VSM 7 12 Vsom
VSM 7 12 Vsom
VSM 7 12 Vsom
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This document, the Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager User Guide provides an overview of
Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager Release 7.12, including basic procedures that should be
performed when you first start to use the system, and detailed information about advanced features and
configurations.
See the Release Notes for information about the new and revised features in this release.
Related Documentation
See the Cisco Video Surveillance 7 Documentation Roadmap for descriptions and links to Cisco Video
Surveillance documentation, server and storage platform documentation, and other related
documentation.
Tip See Related Documentation for more information and links to Cisco Video Surveillance documentation.
Preface iii
Overview 2-2
License Management 2-3
Limitations 4-2
Overview 6-2
Understanding Roles, Groups and Users 6-3
Understanding the System-Defined User Roles, Groups and Accounts 6-4
Understanding Permissions 6-4
Understanding the Impact of a User’s Location 6-10
Understanding the Super Admin 6-10
Example Roles For Different Types of Users 6-11
Defining User Roles 6-12
Overview 8-2
Requirements 9-7
Overview 10-3
Understanding Network and Analog Cameras 10-3
Requirements 10-3
Summary Steps 10-4
Viewing Cameras 10-5
Viewing a List of Supported Cameras 10-7
Manually Adding Cameras 10-8
Overview 10-8
Manually Adding a Single Camera 10-10
Overview 13-2
Requirements 13-3
Overview 15-2
View Storage and Bitrate Information in the Storage Retention Dashboard 16-5
Prerequisites 19-2
Requirements 19-2
Supported Apps 19-4
IP Cameras That Support Apps 19-4
Obtaining and Installing App Licenses 19-5
Obtaining Camera Apps 19-6
Managing Camera Apps Using the Operations Manager 19-8
Overview 19-8
Using the Camera Web Interface to Define Application Settings 19-9
Camera App Status When Cameras are Added to Cisco VSM 19-10
Summary Steps 19-11
Detailed Steps 19-14
Viewing App Logs and Status 19-17
Enabling an App When the App is Not Installed 19-24
Disabling, De-installing and Deleting Apps 19-24
Upgrading Camera Apps 19-28
Troubleshooting Camera Apps 19-29
Camera Apps Cannot Be Added to Multiple Operations Managers 19-29
Camera App Licenses Must be Installed Using Operations Manager 19-29
Camera Apps Are Disabled for When Modifying Templates 19-30
Related Documentation 19-30
Overview 20-3
Deployment Scenarios 20-3
Copy Options 20-5
Usage Notes 20-6
Requirements 20-7
Supported IP Cameras (On-Device Storage) 20-8
Requirements 21-2
(Optional) Set the Custom Field Values For Multiple Cameras 21-5
Overview 23-2
Requirements 23-4
Overview 25-2
Requirements 25-2
Summary Steps 25-3
Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers 25-4
Understanding Failover 25-6
Define the Media Server HA Role and Associated Servers 25-8
Overview 26-2
Understanding Operations Manager HA 26-2
Requirements 26-4
Configuring Operations Manager HA 26-6
Reports 27-28
Create a Report 27-28
Delete a Report 27-28
Overview 30-2
Usage Notes 30-2
Backup Settings 30-3
Backup File Format 30-4
Backup File Information 30-5
Disk Usage for Backups 30-6
Failed Backups 30-7
Backing Up and Restoring a Single Server 30-8
Manually Backup a Single Server 30-8
Automatic Backups (Single Server) 30-9
Restoring a Backup for a Single Server 30-11
Deleting a Backup File 30-12
Backing Up Multiple Servers (Bulk Actions) 30-13
Overview 31-3
Requirements 31-4
CHAPTER 32 Using Dynamic Proxy to Monitor Video From Remote Sites 32-1
The Cisco VSM Operations Manager is a browser-based configuration and administration tool used to
manage the devices, video streams, archives, and policies in a Cisco Video Surveillance deployment.
The Operations Manager interface is enabled when the Operations Manager service is enabled on a Cisco
Video Surveillance server (see the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration
Guide for more information).
Refer to the following topics for a summary of the main Operations Manager capabilities, configuration
features, and other information.
Contents
• Operations Manager Feature Summary, page 1-2
• Requirements, page 1-4
• Main Elements of the User Interface, page 1-6
• Summary Steps: Basic Configuration, page 1-8
• Summary Steps: Advanced Configuration, page 1-16
• Logging In and Managing Passwords, page 1-17
– Logging In, page 1-17
– Understanding Dual Login, page 1-19
– Default User Accounts and Passwords, page 1-21
– Changing Your Password, page 1-22
– Manage Your Security Questions, page 1-23
– Changing Another User’s Password, page 1-24
– Understanding and Changing Your “Site”, page 1-24
• Using Find, page 1-27
• Understanding Maintenance Mode, page 1-28
Requirements
Cisco VSM Operations Manager requires the following.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
At least one Cisco Video Surveillance server must be installed on the network.
• At least one Media Server and Operations Manager must be enabled.
• The Media Server and Operations Manager services can be enabled on a single physical server
(co-located) or on separate servers.
• Multiple Media Servers can be hosted by a co-located Operations Manager, or a stand-alone Operations
Manager.
• See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform Series User Guide for instructions to install a physical
server. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and Recovery Guide for UCS
Platforms for instructions to install a virtual machine.
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for instructions to enable
the Media Server and Operations Manager services.
The IP address or hostname of the Operations Manager.
A valid Cisco VSM Operations Manager username and password.
The server IP address and password if stand-alone Cisco Media Servers are deployed.
At least one camera physically installed and connected to the network.
• See the camera documentation for instructions to install the camera.
• You can also install network or analog cameras.
• Analog cameras require a video encoder to enable network connectivity.
Tip You can pre-provision cameras by adding them to the Operations Manager before they are available
on the network. See the “Pre-Provisioning Cameras” section on page 10-9.
All the servers and camera endpoints must be reachable on the network.
Review the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide for more information.
A Domain Name Server (DNS) configuration must be installed and working properly.
If Cisco VSM servers are added to the Operations Manager using hostnames (instead of IP addresses), then
the network Domain Name Server (DNS) that resolves those hostnames must be properly configured and
working.
If the DNS goes down or is incorrect, “404 File Not Found” errors may be displayed by the Operations
Manager when performing tasks such as downloading MP4 video clips, executing soft triggers, or streaming
video.
If this occurs, correct the DNS configuration to properly resolve all server hostnames to the proper IP address.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A PC or laptop running one of the following 64-bit operating systems:
– Windows 7
– Windows 8 / 8.1
– Windows 10
• Minimum resolution of 1280x1024
• You must log in with a standard Windows user account. Logging in with a Guest account can prevent
video streaming and result in an error to be displayed in the video pane: “Cannot create RTSP connection
to server. Check network connection and server health status.”
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification for the
complete baseline performance specifications for a video surveillance monitoring workstation.
The Internet Explorer (IE) web browser.
Windows
• Windows 7 SP1, 8.1 or 10 support IE 11
32-bit or 64-bit
• The IE 32-bit version can display a maximum of 4 video panes (for example, in a 2x2 layout).
• The IE 64-bit version can display a maximum of 16 video panes (for example, in a 4x4 layout). The 64-bit
version of Internet Explorer requires that the workstation run in “Protected Mode”.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification for the
complete workstation requirements, and instructions to enable “Protected Mode”.
The Cisco Multi-Pane client software installed on the PC.
• The Multi-Pane client is an Active X client that enables video playback and other features.
• You will be prompted to install Multi-Pane client the first time you log in to the Operations Manager, or
if you are using a the 64-bit Internet Explorer (IE) web browser for the first time. Follow the on-screen
instructions if prompted.
• You will also be prompted to install the required Microsoft .Net 4.5 component, if necessary. If your
workstation does not have Internet access, download the .Net 4.5 installer.
• You must have administrative privileges on the PC workstation to install the software.
Note By default, all video monitoring using Internet Explorer is performed using the 32-bit Cisco
Multi-Pane client software. To enable 64-bit browser monitoring in Windows using IE, see the Cisco
Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification.
Tip See the “Summary Steps: Basic Configuration” section on page 1-8 for instructions to add and configure
a basic set of devices.
1 Feature tabs:
• Monitor Video—View live and recorded video from up to four panes. See the “Monitoring Video Using Internet
Explorer” section on page 3-1.
• Cameras—Add, configure and modify video surveillance cameras, templates and encoders. See the “Adding and
Managing Cameras” section on page 10-1.
• Users—Manage user accounts and access permissions, including access for LDAP users. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1.
• System Settings—Configure system attributes, including system settings, Media Servers, locations, schedules,
software licenses, Video Walls, and other attributes. See the “Revising the System Settings” section on page 29-1.
• Operations—Links to documentation, desktop monitoring software, logs, Reporting and Health features, and the
Cisco VSM Management Console.
Note Only the features and functions that the user has access permissions for are displayed.
2 Additional feature buttons. For example, Thumbnail Search, Clip Search or Health Dashboard.
The buttons and options vary depending on the screen.
3 Find—Search for devices and attributes (see the “Using Find” section on page 1-27).
4 Location Hierarchy—Allows you to organize devices, resources, and access permissions according to the locations in
your deployment. See the “Creating the Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1.
5 Devices, users, or other attributes available for the selected location.
6 Video Monitoring panes or configuration window. The fields and contents of the main window vary depending on the
feature you are accessing.
7 • Layouts—(Monitor Video window) Select a blank layout (set of video panes) and double-click cameras to view in
those panes. See the “Controlling Live and Recorded Video” section on page 3-9.
• Views—(Monitor Video window) Create or select a pre-defined View (set of video panes). See the “Selecting a
Multi-Pane “View”” section on page 3-4.
8 Jobs—A user-triggered Cisco VSM system task that is completed in the background.
• Click the icon to view information about the job.
• The job icons are displayed only when a job is in progress.
See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37.
9 Connection—Defines if the Operations Manager is receiving real time status updates (from the ActiveMQ service).
10 Maintenance Mode—A read-only mode that allows user to access live and recorded video but locks most configuration
changes.
See Understanding Maintenance Mode, page 1-28.
11 Help—Opens the online help system that contains this document. For more information and additional documentation,
refer to the Help links in the Operations tab.
12 Logout—Click to log out of the Cisco VSM Operations Manager.
13 Site—Displays the site where you are logged in. Click the site name to change the site.
See the “Understanding and Changing Your “Site”” section on page 1-24.
14 Username—Displays the username for the currently logged in user.
Click the username to change your password. See the “Changing Your Password” section on page 1-22.
Task Description
Step 1 Log on to the Cisco VSM See the “Logging In and Managing Passwords” section on page 1-17.
Operations Manager.
Step 2 Install the system licenses. Purchase and install a license for each Media Server and non-Cisco camera
added to your deployment. See the “Installing and Managing Licenses” section
on page 2-1.
Task Description
Step 3 Revise the system settings. Revise the default user password properties, record storage rules, backup file
rules, and other settings.
Tip The default settings are sufficient for a basic setup, but you should
review and revise the settings to meet the needs of your deployment.
For example:
a. Choose Settings > System Settings.
b. Revise the following properties, as necessary:
– General System Settings, page 29-2
– Password Settings, page 29-4
See the “Revising the System Settings” section on page 29-1 for more
information.
Task Description
Step 4 Create at least one location. Define the locations that are assigned to devices (such as cameras) user groups,
and policies. Locations allow administrators to restrict user access to the
cameras, policies, and data (such as alerts) required by the user’s role. For
example, a security guard can have access to view video at a specific location,
but not to configure the camera properties.
Task Description
Step 5 Create at least one user account. Create the user accounts and access permissions that restrict the locations and
tasks available to a user. For example:
Task Description
Step 6 Add at least one Media Server. Add a Media Server and camera.
A Media Server is an application that runs on physical Cisco Video Surveillance
server, and provides video streaming, recording and storage for the cameras
associated with that server. You must add the Media Server to the Operations
Manager configuration to communication between the applications.
Task Description
Step 7 Add at least one camera. The surveillance video camera must be installed on the network.
Note Although cameras can be pre-provisioned (added before they are
installed on the network), you should add at least one installed camera
to the basic configuration to verify network connectivity, video
monitoring, and other features.
a. Click Cameras.
b. Click Add.
c. Select the camera type:
– IP Camera—networked IP camera
– Analog Camera—analog camera are attached to an encoder to provide
network connectivity and digitize the analog video. See the Adding
Encoders and Analog Cameras, page 23-1 for more information.
d. Enter the basic camera settings and click Add.
See the “Manually Adding a Single Camera” section on page 10-10 for more
information.
Task Description
Step 8 View video from the camera to View the live or recorded video from the camera to verify that the settings are
verify that the system is working correct and that the devices are available on the network.
properly.
See the “Controlling Live and Recorded Video” section on page 3-9 for more
information.
Task Description
Step 9 Backup the Operations Manager See the “Backup and Restore” section on page 30-1 for more information.
configuration and other data, or
create an automatic backup
schedule.
Tip We highly recommend that you also back up the Media Server
application data using the Cisco Video Surveillance Management
Console interface. The Media Server application backup is separate
from the Operations Manager backup and includes critical server
settings and data necessary to restore the system in the event of a
hardware failure. See the “Backing Up Multiple Servers (Bulk
Actions)” section on page 30-13 for more information.
Step 10 Troubleshoot problems or verify See the “Monitoring System and Device Health” section on page 27-1 for more
the system and device status. information.
Note Table 1-4 describes a sub-set of options available in the Cisco Video Surveillance deployment. Review
the other topics in this guide for additional features and configuration instructions.
Task Description
Step 1 Create a more sophisticated See the “Understanding Permission-Based and Partition-Based Resources”
location hierarchy to reflect the section on page 8-3.
needs of your deployment.
