Understanding Camera Discovery Process with Spot IVR

How Spot IVR Discovers Cameras

Spot IVR uses a process called ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) to discover cameras. ARP is a layer 2 networking protocol that is used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses. When Spot IVR sends out an ARP broadcast, it is asking for the MAC address of the device with the specified IP address. If the device responds to the ARP broadcast, Spot IVR can then identify the manufacturer of the device.

For Spot IVR to be able to auto-discover a camera, they need to be in the same broadcast domain. A broadcast domain is a group of devices that can communicate with each other directly. If the camera is on a different subnet, Spot IVR will not be able to discover it automatically.

Once a camera has been discovered, it will be listed on the Spot dashboard. The dashboard will also display the manufacturer of the camera. If the camera is not identified, it will still be listed on the dashboard, but it will be hidden behind a "Show # Other Devices Found" button.

The number of ARP broadcasts that Spot IVR sends out depends on the size of the subnet. For example, if your network is a /24 subnet, Spot IVR will send out 253 ARP broadcasts every 30 seconds (254 usable addresses minus which is assigned to the Spot IVR). If your network is a /16 subnet, Spot IVR will send out 65533 ARP broadcasts every 30 seconds. Spot IVR does not send ARP broadcasts for subnets that are /15 or bigger.

Here are some additional details about how Spot IVR discovers cameras:

• Spot IVR sends out ARP broadcasts every 30 seconds.
• The number of ARP broadcasts that Spot IVR sends out depends on the size of the subnet.
• For subnets that are /15 or bigger, Spot IVR does not send ARP broadcasts.
• If a camera does not respond to an ARP broadcast, it will not be discovered by Spot IVR.
• If a camera is on a different subnet, it will not be discovered by Spot IVR automatically.

Here are some tips for troubleshooting camera discovery issues:

• Make sure that the camera is connected to the same network as the Spot IVR.
• Make sure that the camera is turned on and that it is configured correctly.
• Try restarting the camera and the Spot IVR.
• If you are still having problems, check out this article: Troubleshooting Camera Discovery Issues

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