On 2017-09-20 07:17, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > On Wed, 20 Sep 2017, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > > On Wed, 20 Sep 2017, Richard Guy Briggs wrote: > > > On 2017-09-20 04:09, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > > > > in short, at least for this camera, i absolutely require an > > > > android or iphone with the d-link app for the initial > > > > configuration, which is kind of a pain, unless i have this > > > > completely wrong. > > > > > > This would surprise me and I'd take it back if that were the case, > > > but it is possible that there is no other way to configure it. > > > > given that you mentioned the lumenera cameras, how would those be > > any different? i looked at one here: > > > > http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Lumenera-Le165CP-1-4-MP-Progressive-Scan-HAD-CCD-Network-Surveillance-Camera-/201696592058?hash=item2ef60dc0ba:g:tc8AAOSw8w1X4bCe > > > > and noticed right away the photo of the back, which shows an ethernet > > port, so i'm assuming that would allow me to (temporarily) connect to > > my in-house router and configure the camera, at which point i would > > want to move it elsewhere and access it via wi-fi -- is that how a > > router like that would work? > ^^^^^^ "camera" These wired network cameras default to DHCP and failing that fall back to either 192.168.122.1 (or something like that IIRC...) or use an IPv4 link local address (169.<mumble>?) which pretends to be random with OUI or something like that to bootstrap. It is harder to expose a new device to a trusted open wifi network than to a trusted wired network for initial bootstrapping. So, there's a bit of a chicken and egg problem here. Most wifi networks require authentication now (or should!). If your camera doesn't have a wired ethernet port that you can connect to a trusted network to do the initial configuration, how do you do that bootstrapping? It looks like they've turned it around so that you authenticate to it first so it is acting as a server for you to connect to it, then configure it to switch from AP mode to managed mode whereupon it can now connect to your secured wifi network with credentials you provide. Does that make sense and answer your question, or have I completely misunderstood the problem? > sorry. No need to be sorry! I can be a lot more dense than this sometimes until I finally understand a simple concept and this one isn't so simple. /me goes back to trying to come up with an audit kernel containerID proposal that won't get torpedoed on LKML... > rday slainte mhath, RGB -- Richard Guy Briggs -- ~\ -- ~\ <hpv.tricolour.ca> <www.TriColour.ca> -- \___ o \@ @ Ride yer bike! Ottawa, ON, CANADA -- Lo_>__M__\\/\%__\\/\% Vote! -- <greenparty.ca>_____GTVS6#790__(*)__(*)________(*)(*)_________________