Step 2 Add additional users (or add • Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1
LDAP servers to authenticate
• Adding Users from an LDAP Server, page 7-1
users from other systems).
Step 3 Add additional Media Servers and High availability servers provide redundant or failover support for the Primary
configure the high availability Media Server.
options.
Long Term Storage servers can back up recordings and remove them from the
Primary Media Server.
• Configuring Media Server Services, page 13-1
• High Availability: Cisco Media Servers, page 25-1
Step 4 Create camera templates. Templates define configurations that can be applied to multiple cameras.
See the Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1.
Step 5 Add additional cameras. You can import cameras from a file or discover them on the network.
• Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File, page 10-20
• Adding Cameras from an Existing Media Server, page 10-41
Step 6 Configure camera recordings. Configure cameras to record in a continuous loop, on a recurring schedule, or
both.
See the “Configuring Continuous, Scheduled, and Motion Recordings” section
on page 15-7
Step 7 Configure additional camera and • Configuring Camera PTZ Controls, Presets, and Tours, page 10-81
monitoring features.
• Configuring Motion Detection, page 10-96
• Setting the Default View, page 5-1
• Configuring Video Walls, page 5-9
• Enabling On-Demand Recording, page 5-14
Step 8 Define the system events that Use Advanced Events to trigger an immediate one-time action when a specified
trigger actions. event occurs. For example, when motion starts or a contact is closed, the system
can trigger an alert, aim the camera to a PTZ preset position, or trigger an action
on an external system.
See the “Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7 for
more information.
Logging In
To log in to the Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager:
Procedure
Step 1 Launch the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Internet Explorer on your Windows computer.
See the “Requirements” section on page 1-4 for more information.
Step 2 Enter the Operations Manager URL or IP address.
• Enter the virtual IP address or hostname provided by your system administrator if redundant (HA)
Operations Manager servers are deployed.
Step 3 Enter your username and password.
• The default credentials for a new or factory restored server are admin/admin.
• The username and initial password for all other users is defined when the user account is created
(see the “Adding Users” section on page 6-20).
Step 4 Select a domain:
• Choose the default “localhost” if your account was created using the Operations Manager.
• Select an alternative domain if instructed by your system administrator.
Step 5 Click Log in.
Step 6 Enter a new password and answers to security questions, if prompted.
• You must enter this information the first time you log in, or when your password periodically
expires.
• To update the answers to your security questions, login and click Profile.
• To change your password, log in and click your username. See also Changing Your Password.
• Users with Site access are prompted for a Site on first login only, but not on subsequent logins
• Users with no Site access are not prompted for a Site.
• Users can also change their Site after log in, if configured.
• See the “Understanding and Changing Your “Site”” section on page 1-24 for more information.
Step 8 If prompted, ask your manager or other administrator to enter their “Approver Login” (Figure 1-3).
• You must have administrative privileges on the PC workstation to install the software.
• You will also be prompted to install the required Microsoft .Net 4.5 component, if necessary. If your
workstation does not have Internet access, download the .Net 4.5 installer.
Note You must log in with a standard Windows user account. Logging in with a Guest account can prevent
video streaming and result in an error to be displayed in the video pane: “Cannot create RTSP connection
to server. Check network connection and server health status.”
Procedure
Tip See the “Adding User Groups” section on page 6-14 for more information.
Figure 1-4 Creating a User Group That Requires Dual Login “Approval Required”
For example, create a User Group that includes only users who can approve user logins, or select an
existing group, such as super_admins.
Step 5 Click Create.
Step 6 Assign users to the User Group, and to the Approver Usergroup.
Step 7 When the user logs in, a window appears requiring a second user to enter their username and password
(Figure 1-5).
Note If the approval is not successfully submitted within the time-out period displayed, the login is
denied.
Step 1 Log in to the Operations Manager (see Logging In, page 1-17).
Step 2 Click your username in the top right (Figure 1-6).
Step 3 Enter your current password.
Step 4 Enter and re-enter a new password.
Step 5 Click OK.
Note • If you forgot your password, click Forgot Password on the login screen and enter your answers to
the security questions. If you did not previously enter answers to the questions, contact your
administrator for assistance in resetting your password.
• Users from external systems (LDAP servers) cannot change their password using the Cisco VSM
Operations Manager.
• Click Profile to change the security questions used to recover a lost password.
Procedure
Note The user is required to change the password the next time they log in.
Notes
• The password expiry date and the date that the password was last changed is displayed under the
description.
• This method can also be used by the super-admin to change their own password. All other users can
change their own password by clicking on their username in the top right corner of the browser
(Figure 1-6). See Changing Your Password, page 1-22. See the Understanding the Super Admin,
page 6-10 for a summary of super-admin tasks.
• Users authenticated from an LDAP server must change their password using their organization’s
LDAP service.
• Users with Site access are prompted for a Site on first login only, but not on subsequent logins.
• Users with no Site access are not prompted for a Site.
• Users who have access to multiple sites, but do not have the option to change sites, will default to
“Not in any site” when logging in.
• If the Site is configured for Dynamic Proxy, users inside the Site are served by the Media Server in
that Site (when accessing cameras inside the Site). Users outside the Site will receive video from a
Dynamic Proxy server when accessing any camera inside the Site. See the “Using Dynamic Proxy
to Monitor Video From Remote Sites” section on page 32-1 for more information.
• Users who do not select a Site, are not assigned a Site, or select Not in Any Site will receive video
from a Dynamic Proxy server for cameras in any Site where Dynamic Proxy is enabled.
Note Users are allowed to change their Site after logging in only if the Allow Site Change option is selected
in their user configuration. See the “Table 6-7User Group General Settings” section on page 6-15.
Using Find
Enter a term or name in the Find field to quickly locate cameras, Media Servers, users, or other Cisco
VSM attributes. The Find field is located at the top of the left column (Figure 1-10) and dynamically
locates any item in the open window (not just for the location selected).
For example, open Cameras and then enter a name of a camera. The results are displayed below the Find
field, and is dynamically updated to display even partial matches. The example in Figure 1-11 shows the
results of a partial search: entering “Lo” returns the camera “Lobby Door”.
Tip Click the icon to clear the Find entry and return to normal view. All entries are displayed.
• Site
• User, role, and user groups
• Camera and encoder configuration
• Server
• Camera apps
• Health
• Driver pack installation and upgrade
• Firmware upgrades
• Licenses
• Maps
• Adding user comments
• Create clips using the Thumbnail Search or Clips Search pages.
If maintenance mode is ON (pencil icon is grey ), these tasks are NOT permitted.
A license must be purchased and installed for each Media Server and non-Cisco camera added to your
deployment. You can choose from 2 licensing methods:
• Traditional Licensing—Licenses are installed on the Operations Manager and maintained locally.
• Cisco Smart Software Licensing—Licenses are managed from a central location. Smart Software
Licensing also allows you to manage licenses for all of the Cisco products in your organization.
Review the following information for more information.
Contents
• Overview, page 2-2
• Using Traditional Licensing, page 2-4
– Traditional Licensing Usage Notes, page 2-4
– License Part Numbers, page 2-5
– Obtaining and Installing Licenses, page 2-5
– Displaying License Information, page 2-6
– Deleting Licenses, page 2-7
• Using Smart Software Licensing, page 2-7
– Enable Smart Software Licensing, page 2-7
– Register VSM with Cisco Smart Software Licensing, page 2-8
Note If your deployment includes a Cisco VSM Federator server, you must also purchase and install a
Federator license to enable the number of Operations Managers managed by the Federator server. See
the “Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations Managers” section on page 31-1.
Overview
Traditional Licensing is enabled by default, and requires that you install and manage your Cisco VSM
licenses locally, using the Operations Manager.
You can continue to use Traditional Licensing, or switch to Smart Software Licensing at any time. When
you switch, a 90-day trial period begins, allowing you to evaluate the Smart Software Licensing system
and add additional cameras and servers without purchasing additional licenses.
At the end of the 90-day trial period, you must purchase a license for each Media Server and non-Cisco
camera in your deployment. You can continue to use Smart Software Licensing, or switch back to
Traditional Licensing at any time (see Figure 2-1).
License Management
To manage licenses, go to System Settings > Software Licensing. Traditional Licensing is enabled by
default (Figure 2-2). An option to enable Smart Software Licensing also exists.
1 The License Summary displays the total number of Cisco 4 Information about the selected license file, such as the
cameras, non-Cisco cameras, and servers that can be upload date and the number of devices enabled by the
managed by the current Operations Manager. The total license.
number of device licenses used and available is also
shown.
Note Up to 200 servers and 10,000 cameras can be
managed by the system. Although you can install
more than the supported number of licenses, they
will not be recognized.
2 Licenses for additional servers and non-Cisco cameras. 5 Option to enable Smart Software Licensing.
Note Entries shown in red are invalid or expired.
3 The license for Cisco cameras (included).
For a summary of the Cisco VSM licenses, see the Release Notes for Cisco Video Surveillance Manager.
Tip For additional information on installing licenses, see the “Using Dynamic Proxy to Monitor Video From
Remote Sites” section on page 32-1 and the “Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations
Managers” section on page 31-1.
Note Multiple camera and Media Server licenses can be included in a single license file. For example, a single
license file might include support for 25 additional cameras and 2 additional Media Servers. See the
“Displaying License Information” section on page 2-6.
Tip License files can include licenses for a single device type, or for multiple device types, such as non-Cisco
cameras and Media Servers.
Procedure
Tip The additional capacity is available immediately. You do not need to restart the server or take
additional steps. Entries shown in red are invalid or expired.
1 The License Summary displays the total number of Cisco 4 Information about the selected license file, such as the
cameras, non-Cisco cameras, and servers that can be upload date and the number of devices enabled by the
managed by the current Operations Manager. The total license.
number of device licenses used and available is also
shown.
Note Up to 200 servers and 10,000 cameras can be
managed by the system. Although you can install
more than the supported number of licenses, they
will not be recognized.
2 Licenses for additional servers and non-Cisco cameras. 5 Option to enable Smart Software Licensing.
Note Entries shown in red are invalid or expired.
3 The license for Cisco cameras (included).
Deleting Licenses
Deleting a license will reduce the number of cameras and Media Servers supported in your Cisco Video
Surveillance deployment.
You cannot delete a license if the number of licenses devices will be less than the number added to the
Operations Manager. View the number of licenses Used to verify that the license can be removed (see
the “Displaying License Information” section on page 2-6).
Procedure
To remove a license:
More Information
• Overview
• Cisco Smart Software Licensing.
Summary Steps
To switch Cisco VSM to Smart Software Licensing:
• Enable Smart Software Licensing, page 2-7
• Register VSM with Cisco Smart Software Licensing, page 2-8
Step 5 Click Register and paste your Product Instance Registration Token into the entry field (Figure 2-4).
Step 6 Click OK.
Step 7 Verify that you have enough licenses for the number of installed devices. “Out of Compliance” appears
if you have more devices than licenses (Figure 2-5).
The following topics describe how to view Cisco VSM live and recorded video using the Internet
Explorer browser on a Windows computer.
Contents
• Understanding the Video Viewing Options, page 3-2
• Operations Manager Requirements, page 3-3
• Using the Monitor Video Page, page 3-3
• Selecting a Multi-Pane “View”, page 3-4
• View Video from a Panoramic Multi-lens Camera, page 3-6
• Controlling Live and Recorded Video, page 3-9
– Overview, page 3-9
– Viewing Live Video, page 3-10
– Viewing Recorded Video, page 3-13
– Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single Camera, page 3-40
– Using the Pop-Up Menu, page 3-17
– Understanding Video Pane Border Colors, page 3-19
– Using the Privacy Mask, page 3-20
– Synchronizing Video Playback in Multiple Panes, page 3-25
– Using Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls, page 3-29
• Viewing a Thumbnail Summary of Video Archives, page 3-35
– Using Thumbnail Search, page 3-37
• Create Video Clips, page 3-40
– Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single Camera, page 3-40
– Create Clips From Multiple Cameras (Bulk Clipping), page 3-50
– Find and Download Clips (Clip Search), page 3-54
Procedure
Related information
• Creating Video Views, page 5-4
Related information
• Creating Video Views, page 5-4
• Setting the Default View, page 5-1
Set Default View Define the view that is The Default View is defined by each user and is automatically
automatically loaded loaded when they click Monitor Video.
1. Create one or more Views as described in the “Setting the
Default View” section on page 5-1.
2. Select View Menu > Set Default View.
3. Select a View from the pop-up window and click Select.
Note The Default View is saved as a cookie in the browser and is
unique to each user/PC. The Default View is not displayed
if using a different workstation.
Related information
• Setting the Default View, page 5-1
Tip • To change the video in a View pane, drag and drop a camera name onto the pane.
• To create Views, go to System Settings > Views. See Creating Video Views, page 5-4.
• Views can be accessed using either the browser-based Operations Manager or the Cisco Video
Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application. The Operations Manager can
display a maximum of 4 video panes using the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer, and up to 16 panes
when using the 64-bit version. Cisco SASD can display up to 16 panes.
• Double-click a video pane to fill the screen with that video (Figure 3-2). A preview of the other
video panes is shown in a smaller grid at the bottom of the screen. Double-click the video pane again
to return the grid to normal size.
Usage Notes
• Thumbnail Search and Clip Search only display video from a single lens, not the entire panoramic
image.
• CVA clips can be created for the panoramic image. MP4 and virtual clips are not supported.
• You can create CVA, MP4 or virtual clips from a single lens image. Click any lens image to enlarge
the view and access the controls.
Procedure
– If the images are out of order, reassign them to the correct encoder port.
– If the images are not aligned, adjust them in the camera according to the manufacturer
instructions.
d. (Optional) Select a single lens to enlarge the image, then right-click to access additional options
such as Select Streams (Figure 3-4).
