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Manually Checking a Drive for Errors in Linux

Run fsck

On Linux systems, if a disk encounters a filesystem error, the physical drive may still be good but require a file system consistency check. Perform the following steps to attempt to correct this.

If the affected volume is a video storage volume:

  1. Stop the ExacqVision server service. Open a Terminal window and enter:
    sudo service edvrserver stop<br><br>
  2. Unmount the volume:
    sudo umount /mnt/edvr/X

    Replace the ‘X’ with your volume number.
    Example: If you have a write error on /mnt/edvr/2, you would enter:
    sudo umount /mnt/edvr/2

    NOTE: If this command fails, see Appendix below.<br><br>
  3. Run fsck on this volume, again replacing ‘X’ with the volume number:
    sudo fsck -yv /mnt/edvr/X

    This command will tell the system to automatically attempt to fix any issues it encounters. This may take minutes or several hours depending on the number of filesystem errors and the size of the volume. When completed, the Terminal will return to a prompt awaiting a new command. <br><br>
  4. When you have run fsck on all the affected storage volumes, reboot the system by entering:
    reboot

    OR

    Return to the Desktop and use the power icon to restart the machine. The drives will remount upon boot up.<br>br>

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Appendix

If drive fails to unmount, you will need to open the fstab file and comment out the mount point of the drive in question.
sudo gedit /etc/fstab

  1. You will need to place a ‘#‘ character to the left of ‘Label=/mnt/edvr/X’
  2. Save
  3. Reboot the machine.
  4. The drive that was commented out should not be mounted at this point.

Continue with step 3 above.
Reminder: Do not forget to re-edit the fstab after the fsck is finished and remove the # you added.

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What does fsck do?

The fsck command performs a consistency check and attempts to repair the filesystem from errors.

What causes filesystem errors?

When system processes or user activity require saving data or making changes to the filesystem, that data is first written to a buffer in memory (RAM). The system periodically moves the data waiting in the buffer to the hard disk. Therefore, at any moment, there is a difference between file changes waiting to be written to disk and what exists on the disks.

Filesystem errors and inconsistencies can develop due to hardware degradation, system halts, or unclean shutdowns. Sudden power loss and forced shutdowns occurring before the changes in the buffer are moved to permanent disk storage.

Components checked by fsck

Inodes
Inodes contain metadata about a file, which includes information like: whether the file is read/write or read-only, the type of file, the user ID of the file owner, file creation and modification date and time, and the number of bytes in the file.

Data Blocks
These contain the data that actually makes up the file.

Superblocks
The superblock contains details about the filesystem, such as the state of the filesystem, the filesystem size, the filesystem name and volume name(s), path name of the mount point, and number of inodes. Every change to the inodes also requires changes to the superblock.

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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Highpoint RAID Troubleshooting (Legacy)

For troubleshooting information, see the attached PDF.
The following exacqVision models were manufactured with Highpoint RAID controllers from 2007 to 2009:

  • 2310 (4 ports)
  • 2320 (8 ports)
  • 2300 (4 ports, PCIe 1x)

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To determine whether your system contains a Highpoint RAID controller, look at the RAID BIOS screen that appears when the system is first started (before the operating system starts).

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Adding or Replacing Hard Drives with exacqVision EL Servers Running Ubuntu 10.04 or earlier (Legacy)

Steps:

  1. Unplug the system to power it down. Install the new disks and start the system.
  2. After the system starts, log out of the Linux user account by selecting Start, Quit, and Logout. Log in as an Administrator.
  3. Close the exacqVision Client. Run the disk partition utility from Start, System, Administration, and Partition Editor. If prompted for a password, use the Administrator account password.
  4. At the top-right corner of the partition utility, open the Device drop-down menu.
    • Note the name of the device about 2GB or 4GB; this is the Linux flash drive that must NOT be altered for any reason.
    • Note the name of the other devices that are about the same size as the disk drives installed; if the system has a functional primary disk, skip to step 7 only on the new disk.
  5. Start Terminal Serivces from Start, Accessories, and Terminal.
    Note: The commands included in the following steps are applicable to Ubuntu 10.04. Changes for Ubuntu 8.04 are noted.
  6. For the first system disk only, perform the following steps:
    • Create a disk label by typing the following, where “X” is the device letter identified in step 4b:

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mklabel gpt

    • Create a 20GB swap partition by typing the following:

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart primary linux-swap 0 20000 sudo mkswap -L swap /dev/sdX1

    • Create a 10GB export partition by typing the following:
      Note: Change ext4 to ext3 if on Ubuntu 8.04.

