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[pab49162]

Hi,

I just bought a DCS-960L webcam and I am seeing a weird problem with the FTP snapshot function.  I have used a similar function on other DLink webcams (DCS-930s and DCS-933Ls) and never had any issues.

I have the DCS-960L webcam configured to take a JPEG image snapshot every 30 seconds and upload that image to an ftp account on a server.  After I set things up and save the settings, the webcam work just fine.  A new image gets uploaded every 30 seconds and is stored in a dated folder, such as 20171218, on the server.  I can also press the Test button on the FTP page and the test image uploads as expected. 

The problem I am seeing is that the snapshot function no longer works after a webcam reboot or power cycle.  However, the Test button on the FTP page still works and uploads the test image.  So I am assuming the ftp info in the saved settings is correct.  In addition, the Event Log shows a "Snapshot trigger by Schedule" event every 30 seconds as expected.

When I look at the System Log after a reboot or power cycle, I can the following which shows the uploads failing:

Nov 2 18:00:20      UPnP start
Nov 2 18:00:28      Network link is recovered, try to run DHCP.
Nov 2 18:00:31      DDP start
Nov 2 18:00:33      Failed to synchronize the time with NTP server.
Nov 2 18:00:36      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20161102_180026D_1.jpg failed: -101
Nov 2 18:00:36      IP address acquire success
Dec 18 14:48:45      Synchronizing the time with NTP server success.
Dec 18 14:48:46      UPnP stop
Dec 18 14:48:52      UPnP start
Dec 18 14:48:53      Synchronizing the time with NTP server success.
Dec 18 14:49:45      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20161102_180036D_1.jpg failed: -101
Dec 18 14:50:45      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20171218_144847D_1.jpg failed: -101
…
Dec 18 15:09:47      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20171218_145819D_1.jpg failed: -101
Dec 18 15:10:48      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20171218_145848D_1.jpg failed: -101
Dec 18 15:11:18      Ftp and EMail task queue over count, skip upload file
Dec 18 15:11:48      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20171218_145918D_1.jpg failed: -101
Dec 18 15:12:18      Ftp and EMail task queue over count, skip upload file
Dec 18 15:12:48      Ftp-Snapshot: upload /tmp/event/cap20171218_145949D_1.jpg failed: -101
Dec 18 15:13:18      Ftp and EMail task queue over count, skip upload file
…

After messing around with this for a while, I believe the problem has something to do with the resolution of the FTP Host Name.  If I specify an ftp hostname like ftp.mydomain.com, the snapshot function no longer works after a reboot of the webcam.  (But as I mentioned earlier, the Test button on the FTP page still works.)  However, if I use the ip address of the ftp server, both the snapshot function & Test Button still work after a reboot.

I tried 3 different versions of firmware and the behavior is identical in all of them.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, Paul

[FurryNutz]

Link>Welcome!

• What Hardware version is your DCS? Look at the sticker behind or under the camera.
• Link>What Firmware version is currently loaded? Found on the DCSs web page under status.
• What region are you located?

What Mfr and model is the main host router?

As a work around solution, can you keep the IP address of the FTP server instead of using the domain string?

[pab49162]

Hi FurryNutz,

Thanks for the quick reply.

The hardware version of the webcam is A1.  I have tried 3 different firmware loads - 1.03.B05, 1.04.02 and 1.06.01 Beta.  All 3 versions exhibit the same issue.  My region is USA.

My main router is a NetGear WNDR3800 with Firmware Version V1.0.0.52.  (I have several other routers and may try connecting to a different one tomorrow to see if that makes any difference.)

As far as a workaround, I could continuing using the IP of the FTP Server.  However, I would prefer to use the server name in the event the webhost moves this hosting account to a different server.  This webcam is going to remotely located and changing the FTP IP remotely could be a challenge.

Thanks, Paul
 

[pab49162]

One quick update - I connected the another route directly to my cable modem today and then wirelessly connected the webcam to that route.  I then repeated the previous sequence using both an ftp hostname and ip address as the FTP Host Name.

Unfortunately, I got the identical results as I did with my primary router.  After a webcam reboot or power cycle, the snapshot function no longer works if I use an ftp hostname.  However, it does work correctly if I specify an ip address for the ftp server.  As before, the Test button on the FTP page works and correctly uploads the test image in both cases -- an ftp hostname or ip address specified for the ftp server.

I have also contained DLink technical support about this issue.  It has been escalated to the senior analysts and one is suppose to call me back when available.   

Paul

[FurryNutz]

Keep us posted on how it goes. 

[pab49162]

Earlier this afternoon, I got a phone call about this issue from one of the analysts with D-Link.  We were able to determine the root cause of this issue and a simple solution.

Before calling me, the analyst tried to duplicate this issue in their lab but was unable to do so.  So we then used a screen-sharing application to investigate this issue using my webcam and ftp server.  After playing around with various settings, we found out that leaving the Path setting for the FTP server blank was causing this problem.  Even though the Test button worked correctly with a blank path, the actual snapshot function did not.

Since I already set the correct path when I defined the ftp account on my server, I didn't need to further refine the path in the webcam settings.  So the  solution was to simply specify the path as "/" instead of just leaving it blank.  Alternately, I could have further refined the path with something like "/webcam_images",

After changing the path to something other than blank, the webcam worked as expected and the System Log did not contain any unexpected entries after a reboot or power cycle.

Kudos to D-Link tech support for working with me to identify this root cause of this problem!
 

[FurryNutz]

Glad they identified that issue. Thanks for letting us know. Hope this helps future users.

Enjoy. 

[pab49162]

Just a quick update – the solution that D-Link came up with worked on the first DCS-960L that I bought but now I am seeing similar problems with a new second DCS-960L.

With the second DCS-960L, the problem is also with the FTP snapshot function but a little different.  After getting the camera, I configured it for the FTP snapshot function and everything worked fine during the initial testing.  I then changed the wireless settings in preparation for relocation to a new building.

After plugging it in at the new location, the camera successfully connected to the new wireless network but the FTP snapshot function didn’t work.  (Note – it worked fine during testing at the original location just before I changed the network settings for the new location.)   

Looking at the error log, I was seeing the same upload failed errors that I saw with the original problem.  To debug the problem, I switched from the FTP Host Name to the IP address of the ftp server and everything worked.   

After thinking about this for a bit, I decided to try using a static IP address for the webcam instead of using DHCP.  (At the same time, I also set the DNS servers to the Google DNS servers.)  Not sure why, but the FTP Host Name then worked for the FTP snapshot function.

If anyone else has problems with the FTP snapshot function, I would recommend trying the webcam with a static IP address rather than using DHCP. 

[GreenBay42]

Thanks for the update.