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.
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.
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.
<br>
Downloading
As Ubuntu Server does not have a GUI, the simplest method of obtaining the installer is the use of the wget command.
Using a separate system with a web browser, navigate to the Exacq.com Software Downloads page.<br><br>
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>
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 <URL> --no-check-certificate<br><br>
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.
exacqVision G-Series Micro units may fail to write Exacq’s custom image of Ubuntu OS versions back to drive if the version is above Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.
Product
G-Series Micro
Steps to Reproduce
Re-image a G-Series Micro Unit to an Ubuntu OS image above 18.04 LTS
Expected Results
The sysprep process should not fail
Actual Results
The sysprep process fails
Solution
Re-image to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS from sysprep USB key instead of using 20.04 LTS or 22.04 LTS image.
Run the following commands to step up in OS versions: sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade sudo apt dist-upgrade sudo apt autoremove sudo do-release-upgrade -f DistUpgradeViewGtk3
Once an Ubuntu release has hit it’s end of life (EOL) date it may be necessary to manually add sources to the repository sources.list in order to update Firefox to a version that will have meet the minimum requirements to work with modern websites and software.
Product
Firefox
Ubuntu (EOL) Releases
Solution
NOTE: The preferred solution would be to re-image to a version of Ubuntu which has not reached end life!
Uninstall Firefox
Close all instances of Firefox, then open a terminal window and run the following command:
sudo dpkg -P firefox
Update sources.list to include old-release repositories
From terminal
sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
Append the lines appropriate for the OS to the end of sources.list, then save and close gedit.
Ubuntu 8.04 May 9, 2013
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy-backports main restricted universe multiverse
For 10.04 April 30, 2015
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-backports main restricted universe multiverse
For 12.04 April 28, 2017
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-backports main restricted universe multiverse
For 14.04 April, 2019
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-backports main restricted universe multiverse
For 16.04 April, 2021
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
•This procedure applies to replacing the first non-RAID storage drive (mechanical SATA hard disk drive) on an Ubuntu Linux-based exacqVision server. If the operating system ROOT partition is 8GB or smaller, the replacement primary storage drive will need to have the “Linux swap”, “export”, and first “storage” partitions created on it. •These instructions assume that the Linux operating system is installed to an on-board solid-state drive (SSD) and can be successfully logged into with an administrator account. •This procedure is not intended for simply adding a new storage drive to a fully functional system.
Product
exacqVision Ubuntu Linux non-RAID Servers
Solution:
A. Verifying the size of the Root partition is 8 GB or smaller
The root partition size will need to be verified before completing the replacement task properly. Open Terminal and specify the command: df -h
In this example, the root directory “/” is located on the “/dev/sda3” partition which has a size of “55 GB.” If the root partition is 8 GB or less, continue with this document.
If, however, the root partition is 20 GB or greater, please obtain Support Portal Knowledge Base Number 10048 – “Replacing the First Storage Drive using GParted on a Non-RAID exacqVision Ubuntu Linux Server having a 20 GB or larger ROOT partition.”
B. Temporarily Disabling the Original Drive Mount Point Listed in the fstab File
Type the command sudo gedit /etc/fstab in Terminal and press the enter key to edit the file.
# /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use ‘blkid’ to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> # / was on /dev/sda3 during installation UUID=36a8d968-7e63-4859-a91b-0fdfcc319d3a / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # /boot/efi was on /dev/sda1 during installation UUID=DDF2-8CC6 /boot/efi vfat umask=0077 0 1 # /home was on /dev/sda2 during installation UUID=bc7b3ed7-7dfd-4530-972a-9c3269ea624b /home ext4 defaults 0 2 # /mnt/export was on /dev/sda4 during installation UUID=e4638d65-fbe8-407c-a9e8-6c3da0bed19c /mnt/export ext4 defaults 0 2 /swapfile none swap sw 0 0 LABEL=/mnt/edvr/1 /mnt/edvr/1 ext4 relatime,errors=remount-ro,noauto,x-systemd.automount 0 0
2. Locate and add a “# ” remark character and a space to the beginning of the line for “/mnt/edvr/1”. Save the file.
3. Type the command sudo reboot in Terminal to restart the exacqVision Server.
C. Partitioning the First Non-RAID Storage Drive using GParted
Open a Terminal session. Type the command sudogparted and press the enter key. If prompted for a password, use the admin account password.
