Teledyne DALSA GigE — Camera Not Detected in Sapera

Teledyne DALSA · intermediate · 25 min

A Teledyne DALSA Genie Nano or Linea GigE camera that won't show up in Sapera CamExpert is nearly always a network/IP issue. Learn to force discovery with Scan Network, fix the LLA/DHCP address fallback, clear the firewall, and resolve the filter-driver conflict.

ℹ️ A GigE Vision camera 'not recognized' by the Sapera GigE Server is a networking problem, not a dead camera. The usual culprit is an IP mismatch — the camera falls back to a link-local (LLA) address the NIC can't reach. Force a Scan Network and fix the addressing.

Force discovery first

When a Teledyne DALSA GigE camera (Genie Nano, Linea) is physically connected but the Sapera GigE Server tray icon shows the device not recognized:

• Click Scan Network to force the discovery process, even if Automatic Discovery is disabled. (The GigE Server periodically scans on its own — by default about every 15 seconds — but a manual scan is immediate.)

If a scan still doesn't find it, the problem is addressing or the firewall.

Fix the IP addressing (the usual cause)

GigE Vision cameras and the host NIC must be on the same subnet. If the camera can't get an address it falls back to DHCP/LLA (a link-local 169.254.x.x address), which a statically-addressed NIC on a different subnet can't talk to. Using the Sapera Network Configuration tool:

• Assign a persistent IP to the camera instead of the default DHCP/LLA address, on the NIC's subnet; or
• Configure the NIC as a DHCP server for the connected GigE cameras so they get a matching address automatically.
• Optionally change the Auto Discovery Interval from the default 15 seconds.

Clear the firewall and the filter-driver conflict

• Verify the Sapera GigE Server is in the Windows Firewall exception list — a blocked server can't enumerate cameras.
• If you're trying to use the camera from other software (e.g. NI MAX), unselect the 'Teledyne DALSA Sapera GigE Vision Filter Driver' in the NIC's Ethernet properties before running that software — or simply don't open Sapera CamExpert first, because it can hold the camera.

Tune the NIC for reliable grabbing

Once it's detected, a camera that drops frames usually needs NIC tuning: most Gigabit NICs let you increase Adapter Buffers (receive descriptors) and enable Jumbo Frames — set these for GigE Vision use so large image packets aren't dropped.

Step-by-step

1. Scan Network in the GigE Server to force discovery.
2. Still missing? Fix IP — assign a persistent camera IP on the NIC subnet, or make the NIC a DHCP server (watch for a 169.254.x.x LLA address = mismatch).
3. Check the Windows Firewall exception for the Sapera GigE Server.
4. Using other software? Unselect the Sapera filter driver, or don't open CamExpert first.
5. Dropping frames? Enable Jumbo Frames and raise Adapter Buffers on the NIC.

Never do this

Don't disable the Windows Firewall wholesale to "fix" discovery on a plant network — add the specific Sapera GigE Server exception instead. And don't leave a camera on an LLA address in production; give it a persistent IP so it comes back reliably after a reboot.