– See Using the Pop-Up Menu for descriptions.
– Right click and select Switch to panoramic view to display all lens images.
e. (Optional) Create CVA clips from the panoramic image.
– See Create Video Clips.
f. (Optional) Create CVA, MP4 or virtual clips from the single lens image.
– See Create Video Clips.
– The MP4 and virtual clip options are enabled for single-lens mode only, not for the full
panoramic image.
Contents
Refer to the following topics for more information.
• Overview, page 3-9
• Viewing Live Video, page 3-10
• Viewing Recorded Video, page 3-13
• Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single Camera, page 3-40
• Using the Pop-Up Menu, page 3-17
• Understanding Video Pane Border Colors, page 3-19
• Using the Privacy Mask, page 3-20
• Using the Smooth Video Options When Viewing Live Video, page 3-24
• Synchronizing Video Playback in Multiple Panes, page 3-25
• Using Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls, page 3-29
Overview
To view live and recorded video, log on to the monitoring application and drag and drop camera names
onto the available viewing panes (you can also select a pane and double-click the camera name). Use
Views to view multiple panes in a single window.
Each viewing pane includes various controls that allow you to do the following:
• Switch between live and recorded video.
• Select the playback timespan.
• Pause, play, or skip forward and back.
• Create and save video clips from recorded video
• Mute or un-mute the audio (if available).
• Synchronize the playback of multiple recordings.
• Control the Pan Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) movements of a camera (if supported by the camera).
• Additional options are available by right-clicking the image. Options include synchronizing
multiple viewing panes, recording live video, expanding the image to fill the screen, creating a
snapshot image, and configuring smooth video options to improve playback performance when
network performance is poor.
Note The available controls depend on the camera model and system configuration. For example,
pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) controls are available only on cameras that support PTZ. Recording options are
available only if the camera is configured to record video. Synchronized playback is available for
recorded video (not live video). See your system administrator for more information.
5 Seek—Used with recorded video to choose a playback time (see the “Viewing Recorded Video” section on page 3-13
for more information).
6 The green icon indicates live video. Click the icon to switch to the recorded view .
7 Live video playback controls.
• —Pause the video playback.
• — Play the video forward at normal speed.
Note The other playback controls are used with archived video only. See Figure 6 on page 3-13 for more information.
8 —Click the triangle to pin the control bar to the screen, or auto-hide the bar when the cursor is moved.
Note The control bar and audio icon will not display if your workstation monitor is set to 16-bit color setting. Change
your monitor color setting to 32-bit.
9 Video image.
10 Camera menu.
Right-click the image to open the menu and select an option. Options not supported by the camera are disabled (shown
in gray). See the “Using the Pop-Up Menu” section on page 3-17 for more information.
11 Control icons.
• —Audio. The audio icon appears if the camera supports audio. Click to enable or mute live audio
volume. This control does not affect recorded video.
• —Privacy Mask. Click to enable or disable the Privacy Mask. See the “Using the Privacy Mask”
section on page 3-20.
• —PTZ. Click to enable or disable the Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) controls. See the “Using Pan, Tilt, and
Zoom (PTZ) Controls” section on page 3-29.
• — See the “Synchronizing Video Playback in Multiple Panes” section on page 3-25.
Note The control bar and audio icon will not display if your workstation monitor is set to 16-bit color setting. Change
your monitor color setting to 32-bit.
Usage Notes
• Some firewall policies on enterprise PCs can block live video streams from cameras. If this occurs,
add the camera IP address to the firewall trusted list.
• To maximize the video screens, move the new workspace to a separate monitor and double-click a
pane to fill the entire browser window. To fill the entire monitor screen, right-click the image and
select Full screen mode.
• To control the playback in multiple video panes, Shift-Click or Ctrl-Click to select the panes.
The borders of all selected panes turn to orange. Controls and actions performed in one pane also
affect the other selected panes. To deselect panes, select a single pane, or use Shift-Click or
Ctrl-Click to deselect the panes
• Live video may be delayed 1-2 seconds. Live video can be further delayed if the smooth video option
is enabled. See the “Using the Smooth Video Options When Viewing Live Video” section on
page 3-24 for more information.
• Soft-deleted cameras (shown with a icon) are cameras that were removed from the system but
still allow access to the camera’s recorded video. You cannot display live video from soft-deleted
cameras.
• The control bar and audio icon will not display if your workstation monitor is set to 16-bit color
setting. Change your monitor color setting to 32-bit.
Additional Information
Refer to the following topics for additional options:
• Using the Pop-Up Menu, page 3-17
• Using the Smooth Video Options When Viewing Live Video, page 3-24
• Synchronizing Video Playback in Multiple Panes, page 3-25
• Using Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls, page 3-29
Click and drag the range bar selectors to choose a shorter period of time. In the following example, the range bar
selectors are used to select approximately 10 minutes of video. Drag the selected range left or right to locate the desired
range of recorded video.
Tip The green seek bar represents the selected span. If the span in the top range bar is 10 minutes, then the green
seek bar represents 10 minutes of video. Slide the seek bar selector to choose the playback time (see below).
Tip Double-click a range bar selector to playback the video from the beginning of that range.
7 Seek Bar —Represents the video range, and is used to select a playback time.
For example, if the range is 10 minutes, then the seek bar represents 10 minutes of video.
Tip Right-click the seek bar and select Seek to... to select a specific date and time.
Note Gaps in the recorded video are shown in gray. Recording gaps occur if recording was manually started or
stopped, if recording was stopped by a schedule, or if video was unavailable due to network connectivity issues,
device malfunctions, or other events.
8 Seek Bar selector—Drag the selector to play video from the selected time (as indicated by the timestamp).
Note When you move the scroll bar for a video pane that is synchronized, that pane becomes the new synchronization
master pane. The other synchronized panes play video according to the master pane. See the “Synchronizing
Video Playback in Multiple Panes” section on page 3-25.
10 Bookmarks menu—Right-click the seek bar to display the bookmark menu. You can save the bookmarked video as a
clip in one of the supported formats, remove all bookmarks, or create a repeating segment.
• —Step Reverse button—(Archived video only) Pauses the playback and steps back one frame at a time.
• —Play Reverse button—(Archived video only) Plays the video archive in reverse at normal speed.
• —Pause button—Pause the video playback.
• —Play Forward button—Play the video forward at normal speed.
• —Step Forward button—(Archived video only) Pauses the playback and steps forward one frame at a time.
For example, select 0.50X to play the video at half speed (forward or reverse). Select 4.00X to play at 4 times the normal
rate (forward or reverse).
13 —Click the triangle to pin the control bar to the screen, or auto-hide it when the cursor is moved.
Note The control bar and audio icon will not display if your workstation monitor is set to 16-bit color setting. Change
your monitor color setting to 32-bit.
14 Camera feature icons. For example:
• or —Audio is supported by the camera and enabled or disabled in the viewing pane.
• —The synchronization icon appears in video panes that play synchronized video. See the “Synchronizing Video
Playback in Multiple Panes” section on page 3-25.
Note The PTZ icons are enabled only for live video.
Note The control bar and audio icon will not display if your workstation monitor is set to 16-bit color setting. Change
your monitor color setting to 32-bit.
Usage Notes
• Multi-pane video clips can also be saved to your desktop and played using the Cisco Video
Surveillance Review Player.
• If a camera is soft-deleted, you can still access the camera’s recorded video but cannot display live
video. Recordings are retained on the system until removed according to the recording retention
settings.
• Click the icon to toggle between live and recorded video. The icon appears when recorded
video is displayed.
• The first time you select a camera’s recorded video, the playback begins slightly behind the live
(current) time. When you toggle between live and recorded, recorded video returns to the previously
selected timestamp.
• To maximize the video screens, move the new workspace to a separate monitor and double-click a
pane to fill the entire browser window. To fill the entire monitor screen, right-click the image and
select Full screen mode.
• To control the playback in multiple video panes, press Shift-Click to select multiple concurrent
panes, or Ctrl-Click to select individual panes. The borders of all selected panes turn to orange.
Controls and actions performed in one pane also affect the other selected panes. To deselect panes,
select a single pane, or use Shift-Click or Ctrl-Click to deselect the panes.
Procedure
Step 1 Ctrl-Click-drag the seek bar in a recording to create a bookmark (Figure 7).
The bookmark span is shown in orange.
Step 2 Right-click the seek bar and select as a repeat segment.
Step 3 (Optional) Enter a specific start and end date and time.
Step 4 To cancel the segment, right click the segment and choose Remove all Bookmarks.
You can also click on the seek bar outside the selected range.
Note Selecting a long term server (LTS) backup recording can result in an error if the
recording is not available of the backup is not complete.
Select clip range (Archive video only) Selects a 10 minute clip range starting from current thumb position. The
range bar is automatically scaled to 1 hour.
See the “Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single Camera” section on page 3-40 for
more information.
Get clip status Shows the current status of MP4 and virtual clips: In-Progress, Completed or Failed.
Select a clip name to view the clip. MP4 clips are downloaded to a local disk (you are prompted
to enter a filename and location.
See the “Creating Video Clips” section on page 3-43 for more information.
Color Description
Gray The pane is not highlighted. All panes have a gray border by default.
Orange The pane is selected as the active pane, and the controls and actions apply to
that pane. If multiple panes are selected as active panes, the controls and
actions performed on one pane apply to all active panes.
Overview
When the Privacy Mask is enabled on a compatible camera (Figure 8), all live video and audio from that
camera is blocked and cannot be viewed by any operator or monitor, or recorded by the Cisco Video
Surveillance system. This feature is typically used with the “Virtual Sitter” feature for health care
providers, allowing operators to temporarily block video from a Cisco Video Surveillance camera when
the patient requires privacy. Figure 8 shows the icons used to enable or disable the Privacy Mask.
Note You must belong to a User Group with Control Privacy Mask access permissions to use this feature.
Note The function of the privacy mask icons was reversed in Cisco VSM release 7.5.
For example, when you click the icon, the video frame for that camera is blank (Figure 9). The same
blank (blue) screen is recorded (if recording is configured).
When the Privacy Mask Timer expires, the video frame flashes to remind the operator that the mask is
still on. To display video, click to turn the Privacy Mask off and display and record video and audio
normally.
Note If the camera reboots due to a power cycle or other reason, the camera will power up with the Privacy
Mask in the state it was before the reboot. For example, if the mask was enabled and there was 5 minutes
remaining on the timer, the camera will remember the state after the reboot.
Usage Notes
• You must belong to a User Group with Control Privacy Mask access permissions to use this feature.
• If privacy mask is enabled:
– The camera template audio settings cannot be changed.
– The following options are disabled: Reset Status, Replace Configuration, Replace camera,
synchronization.
– Edge recording for audio does not stop when privacy mask is enabled.
• If Privacy Mask is enabled on any encoder port, you cannot add new encoder ports to the
configuration.
• If the connection between VSOM and the Media Server is poor, the privacy mask setting will not be
applied to camera.
Step 1 Log is as a admin or other user who has Users & Groups access permissions.
Step 2 Create a Role that includes Control Privacy Mask access permissions.
Step 3 Create a user group and assign the new role to the group.
Step 4 Create users and assign them to the user group.
Tip See Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1 for more information.
Related Information
Supported cameras can also be configured with “Privacy Zones” that block portions of the video image
at all times, even if the Privacy Mask is disabled. See the camera documentation for instructions to define
Privacy Zones.
For more information about Cisco Virtual Patient Observation, see the following:
• White Paper—Virtual Patient Observation: Centralize Monitoring of High-Risk Patients with Video.
• At-A -Glance Overview—Benefits of Virtual Patient Observation.
• Ten Use Cases—Real-life scenarios for using video surveillance in hospitals.
• Solution Blog Post—New Solution: Cisco Virtual Patient Observation.
Icon Colors
The video quality icons in each pane indicate the following:
• Green indicates everything is fine.
• Yellow indicates that the client workstation has detected the play back is not smooth.
• Red indicates a severe adverse situation. Action will be taken to correct the situation, such as
switching to secondary stream or iFrame streaming.
Usage Notes
• The Smooth Video Options are available only for live video on non-PTZ cameras (the Smooth Video
Options are automatically disabled on PTZ cameras).
• The settings are applied to all non-PTZ cameras and are persistent for the current PC workstation.
For example, the settings will remain if you log out and back in, or view a different camera and then
return to the current camera.
• The settings also apply to the non-PTZ cameras when using the Cisco Safety and Security Desktop
(SASD) application and the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console.
• The Smooth Video options are disabled if you manually select a stream (right-click a video pane and
choose Select Streams and Clips). The pane will display the selected stream even if the video
quality is poor (the video will not automatically switch to the Smooth Video alternative stream). To
cancel the manually selected stream and re-enable the Smooth Video settings, reload the view or
drag and drop the camera again.
• If a video stream is selected from a redundant media server, the Smooth Video option is disabled
(the camera will not use a secondary stream even if the video quality icon is red).
Procedure
Caution We strongly recommend that the Preroll Buffer be disabled (enter 0 or leave the field blank) since
streaming delays can cause a potential security risk. We recommend that you address the network
bandwidth or performance issues causing the delays. Use the Preroll Buffer only when significant
stuttering occurs and a network resolution is not available.
Step 4 Use the Smooth Video Options to define an alternative video stream that will be used if video quality
is poor despite the smooth video buffer (video quality is indicated by the icon on the live viewing
pane).
• Secondary Stream—(Only if configured on the camera) If the live video quality is poor , the
secondary video stream is used. Secondary streams typically present a lower-quality image that
requires less bandwidth and processing.
• I frame only—If the live video quality is poor , then only the iFrame video is displayed. iFrame
video reduces the bandwidth requirement to correct the situation.
