Month: June 2014

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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories

StarTech Prolific USB-to-serial Adapter Not Working with exacqVision

Using a StarTech USB-to-serial adapter with a Prolific (PL2303) chipset and StarTech drivers can prevent the serial port on an exacqVision server to remain open on Windows-based exacqVision servers. The port will report an OPEN status for less than a second before changing to UNAVAILABLE.

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This occurs when exacqVision receives an ASCII control character 0x04 after the user clicks Apply in exacqVision Client. This control character causes exacqVision to close the port, as 0x04 represents End of Transmission. It is assumed that the StarTech drivers are sending this control character.

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The solution is to use Prolific’s reference drivers. To do this, complete the following steps:

  1. Download the drivers from http://prolificusa.com/pl-2303hx-drivers/.
  2. Unzip the file.
  3. Uninstall any other drivers that have previously been installed for the USB-to-serial adapter.
  4. Unplug the adapter from the exacqVision server’s USB port.
  5. Restart the system.
  6. Install the downloaded Prolific reference drivers.
  7. Plug the serial adapter back in to the USB port on the exacqVision server.
  8. Verify that Windows installs the drivers successfully by watching the messages in the Windows System Tray. COM port assignment might also be displayed during this time; if so, take note of the COM number.
  9. Click Start and type services.msc.
  10. Find the exacqVision Server service. Right-click it and choose Restart.
  11. Launch exacqVision Client and open the Serial Ports page. Configure the new port as needed.
  12. Click Apply. This port should now remain OPEN.

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StarTech-Prolific-USB-to-serial-Adapter-Not-Working-with-exacqVision-1.pdf
Categories
Knowledge Support Support Categories Products exacqVision Hardware

Windows 7 (Non-Embedded) exacqVision Recovery Procedure

If you have a RAID system and no SSD or mSATA device, create the volume before proceeding:

  1. Press Alt-3 to enter the 3ware RAID BIOS.
  2. Select Non-recoverable Array with the space bar and press the Tab key.
  3. Navigate to Delete Unit and press Enter.
  4. Press Enter to confirm.
  5. Select all available drives by navigating to Direct Attached and pressing the space bar.
  6. Press the Tab key to navigate to Create Unit.
  7. Set Array Name to Exacq.
  8. Set RAID Configuration to RAID 5.
  9. Set StorSave Profile to Performance.
  10. Navigate to Advanced and press Enter.
  11. Set Boot Volume Size to 57.
  12. Set Initialization Method to Background.
  13. Navigate to OK and press Enter.
  14. Navigate to OK and press Enter again. Confirm write cache by pressing Y.
  15. Press any key.
  16. Press F8 and confirm the array creation.

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As a security measure, booting your system from the CD is disabled at the factory. To change this:

  1. Start your exacqVision Server
  2. At the BIOS startup screen, press F2 to edit the BIOS.
  3. The BIOS password has been set to admin256 at the factory.
  4. On the boot menu, enable Boot from CD and move the UEFI Optical option to the top of the boot order.
  5. Save the BIOS settings and exit.

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Install Windows 7 64-bit:

  1. Insert the Windows 7 64-bit CD into the drive and restart the system.
  2. Press any key to boot from CD.
  3. Click Next and then Install Now.
  4. Read the license information and select I Accept the License Terms. Click Next.
  5. Click Custom (Advanced).

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If installing Windows on a RAID system, you must first load the controller drivers to see the partitions:

  1. Remove the Windows 7 CD and insert the Exacq Utilities CD.
  2. Click Load Driver and browse to the Utilities CD
  3. Navigate to \Recovery\Drivers\Current\RAID, select your RAID Controller, and then select x64
  4. Click OK to load drivers.

