Using a dynamic DNS service with Hughesnet

A new convert to HughesNet – and sharing all of your combined frustrations regarding security systems and the ability to remotely view your security cameras, I have found a SOLUTION… one you may or may not like, but it works and it’s easy: you need a new DVR.

BACKGROUND

We have a cabin in a very storm-prone, rural part of Georgia in a high elevation. Because we’re not there for days at a time, we thought a security system and a separate DVR/camera system were a good solution to “monitoring” the property. After struggling with our original DSL service, which brought download speeds of less than 1 Mbps, we opted for a HughesNet competitor. The installation was simple: we connected our existing wireless router to the competitor’s satellite modem and, shazam, everything worked as it had for years, including DVR access.

Then we switched last week to HughesNet – higher speeds, increased data allotments, better price and, what we never imagined – ipv6. Remote viewing of our cameras was not possible with our new HughesNet service, given the ISP’s inability to permit tunneling or bridging directly to our own third-party router. (I explain why bridging wouldn’t work anyway next.) Our previous port forwarding and use of a DDNS updater service to access our DVR remotely was no longer an option on HughesNet Gen5.

SO WHY?

Internet service providers (ISP’s) generally utilize ipv4, an old system of registering IP addresses and gateways on the web. With ipv4 addresses all but gone (all the combinations are all but used already), the conversion to ipv6 is underway. And with it, much more complex ipv6 IP addresses. This conversion alone didn’t account for the problems we were now having, as we learned.

If you migrated an older DVR to the HughesNet Gen5 system and had been using a DDNS updater client such as NO-IP, you’ve noticed it’s not working and you cannot view your cameras remotely. This is because HN uses a single gateway (ipv6 IP address) for scores of customers over a region since the launch of Echostar 19 (satellite) and introduction of its faster Gen5 service. With this service, our DDNS updater client successfully updated our dynamic DNS, but the update isn’t sufficient to make the connection to your home or business DVR. That old DVR uses an ipv4 address. And even if it’s ipv6 compatible, that compatibility still doesn’t “work” to make the connection.

In layman’s terms, you’re trying to “reach in” to that older DVR and it’s not possible. The DVR must “reach out” somewhere first to make the connection. DDNS updaters that accomplished this in ipv4 environments can’t do it in ipv6 environments. Traditional port forwarding will not work; ports cannot reliably be opened on ipv6 with HughesNet.

SOLUTION

After two days of research; hours and hours of tinkering with modem and port settings; and calls to HughesNet and our DVR manufacturer, I can tell you this: the only workable solution is to purchase a DVR that permits peer-to-peer remote access AND that “reaches out” somewhere (likely to the DVR manufacturer’s system) first. We bought a Night Owl system at an electronics retailer and it works fine. This is not an advertisement for this system; other systems including Lorex and Swann profess to have similar technology: hook up the DVR, scan the QR code into your app and, well for us, shazam. We’re up and running.

I hope this is helpful, as I’ve lived your frustration. Bottom line, in my view, if you’re going to launch an expensive satellite like HughesNet, it’s best to adopt the newest technology. HN has done that. Where they fail is explaining this to customers in a meaningful way.