• None—If the live video quality is poor , no change is made and the selected stream is displayed
even if it results in choppy or paused playback.
Note • These options are not used if the video quality is acceptable or if the icon is yellow
(intermediate) . The selected stream is displayed normally.
• A down arrow is displayed when the secondary or iFrame stream is applied.
• If an alternative stream is applied, the settings remain until you close and reopen the video source
(camera).
Usage Notes
• All panes will play forward when synchronization begins, even if one or more of the panes was
playing in reverse.
• Up to 9 panes can be synchronized (such as a 3x3 layout). The synchronization option is disabled
for 4x4 and 5x5 views.
• Synchronization for recorded video is performed only if the time in the selected panes overlap. If
the time for a video pane does not overlap with the master pane, the pane is excluded from
synchronization.
• When you move the scroll bar for a video pane that is synchronized, that pane becomes the new
synchronization master pane. The other synchronized panes play video according to the new master
pane.
• If the seek controls are used to search video, the other synchronized panes pause until the seek
completes, then continue to display video that is synchronized with the new master pane time.
• You can switch the synchronized panes between live and recorded video.
• To remove a pane from the synchronized playback, right-click the pane and choose Remove This
Pane From Sync to remove it.
• To add un-synchronized panes, right-click the pane and choose Add selected panes to sync.
• The Select Streams and Clips menu item is disabled when a pane is synchronized.
• When 16 video panes are synchronized, some live video panes may appear to be not synchronized
if the video stream is configured for the following:
1 —The synchronization icon appears in the video panes that display synchronized video.
2 The timestamp for synchronized video is the same.
3 Roll over a synchronized pane to display the playback controls. Changes to any pane are mirrored by the other
panes.
4 Unsynchronized panes can continue to display live or recorded video.
To add a pane to the synchronized group, right-click the pane and select Add selected panes to sync.
Procedure
To play recorded video from multiple video panes synchronized to the same time, do the following:
Note The pane continues to play video from the same timestamp, but the video can be stopped or
altered without affecting the other panes.
Step 5 (Optional) To add un-synchronized panes, right-click the pane and choose Add selected panes to sync.
Note If a higher-priority user is using the PTZ controls, the PTZ controls remain locked and you
cannot control the PTZ movements until released by the higher priority user.
Tip See the “Calibrating a Joystick for Windows 7” section on page 3-32 for information to set up a
USB joystick for the first time.
Tip If Return to Home is configured, the camera will return to a default “home” PTZ location after a specific
number of seconds. See “Understanding Return To Home”.
See your Cisco VSM administrator for more information about these features.
Procedure
Step 1 Install and configure the USB joystick according to the manufacturer instructions.
• See the device documentation for more information.
• The manufacturer may also include a calibration utility that can be used instead of the built-in
Windows utility.
Step 2 In Windows 7, calibrate the device using the Game Controllers control panel.
a. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.
b. Select Hardware and Sound.
Tip You can also use the Windows search function: choose Search from the Start menu and enter “set up
USB game controllers” to open the Game Controllers control panel. Highlight the joystick icon and click
Calibrate. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
1 PTZ enabled viewing pane 3 PTZ not supported by camera (no icon)
2 PTZ disabled viewing pane
Note PTZ movements are available only when viewing live video.
Tip If multiple browser windows are used to display video, joystick PTZ commands will affect the enabled
PTZ pane in each browser window.
1 Selected Select a location and double-click a camera name to display a thumbnail summary of recorded video for
Camera the camera.
Note Cisco VSM Federator locations are “Regions” that are linked to an Operations Manager location.
See the “Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations Managers” section on page 31-1 for
more information.
3 Archive start The start date and time for the entire video archive.
time
See #4 to select a new start time, or right-click a thumbnail and choose Set Start.
4 Set Start The start date and time for the first thumbnail (in the top left corner of the window pane). To change the
Time start thumbnail, select a new date and time and click Set Start.
Tip You can also select a thumbnail image and select Actions > Set Start to set the start time to a
specific thumbnail (or right-click the thumbnail image and select Set Start).
5 Timeline Timeline representing the entire video archive.
6 Start time The slider represents the Duration setting relative to the length of the entire archive. If the Duration
slider setting is for the entire archive, the black slider covers the entire time line and cannot be moved.
To use the slider, choose a Duration that is less than the entire archive time and drag the slider to a
different start time (the time is displayed above the slider). Release the mouse button to choose the new
time.
7 Duration Choose the time span for the displayed thumbnails. The top left thumbnail displays an image from the
beginning of the time span and the bottom left thumbnail displays an image from the end of the time span.
The number of thumbnails and the intervals between them depend on the size of the Forensic Search
window and the thumbnail size that you choose from the Thumbnail Size menu.
8 Show Check this check box to show the date and time displayed at the top of each thumbnail.
Timestamp
9 Archive end End date and time for the entire video archive.
time
10 Skip Skip forward by the Duration time increment.
forward
11 Timestamp Displays the date and time for each thumbnail. Select the Show Timestamp check box to turn timestamps
on or off.
12 Video Thumbnails are displayed for the time span that is selected in the Duration drop-down menu. Use the
thumbnails Thumbnail Size menu to display larger or smaller thumbnails.
13 Actions Right click a thumbnail to select an option from the Actions menu (see #17).
Menu
14 Display The duration of the displayed thumbnails.
length
15 Camera tabs A tab is displayed for each selected camera. Click the Recordings menu to select an available camera
stream or recording.
16 Archive An Archive Player tab plays video when you select a thumbnail and select Actions > Play (or right-click
Player tab a thumbnail and click Play).
17 Menu Thumbnail Size—select a smaller size to display more thumbnails for the displayed video duration.
Selections Select a larger size to display fewer thumbnails.
Recordings—select a video stream or recording.
Actions—choose one of the following options:
Note You can also right-click a thumbnail to access the Actions (see #13).
• Set Start—Sets the selected thumbnail as the first thumbnail in the range. (Tip: to select a specific
date and time as the start time, use the menu at that appears beneath the thumbnails as described in
#4 “Thumbnail Start Time”).
• Play —Plays the video from the selected thumbnail in an Archive Player tab.
– You can also double-click a thumbnail to play video.
– Playback begins from the start timestamp. If a start timestamp is not available, the next available
frame is displayed.
• Zoom To—Set the beginning and ending thumbnail for the display. Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select
multiple thumbnails and choose Zoom To from the Actions menu. The first frame in the selected
thumbnails becomes the new start time. The last frame in the selected thumbnails becomes the new
end time.
• Zoom In—Decreases the displayed thumbnail duration to the next available duration value. If no
frames are selected, the start time does not change. If one frame is selected, that frame becomes the
start time. If more than one frame is selected the frame closest to the beginning of the archive
becomes the start time.
Zoom in is not available when the minimum duration is set.
• Zoom Out—Increases the duration of the displayed thumbnail duration to the next available duration
value. The start time remains the same. For example, if the Duration is 3 hours, choose the Zoom Out
option to increase the Duration to approximately 6 hours.
If the start time plus the duration would exceed the length of the archive, the start time will be
adjusted to the archive’s end time minus the duration.
Zoom out is not available when the maximum duration is set.
Detailed Procedure
Note The slider length represents the thumbnail duration relative to the entire length of the
archive. The gray time line equals 100 percent of the archive. The black slider covers the
entire time line if the selected Duration is Entire Archive (default).
• Choose a Thumbnail Size to enlarge or reduce the size of each thumbnail. Larger sizes display
fewer thumbnails, and each thumbnail represents a greater time span.
Step 5 (Optional) Further refine your search by choosing one or more thumbnails and choosing one of the
following options in the Actions menu.
• Set Start—Sets the selected thumbnail as the first thumbnail in the range (you can also select a
specific date and time using the Set Start menu below the thumbnail display).
• Play —Plays the selected thumbnail video in an Archive Player tab.
– You can also double-click a thumbnail to play video.
– Playback begins from the start timestamp. If a start timestamp is not available, the next available
frame is displayed.
• Zoom To—Set the beginning and ending thumbnail for the display. Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select
multiple thumbnails and choose Zoom To from the Actions menu. The first frame in the selected
thumbnails becomes the new start time. The last frame in the selected thumbnails becomes the new
end time.
• Zoom In—Decreases the displayed thumbnail duration to the next available duration value. If no
frames are selected, the start time does not change. If one frame is selected, that frame becomes the
start time. If more than one frame is selected the frame closest to the beginning of the archive
becomes the start time. Zoom in is not available when the minimum duration is set.
• Zoom Out—Increases the duration of the displayed thumbnail duration to the next available
duration value. The start time remains the same. For example, if the Duration is 3 hours, choose the
Zoom Out option to increase the Duration to approximately 6 hours.
If the start time plus the duration would exceed the length of the archive, the start time is be set to
the end of the archive minus the duration.
Zoom out is not available when the maximum duration is set.
Related Documentation
• Find and Download Clips (Clip Search), page 3-54
• Create Clips From Multiple Cameras (Bulk Clipping), page 3-50
Usage Notes
• In Cisco VSM 7.11 and higher, there are separate user permissions for Create Clips and Export
Clips. For example, you can allow users to create but not download clips. See Operate Permissions
for more information.
• You can also search for and download clips using the Clip Search feature in Operations
Manager/Cisco VSM Federator and the Clip Management feature in Cisco SASD/Cisco SASD
Federator.
• Timestamps are not displayed in 3rd-party video viewers. use the Cisco Review Player to play video
clips that display timestamps (see the Cisco Video Surveillance Review Player User Guide for more
information).
• Maintenance Mode must be off to create clips using Thumbnail Search or Clips Search (the pencil
icon in the top right must be yellow ).
Tip You can also right-click a video pane and select Take Snapshot to save a still image in BMP,
JPEG, PNG, and TIFF formats. See the “Using the Pop-Up Menu” section on page 3-17 for more
information.
Requirements
• You must belong to a User Group with Create Clips permissions to create video clips. See Operate
Permissions for more information.
• The Media Server hard disk volume must have sufficient disk space to create the video clip or the
operation will fail. See your system administrator for more information.
Usage Notes
• Video clips (such as virtual clips and MP4 clips) can be created from merged streams. If the codec
changes during the clip segment, only virtual clips can be created. Codec changes are indicated by
a small red triangle on the timeline in the Operations Manager. The triangle is not displayed in Cisco
SASD. See Merging Video Streams (Smart Stream Selection), page 15-11 for more information.
• In sync mode only CVA clips are supported.
• In Single (1x1) pane, CVA, MP4 and Virtual clips are supported.
• Multipane view—In non-sync mode (when only one pane is selected), only MP4 and Virtual clips
are supported.
Procedure
Step 1 Select a video pane from the viewing application (such as Cisco SASD or Operations Manager).
Tip To create a multi-pane clip in the CVA format, press Shift-Click to select multiple concurrent
panes, or Ctrl-Click to select individual panes. Individual panes cannot be saved in sync mode.
Step 2 In the green seek bar, Ctrl-Click and drag the mouse cursor to create a bookmark span. The bookmark
span is shown in orange (Figure 15).
Tip In recording mode , you can also right-click the image and choose Select Clip Range from the
pop-up menu (see the “Using the Pop-Up Menu” section on page 3-17). A 10 minute clip range is
automatically selected starting from current thumb position, and the range bar is automatically scaled to
1 hour.
Step 3 Right-click the bookmark and select an option to create a MP4, CVA or virtual clip (Figure 15).
Tip See “Clipping Support By Application” for the file formats supported by each Cisco monitoring
application in this release.
Tip Use the Set Duration field to enter a specific length of time for the clip. The duration begins at
the beginning bookmark time.
b. (Optional) Select Enable tamper proof and enter a password to create a password-protected CVX
file (Figure 16).
c. Click OK.
d. Select a location on a local disk and click Save.
e. Wait for the clip to be generated and downloaded. Video streaming is paused during CVA/CVX clip
generation.
f. Play the clip using a video player such as the Cisco Review Player.
MP4 clips
a. (Optional) Revise the start and end date and time (Figure 17). Enter a time between 30 seconds and
10 hours (the range cannot include more than one codec and the start time must be before the end
time).
Tip Use the Set Duration field to enter a specific length of time for the clip. The duration begins at
the beginning bookmark time.
b. (Optional) Enter a clip name that identifies the recording on the server (Figure 17). For example, if
you enter “My 4500 Camera” then the clip selection will be “My 4500 Camera”. The default name
is “My Clip”.
c. (Optional) Select or deselect Record Audio to include or exclude audio.
– This option is available if the camera supports audio and audio is enabled on the template.
– Audio playback is supported with the Cisco VSM Review Player or VLC media player.
– Select AAC Audio codec for audio playback on additional players, such as the Windows Media
Player. The Mulaw codec will be used if AAC is not selected.
d. Click OK to save the clip to the server.
Tip Right click the image and select Get clip status to view the current status: In-Progress,
Completed or Failed. Use the Clip Search option to view, download, delete and manage MP4
clips saved on the server.
e. Download and play the clip as described in the “Downloading and Viewing Clips” section on
page 3-48.
Virtual clips
a. (Optional) Revise the start and end date and time (Figure 18). (the start time must be before the end
time).
Tip Use the Set Duration field to enter a specific length of time for the clip. The duration begins at
the beginning bookmark time.
b. (Optional) Enter a clip name that identifies the recording on the server (Figure 18). For example, if
you enter “My 4500 Camera” then the clip selection will be “My 4500 Camera”. If blank, the default
name is “My Clip”.
c. Click OK to save the clip to the server.
Tip Right click the image and select Get clip status to view the current status: In-Progress,
Completed or Failed. Use the Clip Search option to view, download, delete and manage MP4
clips saved on the server.
Step 5 Download and play the clip as described in the “Downloading and Viewing Clips” section on page 3-48.
