Matrox Iris GTR — Camera Offline & Comms Setup

Matrox · intermediate · 25 min

A Matrox Iris GTR smart camera that won't show up in Design Assistant is almost always a network issue: it ships on DHCP. Learn to find it with IrisGTRDiscovery, set a static IP, enable the PLC protocol in MILConfig, and pull a troubleshooting log.

ℹ️ A Matrox Iris GTR ships configured for DHCP by default. On a network without a DHCP server the camera never gets an address and looks "offline" — find it by MAC with the IrisGTRDiscovery tool and give it a static IP.

Why the camera is "offline"

The Matrox Iris GTR (running Design Assistant) is a smart camera on your Ethernet network. When it won't connect from the Design Assistant PC, the cause is usually addressing, not the camera:

• The Iris GTR uses DHCP by default. On a network without a DHCP server, it never receives an IP address and won't appear.
• The PC and camera may be on different subnets, so discovery-by-broadcast finds it but you can't open it.

Find it with IrisGTRDiscovery

Use the IrisGTRDiscovery tool: it detects Matrox Iris GTR cameras on the same subnet and lets you modify their communication settings. It identifies each camera by the MAC address printed on a sticker on the camera body, so you can pick yours even before it has a usable IP. From there, set a static IP in the same subnet as the PC (or fix the DHCP scope) and the camera becomes reachable.

Enable the PLC protocol in MILConfig

A common runtime error is the camera being reachable but refusing to talk to the PLC — for example: "An error occurred when trying to allocate EtherNet/IP protocol: EtherNet/IP is not enabled in MILConfig." The fix is to enable and start the protocol instance:

1. Open the platform's MILConfig, or the camera's Portal → Administration → Communication pages.
2. Verify the industrial-protocol instance (EtherNet/IP, Modbus, PROFINET, etc.) is enabled and running.
3. Restart the application/protocol if you just enabled it, then re-test the PLC link.

Pull a troubleshooting log

When you need Matrox support (or want the detail yourself):

• On the camera, open the Portal pages → Settings → Troubleshooting tab → generate a troubleshooting log.
• Or, on the PC with Design Assistant installed, run Milconfig Troubleshooting, which pulls the logs from the GTR — provided the camera is accessible on the network and the DA Agent is running on it.

Remote desktop into the camera

The Iris GTR runs a VNC server, so a VNC client (e.g. UltraVNC) can reach its desktop remotely. You'll be prompted for a password — the default is Matrox. Useful for checking the camera's own view of the network when the Design Assistant connection won't open.

Step-by-step

1. Camera not listed? Run IrisGTRDiscovery; identify it by the MAC on the body sticker.
2. No DHCP on this network? Assign a static IP in the PC's subnet (or fix the DHCP scope).
3. Reachable but no PLC data? Enable/start the protocol in MILConfig / Portal Communication.
4. Still stuck? Generate a troubleshooting log (Portal or Milconfig Troubleshooting) for support.
5. Optionally VNC in (password Matrox) to inspect the camera directly.

Never do this

Don't hard-code the camera onto a random IP outside the PC's subnet "just to see it" — you'll get intermittent discovery and lose it again. Match the camera's addressing to the network plan (static reservation or a proper DHCP scope) so it comes back reliably after a reboot.