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart primary 20000 30000 sudo mkfs.ext4 -L /mnt/export /dev/sdX2

    • Find the remaining free space by typing the following:

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX unit MB print free

    • Create a data partition on the rest of the disk by typing the following, where “XXXX” is the free disk space identified in step 6d.
      Note: Change ext4 to ext3 if on Ubuntu 8.04.

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart primary 30000 XXXX sudo mkfs.ext4 -L /mnt/edvr/1 /dev/sdX3

  7. For the second system disk only, complete the following steps:
    • Create a disk label by typing the following, where “X” is the device letter identified in step 4b:
      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mklabel gpt
    • Find the remaining free space by typing the following:
      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX unit MB print free

    • Create a data partition on the rest of the disk by typing the following, where “XXXX” is the free disk space identified in step 7b:
      Note: Change ext4 to ext3 if on Ubuntu 8.04.

      sudo parted -s /dev/sdX mkpart primary 00000 XXXX
      sudo mkfs.ext4 -L /mnt/edvr/2 /dev/sdX1
      sudo mkdir /mnt/edvr/2

  8. If a new disk is being installed (instead of simply replacing a disk), label the directory in the file system:
    • Open the file system label file with a simple text editor:
      sudo nano /etc/fstab
    • Arrow down to the first blank line and add an entry for the new disk:
      Note: Change ext4 to ext3 if on Ubuntu 8.04. For the first disk only: LABEL=/mnt/edvr/1 /mnt/edvr/1 ext4 defaults 0 0 For the second disk only: LABEL=/mnt/edvr/2 /mnt/edvr/2 ext4 defaults 0 0
    • Press CTRL-X and then press Y to save the changes.
  9. Refresh the partiaion labels by typing the following: sudo udevadm trigger
  10. Remount all partitions by typing the following: sudo mount -a
  11. Create directories on the export paritition by typing the following:
    • sudo mkdir /mnt/export/admin
      sudo chown admin /mnt/export/admin
      sudo mkdir /mnt/export/user
      sudo chown user /mnt/export/user
  12. Restart the exacqVision service by typing the following:
    sudo/etc/init.d/edvrserver restart
  13. Restart the system and confirm the drive operation in the exacqVision Client as shown in the figure. All systems should have /mnt/edvr/0 (the flash operating system drive). Then /mnt/edvr/1 is the first disk drive, followed by any additional drive, all of which should be shown in green.

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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Client Categories Products

Temporary File Location

The ExacqVision Client creates temporary files to locally store searched  audio, video, and exported files. Temporary files are created in a directory specified by an environment variable. The following environment  variables are searched in order to determine the path: TEMPDIR, TMP, TEMP,  USERPROFILE.

On systems built after May 2018, these environmental variables usually point to a file location within the C:\ Primary partition on Windows systems. Windows systems built prior to this date would have a 30 GB partition on the first physical disk for the purpose of storing the temporary file directory.

If the allotted space is not sufficient for your searching and exporting requirements, you can move the temporary directory to another location. To do this, complete the following steps:

  1. Run Start, Settings, Control Panel, System.
  2. Select the Advanced tab.
  3. Click the Environment Variables button.
  4. Edit the first of the variables listed above to point to your new location.
  5. Restart ExacqVision Client.

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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Client Categories Products

Validating ExacqVision Video (also known as Watermarking or Authentication)

The validation standard used in ExacqVision is known as HMAC, for Hashed Message Authentication Code, and uses a cryptographic hash and secret cryptographic key. HMAC is used by ExacqVision to verify the integrity of exported video.

The ExacqVision Client software calculates and writes out the message authentication code (MAC) during file export. The ExacqVision ePlayer later calculates a hash and verifies the MAC during authentication using SHA-256. The methodology ensures no alteration of the data as the hashed calculations are compared to be certain the hashes match.

To authenticate video in the ExacqVision ePlayer, select Authenticate from the Tools menu.

The following image shows a successful authentication:

Video may only be authenticated using the ExacqVision ePlayer. The ePlayer application is used to playback ExacqVision native files in .PS or .PSX file formats. It is also packaged in self-playing .EXE file exports. For more information on the features of exported file formats, refer to Article 1894.

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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Disabling Aero in Windows Vista (Aero causes OSD to have bars behind it in exacqVision software)

To disable Aero, complete the following steps in Windows Vista:

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  1. Click Start, and then select Control Panel.
  2. Click Appearance and Personalization.
  3. Under Personalization, click Change the Color Scheme.
  4. In the Appearance Settings dialog, click Windows Vista Basic
  5. Click OK.