Tip See “Clipping Support By Application” for the file formats supported by each Cisco monitoring
application in this release. See Find and Download Clips (Clip Search) to search for clips or to create
clips from multiple cameras.
Procedure
Step 1 Right-click the video pane and choose Get Clip Status (Figure 19).
Step 2 Select the Clip name.
• “Local” clips are MP4 clips that must be downloaded to a local disk.
• “Streamable” clips are virtual clips that can be streamed in the video pane without being
downloaded.
Note Clips are automatically deleted from the server after 7 days.
Step 3 (Virtual Clips) The clip plays in the video pane when selected.
Step 4 (MP4 clips only) Enter a file name and location, click Save, and wait for the clip to download. The clip
will automatically play in the pane the fist time it is downloaded.
Tip You can also create and download clips for a single camera by right-clicking a video pane. See the
“Downloading and Viewing Clips” section on page 3-48.
Usage Notes
• You must belong to a User Group with Create Clips permissions to create video clips. A separate
permission to Export Clips is also available. See Operate Permissions for more information.
• Up to 30 clip requests can be queued per Cisco Media Server at a time. When 30 clips are being
created, new clip creation requests are discarded.
• A maximum of 10 hours of video clips can be created.
• Bulk clip creation is supported using Operations Manager only, and is not supported using the Cisco
Video Surveillance Federator.
• Bulk clipping is only supported for normal recording and failover recording. It is not supported for
other recording like LTS recording.
• If a clip creation fails, the FTP transfer of remaining clips may be delayed by 12hrs.
Procedure
Step 3 (Optional) Use the filters to search for specific cameras (Table 3-8) and click Search.
Field Description
By Camera Name The camera name or keyword.
and Tag
By Location The cameras’ assigned location.
By Server Click to select the Media Server(s). Only cameras from the selected servers
are displayed.
Make/Model Click to select the model of the cameras to display.
Template Click to select the template. Only cameras assigned to the selected templates
are displayed.
Step 4 Select the cameras that you want to create a clip for.
The clip will be created from recordings for all cameras for the specified time span.
Step 5 (Optional) Select the video steam for each camera.
You can chose primary stream 1 or 2, or fail-over stream 1 or 2 if configured on the camera.
Step 6 (Optional) Select Include Audio, if audio recording is enabled on the camera.
Step 7 Click Create and Transfer.
Step 8 Select the create and transfer options (Table 3-9):
Field Description
Clip Creation • Date/Time: Enter the start and end time for the clip.
Options
• Clip Name Prefix: The prefix added to the default clip name.
• Audio Codec:
– The Mulaw codec is selected by default.
– Select AAC audio codec to save the clip with the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec for
audio for playback in various players, such as the Windows Media Player.
Transfer to FTP Select the box if the clip should be transferred to an FTP server.
• The FTP server details must be previously configured by a Cisco VSM admin user.
• If deselected, the clip will be created but not transferred. Use the Clip Search tab to download or
transfer the existing clips.
Schedule settings (Enabled if Transfer to FTP is selected)
• Select Now—The clip is transfered when completed.
• Schedule Later—The clip is transfered at the specified day and time.
Step 11 (Optional) Click Transfer Schedule Status to view the status of the automatic FTP transfer
(Figure 3-22).
• Select a “Scheduled” entry to view the clips scheduled for transfer to the FTP server, including the
clip status and transfer status.
• “Aborted” means that the FTP transfer was canceled because the clip creation failed.
• “Failed” means that the FTP transfer failed for any reason (for example, the FTP server was not
accessible).
Related Documentation
• Create Clips From Multiple Cameras (Bulk Clipping), page 3-50
• Downloading and Viewing Clips, page 3-48—create and download clips by right-clicking a video
pane.
• Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single Camera, page 3-40
Procedure
Step 1 From the Monitor Video page, click Clip Search to open the Clip Search window (Figure 3-23).
Step 2 Select the clip type:
• Clip Search tab—MP4 clips
• Virtual Clip Search tab—Virtual clips
Step 3 (Cisco VSM Federator only) Select a region where the clip(s) were created. Only clips from the
Operations Manager location mapped to that region will be displayed.
Step 4 (Optional) Use the filters to search for specific clips (Table 3-10):
Field Description
By Clip Name The full or partial name for the clip(s), which is entered when the clip is created
By Tag Tags associated with the clip.
By Clip Status Select the status for the displayed clips. Any status not selected will not be displayed.
By Clip Owner Select Owned by me to display only clips you created De-select to display clips created by other users.
By Camera The camera name where the clip originated.
By Location Clips created by all cameras at the selected location(s).
By Server Clips created by all cameras associated with the selected servers(s).
Field Description
Clip Name The clip name entered when the clip was created. The default is “My Clip” if no name is entered.
Camera Name The camera name where the clip originated.
Start Time The start timestamp for the clip.
End Time The end timestamp for the clip.
Clip Expiration The date/time when the clip will be deleted from the server.
Clip Status In-Progress, Completed or Failed
Location Location of the cameras where the clip originated.
Media Server The Media Server that manages the camera video where the clip originated.
Clip Owner The user that created the clip.
Tags Tags associated with the clip.
Note If an “HTTP 400 Bad Request” error appears, it may be due to the Internet Explorer (IE) settings.
In IE, go to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced and select “Use HTTP 1.1”. Also deselect
“Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections”. Next, click the Connections tab, choose the LAN
settings button and select “Automatically detect settings”.
b. Click Continue and accept the security certificate when the Internet Explorer web browser prompts
you to proceed to the secure page. This prompt appears only once for each Media Server.
c. Select one of the following options:
– Open—Plays the file using your default video player.
– Save —Saves the file to the default location using a default filename.
– Save As—Enter a new filename and select a location on the local disk.
– Save and Open—Saves the file to the default location using a default filename, and then plays
the clip using your default video player.
Step 8 (Optional) To permanently delete a clip from the server, select one or more clips and click Delete.
Note Only the server file is deleted. Any clips previously downloaded to a local disk are not affected.
Web browsers that support HTML5 can be used for basic video monitoring functions such as playback
and pause. HTML5 browsers do not require a plug-in such as VLC.
Note HTML5 based video streaming is disabled by default in Cisco VSM release 7.11 and higher. To enable
HTML5 video monitoring, click the icon in the top right and click OK to confirm. Click the icon
again to disable HTML5 video monitoring.
Supported Browsers
The following browsers are supported:
Tip: Install the latest browser on your computer. Older browser versions may not support HTML5 video
monitoring using Cisco VSM.
Other notes
If HTML5 is not used or not supported by the browser, then the VLC browser plug in will be used
instead.
• The VLC plug-in does not provide any playback controls.
• If the plug-in is not installed, video will not be displayed.
Supported Features
In addition to standard playback and snapshot features, the supported HTML5 browsers support the
following:
• Up to 50 live or recorded streams can be accessed at a time. Each recorded or live stream is counted
against the stream limit.
– Duplicate streams (such as the same live stream with the same user in 2 different browser
windows) count as a single stream.
• PTZ controls (Some limitations apply in this release).
• Multiple users can seek video without affecting other users viewing the same stream.
• HTML5 streams are supported on Dynamic proxy, redundant, failover, and LTS servers.
• Up to 2x2 views are supported, including the ability to rotate video from multiple cameras (rotation
time must be greater than 5 seconds).
Limitations
Because this is a new technology, there are some current browser limitations:
• HTML5 currently supports H.264 video only. Other media formats including audio and MJPEG are
not currently supported by the HTML5 browsers.
• HTML5 video cannot be viewed using the Cisco VSM Federator or Cisco VSM Management
Console.
• Some playback functionality is not supported, such as audio, creating clips, smooth video settings,
and other features. In addition:
– The HTML5 player does not display recording gaps on the progress bar.
– Switching between Pause and Play introduces skips in the playback.
– To play live or recorded video, NTP should be used to sync the client and VSM server time.
• PTZ limitation:
– Streams will have several seconds latency which may go higher depending on the Media Server
load or network bandwidth. When controlling a PTZ camera, you may have to wait to allow the
camera to settle in the new position. We recommend using PTZ presets.
– You cannot zoom using the mouse center click.
• Some ActiveX features are not supported. Use the Internet Explorer browser instead.
– Digital Zoom
– Sync selected plane with this plane
– Full screen mode
Procedure
Note Follow all online prompts to obtain and save the certificate(s).
Firefox example
For example, if you see the Warning window shown in Figure 4-2:
Refer to the following topics to configure the viewing options that can be accessed using the Cisco Video
Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop application, the Cisco VSM Operations Manager, or other
supported video viewing applications.
Tip For instructions to view video using the Cisco Safety and Security desktop application, see the Cisco
Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide.
Contents
• Setting the Default View, page 5-1
• Creating Video Views, page 5-4
• Configuring Video Walls, page 5-9
• Hide Video From Users (Covert Cameras), page 5-11
• Enabling On-Demand Recording, page 5-14
• Display or Hide Camera Health Information, page 5-16
Additional Documentation
• Configuring Camera PTZ Controls, Presets, and Tours, page 10-81
• Configuring Motion Detection, page 10-96
• Camera Settings, page 10-45
• Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1
Usage Notes
• If a default View is not defined, a blank 1x1 layout is displayed.
• Click Clear to delete the Default View setting. A blank 1x1 layout will be displayed by default.
• Only Views the user has access permissions to see can be selected as the default View.
• The Default View is saved as a cookie in the browser and is unique to each user/PC. The Default
View is not displayed if using a different workstation.
• The Default View is different for each Windows user on the same workstation (the Default View set
by one user will not be seen by other Windows users on that workstation).
• If the browser cookies are deleted, the Default View is deleted for all users of that browser.
• If a shared Windows login and browser are used, users may overwrite the default View (and cookie)
set by another user using the same Windows account.
Procedure
Step 1 Create one or more Views as described in the “Creating Video Views” section on page 5-4.
Step 2 Select Monitor.
Step 3 Select a location and select a View (Figure 5-1).
Step 4 Select View Menu > Set Default View (Figure 5-2).
Step 5 Select a location and View from the pop-up window.
Step 6 Click Select.
5 Current Rotation Order—Add cameras, and reorder them to define the display order.
• Click Add Camera ( ) to add the cameras that will rotate between the available panes.
• Use the arrows next to each pane to change the order of the rotation.
6 —Rotating camera panes rotate the video between cameras included in the Current Rotation Order.
7 —Static camera panes always display video from the same camera, even if the other panes rotate video from multiple
cameras.
Usage Notes
• Use the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application to create
and save basic views that can be accessed using the Monitor Video page. The panes in a basic View
are static and do not rotate.
• Views with more than four video panes can be displayed using the Cisco SASD (Operations
Manager can only display Views with four or less panes).
• Views can also be used to display a camera’s secondary stream by default, if necessary. This is useful
if playback performance is poor, and you want to display lower-resolution video. To do this, select
the camera’s secondary stream and save the view.
Procedure
To create Views that include static and/or rotating panes, do the following.
Setting Description
Name (Required) Enter a descriptive name for the View. For example: Exterior Doors.
Access Location (Required) Click the icon and select a location. Only users assigned to a user group with this
location can access the View.
Note The cameras included in a View must be at the same View access location, or a sub-location.
For example, a View assigned to a Texas location cannot include cameras from a California
location. See the “Understanding Permission-Based and Partition-Based Resources” section
on page 8-3 for more information.
Tags (Optional) Words that assist in a Find.
Description (Optional) Enter a meaningful description for the View. For example: Lobby Tour.
Setting Description
Layout (Required) Select a layout grid that includes the required number of video panes.
a. Click the icon to toggle the pane to static , if necessary (Figure 5-4).
b. Click the camera icon.
c. Select a camera from the Camera Selector location tree and click Set.
d. Repeat these steps for each additional static video pane.
Tip Roll over the pane to display additional icons (Figure 5-4). Click to clear the camera selection
(the pane changes to Not Assigned and the video pane will appear blank). Click for camera
information. Click to select a different camera.
Step 6 (Optional) Define the rotating panes and Rotation Order (Figure 5-5).
Rotating panes rotate the video between cameras included in the Current Rotation Order. Cameras
rotate clockwise: left to right and then top to bottom. For example, when the View is first displayed, the
first camera in the Current Rotation Order is displayed in the Rotating 1 pane, the second camera is
displayed in the Rotating 2 pane, etc. The camera set is displayed until the number of Rotate seconds is
exceeded. The next set of cameras are then displayed in Rotating 1 and Rotating 2 in the Current Rotation
Order, etc.
a. Define the panes that will rotate the cameras included in the Current Rotation Order.
– Panes with the icon are included in the rotation.
– Click the lock icon to toggle the pane to rotation , if necessary.
b. Add cameras to the Current Rotation Order.
– Click Add Camera ( ).
– Select a camera from the location tree.
– Click Set.
– Add additional cameras to the Current Rotation Order. For example, you could add six cameras
that rotate between two rotating panes.
c. Select the Rotate seconds (the number of seconds the View is displayed between rotations).
The View will pause on a set of cameras before rotating to the next camera in the list.
d. Reorder the cameras in the Current Rotation Order using the up and down arrows.
When the View is first displayed, the first camera in the Current Rotation Order is displayed in the
Rotating 1 pane, the second camera is displayed in the Rotating 2 pane, etc.
Step 7 Click Save.
Tip • Refer to the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for instructions to
display the Video Walls.
– Users who configure unattended video walls (using the Cisco SASD Wall Configurator) must
belong to a user group that allows multiple logins. This is because each unattended video wall
requires a unique Cisco VSM login session for the video wall to be displayed. See the Cisco
Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information.
