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exacqVision Server Linux x64 Support exacqVision Hardware

Some Exacq Ubuntu images may disable Unattended-Upgrades package features by default

Ubuntu’s unattended-upgrades commands and package features may not work as expected when using an Exacq Ubuntu image on ExacqVision hardware. By default on Ubuntu Exacq images, unattended-upgrades package features are purposely disabled from running due to the potential of losing video – and how the use of this feature cannot guarantee uptime of the ExacqVision Server software host.

This unattended-upgrades package is usually intended to install security updates automatically, by default, so that machines that are not proactively maintained do not become a liability.

For more information regarding ExacqVision’s stance on updating or upgrading operating systems on ExacqVision NVRs please see:
https://support.exacq.com/#/knowledge-base/article/5144

Product 

  • ExacqVision Server Hardware
  • ExacqVision Server Software
    Ubuntu Operating Systems only.

Step to Reproduce 

Schedule unattended-upgrades package features as listed by Ubuntu documentation.
See: https://ubuntu.com/blog/3-ways-to-apply-security-patches-in-linux

Notes:
The unattended-upgrades package is over a decade old, and is enabled by default on all currently supported versions of Ubuntu offered directly from Ubuntu. The ExacqVision image is configured differently, with this disabled as to prevent loss of video.

Expected Results 

Unattended-upgrades package features should work as expected when scheduled.

Actual Results 

Unattended-upgrades package features fail without dialogue.

Solution

1) Run the terminal commands below:

sudo apt-get -y install unattended-upgrades

sudo apt-get install apt-listchanges

sudo dpkg-reconfigure –priority=low unattended-upgrades

2) Create and/or edit the file at /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/10periodic and /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20auto-upgrades with the following:

APT::Periodic::Enable “1”;

APT::Periodic::Update-Package-Lists “1”;

APT::Periodic::Download-Upgradeable-Packages “1”;

APT::Periodic::AutocleanInterval “1”;

APT::Periodic::Unattended-Upgrade “1”;

3) Run the following terminal commands:

systemctl unmask apt-daily.service

systemctl unmask apt-daily-upgrade.service

systemctl enable apt-daily.service

systemctl enable apt-daily-upgrade.service

4) sudo systemctl edit apt-daily-upgrade.service

Edit and Comment out “ExceStartPre=” line,

repeat this action for:

sudo systemctl edit apt-daily-upgrade.service

5) Run the following terminal command:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

6) Run all of the following terminal commands in order listed:

systemctl enable apt-daily.timer

systemctl enable apt-daily-upgrade.timer

systemctl start apt-daily.timer

systemctl start apt-daily-upgrade.timer

systemctl start apt-daily.service

systemctl start apt-daily-upgrade.service

7) systemctl list-timers to see if the timers are active and when they run next

8) tail -n 100 /var/log/unattended-upgrades/unattended-upgrades.log to see if it ran at the time start service was ran

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Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Ubuntu Server Support

Description

NVRs built and sold by Exacq with Ubuntu Linux use the Ubuntu Desktop release.

Ubuntu is also released in a Ubuntu Server format. The primary difference being that Ubuntu Server does not have a graphical desktop environment and may not include many applications and packages that are installed by default with Ubuntu Desktop.

Ubuntu Server is primarily used in enterprise environments on headless systems and interaction with the operating system is done via CLI. It is possible for exacqVision to be installed on third-party systems running the Ubuntu Server operating system.

IMPORTANT: Ubuntu Server should not be considered for use by those unfamiliar with Linux operating systems. Exacq Support will not provide troubleshooting help with these installations.

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Downloading

As Ubuntu Server does not have a GUI, the simplest method of obtaining the installer is the use of the wget command.

  1. Using a separate system with a web browser, navigate to the Exacq.com Software Downloads page.<br><br>
  2. Hovering the cursor over the link for your desired installer, or right-clicking and selecting Copy Link Address will provide you with the URL to use in the following process.<br>
    *Note that the path and the installer file include the version number.<br><br>
  3. Using the CLI of your Ubuntu Server system, use the wget command to download this installer to your system. In the example below, replace the URL with that from your intended link as mentioned in Step 2, above.
    wget &lt;URL&gt; --no-check-certificate<br><br>
  4. Refer to Installing exacqVision Software on 64-bit Ubuntu for the steps to run the installer on your system.<br><br>
  5. After install, you may then connect to and manage the exacqVision Server using the exacqVision Client software installed on another machine on the same network. The Client software may be installed on Linux, Windows, or Mac operating systems.