Select the empty hard drive from the drop-down list in the top-right corner. Note that the drive is unallocated, which indicates that you have selected the correct hard drive. Select Create Partition Table from the Device menu.
3. Select Advanced in the Create Partition Table dialog. Select gpt from the Select New Partition Table Type drop-down list. Click Apply.
4. Right-click in the unallocated space and select New to open the Create New Partition window. Select 20000 in the New Size (MiB) box. Select linux-swap in the File System drop-down list. In the Label field, type swap. Click Add.
5. Right-click the unallocated space and select New to open the Create New Partition window. Select 10000 in the New Size (MiB) box. Select ext4 in the File System drop-down list. In the Label field, type /mnt/export. Click Add.
6. Right-click the unallocated space and select New to open the Create New Partition window. Select the highest available number in the Set New Size (MiB) box. Make sure Free Space Preceding and Free Space Following are both zero or 1. Select ext4 in the File System drop-down list. In the Label field, type /mnt/edvr/1. Click Add.
7. Click the green checkmark at the top of the screen and then click Apply. Wait for the operations to complete. Click on the Close button.
8. Close GParted. 9. In the terminal window, enter the following commands.
sudo service edvrserver stop sudo mount –a
10. To create your export directories and change ownership:
sudo mkdir /mnt/export/admin sudo mkdir /mnt/export/user sudo chown admin /mnt/export/admin sudo chown user /mnt/export/user sudo service edvrserver start
11. In a Terminal window, enter the following commands:
Type the command sudo reboot in Terminal to restart the exacqVision Server. If prompted for a password, use the admin account password (admin256 by default).
D. The replaced drive may display as “Offline” in the Storage Page
(A) If the old drive DOES NOT display as “Offline” in the Storage Page then the procedure is considered complete. (B) If the old drive DOES display as “Offline” then continue below.
Run exacqVision Client and check the Storage configuration. You should see the new drive in the list of attached storage devices. The replaced drive displays as “Offline” which requires editing the <sysmgmtpi.xml> file located in the path: /usr/local/exacq/server to remove the corresponding entries. Click on the “Offline” disk and note the model number and serial number for this purpose. Close the exacqVision Client.
Open a Terminal session. Type the command sudo service edvrserver stop and press the enter key to stop the server service.
Type the command cd /usr/local/exacq/server/ and press the enter key.
Type the command sudo cp -via sysmgmtpi.xml sysmgmtpi.bak and press the enter key to back-up the original file.
Type the command sudo gedit sysmgmtpi.xml and press the enter key. Scroll down and remove the lines (between and including the xml tags < Disk Name = > and < / Disk >) for the corresponding “Offline” hard disk drive model number and serial number noted previously with exacqVision Client. It should lack any < Attribute > tags.
The section to be removed in our example: < Disk Name = “WD-WCC4M4VYN3E5” Model=”WDC WD20PURZ-85GU6Y0″ SerialNumber=”WD-WCC4M4VYN3E5″ FirmwareVersion=”” DriverVersion=”” Capacity=”-1″ SmartAvailable=”-1″ SmartEnabled=”-1″ ControllerName=”” UnitName=”” OtherName=”” Speed=”-1″ LinkSpeed=”-1.000000″ Hotspare=”0″ CanConfigureHotSpare=”0″ Attached=”0″ NonRaidPort=”2″ SupportsPrep=”0″> < Thresholds > < Threshold Id = “194” Min=”5″ Max=”55″ /> < /Thresholds > < /Disk >
“Save” the changes and “Close” the gedit window.
Type the command sudo service edvrserver start and press the enter key to start the server service.
Close the Terminal window.
Run exacqVision Client and check the Storage configuration is free of the “Offline” hard disk drive entry.