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Disabling-Aero-in-Windows-Vista-Aero-causes-OSD-to-have-bars-behind-it-in-exacqVision-software.pdf
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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Get the Monitor Size (resolution) Back for Linux Sy stems

The monitor can get stuck in 640*480 mode if the system is booted with no monitor connected.

To get the monitor size back for Linux systems, complete the following steps after opening Terminal:

  1. Type cd /etc/X11
  2. Type sudo mv xorg.conf xorg.bak.conf
  3. Restart the system with a monitor attached.

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Get-the-Monitor-Size-resolution-Back-for-Linux-Systems.pdf
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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Webservice Categories Products

Configuring ExacqVision Web Services on a Linux system (Legacy)

Versions 2.10 to 7.8

To configure exacqVision Web Services older than version 7.8 on a Linux system, complete the following steps (instructions for previous versions can be found at the end of this article):

<br>

  1. Install the exacqVisionWebService.deb file.
  2. In a Terminal window, type the following to ensure the service starts every time the system is started: sudo /usr/local/exacq/webservice/service.sh automatic
  3. Type the following to start the Web Server: sudo /usr/local/exacq/webservice/service.sh start
  4. You should now be able to open a web browser on the server and type http://127.0.0.1 as the URL to access the Web Service. Click on the Web Service Configuration link in the bottom-right corner.
  5. Enter the username admin and the password admin256 to log in.
  6. Open the Servers page to add exacqVision servers or change settings for current servers. Click on Update Configuration and then confirm to restart the Web Service after each configuration change.
  7. You can change the Web Service listen port on the Basic Service Configuration tab.

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Versions 2.10 or earlier

To configure exacqVision Web Service version 2.10 or earlier on a Linux system, complete the following steps:

<br>

  1. Install the exacqVisionWebService.deb file.
  2. In a Terminal window, type the following: sudo /usr/local/exacq/webservice/service.sh stop. (If you see an “unable to resolve host” message, disregard it.)
  3. Enter admin256 for password. When you enter the password, characters are not displayed on the screen; simply type the password and press Enter.
  4. Type the following: sudo gedit /etc/webservice.conf.
  5. Leave the IP address and port the same in this field.
  6. If you want the Web Server to log in automatically without requiring a username and password, change PassthroughEnabled=0 to =1. Then enter the username and password that you would like to use. Be sure this is a valid user and password in the exacqVision software.
  7. Click Save and close the text editor.
  8. In the Terminal, type the following to ensure the service starts everytime the system is started: sudo /usr/local/exacq/webservice/service.sh automatic
  9. Type the following to start the Web Server: sudo /usr/local/exacq/webservice/service.sh start

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You should now be able to open a web browser on the server and type http://127.0.0.1 as the URL to open a login page (or passthrough page) with the option to run the simple or advanced interface.

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Categories
Knowledge Support Documentation Support exacqVision Server Products

Assigning the Device Number to an eDVR Board in Linux

To assign the device number to an eDVR board in Linux, complete the following steps.
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NOTE: This process is usually required when replacing or adding boards. This is the same as using Control Center in Windows.

  1. Exit the ExacqVision software.
  2. Open the Terminal from Start>Accessories>Terminal.
  3. Type the following to stop the Exacq Service: sudo /etc/init.d/edvrserver stop
  4. Type the following: sudo /usr/local/xdvapi/bin/startxdvmods
  5. Type the following to detect an initialize the boards in the system: sudo /usr/local/xdvapi/bin/startxdvccl. This will remove the old entries for the board and check for any existing boards.
  6. Type the following to stop the XDV: sudo /usr/local/xdvapi/bin/stopxdvmods
  7. Type the following to start the Exacq Service: sudo /etc/init.d/edvrserver start

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You should now be able to launch the exacqVision software and see your boards.
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Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Disabling a Drive via XML (Windows)

To disable a drive in a Windows exacqVision Server via XML, complete the following steps:

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  1. Before editing any configuration files directly, stop your exacqVision Server. Open Control Panel and then the Administrative tools (you might have to select Classic View to see the option).
  2. Open the Services link and find exacqVision Server. Right-click and select Stop.
  3. Browse to the C:\Program Files\exacqVision\Server directory.
  4. Right-click on the psfpi.xml file and select Open With.
  5. Select Notepad or Wordpad from the list. The file will list your drives in text form.
  6. Find the drive that you need to disable and change the Enabled=”1″ to Enabled=”0″.
  7. Save the file and close the editor.
  8. Restart exacqVision Server.

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Disabling-a-Drive-via-XML-Windows.pdf