• To automatically display video from a different camera when an event occurs, see the “Using
Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7. This feature allows to you switch all
instances of a Video Wall to the live or recorded video from a camera that triggers an event. For
example, if motion occurs or a door is opened, the Video Wall can automatically switch to the video
from the camera that triggered the event.
• This feature is similar to the Virtual Matrix client available in Cisco VSM release 6.x.
Procedure
Complete the following procedure to create or edit Video Walls.
Note Any changes to existing Video Walls will be automatically published to all instances of that Video Wall.
For example, if you change the default View, all workstations viewing that Video Wall will automatically
change to the new View.
Setting Description
Name The name selected by users.
Access Location SASD users can view Video Wall that are assigned to the same location or
lower.
For example, if a user is assigned to a user group with the location
“California”, they can access Video Walls assigned to that location, or a
sub-location. The user cannot access Video Walls assigned to higher-level
locations.
See the “Creating the Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1for more
information.
Default View (Optional) The View displayed when a Video Wall is selected in the SASD
application.
• If a SASD user chooses a different View and clicks Publish to Wall, then
all other instances of that Video Wall will display the new View until the
rollback time expires (see below). All displays will then revert back to the
default View.
• The Publish to Wall feature is enabled for user groups with the Push
Video to Wall permission.
Tip Select the No Default View option to disable the rollback time and
display any selected View. A blank screen is displayed when the Video
Wall is first selected, and any Views published to that wall (including
video from Advanced Events) are displayed until a new View is
selected.
Refer to the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide
for more information.
Rollback Time The amount of time that an alternative View can be displayed on a Video Wall
before the default View is restored.
User Experience
• If users select a “covert” live stream, previously recorded video is displayed instead.
• If users select a “covert” recording, then the live stream is displayed.
• If both live and recorded video is hidden (covert), then the viewing pane is blank (no video is
displayed).
• A maximum of 4 covert recording times can be created.
• Clips:
– CVA clips—Video and audio is not displayed for covert times (CSCvb73058).
– Video is not included in a clip if a covert time is included.
– MP4 clips will not be created if a covert time is included.
– Clips from multiple cameras (bulk clipping) will not succeed if any of the selected cameras
include a covert recording time. An error message is not displayed.
• Rotating views—if the camera feed is live covert, then the recording stream is not displayed.
Additional Notes
• Covert options are not supported by SASD Federator or Operations Manager Federator.
• Cameras cannot be replaced by another camera if in covert mode.
• Media Servers cannot be replaced by another Media Server if any camera assigned to the server is
in covert mode.
• Cameras cannot be deleted when in covert mode.
• The Cisco VSM Management Console localuser will not see live or recoded steams if covert mode
is turned on. No warning is displayed.
• Changes to a user’s user group and user role require the user to log out and log back in.
Configuration
• Configure the covert options on cameras using the Operations Manager (see below). Use Bulk
Actions to enable covert features on multiple cameras.
• Add users to a user group with Forbid Covert Feed permission.
Procedure
Tip Click Bulk Actions to apply covert settings to multiple cameras. See Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple
Cameras.
Setting Description
Live Feed Covert Select this option to hide live video from users that belong to a User
Group with permissions for Forbid covert feed
• Previously recorded video is displayed if the user selects the live
stream.
Permanent Recorded Feed Select this option to hide all recorded video from users with Forbid
Covert Covert Feed permissions.
Recorded Feed Covert Allows admins to specify up to 4 time spans that hide the recorded feed
for given time span. Video is hidden only for users assigned to a user
group with the Forbid Covert Feed permission.
• Select the start and end time.
• Click Add Covert.
Procedure
Step 1 Add user access permissions to view live and recorded video.
a. Select Users.
b. Select the Roles tab .
c. Edit or add a Role:
– To edit a Role, click an existing entry to highlight it.
– To add a Role, click the Add button.
d. Select the Operate permissions to View Live Video and View Recordings.
e. Click Save.
f. Select the User Groups tab .
g. Select the Role that includes the view permissions.
h. Add the users to the role.
i. Click Save.
– See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more
information.
Procedure
Related Information
• Defining User Roles, page 6-12
• Operate Permissions, page 6-7
• Camera Status, page 10-74
• Health Dashboard: Device Health Faults on an Operations Manager, page 27-7
• Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
Refer to the following topics to create user accounts and define the features and functions that can be
accessed by those users. You can also provide access to users that are managed on an external (LDAP)
server.
Contents
• Overview, page 6-2
– Understanding Roles, Groups and Users, page 6-3
– Understanding the System-Defined User Roles, Groups and Accounts, page 6-4
– Understanding Permissions, page 6-4
– Understanding the Impact of a User’s Location, page 6-10
– Understanding the Super Admin, page 6-10
– Example Roles For Different Types of Users, page 6-11
• Defining User Roles, page 6-12
• Adding User Groups, page 6-14
• Adding Users, page 6-20
• Defining Password Rules and Security Questions, page 6-22
• Viewing and Logging Out Active Users, page 6-22
Related information
• Adding Users from an LDAP Server
Overview
Cisco Video Surveillance Manager (Cisco VSM) users can monitor video or configure the system based
on the following:
• The user group(s) to which the user is assigned: user groups are associated with a user Role, which
defines the access permissions for the group.
• The location assigned to the user group(s).
• Users can be assigned to multiple user groups, and gain the combined access permissions for all
groups.
Before you begin, create the location hierarchy as described in the “Creating the Location Hierarchy”
section on page 8-1. Carefully review the “Examples: Locations in Simple vs. Large Deployments”
section on page 8-7.
Tip User accounts provide access to both the browser-based Operations Manager and the Cisco Safety and
Security desktop application.
Tip A second user (such as a manager) can also be required to approve when a user logs in. See the
“Understanding Dual Login” section on page 1-19.
Review the following topics to understand how to configure users and user access permissions in
Cisco VSM.
• Understanding Roles, Groups and Users, page 6-3
• Understanding the System-Defined User Roles, Groups and Accounts, page 6-4
• Understanding Permissions, page 6-4
• Understanding the Impact of a User’s Location, page 6-10
• Understanding the Super Admin, page 6-10
• Example Roles For Different Types of Users, page 6-11
Roles define the access permissions for different types of users. For example, create an operator Role
that allows users to view live and recorded video, and an administrator Role that allows users to
configure cameras and add new users.
When the Roles are assigned to a user group, any user added to that group will inherit the Role
permissions. Users also gain access to different types of resources based on the user group location.
For example, create an Operator Role that allows users to view video, but does not allow configuration
of cameras or other system resources. When you add that Role to a user group, any user added to the
group will inherit the Role permissions. In addition, users can access the devices at the group location
(including sub-locations), and the templates, schedules and other resources for any location in the same
location tree.
Tip See the “Examples: Locations in Simple vs. Large Deployments” section on page 8-7 for more
information on user access based on a group’s location.
Default Description
Roles • super_admin_role—includes all management and operation access
permissions.
• local_admin_role—provides all operator functions, but limited and
commonly used management tasks such as managing cameras, Media
Servers, encoders, Video Walls, locations & maps, views and alerts.
• operator_role—provides all operator permissions.
User • super_admins—assigned the super_admin_role.
Groups
• operators—assigned the operator_role.
Users • admin—assigned to the super_admins user group, which gives the user
super_admin_role permissions. The admin is a root system user and
cannot be modified or deleted. The default admin username and password
is admin/admin.
Note A super-admin is anybody that has all permissions at the root location.
Understanding Permissions
A user’s access permissions are defined by the user group that the user belongs. The user group is
assigned to a role, which defines the user access permissions. The user group also includes a location.
The user’s access permissions are for that location only.
• User Roles, page 6-5
• Default Roles, page 6-5
• Manage Permissions, page 6-6
• Operate Permissions, page 6-7
User Roles
User Roles define the permissions that are assigned to a user group. Click the Roles tab to view or
modify the permissions that can be assigned to a Role (Figure 6-2). Permissions are divided into two
categories: Manage and Operate. Select or deselect the check boxes to add or remove permissions.
Tip See Table 6-2 and Table 6-3 for descriptions of the Operate and Manage roles. See the “Defining User
Roles” section on page 6-12 to create or revise Roles.
Default Roles
The following default Roles are read-only and cannot be revised or deleted.
• operator_role—Includes most Operator permissions.
• super_admin_role— Includes all operate and manage permissions (a super-admin is any user that
has access to all permissions and is assigned to the root-level location).
Note • Selecting a permission may automatically result in the selection of other dependent permissions if
the permissions overlap. For example, if you select the Manage Cameras permission, the View Live
Video and Perform PTZ permissions are automatically selected. The automatically selected
dependent permission(s) cannot be deselected unless the parent permission is deselected first.
• See the “Defining User Roles” section on page 6-12 for detailed instructions.
Manage Permissions
Table 6-2 summarizes the Manage permissions:
Operate Permissions
Table 6-3 summarizes the Operate permissions.
Note Some permissions are mutually exclusive. For example, you can select either View Live Video or View
Secondary Stream Only but not both at the same time. If you select View Secondary Stream, the mutually
exclusive permission will be automatically deseleted.
Tip Click Operate All to select all of the permissions. except View Secondary Stream Only.
Notes
• View Recordings is also selected when you
select Create Clips.
• CVA clips cannot be created if the user does
not have the Export Clips permission.
1 Root location. User groups at the root location have access to all sub-locations.
Note A super-admin is any user who has access to all access permissions at the root location.
See Understanding the Super Admin, page 6-10.
2 Sub-location. A user’s access permissions apply only to this sub-location and its children.
Tip See Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1 for more information.
Note A super-admin is any user that has access to all permissions at the root location (see Understanding
Permissions, page 6-4 and Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1).
Once created, Roles are assigned to one or more user groups. Users gain the access permissions of the
user groups Role.
Procedure
To create user Roles, do the following:
Setting Description
Name (Required) Enter a meaningful name.
Location (Required) Select the location where the Role can be used.
Tags (Optional) Enter keywords used by the Find function.
Description (Optional) Enter a description of the permissions granted by the Role.
If a user belongs to more than one user group, the user inherits the combined rights and permissions of
all the groups.
Procedure
To create a user group, do the following:
Step 1 Select Users, and then select the User Groups tab .
• The currently configured user groups are listed in the left column.
Step 2 Edit or add a user group:
• To edit a group, click an existing entry to highlight it, and continue to Step 3.
• To add a group, click the Add button.
Step 3 Enter the group settings (Table 6-7):
Step 4 Complete the following additional fields to grant user access (Table 6-8):
Setting Description
Name (Required) Enter a meaningful name.
Access Location (Required) Select the location that the users in this group will have access to. For example,
select California to restrict access to equipment and associated video (such as cameras, Media
Servers and video streams) that are also assigned to California or a sub-location.
Location Exception(s) (Optional) Select the locations within the Access Location that users should not be able to
access. For example, if you select the Access Location California, and the Location Exception
San Francisco, users in the group can access all California locations except San Francisco.
Role (Required) Select the Role that defines the access permissions for the group. To create or
modify the available Roles, see the “Defining User Roles” section on page 6-12.
PTZ priority over other User (Required) Select a number from 1 to 100 that defines use user group priority (relative to
Groups members of other user groups) to use a camera’s pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) controls. User groups
with a higher number have priority over groups with a lower number.
For example, assign Operators a priority of 50, and Administrators a priority number 60.
Assign security personnel priority 70, and building managers priority 80. See the “Defining the
User Group PTZ Priority” section on page 10-85 for more information.
The default is 100 (highest priority).
Note If two users belong to user groups with the same priority, then the first user to access
the PTZ controls gains priority and can continue to use the controls.
Note You can also define the idle time that a lower priority user must wait to use the PTZ
controls after a higher priority user stops using the controls. See the “Configuring
Advanced Settings” section on page 10-91.
Live QoS (Required) Defines the priority of the user group to receive live video if network traffic is
heavy. The video quality is not affected, but user groups with a low QoS setting may have
dropped packets so user groups with a higher QoS setting can continue to receive uninterrupted
video.
• Low—If network traffic is heavy, video packets may be dropped for users assigned to this
group.
• Medium—the user group has secondary priority to receive video packets over the network.
If network traffic is heavy, video packets may be dropped for users assigned to this group.
• High—the user group has the highest priority to receive video packets over the network.
Archive QoS (Required) Defines the priority of the user group to receive recorded (archive) video if network
traffic is heavy. The video quality is not affected, but user groups with a low QoS setting may
have dropped packets so user groups with a higher QoS setting can continue to receive
uninterrupted video.
• Low—If network traffic is heavy, video packets may be dropped for users assigned to this
group.
• Medium—the user group has secondary priority to receive video packets over the network.
If network traffic is heavy, video packets may be dropped for users assigned to this group.
• High—the user group has the highest priority to receive video packets over the network.
Allow Site Change (Optional) Select Allow Change Site to allow users to change their Site after logging into the
Operations Manager. This option is disabled (deselected) by default when adding a new user
group.
• Deselect to disable Site changes. Users must log out and log back in to change Sites.
• Users can only change Sites if they are assigned to User Groups with access to multiple
Sites.
• If a user selects the “Not in Any Site” option, then video from cameras in Sites that have
the Dynamic Proxy option enabled will be streamed from the Dynamic Proxy server.
Note Users who have access to multiple sites, but do not have the option to change sites, will
default to “Not in any site” when logging in.
Note If a Site’s Dynamic Proxy option is disabled (deselected), video from cameras at the
Site will be delivered to all users by the Site’s Media Servers (and not by a Dynamic
Proxy server).
Tip Sites are used to define if you are inside or outside a location served by a Dynamic
Proxy server. See the “Understanding Sites” section on page 32-3 for more
information.
Defaults
• “Allow Site Change” is disabled by default when adding a User Group.
• “Allow Site Change” is enabled by default for all User Groups when upgrading to r7.5
from a previous release.7.5 (or higher) from a previous release.