•This procedure applies to replacing the first non-RAID storage drive (mechanical SATA hard disk drive) on an Ubuntu Linux-based exacqVision server. If the operating system ROOT partition is 20GB or larger, the replacement storage drive will only need to have the first “storage” partition created on it. •These instructions assume that the Linux operating system is installed to an on-board solid-state drive (SSD) and can be successfully logged into with an administrator account. •This procedure is not intended for simply adding a new storage drive to a fully functional system.
Product
exacqVision Ubuntu Linux non-RAID Servers
Solution:
A. Verifying the size of the Root partition is 20 GB or larger
The root partition size will need to be verified to complete the replacement task properly. Open Terminal and specify the command: df -h
In this example, the root directory “/” is located on the “/dev/sda3” partition which has a size of “55 GB.” If the root partition is 20 GB or larger, continue with this document. If, however, the root partition is 8 GB or smaller, please obtain Support Portal Knowledge Base Number 10050 – “Replacing the First Storage Drive using GParted on a Non-RAID exacqVision Ubuntu Linux Server having an 8 GB or smaller ROOT partition“.
B. Temporarily Disabling the Original Drive Mount Point Listed in the fstab File
Type the command sudo gedit /etc/fstab in Terminal and press the enter key to edit the file.
# /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use ‘blkid’ to print the universally unique identifier for a # device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices # that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> # / was on /dev/sda3 during installation UUID=36a8d968-7e63-4859-a91b-0fdfcc319d3a / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # /boot/efi was on /dev/sda1 during installation UUID=DDF2-8CC6 /boot/efi vfat umask=0077 0 1 # /home was on /dev/sda2 during installation UUID=bc7b3ed7-7dfd-4530-972a-9c3269ea624b /home ext4 defaults 0 2 # /mnt/export was on /dev/sda4 during installation UUID=e4638d65-fbe8-407c-a9e8-6c3da0bed19c /mnt/export ext4 defaults 0 2 /swapfile none swap sw 0 0 LABEL=/mnt/edvr/1 /mnt/edvr/1 ext4 relatime,errors=remount-ro,noauto,x-systemd.automount 0 0
2. Locate and add a “# ” remark character and a space to the beginning of the line for “/mnt/edvr/1”. Save the file and closed the text editor.
3. Type the command sudo reboot in Terminal to restart the exacqVision Server. If prompted for a password, use the admin account password (admin256 by default).
C. Partitioning the First Non-RAID Storage Drive using GParted
Open a Terminal session. Type the command sudogparted and press the enter key. If prompted for a password, use the admin account password.
Select the empty hard drive from the drop-down list in the top-right corner. Note that the drive is unallocated, which indicates that you have selected the newly installed hard disk drive. Select Create Partition Table from the Device menu.
In the Create Partition Table dialog, select gpt from the “Select New Partition Table Type” drop-down list. Click Apply
Right-click the unallocated space and select New to open the Create New Partition window. Select the highest available number in the New Size (MiB) box. Make sure Free Space Preceding and Free Space Following are both at the minimum value allowed (zero or 1). Select “ext4” in the File System drop-down list. In the Label field, type “/mnt/edvr/1”. Click the “Add” button. Click the green checkmark icon near the top of the screen.
Click on “Apply” and wait for the operations to complete. Click on the Close button. Close Gparted.
Type the command sudo gedit /etc/fstab in Terminal and press the enter key to edit the file.
Type the command sudo reboot in Terminal to restart the exacqVision Server. If prompted for a password, use the admin account password (admin256 by default).
D. The replaced drive may display as “Offline” in the Storage Page
(A) If the old drive DOES NOT display as “Offline” in the Storage Page then the procedure is considered complete. (B) If the old drive DOES display as “Offline” then continue below.
Run exacqVision Client and check the Storage configuration. You should see the new drive in the list of attached storage devices. The replaced drive displays as “Offline” which requires editing the < sysmgmtpi.xml > file located in the path: /usr/local/exacq/server to remove the corresponding entries. Click on the “Offline” disk and note the model number and serial number for this purpose. Close the exacqVision Client.
Open a Terminal session. Type the command sudo service edvrserver stop and press the enter key to stop the server service.
Type the command cd /usr/local/exacq/server/ and press the enter key.
