Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

JohnnyK · 2025-11-04 06:12:41

Hello,

I am attempting to set up a security system at a rural worksite from old hardware. I have searched, extensively, but cannot seem to find answers for this situation.

Hardware used:

1. An old cellphone as a camera (IP Camera)
2. a wifi router
3 Desktop Arch running a VM of rocky linux to host Shinobi (the security camera server software)
4. Tablet as a viewer.

The worksite is remote and does not have internet, but I am able to tether (some) internet from my phone via usb, and this is required when I am at the worksite.

I have no intention of being able to remotely view cameras over the internet.

The intention is to have the VM record security footage on site. It is safely locked away.
It is also necessary that the network functions both with or without internet (tether) connected.

So far I have been able to get everything working except for 1 feature - and that is connecting to the vm from a tablet on the same network.

I shall do my best to describe the network without a diagram:

Connection 1: Internet to phone (default, works)
Connection 2: Phone to Desktop PC via USB tethering (default, works)
Connection 3: Desktop PC to a Wireless Router which is set to bridge mode only, and DHCP server disabled. On the PC the network setting is: ipv4 shared to other computers. (works with or without tether running)
Connection 4: Wireless Router to Tablet (default, works with or without tether running)
Connection 5: Wireless Router to Camera (default, works with or without tether running)

The above connections are are all 'hardware' and work as intended.
The following connections are 'virtual':

Connection 6: Desktop PC to its own VM (QEMU) (via its default virbr0, works with or without tether running)
Connection 7: VM to Camera (this only works when I mess around with adding a 'bridge' connecting the Ethernet(wireless router) to the VM, but I don't fully understand this yet, and havn't found a 'consistent' result)
Connection 8: Tablet to VM (this I have not got to work... yet)

I'm not exactly sure what to ask to make this work correctly, but I am guessing I need advice on adding 'virtual connections' so the camera and tablet can always connect to the VM.

Do the above choices seem correct? May I ask exactly how to set up a 'bridge' to connect the VM to the wireless LAN, whilst also retaining the ability for the network to function with or without internet being tethered.

Thankyou kindly for your time.

-thc · 2025-11-04 08:28:46

At least to me this setup looks like a partial train-wreck.

When you write "phone" you mean "my phone via usb"? When you write "camera" you mean "an old cellphone" (phone/phone)? Is the latter an old smartphone connected via WiFi? You simply never mentioned that.

Can you describe (accurately) the setup without "your phone"? What devices are connected via what (WiFi/Ethernet) for what purpose?

seth · 2025-11-04 08:59:18

I think the tethering is irrelevant, the PC is in a subnet w/ the tablet and camera (downcycled phone is an irrelevant detail here)
The camera feeds into the PC, the tablet shall access a service on the PC that casts that feed.

An apparently unnecessary complexity is a rockylinux VM - what's wrong w/ https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/shinobi-git ?

JohnnyK · 2025-11-04 10:08:05

-thc,

Thankyou for replying, yes it certainly is a train wreck, hence it not working as intended, yet. This often happens with hardware limitations.

My apologies I should have clarified.
In the post above:

All instances of the word "camera" = old cellphone with IP Webcam app running, which outputs a video feed to port 8080 from the ip of the old cellphone, similar to an ip camera.
All instances of "my phone" = the cellphone I use daily, and is the source of tethering at the worksite.
To clarify - camera and phone are separate pieces of hardware.

Seth,

Thankyou for your reply.

Yes the VM does seem un-nessecary, it was decided upon so the setup could be easily 'ported' between different desktops/laptops without having to re-configure. A similar idea is used for the business's accounting server from akkaunting.

"the PC is in a subnet w/ the tablet and camera"

this sounds like an important detail that I am not quite sure if I have done correctly.

Is it correct to set the Desktop Arch's ethernet connection to

ipv4 "Shared to to other computers"?