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Categories
Software Categories exacqVision Server Windows exacqVision Server Linux exacqVision Server Windows x64 exacqVision Server Linux x64 Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Operating System Release Notes

Systems built by Exacq utilize customized OS images for Windows and Ubuntu (Linux).

There may be instances where it is necessary to check the release version on an Exacq system. The release notes are contained within the operating system in a text file titled Release_Notes located on the root of the OS drive.

File path to OS release notes:

Windows – C:\Release_Notes.txt -or- C:\Release_Notes-Win10.txt
Ubuntu (Linux) – /Release_Notes.txt

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NOTE: This file contains release notes for the operating system only. Refer to the Support Portal for ExacqVision software release notes.

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Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Hardware

Can my NVR be Updated to Windows 10

Title

Can my NVR be Updated to Windows 10  

Description 

For customers that would like to migrate from their current operating system to Windows 10, we offer a purchasable upgrade kit.  However you should first determine if the system is compatible / eligible for the upgrade.  

Product 

  • exacqVision Server
  • Ubuntu 
  • Windows 7 
  • Windows Embedded 7 (WES7)

Solution

Not every NVR can be upgraded to Windows 10, but it’s easy to check if an NVR will support Windows 10. Just enter the systems serial number on our compatibility webpage to confirm if the NVR can be upgraded.  

To check compatibility, visit  https://exacq.com/upgrades/win10/

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Client exacqVision Server Categories Products

ExacqVision stance on updating the Windows Operating System

ExacqVision has tested and recommends the Windows 10 LTSB and LTSC releases from Microsoft. These are the only two releases we recommend and support.

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

exacqVision Server crashes and/or triggers watchdog reboot on system with no page file

Affected platforms

Windows

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Symptom

If a page file does not exist on a Windows-based exacqVision system, one or more of the following symptoms may be encountered:

exacqVision Server watchdog log message found in the server log. For example, 7/5/2015 12:02:54 AM tDVRpi Warning tDVR 0 proc 1 err -21 watchdog expired at 2015-07-05 04:00:28

Crash dump is present in the \Server\logs directory. If not corrupt, the dump indicates exception code 0x40000015

Event Log message ID 2004 for Resource Exhaustion is found in the System Event Log

Page File is disabled (see steps below to determine page file setting)

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Resolution

To resolve this problem, enable System page file by performing these steps:

  1. Click Start -> Right Click on Computer -> Properties
  2. Click on Advanced System Settings
  3. Click on Settings in Performance group
  4. Click on Advanced
  5. Under Virtual memory group, click Change
  6. Select System managed size and click Set
  7. Click OK
  8. Reboot the system
Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

A Windows server may crash when attempting to delete old audit trail files

Affected platforms

exacqVision Server version 7.0.3 or earlier, on Windows systems

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Symptom

If the system drive free space falls below 100MB or exacqVision need to delete old audit logs to honor the maximum days setting, exacqVision will attempt to prune the audit trail logs and can crash if any audit log files are locked open by another process.

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Workaround

Do not set a maximum audit log retention time, and ensure the system has more than 100MB of free space on the system drive.

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Resolution

Update to exacqVision Server 7.2.0.85081 or higher

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Disabling Short Filename Support May Speed Up Drive Scans

Each hour, the server scans all enabled recording volumes in order to index all existing video recordings, and to determine the oldest video to be deleted in order to make space for new recordings.

This task can be time consuming, sometimes to the point that the scan may not actually complete within an hour. In the case of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or older, this may partly be due to 8.3 (short) filename support remaining in effect on all enabled recording volumes.

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Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Server Categories Products

Does Exacq support the PowerPC version of the Mac?

No, Exacq does not support the PowerPC version of the Mac, and we do not currently have plans to support it.

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Does-Exacq-support-the-PowerPC-version-of-the-Mac.pdf

Categories
Knowledge Support Support exacqVision Client Categories Products

Can the exacqVision Client run with Windows Aero (Vista)?

Yes. However, video display operations will not be accelerated. Changing the color scheme to Windows Vista Basic can restore overlay and offscreen functionality.

Switching to the Vista Basic theme:

  1. Right-click on the Desktop and click ‘Personalize.’
  2. Click ‘Window Color and Appearance.’
  3. Click the ‘Open classic appearance properties for more color options’ link.
  4. Select ‘Windows Vista Basic,’ then click ‘Apply.’

This should disable all Aero features, such as the glass effect and taskbar thumbnails.

Alternatively, you may use the command line in CMD to issue the following command:

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