Getting Started with GigE Cameras Choosing the Correct PC and NIC Card for GigE PC Vision PC Hardware and NIC Cards GigE cameras require high quality PCs, NIC cards and CAT cables to operate at their full potential. It is recommended to choose from among the several Windows 10 Industrial PCs (IPCs) on the market that are specifically designed for GigE vision. IPCs typically offer 2, 4 or 8 dedicated GigE camera PoE ports. They are designed to assure fast, efficient transfer of camera image to PC memory with minimal processor support, and thus can be used with the fastest and highest resolution GigE cameras at max frame rates.
Commercial Laptops or Desktops on the other hand are not designed or recommended for high speed PC Vision. The user is likely to experience Image or Packet Drops when using a standard PC, and will be forced to slow down the camera data rates to compensate. NIC Cards IPCs typically have a number of high speed built in PoE Ethernet ports designed for GigE Vision. When using a more traditional PC, it is necessary to choose a high quality, high speed PCIe-4 GigE Vision proven NIC Card, typically based on the Intel Chip set and Gigabit IEEE 802.3 at POE+.
The NIC card should allow for an individual port for each camera, and should allow setting of Jumbo Packets, Receive Buffers, and Interrupt Moderation. These settings are explained below. Some of the industry standards for GigE Vision are the Intel Pro1000, the Intel I350-T4, or the Neousys PCIe-PoE354at PCIe POE NIC card . Setting Up NIC Adapters for GigE Vision Multiple NIC settings must be set correctly to maximize system performance. These include using one NIC Port per camera, as well setting each NIC to use Jumbo Packets, Maximum Receive Buffers, and Interrupt Moderation. Each of these settings will be described below.
1) Setting Up NIC Card IP Address and Subnet per Camera A single GigE Channel is capable of 125 MB/s. If multiple cameras are connected to this single port, they will all have to share this bandwidth. Therefore, it is necessary to dedicate one NIC per camera to get full performance from the system. Please follow the steps below to set up the NICs. a. Physically connect each camera to its own NIC port on the PC b. Open Control Panel c. Go to Network and Internet -> Network Connections d. Select Change Adapter Settings e. Click on each NIC in turn f. Click on Properties g. Double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 h. Set each NIC to its own unique IP address and subnet.
Refer to the example on the following page. Using Sentech STC-M Cameras with AutoVISION and Visionscape Page 6 of 32