The Spot AI appliance needs access to both the internet and your camera network in order to function. Below are a few examples of common network topologies; note that each line in the diagrams represents an ethernet connection:
In Example 1, the Spot AI appliance is getting internet through the PoE switch and also connecting to the camera network through the PoE switch. This is the most common setup and the simplest to configure, but may not be optimal for customers with large numbers of cameras due to the load on the overall network.
In Example 2, the Spot AI appliance is getting internet through the PoE switch and connecting to the camera network through the PoE switch using VLAN 1. This results in a virtually isolated camera network which gives you an added measure of security, but requires more advanced networking skills to implement. Feel free to check out this Knowledge Base article for more information about setting up VLANs with Spot AI.
In Example 3, the Spot AI appliance is getting internet through the switch and also connecting to the camera network through the existing DVR / NVR. This setup requires you to know the test path for the existing DVR / NVR which can be often difficult to locate. Please contact Support at help@spotai.co for guidance if you plan on using this network topology setup.
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