Tags (Optional) Enter keywords used by the Find function.
Description (Optional) Enter a description of the rights granted by the Role.
Approval Required (Optional) If selected, a second user is required to approve the user login. When the user logs
in, a window appears requiring a second user to enter their username and password.
See the “Understanding Dual Login” section on page 1-19 for more information.
Approval Usergroup (Required if Approval Required is selected). Select a User Group that can approve logins for
members of the Approval Required usergroup.
Allow Multiple Logins (Optional) Allows users with the same credentials to login from multiple workstations.
This setting is enabled by default.
Note Users who configure unattended video walls (using the Cisco SASD Wall
Configurator) must belong to a user group that allows multiple logins. This is because
each unattended video wall requires a unique Cisco VSM login session for the video
wall to be displayed. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop
User Guide for more information.
Enable Fixed Duration Automatically logs out users after a defined number of hours. For example, if this value is 8,
Timeout users are automatically logged out 8 hours after they log in, even if they are still actively using
the system.
Procedure
To enable this feature:
1. Enter the number of hours in the Fixed Duration Timeout system setting (see General
System Settings, page 29-2).
2. Select the Enable Fixed Duration Timeout user group settings (this setting).
3. Assign users to the user group.
Notes
• Users must log in again to restart the timeout.
• This setting is useful to ensure users log out at the end of a shift or work day, or to ensure
users log out at designated times.
• See also the User Timeout setting.
• Do not enable this setting for users who log in to Cisco SASD Unattended Walls.
Otherwise, the Unattended Wall will log out and an error message will display.
Setting Description
Users (Required) Add users who will be granted the group permissions.
a. Click Add under the User box (Figure 6-5).
b. Select one or more users from the pop-up window.
c. Select OK.
Tip Press Shift-click or Ctrl-click to select multiple users. To create or modify the list of
available users, see the “Adding Users” section on page 6-20.
LDAP server (Optional) If an LDAP server is used to authenticate users, add the LDAP groups that have
access to Cisco VSM.
Related information
• Adding Users from an LDAP Server, page 7-1
• User Group Filter, page 7-9.
Custom Field Filters (Optional) Select the Custom Field Filters for the group to limit the cameras that users can
access. Only cameras that match the filter will be available to user group members.
See Custom Fields, page 24-1 for more information.
Adding Users
Users provide login access to individuals. Once user accounts are created, you can assign the users to
one or more user groups. User groups provide the users with access permissions and limit access to
specific locations. See the “Overview” section on page 6-2 for more information.
Tip A second user (such as a manager) can also be required to approve when a user logs in. See the
“Understanding Dual Login” section on page 1-19.
Procedure
To create users, do the following:
Setting Description
Username (Required) The username is used to log in to the Operations Manager
and Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop.
First Name (Required) Enter the user’s first name.
Last Name (Required) Enter the user’s last name
Email (Optional) Enter an email address for the user.
The email address is for informational purposes only.
Password (Required) Enter the initial password for the user.
• The password minimum length is 8 characters and must include one
uppercase character and one digit.
• The user is prompted to change the password the first time they log
in.
• If the user forgets their password, they can click Forgot Password
on the login screen to reset their password. An administrator can
also change the password, which will require the user to enter a new
password on first login.
Tips
• See the “Password Settings” section on page 29-4 to change
password rules such as expiry time and minimum and maximum
length.
• Cisco VSM admins with Users & Roles permissions can change
these settings for users in their location hierarchy. Super-admins
can change these settings for any other user.
• Super-admins can use this field to change their own password.
Users can change their own password by clicking on their username
in the top right corner of the browser.
• The password expiry date is displayed under the description.
More Information
• Changing Your Password, page 1-22
• Changing Another User’s Password, page 1-24
• Password Settings, page 29-4
Confirm Password Re-enter the password.
Tags (Optional) Enter the keywords used by the Find feature.
Description (Optional) Enter a description for the user.
Tip See the “Adding User Groups” section on page 6-14 for instructions to add or edit groups.
Setting Description
Username The username of the account used to access the system.
First Name The first name in the user account
Last Name The last name in the user account
User Group(s) The user groups the user is assigned to.
User groups define the user role and location for member users, which defines the cameras
and resources they can access.
Super-admin Indicates if the user account is assigned the super-admin role.
See Understanding the System-Defined User Roles, Groups and Accounts, page 6-4.
Logged-In Time The date and time when the user logged in.
Setting Description
Last Access Time The date and time the user last performed any action on the system.
From IP The IP address of the device or computer used to access the system.
Tip To view a history of user activity, go to Operations > Audit Logs (see Viewing Audit Logs, page 27-43).
Add an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server to the Cisco VSM user configuration to
provide access to members of an external user database. After the LDAP server is added, users from that
system can log in to Cisco VSM using the credentials configured on the LDAP server (the users do not
need to be added individually to the Operations Manager configuration).
Refer to the following topics for more information:
• LDAP Usage Notes, page 7-1
• LDAP Configuration Procedure, page 7-2
• LDAP Server Settings, page 7-6
• User Group Filter, page 7-9
– LDAP Search Filters, page 7-9
– User Name List, page 7-10
• Look up the Access Permissions for an LDAP User, page 7-11
• LDAP Configuration Examples, page 7-13
• These settings are not imported automatically upon upgrade. Operations Manager will not prompt
the administrator or display messages that indicate the new fields that need to be updated. Carefully
review the LDAP configuration descriptions and instructions to implement the required changes.
Note To configure LDAP servers, you must log in with super-admin privileges.
Procedure
Step 2 Click Users and select the LDAP tab (Figure 7-2).
Step 3 (Required) Enter the LDAP server settings in the General section (Figure 7-2).
• See LDAP Server Settings, page 7-6 and LDAP Configuration Examples, page 7-13 for more
information.
• Click Test and enter the test username and password (credentials are not required if Anonymous
Binding is selected).
• If the test fails, correct the settings and try again. For example, if you selected Secure Connection
and the connection fails, make sure your credentials and the port number for secure connections are
correct.
Step 4 (Required) Add User Group Filters to define the LDAP users who can log in to Cisco VSM.
a. Under User Group Filter, click Add (Figure 7-2).
b. Select one of the User Group Filter options:
– LDAP Search Filters—specifies a user group defined on the LDAP server. All members of this
LDAP user group can log in to Cisco VSM.
– User Name List—Allows you to create a group of LDAP user names who can log in to Cisco
VSM. This LDAP user group is associated with a Cisco VSM user group to provide access
permissions. This option grants access to specific LDAP users without granting access to the
entire LDAP group.
c. Click Test to verify the filter. You must enter a valid username and password for the LDAP server
and filter. If the test fails, correct your entries and try again.
d. Click OK to add the filter or group.
e. (Optional) Repeat Step 4 to add up to 500 filters.
Step 5 (Required) Click Create or Save to save the LDAP server settings.
Step 6 (Required) Add the LDAP user groups to Cisco VSM user groups.
• This association defines the Cisco VSM access permissions for the LDAP users created in Step 4.
• The LDAP groups can be added to multiple Cisco VSM user groups. The LDAP users gain the
combined access permissions of all associated Cisco VSM user groups.
Figure 7-3 Adding LDAP User Groups to a Cisco VSM User Group
The following table describes the purpose and requirements for each setting. Refer to the “LDAP
Configuration Examples” section on page 7-13 for additional information. See the “LDAP Configuration
Procedure” section on page 7-2 to complete the configuration.
Setting Description
Anonymous Binding (Optional) Select this option, if the LDAP server being configured supports anonymous access.
Secure Connection (Optional) Select this option if the LDAP server uses a secure (sLDAP) connection to communicate
with Cisco VSM.
LDAP servers display the following status icons:
• —The LDAP sever uses secure communication.
• —The LDAP connection is not secure.
Note The sLDAP server can be saved even if the credentials or port number are not tested.
Name (Required) Enter a descriptive name for the server.
Hostname (Required) Enter the server hostname or IP address.
Port (Required) Enter the server port.
• Port 389 is typically used for insecure LDAP communication.
• Port 636 is used by default for secure LDAP communication. Other port numbers that support
secure LDAP, such as 3269, can also be used.
Principal (Required) The Principal setting is used to bind Cisco VSM to the LDAP server. In other words, the
Principal setting defines the user information used to authenticate individual users with the LDAP
server.
The Principal entry includes the %USERID% variable, which represents the userID configured on
the LDAP sever. The %USERID% and password are entered when the user logs into Cisco VSM,
and is sent to the LDAP server for authentication.
• If the Principal path (Bind DN) contains userid, enter the Principal in the following pattern:
CN=%USERID%,OU=Company Users,DC=mycompany,DC=com
• If Principal path(Bind DN) contains user's full name instead of userid(eg. CN represents full
name instead of userid) especially for AD servers, then enter the Principal in the following
pattern: %USERID%@domain.com.
The following illustration shows an LDAP configuration that uses the userID as the CN.
Anonymous Binding
Select this option if the LDAP server allows anonymous access and you prefer to connect and search
the LDAP server anonymously in order to authenticate the users logging in to Cisco VSM.
Anonymous Binding requires only the base DN, and does not require the %USERID% variable. For
example:
ou=employees,ou=people,o=mycompany.com
Note The following error is returned if the LDAP server does not support Anonymous Binding:
Operation failed: User <user id> is not found in LDAP or given distinguished
name does not support anonymous access.
User Search Base (Required, except for Anonymous Binding) The Search Base indicates the lowest level of LDAP
hierarchy where users will be found. User information includes attributes such as first name, last
name, email address, etc.
For example: OU=Company Users,DC=Mycompany,DC=com
Anonymous Binding
This field is optional field for Anonymous Binding.
Userid Attribute (Required) Enter the name of the LDAP mapping field where the User ID is stored. For example:
• cn
• uid
• userid
• sAMAccountName (Active Directory only—this value is used only with Active Directory
servers). The following illustration shows an LDAP configuration that uses the
sAMAccountName field for the userID.
Lastname Attribute (Optional) The name of the LDAP server attribute that holds the users’ surname.
For example: sn (if defined on the LDAP server).
Email Attribute (Optional) The name of the LDAP server attribute that holds the users’ email address.
For example: mail (if defined on the LDAP server).
Tags (Optional) Words that assist in a Find.
Description (Optional) Description of the LDAP server. For example: the server purpose, location, or user base.
Note The LDAP server settings were changed for Release 7.0.1. If you are upgrading from Release 7.0.0, you
must revise the configuration to conform to the new fields and requirements.
Field Description
Name Enter a descriptive name for the filter. For example: Security users
User Search Path The directory path where user groups are stored on the LDAP hierarchy.
In some LDAP configurations, the user information and user group information are in different
locations. The User Search Base field specifies the hierarchy location below which the user group
information is located.
For example: ou=groups,dc=mycompany,dc=com
Field Description
User Group Filter Enter the LDAP syntax that limits access to members of a specific group on the LDAP server.
For example, to match any user who is a member of the ‘vsomadmin’ user group, the user group search
filter is:
(&(sAMAccountName=%USERID%)(memberOf=CN=vsomadmin, OU= Groups,DC=company,DC=com))
The variable %USERID% matches the user ID entered by the user at the login screen with an Active
Directory record with the same user ID (sAMAccountName), and that Active Directory record must
also be a member of the user group “CN=vsomadmin,OU=Groups,DC=company,DC=com).
To match an individual Active Directory user ID ‘johndoe’, the user group search filter is:
(&(sAMAccountName=%USERID%)(sAMAccountName=johndoe))
This example matches the user ID entered by the user at the login screen with an Active Directory
record with the same user ID (sAMAccountName), and the Active Directory record must have the
sANAccountName ‘johndoe’.
Tip See the “LDAP Configuration Examples” section on page 7-13 for additional configuration examples.
Note The user name list is an alternative to the LDAP Search Filters, which provides access to Cisco VSM for
all members of an LDAP group.
Procedure
Step 1 Log on to the Cisco VSM as an administrator with localhost domain (Figure 7-7):
• Your account must belong to a User Group with super-admin access permissions (for example,
admin). See the “Logging In” section on page 1-17.
Review the following table for additional information and configuration summaries.
Locations allow you to organize your deployment according to the real-world location of equipment and
users. Locations also allow administrators to restrict user access to the specific cameras, policies, and
data (such as alerts) required by the user’s role within the organization. For example, while a
super-admin has full access to all locations and devices, a local campus administrator might have access
only to the devices and policies required to manage a specific site.
This chapter describes how to create the location hierarchy, assign locations to devices, policies, and user
groups, and how those assignments impact a user’s ability to access Cisco VSM resources.
Tip Since all servers, user groups and cameras must be assigned to a location, create the location hierarchy
before performing other configuration tasks. Review the information in this section carefully, and then
create a location plan to ensure the users in your deployment can access only the equipment, video and
policies required for their role.
Contents
• Overview, page 8-2
• Understanding Permission-Based and Partition-Based Resources, page 8-3
– Simple Deployments (User Access to All Devices and Resources), page 8-4
– Permission-Based Resources: Limiting User Access to Devices, page 8-4
– Partition-Based Resources: User Access to Templates, Schedules and Other Resources,
page 8-5
• Examples: Locations in Simple vs. Large Deployments, page 8-7
• Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location, page 8-9
• Creating and Editing the Location Hierarchy, page 8-10
• Importing the Location Hierarchy Using a CSV File, page 8-13
• Impact of Device Location Changes on Alerts, page 8-16
• Deleting a Location, page 8-17
Overview
Locations define the physical location of devices, such as cameras, and the logical location of attributes,
such as camera templates. This allows system administrators to restrict user access to only the devices
and resources required by the different users in a deployment. For example, in a simple deployment,
users are assigned to the root level and gain access to all devices and resources. In larger deployments,
however, users can belong to user groups that are assigned to locations at lower levels. This restricts the
users’ access to the devices at that location (and sub-locations). The users also have access to system
resources (such as templates and schedules) that are assigned to other locations.
