In this tutorial, we are going to set up and activate peer-to-peer (P2P) networking on a Sibell recorder to enable remote viewing. This same process can be used for any Sibell recorder, DVRs and NVRs alike.
P2P is very secure and simple to set up. For those reasons, P2P is our recommended method to get remote viewing to work. After you are finished getting the P2P activated, be sure to visit our Video Vault to watch How to Add a Recorder to Your Smartphone, Computer, or Tablet and other useful video tutorials.
If you’re interested in purchasing any Sibell Products, security cameras, recorders, and more, visit our online security camera store. If you need further technical or sales assistance, please contact Security Camera King.
What Is P2P?
So what is P2P anyways? P2P is short for “Peer-to-Peer” networking. A peer-to-peer network is when two or more devices share data using a third-party server to exchange this information.
In this type of connection, both the recorder and your device connect to a “middleman” server. The server handles the secure connections, allowing the two devices to communicate through it. It also prevents anyone without the proper information or credentials from accessing the recorder.
Pre-Setup Checklist
Before we get started, make sure your recorder has been initialized and has gone through its rudimentary setup. If so, we can move on to our pre-setup checklist:
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- Make sure the recorder is powered on and you can see your cameras on the local display.
- Make sure there is an ethernet cable connected to the LAN port on the recorder and that the cable is also firmly connected to the internet supplying router. If you are using an NVR with more than one LAN port, use LAN-1.
- Do not try to use any PoE ports for this setup. Many recorders have a group of onboard PoE ports. Those ports are for CAMERAS ONLY.
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How To Activate P2P On a Sibell Recorder
Once the pre-checklist items have been completed, we are ready to get started. The whole process is fairly quick and should take no longer than 10 minutes. If you do run into any issues, check out our list of troubleshooting steps and tips in our Support Forum.
- The first thing we need to do is log into our recorder if we have not already done so. We can do this by right-clicking anywhere on the screen with the recorder’s mouse, which will automatically prompt the dialogue box. Use the mouse to input your username, and password to login credentials.
- Once logged in, move the mouse cursor to the lower-left corner of the screen. Here you will see a menu bar appear on the bottom. On that menu bar, you will be able to see an icon that resembles a circle with 4 squares in it. Click this icon, and then click “settings” on the menu that pops up afterward.
- This will then bring up the main settings menu. We are only concerned with the “Network” option. Go ahead and click “Network”.
- Now we are in the network menu. By default, it has put us in the TCP/IP tab as you can see on the Tab Bar. We need to be in the NAT tab in order to activate P2P. Click the NAT tab now.
- Once in the NAT tab, you’ll notice the QR code right away. This QR code represents the recorder’s serial number, which is also written below the code. In our videos on adding the recorder to mobile, PC, or Mac, we explain how to use this QR code. For now, we first need to activate the P2P function. To do this simply click the box you see next to “Enable” and then hit apply.
And now you’re already done activating P2P. Yep, it’s that quick!
So… what now? Well, likely you’ll want to use the P2P feature via your smartphone, computer, or tablet. As previously mentioned, we have 2 different video guides on how to do this. One video is for adding a device to Sibell Mobile, the application for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. We have a second video on adding a device to Sibell NVMs, which is the app for PC and MAC. Links to both of those videos can be found in the video description.
