PoE Camera Monitor

This Python project monitors IP cameras and power cycles their PoE port via SNMP if they stop responding to ping.

Features

• Web interface (Flask) to add/delete cameras
• Background monitoring loop that pings each camera
• Power cycles PoE port using SNMP v2c if consecutive failures reach threshold
• Works with Netgear FS728TP and similar managed PoE switches
• Fully compatible with Python 3.12 + pysnmp 5.x

Requirements

• Python 3.12+
• Windows/Linux
• Managed PoE switch with SNMP enabled

Installation

1. Clone or download this repo
2. Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate   # Windows
source venv/bin/activate # Linux/macOS

3. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Run the script:

python poe_monitor.py

• Web UI: http://localhost:5000
• Add cameras with IP and PoE port index
• Background monitor pings each camera every 10s (configurable)
• Power cycles cameras after 3 consecutive ping failures (configurable)

Press CTRL+C to stop.

Configuration

Edit variables at the top of poe_monitor.py:

SWITCH_IP = "192.168.1.10"      # Your PoE switch IP
COMMUNITY = "private"            # SNMP community
PING_INTERVAL = 10               # seconds
FAIL_THRESHOLD = 3               # consecutive failures
POE_OFF_TIME = 10                # seconds to keep PoE off
DB_FILE = "cameras.db"           # SQLite DB file

Notes

• Use Python 3.12 with pysnmp 5.x

Background Execution

You can run the PoE monitor in the background so it starts automatically or runs at system boot.

Windows – Scheduled Task

1. Open Task Scheduler.

2. Click Create Task…

3. General tab:

   • Name: PoE Camera Monitor
   • Select: “Run whether user is logged on or not”
   • Check: “Run with highest privileges”

4. Triggers tab:

   • Click New…
   • Begin the task: At startup (or set a schedule)

5. Actions tab:

   • Click New…
   • Action: Start a program
   • Program/script: C:\Python312\python.exe
   • Add arguments: C:\TEMP\poe_monitor\poe_monitor.py
   • Start in: C:\TEMP\poe_monitor

6. Conditions and Settings tabs:

   • Adjust as needed (e.g., “Wake the computer to run this task”)

7. Click OK and enter your credentials.

Your script will now run automatically in the background.

---

Linux/macOS – cronjob

1. Open a terminal.
2. Edit your crontab:

crontab -e

3. Add a line to run at boot:

@reboot /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/poe_monitor/poe_monitor.py >> /home/user/poe_monitor/poe_monitor.log 2>&1

Adjust /usr/bin/python3 and the script path to your environment. >> ... 2>&1 logs output to a file so you can debug errors.

4. Save and exit. The script will start automatically at boot.