When this is selected, the devices that connect to the wifi router get an ip: 10.42.0.X
When i check the ip of the VM connection (virbr0) the ip is 192.168.100.X

When I add a bridge (virbr1) and put the ethernet 'inside' that bridge, the VM will sometimes see the camera, sometimes not. As I said, i was messing around because at this point I don't know exactly what to do and could not seem to find answers by researching. Hence my noobish questions.

Is there a specific way to add the bridge? Is it ok that those 2 ip addresses just above are so very different? (my intuition tells me 'no')

Thankyou for your help.

seth · 2025-11-04 12:30:55

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Network_bridge

ipv4 "Shared to to other computers"?

I don't know what GUI your talking about here - and I'm not quite sure that you can arrange what you want w/ some NM gui.

Is it ok that those 2 ip addresses just above are so very different?

You'll essentially have 3 subnets on the host, w/ the tethering phone, w/ the VM and w/ the router that connects the local CCTV devices.

ip a; ip r

(IPs in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_n … _addresses ranges are not sensitive and you can just post them)
I guess you want a bridge between the VM and the CCTV subnet but probably not bridge either to the tethering phone (that is, you use the internet exclusively from the arch host - the CCTV is LAN only and the VM part of that)

Make sure that there's only once dhcp server in the network (the CCTV router or your tethering phone) - if any.
Arrange the networks w/o the VM first, ie. make sure that the camera and the tablet and the pc can ping each other but only the arch host can ping WAN IPs (google.com / 8.8.8.8)
Then, when setting up the VM, connect it to the network device that is connected to the CCTV router, NOT the tethering phone.
At this point the VM should be able to ping the phone the same way the arch host can (and the phone the VM)

-thc · 2025-11-04 12:43:28

The Ethernet setup option "Shared to to other computers" converts your desktop into an IP router (which isn't necessary) and doles out the IP addresses "10.42.0.X" (your router doesn't do DHCP, right?).

Please simplify your setup.

Move the DHCP serving to the router. Choose a "192.168.x.0" subnet (where x is not 100) for this network and configure the router to have 192.168.x.1 or 192.168.x.254 or whatever you like. Configure a DHCP range like "192.168.x.10 - 192.168.x.90" on the router. Restart or disconnect & re-connect all devices (Set the desktop to IPv4 automatic) . They should all have a valid 192.168.x.y address and should be able to "see" each other.

For the VM you can use https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/QEMU#T … _with_QEMU - this will enable your VM to appear in the "outer" network the same as a physical device.

JohnnyK · 2025-11-05 02:42:45

Thankyou for the replies, I very much appreciate taking the time to get this working and help secure my small business, whilst saving on ewaste

seth wrote:

I guess you want a bridge between the VM and the CCTV subnet but probably not bridge either to the tethering phone (that is, you use the internet exclusively from the arch host - the CCTV is LAN only and the VM part of that)

I need the tablet(s) to have internet access. My apologies for not clarifying that.

That probably changes the nessecary advice to be given - I did follow the instructions above - but cannot figure out a way to have internet access on the tablets.

The advice above was helpful thankyou, I think I understand the IP's need to match better.

Of the 8 numbered connections listed in my original post, may I ask if any of those should be adjusted individually, or more bridges added? can the router still distribute internet with its dhcp turned on?

I will keep trying things whilst I am here at the site, and will continue to check here for advice, thankyou.

JohnnyK · Today 08:49:07

Thankyou gentlemen, I have got it all working. You were right about it not being possible with the GUI. When the GUI adds a bridge there doesn't seem to be an option to set its BRD and without it, it doesn't work.

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2025-11-04 06:12:41

Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#2 2025-11-04 08:28:46

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#3 2025-11-04 08:59:18

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#4 2025-11-04 10:08:05

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#5 2025-11-04 12:30:55

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#6 2025-11-04 12:43:28

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#7 2025-11-05 02:42:45

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

#8 Today 08:49:07

Re: Setting up an (unusual?) network as described, request for help.

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