Month: May 2021

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories

Western Digital Gold and Ultrastar drives are incorrectly reported with temperature “Threshold Exceeded” status

Issue

Adding Western Digital (WD) Gold and Ultrastar Enterprise class SATA hard disk drives to server versions prior to 19.06 will result in the drives being incorrectly reported with a temperature “Threshold Exceeded” status. Although verified with these two particular series of drives, the issue may apply to others as well.

Root Cause

The software tools for extracting the hard disk drive S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data varies by connection scheme (RAID controller vs direct to motherboard), RAID controller manufacturer (3ware vs LSI), and hard disk drive model series (Gold vs Ultrastar). The temperature data may need to be adjusted to arrive at at the actual temperature. The server <hwmconfig.xml> file contains S.M.A.R.T. attribute processing rules for drives that require attribute processing in order to display a reasonable temperature and determine the threshold range. This file has been traditionally limited to periodic updates as new hard disk drive models are introduced. In server version 19.06+, the drive detection S.M.A.R.T. configuration algorithm has been optimized to eliminate specific hard disk drive model number dependencies.

Workaround

While manually customizing the existing <hwmconfig.xml> file to include the particular hard disk drive model number may serve as a workaround, it is ONLY recommended for those systems that CANNOT be upgraded to server version 19.06+. It is preferable to upgrade the server software because the drive detection S.M.A.R.T. configuration algorithm has been optimized to eliminate hard disk drive model number dependencies.

Location of <hwmconfig.xml>:

  • On Microsoft Windows Servers : C:\Program Files\exacqVision\Server
  • On Ubuntu Linux Servers: /usr/local/exacq/server
Configuration Storage page Hardware tab before modification of <hwmconfig.xml> file.
Configuration Storage page Hardware tab after modification of <hwmconfig.xml> file.

Version Fixed

Release build 19.06+

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Client exacqVision Server Products exacqVision Integrations

exacqVision Command Line Interface (eV-CLI) does not support reusing the video window.

Issue:

The exacqVision Command Line Interface (eV-CLI), DOES NOT have the ability to reuse the same client instance to display a different video. However, whatever is used to launch the eV-CLI may be used to close the existing client instance prior to launching a new one.

Resolution:

This is NOT a defect and is WORKING AS DESIGNED.

Categories
Documentation Integrations Categories Products exacqVision Integrations

Onguard Integration Guide (Lenel)

Lenel-Onguard-Integration-Guide-updated-5-2021.pdf
Categories
Documentation Integrations Categories Products exacqVision Integrations

Axis Perimeter Defender Integration Guide

AXIS-perimeter-defender-integration-guide-updated-3-21.pdf
Categories
Knowledge Support Documentation exacqVision Enterprise Support

PostgreSQL 9.6 End of Life

PostgreSQL 9.6 is currently bundle with exacqVision Enterprise Manager.  This version will reach end of life in November 2021. 

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group will release the final update for 9.6 on November 11, 2021.  See their versioning page for details at https://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning/

AWS has announced PostgreSQL 9.6 on will reach end of life on January 31, 2022.  See the forum announcement at https://forums.aws.amazon.com/ann.jspa?annID=8512 for more details.

Preparation and testing for a migration to a newer version of PostgreSQL is ongoing and will be bundled in exacqVision Enterprise Manager.

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Mechanical PTZ tab will not show up for Samsung cameras

When updating ExacqVision Server straight to 21.03 from a version prior to 9.8 the mechanical PTZ tab disappears.

On the previous version below 9.8, update to ExacqVision Server 19.12 and verify the mechanical PTZ tab is there.

Then update to ExacqVision Server 21.03 and verify the mechanical PTZ tab is there. If it is not, downgrade back to 19.12 and repeat the process.


A related behavior is also being reported of fresh installs of Samsung cameras ranging from 21.03 up to 23.09.9.0 server. If this is seen the work around best used at this time to provide working PTZ are the following.

Workaround:
First , check the cameras xml to see if it has the PTZ settings set to “1” (seen below). If it does not, edit the file on the current version. Make sure to follow steps 2-8 seen below here to apply the change properly. If this fails then proceed with following steps 1-10.

