(Q) What is DVRNS?
(A) Click here for the a detailed answer.

(Q) What is DVR Naming Service?
(A) Click here for the a detailed answer.

(Q) How do I choose a DVR name?
(A) The 2dvr.com DVRNS site allows any name to be used for your DVR unless already chosen by another customer. Example names include James, James001, MyPetStore, Bob's Bait Shop, or an address such as 101 Main Street. The only restriction is the length of the DVR name, it must be limited to 16 characters. You should also remember the case sensitivity of the DVR name (upper and lower case letters).

(Q) Do I need a ".com" or ".net" extension following the name I choose for my DVR?
(A) No, the 2dvr.com is a private DVRNS server and therefore does not require a public Internet name extension to the DVR name.

(Q) My DVR is located behind a firewall; will this restrict me from using 2dvr.com?
(A) No, in this situation it simply means you will need to setup a router to permit the communication from the DVR to 2dvr.com. Refer to the General Network Setup section for additional information.

(Q) My DVR is connected to a router in my business along with several other computers; will this cause a problem when using 2dvr.com?
(A) No, however it means you may need to "open" some ports within the router to permit the communication from the DVR to 2dvr.com. Refer to the General Network Setup section for additional information.

(Q) My DVR returns an error code when attempting to contact the 2dvr.com server, what does this mean?
(A) When entering no name or a name already registered on the 2dvr.com DVRNS server, an error message will be displayed. Refer to the Troubleshooting - Connection Errors section for additional information.

(Q) How do I register multi-sites to one payment?
(A) 2dvr.com allows multiple locations linked to one account. Simply go to My Account, enter your account information, select login, and follow the instructions to "Add DVRs to Subscription" to enter the multiple sties. All additional DVR billings will be prorated to match the original first DVR order date. Remember each 4th DVR added is FREE.

(Q) What is 2dvr.com DVRNS?
(A) 2dvr.com DVRNS or DVR Name Service is a proprietary or private DDNS for Digital Video Recorders (DVRs).

(Q) Why do I need DVRNS?
(A) The 2dvr.com DVRNS provides the service of linking a customer's DVR to a Dynamic Internet address, which provides a lower cost alternative to Static IP address connections. 2dvr.com actually consists of three parts; the Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP), a Dynamic Name Service (DNS) and finally a Dynamic DNS (DDNS). The functions of each are listed below.

• DHCP assigns IP addresses for a DVR upon a request from a DVR, however the DVR's IP address may change over time
• DNS changes a domain name into an IP address, however this is not necessary, if you know the DVRNS's ip address
• DDNS allows the IP address to be stored and updates the most recent IP address as assigned to a DVR's name and answers with that IP address when other DNS servers make a request

(Q) How does the 2dvr.com DVRNS work?
(A) Basically, you set up DHCP, DNS (if needed) and DVRNS capability, meaning you configure your DVR to register a unique name for your DVR along with its current IP address to the 2dvr.com DVRNS. At this time, the 2dvr.com DVRNS and your DVR exchanges key pieces of information to identify the unique name given your DVR whenever the DVR updates its IP address to the 2dvr.com DVRNS. Whenever the IP address of your DVR changes such as when you power up a DVR, it will need to let the DVRNS know this change so that DVRNS can keep the most recent IP address for your DVR. After the DVR powers up it requests its new IP address by broadcasting the request on the network to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) used by the customer. The ISP's DHCP server answers to this request and assigns a dynamic IP to the DVR. The DVR registers internally this dynamic IP as its new dynamic IP address as provided by the ISP DHCP server. The DVR requests the 2dvr.com DVRNS to update its association between its unique name that was registered and the new IP address. The 2dvr.com DVRNS updates the unique name of the DVR with the new IP address of the DVR in its database. The remote software, RAS, will use this unique name to connect to the DVR. The RAS will first ask the 2dvr.com DVRNS to supply the dynamic IP address that DVRNS has in its database for the unique name of the DVR. The 2dvr.com DVRNS answers back with the most recent IP address assigned to the DVR by the ISP by looking up its entry in the DVRNS database using the DVR's unique name being requested by the RAS software. The RAS software now knows the DVR's dynamic IP address, and uses this IP address to connect to the DVR.

(Q) How do I configure my DVR and RAS?
(A) The basic configuration is as follows:
1.) DVR Programming

1. set LAN as DHCP
2. go to DVRNS menu and enable DVRNS
3. add the DVRNS server's domain name as 2dvr.com
4. set the port if necessary
5. give your DVR a unique name, such as 'DVR002' and press "Check button"
6. your DVR will connect to the 2dvr.com DVRNS server to check if 'DVR002' is already in use, if not it will give you the OK message and adds an entry for 'DVR002' and its current IP address
7. if you get the OK message, you can use the 2dvr.com DVRNS with that DVR name

2.) RAS Programming

1. set DVRNS's domain name, 2dvr.com in the RAS local setup menu->DVRNS Server->IP address and set the DVRNS service port if necessary
2. when you add an entry to the remote site to RAS Admin program, check 'Use DVRNS', and enter the name of the DVR, such as 'DVR002' instead of the requested IP address.
3. set ports and password as programmed on the DVR

3.) Operation
Now RAS will use the 2dvr.com DVRNS to connect to the DVR and if DVR's IP address changes, the DVR will inform the 2dvr.com DVRNS server to update the DVR's IP address to its new IP address. Whenever RAS asks the 2dvr.com DVRNS for the DVR's unique name, it will provide the IP address for that unique DVR name.

(Q) Can I still use domain name with static IP address?
(A) Yes, if you have domain name with static IP, you already have a direct connection to your DVR, however the cost of the static IP and domain name may be higher than the cost of 2dvr.com and a dynamic IP.

(Q) Where in the IRAS do I program the DVRNS Name? Do I put this in the IP address field for the DVRNS setup?
(A) Within the RAS Remote Site set up programming menus you must first select "Use DVRNS" and then you enter the DVR name in the IP connection field.

(Q) Can I use it in a NAT (Network Address Translation, Internet sharing) environment?"
(A) Yes, but you must have the following steps configured correctly.

• NAT port forwarding on your router must be enable for the router used for your DVR
• Select the "Use NAT" check box within the programming menus of the DVR

Note: The DVR cannot be double NAT'ed, i.e., router on a router operation is not allowed.

The scenario using NAT is described below:

1. When "Use NAT" check box is checked, the 2dvr.com DVRNS will register your DVRs public IP address (usually your router's WAN side IP address) instead of your subnet IP address, when the DVR requests the "Check Name"
2. RAS will contact the 2dvr.com DVRNS server with the DVR's name
3. The 2dvr.com DVRNS will provide the RAS software the DVR's public IP address that it has registered
4. The RAS software will connect to your DVR's public IP address which is your router's WAN side IP address
5. Your router will forward the ports to your DVR in the router's subnet address

If you do not check the "Use NAT" check box, then your DVR's IP address registered in the 2dvr.com DVRNS will be the subnet IP address of the DVR and as a result, the RAS will not be able to connect to the subnet address unless RAS is running on the same subnet.

(Q) When attempting to connect to my DVR, I get a message "Connection Timed Out", what does this mean?
(A) This message indicates the RAS software is unable to locate the DVR, refer to Troubleshooting - Connection Errors.