Back up a Hikvision DVR or NVR to the cloud

Hikvision recorders and cameras can upload event footage to an FTP server. Point that at CloudBox Guardian and every upload is sealed on arrival and kept off-site in the UK. About ten minutes, nothing to install.

Applies to: Hikvision DVRs, NVRs and IP cameras with the web interface (firmware 3.x–5.x, including AcuSense models), and Hikvision-made brands such as Hilook and Annke. Labels vary a little between firmware versions; the fields are the same.

1 · Get your login card

In your CloudBox dashboard → Cameras, add a site and write down the 24-word recovery kit. The login card looks like this:

Field on the DVR	What to enter
Server / Host / Server Address	`ingest.cloudbox.biz`
Port	`21`
User name	the site's `site_…` login from your Cameras tab
Password	the password shown once when you created the site (issue a new one from the site card if you lost it)
Directory / Remote path	`/` — any directory structure the DVR wants to create is fine
Mode	Passive (PASV), if asked. No inbound ports are opened on your network.
Encryption	FTPS / explicit TLS if your model offers it; otherwise plain FTP

2 · Enter it on the recorder

Open the recorder's web interface (its IP address in a browser, or Remote Configuration in iVMS-4200) and go to Configuration → Network → Advanced Settings → FTP. On the local menu on a monitor, the same screen is under Configuration → Network → FTP (on some firmware, Advanced).

Server Address ingest.cloudbox.biz · Port 21
User Name / Password / Confirm: from the card. Leave Anonymous unticked.
Directory Structure: “Save in the child directory” with Parent Directory = Use Device Name and Child Directory = Use Camera Name (or Camera No.). Any choice works; this one makes cameras obvious in the index.
Upload Type: if the screen offers Picture and Video, tick both. Many models only upload pictures.
If your firmware shows an FTPS or encryption option, enable it. If not, plain FTP is fine.

Press Test. It should report that the test succeeded. Press Save.

Heads upThe Test button only proves the login. Files are only sent when an event fires and Upload to FTP is a linkage action for it — that is the next step.

3 · Send motion events to FTP

Go to Configuration → Event → Basic Event → Motion Detection. For each camera: enable motion detection, draw the detection area, set the Arming Schedule (all day is fine), and under Linkage Method tick Upload to FTP (on some models the option reads “Upload to FTP/Memory Card/NAS”). Save.

Then check Configuration → Storage → Schedule Settings → Capture: Event-Triggered Capture should be enabled. The capture interval and quality there decide how many snapshots each event uploads.

NoteOn most Hikvision recorders FTP upload sends event pictures. A few newer models and firmware versions also upload short video clips; if your FTP screen has a Video option, tick it. Guardian seals and files either kind.

4 · Trigger motion and confirm

Walk in front of a camera. In CloudBox, press Test connection on the site card. You will see it move from “waiting for login” to “credentials accepted, waiting for the first clip” to “connected — N cameras detected”. Files arrive named like 192.168.1.64_01_20260909143000123_MOTION_DETECTION.jpg; Guardian reads the channel from the name, so this one files under camera-1.

TipUse Decrypt & save on any clip once to confirm your recovery kit opens your footage. Do it now, not on the day you need it.

If something does not work

Test fails on the recorder: set a working DNS server on the recorder (Configuration → Network → Basic → your router or 8.8.8.8), and check that nothing on your network blocks outbound port 21.
“Login failed” in the CloudBox Test loop: the user name or password was mistyped. Issue a new password from the site card and re-enter it.
Logged in but nothing arrives: Upload to FTP is not ticked as a linkage method, the arming schedule does not cover now, or event capture is off.
More in Why has my DVR stopped uploading?

Questions

Does Hikvision upload video or pictures to FTP?

Most Hikvision DVRs, NVRs and cameras upload event snapshots (JPEG pictures) to FTP when Upload to FTP is selected as the linkage method for motion or other events, at the interval set under Capture settings. Some newer models and firmware also offer video (clip) upload on the FTP screen; if yours does, enable it. Either way Guardian seals what arrives and files it by camera and day.

Do I need to open ports on my router?

No. The recorder connects outbound to ingest.cloudbox.biz on port 21 (and outbound passive data ports). Nothing connects in to your network, so no port forwarding is needed and nothing is exposed.

Does this work with Hilook, Annke and other Hikvision-made recorders?

Yes. They run the same firmware family and the FTP screen is the same, sometimes with slightly different wording. Look for FTP under Network → Advanced Settings (web interface) or under Network in the local menu.

Can I use FTPS (encrypted transfer) from a Hikvision recorder?

Only where your firmware shows an FTPS or encryption option on the FTP screen; many models are plain FTP only. Plain FTP is fine: footage is sealed the moment it reaches CloudBox, and we hold no key that can open it. The hop from the DVR is the DVR's limitation, not ours.

Why does the DVR's Test button say OK but nothing arrives?

The Test button only checks the login. Files are sent by events: make sure Upload to FTP is ticked as a linkage method for motion detection on each camera, the arming schedule covers now, and event-triggered capture is enabled. Then trigger motion and press Test connection in the Cameras tab.