Dahua switches and DoLynk Care

A camera drops off the network. The customer only calls a week later, when they actually need the footage — and that is when everyone finds out there is none. A drive to site, a laptop out of the bag, hunting for the switch above the ceiling. DoLynk Care is Dahua's cloud platform that removes that job: the fault reaches you as a notification, and most things can be fixed without leaving your desk.

1. What is DoLynk Care?

DoLynk Care is a cloud-based maintenance platform for installers and security service providers. All your sites and their devices sit in one view. In Dahua's own words it lets you manage your customers' sites "anytime, anywhere", and when a device fails you receive an immediate push notification that lets you locate and solve the issue remotely.

The important difference from ordinary remote access: you no longer need a VPN, port forwarding or TeamViewer per site. The devices talk to the cloud themselves.

Two apps, two roles

What usually causes confusion is that Dahua has two different apps. They are not alternatives — they are meant for different people:

2. How devices get into the cloud

1. Scan the QR code. Dahua describes this as a single step — scan the code on the device with the app and it is in your system.
2. The topology draws itself. The cloud switch automatically identifies the connected products and generates the network diagram. You draw nothing by hand.
3. Configure in batches. Search for devices on the LAN and activate them together: IP assignment, time synchronisation, password change, adding to the cloud.

Why this matters: handover is where an installer's time actually goes. Walking through twenty cameras one by one in a web interface is hours of work; a batch operation is minutes.

3. Topology — a network diagram that is always right

A diagram on paper is out of date after the first change. With a Dahua cloud switch, DoLynk Care generates it automatically and keeps it alive. From the diagram you can:

• see which device sits behind which port and whether it is up;
• change a selected device's configuration straight from the diagram;
• jump into a camera's live view;
• open a connected device's own web interface without hunting for its IP.

4. What you can actually do from the cloud

5. PoE 2.0 — what the cloud switch does in hardware

Cloud management is software, but Dahua's cloud switches also bring three hardware features that genuinely simplify an installation:

PoE Watchdog — a camera that reboots itself

The switch monitors port traffic. If a port sees no data traffic for 2 minutes, the switch cycles power on that port — and the hung camera restarts. Most "the camera disappeared" cases resolve themselves without a human.

Red port, 90 W

The first port is IEEE 802.3bt (Hi-PoE) and delivers up to 90 W. That is enough for a heated PTZ or a multi-sensor camera that would not start on a standard 802.3at 30 W port. The remaining PoE ports go up to 30 W.

Long-distance PoE up to 250 m

In extend mode (set with a DIP switch) PoE reaches 250 metres instead of the usual 100 m, in exchange for a lower port speed. A gate camera that would otherwise need an extender in a cabinet gets a direct run.

6. The model code explained

A Dahua switch name is not arbitrary — almost everything is readable from it. For example:

7. Which of our switches support DoLynk Care

Videovalve stocks cloud managed Dahua switches in three families:

Sources: Dahua DoLynk Care leaflet V3.0 (April 2024) · Dahua Cloud Managed Switches leaflet V4.0 (August 2023) · Dahua product page CHS4206-4ET-90 · dahuasecurity.com/products/dolynk-cloud/dolynk-care. Images: official Dahua marketing material. Exact technical figures vary by model — always check the datasheet of the specific product. See also: Dahua camera technologies.