Type the command sudo cp -via sysmgmtpi.xml sysmgmtpi.bak and press the enter key to back-up the original file.
Type the command sudo gedit sysmgmtpi.xml and press the enter key. Scroll down and remove the lines (between and including the xml tags < Disk Name = > and < /Disk >) for the corresponding “Offline” hard disk drive model number and serial number noted previously with exacqVision Client. It should lack any < Attribute > tags.
The section to be removed in our example: < Disk Name = “WD-WCC4M4VYN3E5” Model=”WDC WD20PURZ-85GU6Y0″ SerialNumber=”WD-WCC4M4VYN3E5″ FirmwareVersion=”” DriverVersion=”” Capacity=”-1″ SmartAvailable=”-1″ SmartEnabled=”-1″ ControllerName=”” UnitName=”” OtherName=”” Speed=”-1″ LinkSpeed=”-1.000000″ Hotspare=”0″ CanConfigureHotSpare=”0″ Attached=”0″ NonRaidPort=”2″ SupportsPrep=”0″> < Thresholds > < Threshold Id = “194” Min=”5″ Max=”55″ /> < /Thresholds > < /Disk >
“Save” the changes and “Close” the gedit window.
Type the command sudo service edvrserver start and press the enter key to start the server service.
Close the Terminal window.
Run exacqVision Client and check the Storage configuration is free of the “Offline” hard disk drive entry.
Replacing MegaRAID Storage Manager (MSM) With LSI Storage Authority (LSA) – Linux
Description
MSM has been found to have some exposure to CVE-2021-44228, the Apache Log4j remote code execution vulnerability, see statement from Broadcom Log4j2 Exposure (CVE-2021-44228). As a result you may be able to replace MSM with LSA on a Windows machine using the following instructions.
Product
MegaRAID 92xx Series RAID Controllers
MegaRAID 93xx Series RAID Controllers
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Earlier
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Ubunutu 20.04 LTS
Prerequisites
First determine which version of Ubuntu the NVR is currently running using Knowledge Base Article #9996 “How to Identify the Current Linux OS Version”
Next identify the RAID controller model using Knowledge Base Article #7244 “How to Identify the MegaRAID Controller Model on an exacqVision Server”
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or earlier Operating Systems
Broadcom has not provided an LSA version for 16.04 LTS or older versions of Ubuntu.
If possible, Re-image using Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04 LTS
The LSI website will require reading a download agreement, (scrolling down to the bottom of the agreement), clicking an acknowledgement checkbox, then clicking the “I Agree” button
Once downloaded, close Firefox
On the desktop double-click the Computer icon.
Select Downloads, locate and right-click on the LSA zip file and select extract here
Right-click the newly created x64 folder and select Open as Administrator
A caution window may appear, click OK to continue
Enter the Administrator Password and click Authenticate
Click File menu and Select Open in Terminal
In the terminal window type ./install_deb.sh and press Enter
The License agreement (EULA) will be displayed
Type Y to accept the License Agreement then press Enter
Type 1 to choose “Since last shutdown” and press Enter
Type 2 to choose “Standalone” and press Enter
Type 2463 for Web Server port and press Enter
Type 9000 for LSA Port and press Enter
Type Y and press Enter to install openslp
When you see “LSA installation successful” the install is complete
Close the Terminal window
Edit the Desktop Icon
Right-click on the MSM desktop icon and select properties
SSH is installed on ExacqVision Servers at the time of manufacture; however, for security purposes, SSH is disabled. To enable remote administration of your ExacqVision system via SSH, it must first enabled.
Product
Linux (Ubuntu)
Solution
Using Exacq Linux Utilities
On the desktop of the NVR, launch Exacq Linux Utilities
Click System
Click SSH, the current SSH Access Status will be displayed
Click Open SSH to enable or Click Close SSH to disable
apt update: Update is used to resynchronize the package index files from their sources on Ubuntu Linux via the Internet. apt upgrade: Upgrade is used to install the newest versions of all packages currently installed on the Ubuntu system.
To update software list for Ubuntu
First, open the Terminal application and type following two commands (Application > Accessories > Terminal or CTL-ALT-T).
