You might need to forward some ports in your router when you use a Night Owl X100 DVR. A port forward allows incoming connection requests from the internet to go straight to a Night Owl X100 DVR.
By default routers do not allow incoming network requests. By forwarding ports you can work around this limitation.
Before Forwarding a Port Checkoff This To Do List
Before you can forward a port you need to know the following things:
- Your router's IP address.
- The internal IP address of your DVR.
- The list of the TCP and UDP ports that you need to forward.
Use a VPN Instead
Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.
We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.
When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:
- Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
- Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
- Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
- Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
- Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.
This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.
Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.
Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.
Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.
Find Your Router's IP Address
The easiest way to locate your router's IP address is to run our free Router Detector utility. It's a part of the Network Utilities suite of tools and it's completely free to use.
If you do not want to run the software, you can follow our Find Your Router IP Address guide.
How To Set Up Port Forwarding for a Night Owl X100 DVR
You can use our Network Utilities software to automatically forward ports for you. With Network Utilities, you can easily forward ports and also un-forward ports quickly so that you can keep your network up to date with the ports that you need forwarded and maximize your network security.
Port forwarding can also be set up step-by-step by hand. The normal process for forwarding a port is:
- You can start by logging in to your router.
- Look for the port forwarding section in your router.
- Put your DVR's IP address in the proper box in your router.
- Put the TCP and UDP ports for a Night Owl X100 DVR in the corresponding boxes in your router.
Some routers need to be rebooted in order for the changes to be saved.
You can choose your router from our list to see exactly how to forward ports for a Night Owl X100 DVR:
List of Routers - Customized for Night Owl X100
Forward Ports for a Night Owl X100 DVR
Here is a list of the ports that need to be forwarded for a Night Owl X100 DVR:
Night Owl X100 - PC
- TCP: 2051, 9000
- UDP: 2051, 9000
Those are the steps for forwarding ports in your router for a Night Owl X100 DVR.
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