Verkada cameras can be configured with a static IP to ensure that your cameras maintain consistent network communication without relying on dynamic IP allocation protocols, such as the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
Verkada cameras support private IP addresses, as defined in RFC 1918. This means that only private IP ranges specified in the RFC, such as 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16, are compatible with the static IP configuration.
Before you begin
To configure a static IP address on a camera, the camera must initially connect to Command and update to the latest firmware using DHCP. Once the camera's update process is complete, it will be able to receive the new static IP configuration.
Configure a static IP address
Only Site Admins can enable this feature or modify static IP configurations.
In Verkada Command, go to All Products > Cameras
.Select a camera to configure.
At the right of the camera feed, click the Settings
icon. Under Device > Camera IP, click the dropdown and select Manual.
On Manual IP Settings, enter the static IP addressing information.
Click Save to save the configuration. This change is immediately applied to the camera interface.
Bulk configuration
For large deployments requiring static IP addressing, you can configure camera IP addresses in bulk by uploading a comma-separated value (CSV) file.
To perform this bulk operation, navigate to the Cameras section of Command and perform the following:
In Verkada Command, go to All Products > Cameras
.On the left navigation, click Camera Settings
.Click Bulk Static IP > Download CSV Template to download a CSV file with the necessary columns to configure static IP for cameras.
Edit the CSV file to add the camera serials and IP address configurations required and upload the file.
Once you upload the CSV file, you can make additional edits on the preview table shown on Command before saving your changes.
Recovery mechanisms
In case of any configuration mistakes or network changes, cameras have a recovery mechanism. The camera performs the following checks at regular intervals to ensure connectivity. In case any of these tests fail, the camera falls back to the DHCP operation.
Recovery Mechanism | How to Perform this Task |
On the subnet, verify there is no duplicate IP conflict | Send Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests for the configured camera IP. If the camera receives an ARP request, the reply it considers it as a duplicate IP conflict. |
Verify there is a default gateway | Send ARP requests for the configured gateway IP. If no reply is received by the camera, the gateway is considered unreachable. |
DNS resolution is operational for Verkada domains | Perform Domain Name Server (DNS) lookups for Verkada domains. In case the camera doesn't receive a response from any of the domains, this test fails. |
SSL/TLS sessions can be established with the required endpoints | Send HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) requests to the Verkada endpoints required for camera operation. In case the camera is unable to perform a Transport Layer Security (TLS) handshake with any of the endpoints, or in case there is any error while performing this handshake, this makes the test fail. |
Endpoints for DNS tests
The following list of endpoints is used for DNS tests, as these are critical for camera operation. For a full list of endpoints, see Video Security Network Settings.
api.control.verkada.com - TCP/443
relay.control.verkada.com - TCP/443
index.control.verkada.com - TCP/443
firmware.control.verkada.com - TCP/443
Update.control.verkada.com - TCP/443
kinesisvideo.us-west-2.amazonaws.com - UDP/443
Endpoint for TLS tests
For TLS tests, only the first endpoint is used. In case the camera is unable to establish a TLS connection with the api.control.verkada.com endpoint, it falls back to the DHCP operation.
Troubleshooting
If the camera encounters any issues during these checks, it attempts to fall back to its default DHCP operation and perform the connectivity tests listed above.
If the DHCP connection fails, the camera retries using the static IP configuration.
If the camera fails to connect again while using its static IP configuration, the camera alternates between static IP and DHCP operations in exponential backoff increments, ranging from 20 seconds up to 1 hour.
If the camera successfully connects to Verkada Command using DHCP, it continues to operate on DHCP until it is rebooted via Command or by power cycling the camera.
Need more help? Contact Verkada Support.