POE cameras losing link

[ItsJon1993]

So I have this issue. I've installed these POE cameras many times in the past but never had this problem before.

I recently installed an 8 camera system, using utp cat5e cable. When it came time to install I quickly realized that whoever did the electrical wiring in this place was a complete joke. Wires everywhere, large spools just laying on the drop ceiling, it was a giant rat's nest of electrical wiring with no way to avoid it.

I simply hoped for the best and went ahead and ran the cables. Most of which were either right up against the electrical wiring or right next to it.

Now the issue is that the cameras are randomly losing connection and the NVR must be rebooted for them to come back. This is happening several times a day.

My question is, could the electrical wiring be causing EMI to the cat5e and making this happen?

[Dieselboy]

Yes I think so.. Are the network cables from the cameras plugged into a managed switch? You could check there if there are errors on those switch ports. It could also be bad ethernet cables or the terminations at the end.

Going by your description it does not sound like the cameras are losing power but are they software hanging? What is actually providing the PoE?

When a camera drops off, can you connect to its IP address directly?

Are all of the cameras affected or just 1 / 2, or the same few? 

[ItsJon1993]

The NVR itself is providing POE to the cameras. I do not have the ability to connect to then via IP unless I connect then to a POE switch but in this case the NVR is providing the power.

[deanwebb]

I'm wondering if you're getting dirty power in that building. Maybe get a UPS to smooth out spikes and dips in the current?

[Dieselboy]

UPS is a good idea.

Also, try and find out if all the cameras are going off or if it's just a few.. Then, to rule out the issue being a cabling issue I would plug in a camera directly to the NVR on a 1 metre patch lead so that it's not using the same Ethernet cabling and then see if that camera drops off still. So to elaborate some more on this, I suggest to avoid the Ethernet cabling you've got currently running the camera that is failing and then connect a fresh cable between the NVR and the camera.

We're just gathering facts at this point to narrow down what the issue could be.