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Continue the procedure:

  1. Press Shift+F10 on the keyboard to open a command prompt.
  2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
  3. To find the drive number of the desired OS Drive, type list disk and press Enter. Note the disk number (X) of the desired operating system drive.
  4. To find the volume letter of the CD drive, type list volume and press Enter. Note the volume letter (Y) of the CD drive.
  5. Type exit and press Enter. You should see X:\Sources.
  6. Type diskpart /s Y:\Recovery\EFIPart\EFIPartX.txt and press Enter.
  7. Press F5 to refresh the menu and select the Primary Partition labeled OSDrive. Click Next.
  8. When prompted, enter exacq as the username and computer name. Do not use admin or user as the username. Click Next.
  9. Enter the password vision for the username, retype the password, and enter a password hint. Click Next.
  10. Enter the 25-character license found on the sticker attached to the system chassis. Click Next.
  11. Click Use Recommended Settings.
  12. Select the time zone and date/time information. Click Next.
  13. Select the Network type. Windows then starts up.
  14. Remove the Windows 7 CD.

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Install motherboard drivers:

  1. Click Start and type devicemgmt.msc in the Search bar and press Enter. This opens Device Manager.
  2. Note the drivers not installed (those with a yellow exclamation point) and close Device Manager.
  3. Create a new folder on the Desktop and name it temp1.
  4. Insert the exacqVision CD.
  5. Browse to the CD drive and open the Recovery\Drivers\Current\Intel directory.
  6. Run the executable beginning with INF to install the Intel Chipset support.
  7. Click No when it asks you to restart your computer.
  8. Run the executable beginning with AUD_Win7 to install the audio drivers.
  9. Run the executable beginning with GFX_Win7 to install the Intel Graphics driver.
  10. If a self-extractor pops up, browse to the temp1 folder on the Desktop and click Unzip.
  11. Open the temp1 folder on the desktop and run Setup.
  12. Click No when it asks you to restart your computer.
  13. Run the executable beginning with PROWin7_64 to install the network drivers.
  14. Install the drivers and select Drivers, IntelPROSet, and Advanced Network Services.
  15. Run the executable beginning with USB_3.0_Win7 to install USB 3.0 drivers.
  16. Restart the exacqVision server.
  17. If you have a RAID system, install setupWindows_x64.exe located in \Recovery\Drivers\Current\RAID\3Ware-RAID-97xx.

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Partition disks and adjust display settings:

  1. Click Start, Computer, and Open C: Drive (leave open).
  2. Open the Utilities Disk in another window, navigate to \Recovery, and copy the entire Maintenance folder to C:\.
  3. To partition the rest of the drives, right-click RUNWinDiskPrep.bat and select Run as Administrator. Close Auto-Play boxes for new drives.
  4. Right-click any open space on the Desktop and select Screen Resolution. Choose any resolution 1024×768 and higher.

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Set up Windows user accounts:

  1. Open the \Recovery\Exacq folder on the CD and run UserAccountSetup.exe. The system will reboot three times during this process.
  2. When the system reboots, it automatically logs in as a user. To perform the remaining steps, you must log in as an administrator. Click Start and then Log Off User…. When the login screen appears, choose admin. The default password is admin256.
  3. Hybrid systems only (skip this step if you have an IP only system):
    1. Click Start, Computer, and Open C: Drive.
    2. Navigate to Maintenance.
    3. Right-click on BoardPrep.bat and select Run as Administrator (requires Exacq Utilities CD).
    4. Confirm board type and installation by pressing Y.
    5. Restart system after installation completes.

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Run evSysPrep:

  1. Run the exacqVisionSystemSetup program from the \Recovery\Exacq directory.
  2. Click the Scan Hardware button and let it detect the hardware.
  3. Enter the chassis serial number from the sticker on the side of the box, starting with ER.
  4. Click Prepare System and then restart the exacqVision system.

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Install exacqVision Software:

  1. Run RUNME.exe from the CD.
  2. Click Install exacqVision Server Software. This installs exacqVision Client, exacqVision Server, and exacqVision Web Service.

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For security, you might want to disable booting your system from CD:

  1. Re-start your exacqVision system.
  2. At the BIOS startup screen, press F2 to edit the BIOS.
  3. The BIOS password has been set to admin256 at the factory.
  4. On the boot menu, disable Boot from CD.
  5. Save the BIOS settings and exit.

