To access the HydroDCS user interface, there must be a network connection to one of the network interfaces on the physical device.  Before plugging the HydroDCS in, here is some important information regarding the four network interfaces on the the appliance.


Network Interfaces

The default IP addresses are listed below

- DHCP

- 192.168.1.128 - Probably need to change this, as many networks use this as a default subnet.

- 10.10.10.10

DCS - 11.11.11.11



  1. Using an Ethernet cable, plug the (DHCP) port into a switch or router.  This will give it network access.
  2. Plug the HydroDCS into a wall outlet.  This will give it power.  If the power does not turn on automatically, push the power button.
  3. Wait for the system to boot up.  This generally takes approximately 2 to 5 minutes.  If the network is connected properly, you should see the blinking lights on the front of the HydroDCS.
  4. At this point, the HydroDCS should be accessible on the network.  There are several ways to verify that the HydroDCS is accessible.
    1. On Windows, open a command prompt by clicking the Search box on the taskbar and typing cmd and pressing Enter.  
      1. Run the following command, without the quotes
      2. "arp -a"
      3. The output of this command will give you all of the devices on the network.  If the HydroDCS has been picked up properly, it will show up in this list.  Look at the physical HydroDCS appliance and find the MAC Address, which will be on a label.  This same MAC address will be listed under the "Physical Address" column.  If you look at the corresponding "Internet Address" value, this will give you the IP Address.
    2. Log into the router or modem that is controlling the network.  It should have a list of "Connected Devices".  The HydroDCS should be in this list and the IP Address can be obtained from here.
    3. This method is more technically involved, but should work in all circumstances.
      1. Using an Ethernet cable, connect directly into the (192.168.1.128) port on the HydroDCS and connect the other end directly into a Network Interface Card (NIC) on a PC (desktop or laptop).
      2. On the PC, change the IP settings of the NIC to be able to communicate with the port of the HydroDCS.
        1. On Windows 10, do the following.
        2. Click the Start Menu, type "Control Panel" and select "Control Panel".
        3. Click on "Network and Internet"
        4. Click on "Network and Sharing Center"
        5. Click on "Change Adapter Settings"
        6. A list of the NIC's will be displayed here.  Right click on the NIC that you connected the Ethernet cable to and select "Properties"
        7. Select "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click the "Properties" button.
        8. Select the "Use the following IP address" radio button and enter the following for values
          IP address: 192.168.1.213
          Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
          Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
        9. Click "OK" for this screen, and click OK for the "Ethernet Properties" screen as well.
      3. After performing these steps, you should be able to access the HydroDCS using the 192.168.1.128 IP address in a web browser from the PC that is directly connected to it.
      4. Enter the IP address into a browser to open the HydroDCS web interface.  In the upper right corner of the menu, click the dropdown (it should say "NOT LOGGED IN" and click "Details".  The IP Address should be listed for the port.
  5. Once you have an IP Address that can be used to connect to the HydroDCS, you can use this IP Address to access the HydroDCS from the network. 
  6. Open a web browser and navigate to the IP Address (type the IP Address into the location where you would type www.google.com).


If you want to change any of the IP Addresses for any of the ports, you can do so from the HydroDCS web interface.  The Configure IP Address section describes how to do this.  NOTE - You cannot change the IP Address for the port.  This IP Address will always be 192.168.1.128.