1. Downgrade to 19.12 (when doing so make sure to have a good config or know the credentials for the cameras.) Later on when updating back to a current version you will need to re add the password to the camera.
2. Disable camera from client.
3. Stop the server service.
4. Edit the camera xml.
5. Edit the line starting with PTZ Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Focus, Iris Enabled and Supported.
Edit the “0” and make all of them “1”

<PTZ Pan="1" Tilt="1" Zoom="1" Focus="1" Iris="1" Enabled="1" Supported="1">

6.Save the file.
7. Start the server service.
8.Enable the Camera in the client.
9.Check to see if the Mechanical tab is viewable in the camera settings page of the client.
10. Update to any version.

This is being backpatched to 24.06_RC


Categories
Knowledge Support Support Illustra exacqVision Server Categories Products

New override for Dahua based OEM IP Cameras for UTC Timezone.

Issue:

Adding a camera, disabling or re-enabling the camera, restarting the exacqVision server service, or rebooting the exacqVision Server, causes the server to set the camera’s timezone, for all cameras that allow it, to Coordinated Universal Time (also known as Universal Time Coordinated, UTC, UTC+0, UTC+00:00, “Z time”, or “Zulu Time”).  This is preferred for global video recording and playback time synchronization because UTC does not observe Daylight Savings Time (DST) changes.  This camera configuration change is therefore normal, desired, and expected behavior for video management as a whole.  However, if the expectation is that the camera’s on-screen display (OSD) must display the local time for video clip exportation in MPEG-4 (MP4) format, changing the camera’s timezone or turning off the camera’s OSD negatively impacts this use-case.

An override switch is now available for cameras that make use of the Dahua IP camera plugin (DahuaIpPi).  These include:

  • Illustra Essentials
  • Storm
  • IntelBras
  • Riva Flex
  • VidicoreGmbh
  • CP Plus

The override will prevent the server from setting the timezone on the camera to UTC+0 as would normally occur. This will only affect the camera’s internal timekeeping and its corresponding on-screen display (OSD).  The exacqVision Server’s OSD will remain unaffected and be subject to its own internal clock timezone setting.

Override commands:

To prevent the server from setting the camera’s timezone to UTC+0, use:    

#timezone=camera

Example: 192.168.1.168#timezone=camera

To allow the server to set the camera’s timezone to UTC+0 (same as default):

ipaddress#timezone=utc

Example: 192.168.1.168#timezone=utc

How to use:

For a camera to be added to the exacq Server, append the #timezone=camera override command to the Hostname/IP address field of the exacqVision Client > Add IP Cameras > IP Camera Information section.  On an already connected camera, add the override to the existing camera Hostname/IP address entry, set the camera timezone through the camera’s webpage interface, and allow the camera to reconnect.

Explicitly adding the #timezone=utc override command to the Hostname/IP address field of the exacqVision Client > Add IP Cameras > IP Camera Information section or simply removing the override command from an existing camera Hostname/IP address entry will immediately cause the camera to reconnect and be set to UTC+0 by the server.

Workaround:

None available.

Version Fixed:

Development build 20.09.119

Release build 20.12.0

Categories
Knowledge Support Support Illustra exacqVision Server Categories Products

My Illustra Camera Isn’t Recording Motion

Issue

Illustra cameras may be showing a status of “Motion not Supported” or motion is not being detected.

As part of cyber security compliance Illustra camera firmware is now defaulting to ‘Enhanced’ vs ‘Standard’ security resulting in the camera sending out metadata over HTTPS instead of HTTP. 

Resolution

Select one of the following options:

  • Update the Server version to 22.12.5 or higher.
    Exacq’s ability to accept metadata over HTTPS was enhanced in version 22.12.5. If your SSA does not permit you to update the ExacqVision Server version to 22.12.5 or higher, you will need to choose from the remaining options below.<br><br>
  • Factory default the camera and choose Standard instead of Enhanced security. See Article 14441 on the differences between Standard and Enhanced security modes.
  • Or if the camera is using Enhanced Security, then enable ‘Video over HTTP’ in the camera’s GUI
    • To change this setting, navigate to the Security page in the Illustra camera web interface.
    • Click the ‘Edit’ link beside ‘Video over HTTP’.
    • Place a check mark in the box adjacent to ‘Video over HTTP’.
    • Return to the ‘Add IP Cameras’ page in the ExacqVision Client.
    • Disable then re-enable the camera to pull the new camera settings.