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Windows-7-Non-Embedded-exacqVision-Recovery-Procedure.pdf
Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Best Practices When Upgrading Hard Drives on exacqVision Servers

The following considerations are for 32-bit Windows-based A-Series systems without a RAID controller:

  • Desktop and 2U A-Series systems do not have a separate physical drive for the operating system. This means that we cannot load Windows on anything larger than 2.2TB. By default, Windows 7 loads with an MBR partition table, which has a maximum addressable space of 2.2TB.
  • UEFI is not supported for booting with 32-bit versions of Windows.
  • The operating system needs its own partition (30-60GB) to use the rest of the drive as storage. If the drive containing the operating system is replaced, you will need to back up your settings and other important information, so plan accordingly. 
  • Although it is possible to use a storage drive that is larger than 2.2TB with GUID Partition table (GPT), we do not support mixed-capacity systems.
  • A BIOS upgrade might be required to detect >2TB drives for older systems.

Bottom line: 2TB drives are the maximum supported upgrade for 32-bit Windows-based Desktop and 2U A-Series systems.

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The following considerations are for 32-bit Windows-based A-Series and Z-Series systems with a RAID Controller:

  • 4U A-Series systems (JBOD or RAID) use a separate boot partition made by the RAID Controller. Windows detects as a separate drive, so MBR may be used and the operating system may be installed here. If the drive containing the operating system is replaced, you will need to back up your settings and other important information, so plan accordingly.
  • All Z-Series systems use a separate physical drive for the operating system. We use this separate drive exclusively to install the operating system. This drive should not have to be changed when upgrading the storage drives.
  • With JBOD and RAID arrays larger than 2.2TB, GPT must be used to see the entirety of the drive.
  • Although it is possible to add larger drives to an existing RAID array, the controller will base the capacity on the drive with the lowest capacity. Even if all drives are replaced with larger capacity drives, the controller will not automatically adjust to the larger size. You will need to destroy and re-create the RAID array, so plan accordingly.
  • Also, it is possible to mix capacities with JBOD arrays. However, JBOD arrays are not fault-tolerant, and the existing data on the drive will be lost, so plan accordingly. Of more importance, we do not support mixed-capacity systems.
  • A BIOS upgrade and/or controller firmware update might be required to detect >2TB drives for older systems.

Bottom line: 6TB drives are the maximum supported upgrade for 32-bit Windows-based 4U-Series and all Z-Series systems.

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The following considerations are for 64-bit Windows-based A-Series and Z-Series systems:

  • We use UEFI partitions and GPT with 64-bit Windows-based systems. This eliminates the 2.2TB limit of MBR partitioning on the operating system drive.
  • However, if the drive containing the operating system is replaced, you will need to back up your settings and other important information, so plan accordingly.
  • Although it is possible to add larger drives to an existing RAID array, the controller will base the capacity on the drive with the lowest capacity. Even if all drives are replaced with larger capacity drives, the controller will not automatically adjust to the larger size. You will need to destroy and re-create the RAID array, so plan accordingly.
  • Also, it is possible to mix capacities with JBOD arrays or single drive systems. However, JBOD arrays are not fault-tolerant, and the existing data on the drive will be lost, so plan accordingly. Of more importance, we do not support mixed capacity systems.

Bottom line: 6TB drives are the maximum supported upgrade for all 64-bit Windows-based systems.

