unless we tell the router how to find it.
If it will help, I can create a customized document showing how to install this properly on the Verizon Dragon Modem XC46BE
- Ports designated for VOIP phones can be programmed.
This is WAY easier on the Dragon than on Home Routers and many Business Routers that cost $400-1,000. However, if you’re not Tech Savvy or this sounds alien to you. I strongly recommend not attempting it yourself and instead giving the customer the information to do themselves or hand off to their dedicated IT technician to do it for them.