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Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Using Axis Networked Speakers with exacqVision for Pre-Recorded Clips

Description

Axis networked speaker(s) are individually capable of having pre-recorded audio clips loaded onto them for playback. Audio effects such as door bells, barking dogs, event announcements, and more may be desired for a given site.

Models C1410 / C2005

Playback of audio files from the network speaker(s) cannot be triggered through exacqVision Client or Server.

Whether or not the networked IP speaker is added to the exacqVision server as a licensed device, an operator may trigger various audio clips for playback through the device’s web browser interface or by using a REST endpoint for the device.

The REST endpoint cannot be triggered via exacqVision webhooks.

exacqVision webhooks are currently only capable of issuing ‘POST’ requests, but Axis networked speakers require a ‘GET’ request, as well as authentication to the device.

As a result the current workarounds are suggested:

  1. Trigger playback using API commands through a web browser.
  2. Trigger playback using API commands in your CLI.
  3. Write your own intermediary HTTP listener that accepts ‘POST’ requests from exacqVision webhooks and issues it’s own ‘GET’ requests to your device.

The above suggestions are for advanced users and assistance via Exacq’s Support team is not provided.

Model C1310-E

The C1310-E Network Horn Speaker provides a workaround to native plugin audio playback or the use of webhooks, mentioned above. The following steps detail how to configure a Digital Output and trigger audio clip playback through exacqVision. This method has been tested with Axis firmware 11.4.63 using exacqVision Server and Client 23.03.

  1. Log into the web interface of the C1310-E. Expand the System menu, then select Events.
    System menu<br><br>
  2. From the Rules tab, select ‘Add a rule.’
    Add a rule option<br><br>
  3. Using the Add rule dialog pop-up, provide a descriptive name for the rule. In our example we wish to trigger the built-in ‘Ding Dong’ audio clip, so simply name it ‘Ding Dong.’
    Add rule dialog<br><br>
  4. Complete the rest of the dialog options as seen in the picture below. Select ‘Digital output is active’ from the Condition drop-down menu and select the ‘Use this condition as a trigger’ checkbox.

    From the Action section, select ‘Play audio clip,’ then choose your selected audio clip from the Clip drop-down menu. Optionally, make any changes to the Repeat or Volume fields. Click ‘Save’ when done.
    Add rule dialog filled out<br><br>
  5. Within your exacqVision Desktop Client, enter Configuration mode, then navigate to the Event Linking setup page by clicking the Event Linking node from the tree on the left. <br><br>
  6. Along the bottom of the page, click the New button to create a new Event Linkage.
    Event Linking New button<br><br>
  7. In this example we will choose to create a Soft Trigger to manually trigger the audio playback, but you can just as easily choose another option to trigger playback. Refer to our User Training Videos for more on configuring Event Linking.

    From the Event Type menu, we select ‘Soft Trigger’, then click New under Event Source to create and name a new Soft Trigger.
    <br><br>
  8. Next, select the newly created Soft Trigger from the Event Source list.
    Event Source List<br><br>
  9. Select ‘Output Trigger’ from the Action Type list. You will not have the option of renaming the trigger from the device, but you will note that the C1310-E shows an Output 1 listed as a possible Action Target. Select this option as your Action Target.
    Action target selection<br><br>
  10. Click ‘Apply’ from the bottom of the page to save your changes.
    <br><br>
  11. Returning to Live mode in the client, click the ‘Soft Trigger’ menu icon from the toolbar above.
    Soft Trigger icon<br><br>
  12. From the Soft Trigger menu, you may trigger the audio playback by toggling your newly created soft trigger into Alarm state.
    Soft Trigger menu<br><br>

NOTE: The Axis firmware currently only allows one output trigger to be created at a time, therefore it is only possible to choose one audio clip for playback. Although, you may create many different Event Links to trigger the audio clip to play regardless of the source event it will play the same clip. See workaround methods above for the C1410 and C2005 if this presents an issue.

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Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Products

RtspserverPI may fail to re-stream JPEG video

Issue

When re-streamed to third-party RTSP client applications, JPEG video may fail to be decoded, due to our incorrect JPEG header processing.

Version affected

19.12

Workaround

Re-stream as any other codec.

Fixed Version

20.12 or later