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The following considerations are for Linux-based LC, EL, ELS, ELX, ELP, A-Series, and Z-Series systems:

  • All Linux systems use a separate physical drive for the operating system (except for LC, as explained below).
  • We use either ext3 or ext4 file systems (depending upon the Linux version). In either case, we use a maximum single drive size of 16TB. For systems that have more (RAID systems), the drives must be split up into smaller, equal partitions. Using the diskprep.sh script will achieve this split automatically.
  • Although it is possible to add larger drives to an existing RAID array, the controller will base the capacity on the drive with the lowest capacity. Even if all drives are replaced with larger capacity drives, the controller will not automatically adjust to the larger size. You will need to destroy and re-create the RAID array, so plan accordingly.
  • Also, it is possible to mix capacities with JBOD arrays or single drive systems. However, JBOD arrays and single drive systems are not fault-tolerant, and the existing data on the drive will be lost, so plan accordingly. Of more importance, we do not support mixed capacity systems.
  • LC systems: LC systems do not have a separate boot drive. Before you upgrade the drive, back up the configuration and any other important information. Additionally, the data on the drive will be lost, so plan accordingly. The LC recovery image accounts for the single-drive setup, but it should not be used with other types of systems. LC also uses a different drive model than the other models.
  • A BIOS upgrade might be required to detect >2TB drives for older systems.

Bottom line: 6TB drives are the maximum supported upgrade for all Linux systems if all drives are replaced at the same capacity.

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A note about drive speed:

  • Based on the age of the system, either the RAID controller or the SATA port on the motherboard may only support hard drives at 3 GB/s (SATA II). While this does not limit the motherboard from potentially detecting the larger drive, it will reduce its performance as new drives purchased from exacqVision will be 6 Gb/s (SATA III) drives.
  • Some motherboards do not have SATA III connectors, some only have two to four. Older RAID controllers only support SATA II speeds on drives.
  • For assistance on determining which motherboard you have and which connector to use, please contact Technical Support with your system’s serial number (number beginning with ER).

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Best-Practices-When-Upgrading-Hard-Drives-on-exacqVision-Servers.pdf
Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Best Practices when Upgrading an exacqVision Server from Windows XP to Windows 7

DISCLAIMER: Any user attempting to upgrade an exacqVision system using this procedure assumes all risk of data loss and hardware issues, and must troubleshoot all related issues without the assistance of Exacq Technologies.

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Section 1: Pre-requisites

  • USB drive, at least 4GB (preferably new).
  • A valid copy of Windows 7 Pro 32-bit and license.
  • Motherboard drivers downloaded from the manufacturer (BIOS, LAN, INF, Audio, AMT, and ME). You can reference the exacqVision Knowledge Base on how to determine which motherboard you have.
  • Capture board drivers, SysPrep, and exacqVision software. Download the newest version of capture board drivers and exacqVision client available at exacq.com. If your exacqVision license is expired, use the version of exacqVision software and SysPrep included with the system; you can find them on the Windows Utilities Disc that came with the server.
  • Determine whether you have a RAID Controller. If so, download its drivers and software from the manufacturer’s web site. Be sure to obtain the Windows 7 32-bit drivers.

NOTE: You might lose the video data on the disk where the operating system is located, so plan accordingly. The only case in which you should not lose any video data is with a RAID system not using JBOD.

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Section 2: System Preparation

  1. Use exacqVision Client to export both the existing system settings and the license from the exacqVision server. These options are available by opening the Config (Setup) page and then the System page for the server.
  2. Copy the settings and license information to the USB Drive.
  3. It is suggested that you run the BIOS upgrade at this point. Use the instructions from the manufacturer’s web site.

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Section 3: Operating System Installation

  1. If you have a RAID controller, you must load its drivers before you can see the partitions associated with those drives.
  2. Use a separate partition 30GB or larger for the operating system. This might require you to format the drive that currently contains the operating system partition, which would destroy the data it contains.

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Section 4: Post-Installation Considerations

  1. Install packages in the following order:
  2. Windows updates (install only up to Internet Explorer 10); 
  3. motherboard drivers; 
  4. RAID controller software; 
  5. capture board drivers; 
  6. SysPrep; 
  7. exacqVision software.
  8. Reboot the system after each step or as prompted.
  9. Import your license and original settings. Please note that some new features (such as hardware monitoring) might still not be available.
  10. If your capture boards appear to have swapped order, see https://exacq.com/kb/?crc=2347 for information on changing their order.

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Best-Practices-when-Upgrading-an-exacqVision-Server-from-Windows-XP-to-Windows-7-1.pdf