Summary Steps
To create a location hierarchy, do the following:
Tip User access can still be restricted based on the assigned user group. For example, an operator user group
can provide access to only view video, but not configure system resources. See the “Adding Users, User
Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Note • Users cannot access cameras assigned to higher locations (such as California in Figure 8-2), or
sub-locations in a different hierarchical tree (such as the Milpitas Campus or Texas).
• A user’s location includes all of the user groups to which the user is assigned. For example, if a user
is assigned to a user group for the San Jose Campus, and is also assigned to another user group for
the Dallas Campus (Figure 8-2), the user gains access to the devices at both locations.
• Devices, user groups and Views are permission-based resources. All permission-based resources
adhere to these same rules.
Tip • Servers should be assigned to a high-level location to provide support to services, devices and user
groups at lower-level locations. In the Figure 8-2 example, assign the servers to either the Root
(System) location, or the California and Texas locations.
• Camera Views are also assigned to a location. Users can only access the Views assigned to their
location and lower. See the “Setting the Default View” section on page 5-1.
Tip The user must be assigned to a user groups that provides access to the resource. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Tip System users (such as super-admins) can view all resources at all sub-locations. Super-admins can also
access system settings and other resources. See Table 8-2 on page 8-3 for more information.
Tip • This distinction is used when viewing video alarms. If an alarm occurs at Building 1, the Cisco
Safety and Security desktop application will display the alarm (for Building 1) even if the camera’s
installed location is Building 2 (since the camera is pointed at Building 1).
• To automatically add camera map icons to the location maps based on the camera’s Installed
Location, select the “Auto Create Map Markers” setting (see the General System Settings,
page 29-2).
Procedure
Tip Use the keyboard shortcuts (shown in parentheses) to quickly add or edit location entries.
Tip You can also drag and drop location names within the location hierarchy.
Tip Click Delete to remove an entry. You can only delete a location that does not have any resources
assigned to the location, or any of its sub-locations. If the delete operation fails, remove or
reassign any associated resources and try again.
Note The Longitude and Latitude of the visible map are automatically entered in the location settings
(Figure 8-8). The second field displays the Zoom factor. For more information, see the
“Configuring Location Maps” section on page 33-1.
Note You can use the same file to update the location settings. Only revised or new fields are changed.
Overview
Figure 8-9 summarizes the process to import locations from a CSV file. All required fields must be
included, and all fields must have the correct syntax. If an error occurs, correct the CSV file and try
again.
Usage Notes
• The Root location can’t be updated using the import location feature.
• Location names cannot be updated using a CSV import. New location names are added as new
locations.
• The Location CSV file must maintain the hierarchy parent / children hierarchy order: The parent
location must come before the child location.
• You cannot move a location using CSV the import.
Procedure
Step 3 Modify the file to include the location settings described in Table 8-3.
Required/
Content Optional Description
Location Name Required Enter the location name. For example: California
You can add location names. Existing names cannot be updated.
Parent location path Required The location hierarchy. Use a delimiter (such as “.”) between the parent location and
sub-locations.
In the following example, “California” is a sub-location of the “System” parent
location: System.California
If California also has a sub-location, the entry would be:
System.California.CampusA
Note The Root location can’t be updated using the import location feature.
Description Optional For example: “This location includes all cameras and a servers in the San Francisco
campus location.”
Latitude Optional Defines the physical location of the entry on a map. All three must be entered if a
Longitude map location is used.
Zoom For example, if Latitude is entered, you must also include the Longitude and Zoom.
If Zoom is entered, you must also include the Latitude and Longitude.
Procedure
Deleting a Location
Locations can be deleted only if no resources (such as cameras) are associated with the location or any
of its sub-locations. See Table 8-2 on page 8-3 for a list of the resources that use locations.
Procedure
To delete a location or sub-location:
Step 1 Remove all devices and resources from the location and sub-locations.
You can reassign the devices and resources to a different location, or delete the items.
Step 2 Select System Settings > Locations.
Step 3 Select the location or sub-location.
Step 4 Click Delete.
Step 5 If the delete operation fails and an error message appears, remove or reassign any resources that are
associated with the location or sub-location and try again.
A server is a physical or virtual machine (VM) that runs the Cisco Video Surveillance system software.
Each server can run one or more server services. For example, the Operations Manager is a server service
that provides the user interface used to configure and manage a Cisco Video Surveillance deployment.
Additional services can be enabled when the server is added to the Operations Manager configuration.
For example, a server can be added as a Media Server, Maps Server or Metadata Server that supports
those features and functions for the entire deployment.
Tip The Cisco Video Surveillance Federator service can also be enabled on a stand-alone server. See the
“Understanding Server Services” section on page 9-3 and the “Using Federator to Monitor Multiple
Operations Managers” section on page 31-1 for more information.
Refer to the following topics for instructions to configure and monitor a server using the Operations
Manager, and to enable server services.
Contents
• Understanding Server Services, page 9-3
• Requirements, page 9-7
• Summary Steps to Add or Revise a Server, page 9-8
• Server Settings, page 9-10
– General Information Settings, page 9-10
– Additional Server Settings, page 9-11
– Services, page 9-11
– Hardware Information Settings, page 9-11
– Access Information Settings, page 9-12
– Network Information, page 9-13
– Time Settings, page 9-14
• Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16
– Prerequisites, page 9-17
– Adding or Editing a Single Server, page 9-17
– Importing or Updating Servers Using a CSV File, page 9-20
• Deleting a Server, page 9-24
4. Use the Operations Manager to further configure the services and system
features.
Related Documentation:
• Summary Steps to Add or Revise a Server, page 9-8
• Configuring Media Server Services, page 13-1
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
To Disable:
1. Log in to the Management Console for each server associated with the
Operations Manager server and click the Remove button.
Note The Remove button disassociates the server and all server services
from the Operations Manager. This allows the server (and running
services) to be added and managed by a different Operations Manager.
Related Documentation
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
• Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16
• Server Settings, page 9-10
• Configuring Media Server Services, page 13-1
To Disable:
• Log in to the Operations Manager, select System Settings > Server,
select the server, and deselect the Media Server service.
or
• Log in to the Management Console for the server, and click Remove to
remove the server from the Operations Manager. Then de-select the
service.
Related Documentation
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
• Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16
• Server Settings, page 9-10
• Configuring Location Maps, page 33-1
To Disable:
• If the Operations Manager is not co-located with the Maps Server, log in
to the Management Console for the server, click Remove to remove the
server from the Operations Manager, and then de-select the service.
• If the Operations Manager is co-located with the Maps Server, log in to
the Operations Manager and de-select the Media Server service.
Related Documentation
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
• Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16
• Server Settings, page 9-10
• Enabling Video Analytics, page 17-2
To Disable:
• Use the Operations Manager to deactivate the service on the server.
or
• Use the Management Console to Remove the server from the Operations
Manager, and then de-select the service.
VSF Enables the Federator service Activated using the Management Console only. Cannot be activated using the
used to monitor video and Operations Manager.
system health for the cameras
Note This service is supported as a stand-alone server only, on a server
and resources of multiple
running the RHEL 6.10 64 bit OS.
Operations Managers. The
Federator service can only be
To Enable:
enabled on a stand-alone
server in this release. Other 1. Log in to the Management Console.
server services cannot be 2. Install the server and complete the Setup Wizard: select the VSF service.
enabled on the same server as
3. Log in to the Cisco VSM Federator browser-based interface.
the Federator service. The
Federator interface is 4. Continue to the “Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations
accessed using a web browser Managers” section on page 31-1.
or the Cisco SASD. Federator.
Related Documentation
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
• Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations Managers, page 31-1
To Disable:
• Log in to the Management Console and deselect the VSF service.
Requirements
Before you begin, verify that the following requirements are met.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
The IP address and password for the server.
You must belong to a user group with Servers & Encoders permissions.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
A physical or virtual Cisco Video Surveillance 7.x server installed in the network where the other Cisco
Video Surveillance components are deployed.
• Physical Servers:
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.2) See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform Series User
Guide for more information.
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.0.0 or 7.0.1) See the Cisco Physical Security Multiservices
Platform Series User Guide for more information.
• Virtual Machines—See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and Recovery Guide
for UCS Platforms for instructions to install the server software .ova image as a virtual machine (VM).
Each Media Server requires a license in order to be added to the Operations Manager configuration.
See the “Installing and Managing Licenses” section on page 2-1.
Complete the server initial configuration using the browser-based Cisco VSM Management Console.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Each server must run the same version of system software.
If a critical driver pack mismatch error occurs, then the driver packs on all Media Servers must be upgraded
to the same version.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide for more information.
Note The Operations Manager server (“VsomServer”) is added by default and cannot be deleted. All servers
are assigned the Primary HA role by default (see the “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section
on page 25-1).
Virtual Machines
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine
Deployment and Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms for
instructions to install the server software .ova image as a
virtual machine (VM).
Step 3 Complete the server Initial Setup Wizard. Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration
Guide.
Step 4 Log on to the Operations Manager. Logging In, page 1-17.
Step 5 Add a license, if necessary. Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1
Each Media Server requires a license in order to
be added to the Operations Manager
configuration.
Server Settings
The following topics describe the server settings available in the General tab.
• Server System Settings, page 9-10
– General Information Settings, page 9-10
– Services, page 9-11
– Hardware Information Settings, page 9-11
• Server Network Settings, page 9-12
– Access Information Settings, page 9-12
– Network Information, page 9-13
– Time Settings, page 9-14
Setting Description
Name (Required) Enter a descriptive name that can help you identify the server. For
example, enter the location of the server or its primary use. The name can
include any combination of characters and spaces.
Install Location (Required) Click the entry field to select the location where the server is
installed.
The location determines the cameras and users that can access the server. See
the “Creating the Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1 for more
information.
Tags Enter the tags that help identify the server using the Find function.
Description Describe the purpose or use of the server.
For example: “Support for Building B cameras and associated video”.
Setting Description
Use Unknown State Display the “Unknown” icon at the location level for the Media Server if it
for Cameras when is unreachable.
Media Server is not
This indicates that the cameras and encoders supported by the server is not
reachable
available. Cameras and encoders associated with the unreachable server(s) will
also display the “Unknown” icon .
See Enable the “Unknown” State for Servers in a Transportation Environment.
Services
Select the General > System tabs to activate or deactivate the services running on the server.
• See the “Understanding Server Services” section on page 9-3 for information about the services and
limitations on how many services can be enabled on a server.
• Click the Advanced icon (if available for the service) to enter additional configurations for the
service.
Note Use the Operations Manager browser interface to enable or disable the services running on a server. The
Management Console is only used to enable or disable the Operations Manager service.
Field Settings
Name (Read-only) The service name. For example, VSOM or Media Server.
SW Version The version of the Cisco VSM package installed on the server
Active Select to activate or deactivate the service.
Activating or deactivating s service may restart the server. If VSOM
(Operations Manager) is active on this server, then VSOM will be unavailable
until the server is restarted.
Advanced Click the icon to enter additional configurations available for the service.
Setting Description
Model The server model.
Note The Access Information settings do not appear for the VsomServer.
Setting Description
Hostname/IP The hostname (recommended) or IP address used by the Operations Manager to access the server.
• We recommend using the server hostname. If an IP address that was assigned by a DHCP server
was used, the address can change if the server reboots, and communication will be lost.
• If a static IP address is changed on the server, but not in the Operations Manager configuration,
communication can be lost. This is because the IP address in Operations Manager is used to
access the server, and must be the same as the address configured on the server’s port. Revise the
server and Operations Manager configuration to use the same static IP address.
Network Information
Select the General > Network tabs to define the Network Information used to configure the Ethernet
network interface cards (NIC). These settings are configured during the initial server configuration and
should only be changed by a network administrator or similar user.
Caution Incorrect network settings will cause a loss of network connectivity, loss of camera control, and the
inability to view live or recorded video. Do not change these settings without a clear plan and reason. In
addition, the use of certain settings, such as a static IP vs. DHCP, depends on the server applications
supported on the server hardware. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide for more
information.
Click Settings next to each NIC port to change the following network settings. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Manager: Design Guide for more information.
Setting Description
Name The NIC name.
Hostname Enter the host name used to access the server over the network.
Domain Enter the network domain name.
For example: cisco.com
Configuration type Select one of the following options based on the enabled server
applications.
• Disabled—disables the interface.
• DHCP—the IP address and other fields will be disabled and defined by
a DHCP server.
• Static —enter the IP address, Subnet Mask and other network
settings.
Note The Ethernet ports must be configured with static IP address or
DHCP depending on the enabled applications. See the Overview
section of the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console
Administration Guide for more information.
Gateway (Static IP configuration only) Enter the IP address of the default gateway
and click Add.
DNS Servers (Optional) Enter up to three domain name service (DNS) servers.
Separate multiple entries with a comma (,).
Searchable Domains Enter the domain name.
Separate multiple entries with a comma (,).
Time Settings
Select the General > Network Settings tabs to define the network time protocol (NTP) server used to
set the server time and date.
Note See Understanding NTP Configuration, page 11-1 for complete information on the recommended NTP
settings for cameras and servers, and the alternative configuration options.
Usage Notes
• The server time synchronizes server operations, defines recording timestamps and backup
schedules. To ensure correct playback and system operation, we strongly recommend using
Automatic mode for all Media Servers, or using the same NTP server for all Media Servers and the
Operations Manager.
• Automatic mode can only be used after NTP is configured on the Operations Manager server.
• The server will reboot if any changes are made to the NTP settings using the Operations Manager UI.
• Changes to the server time can affect video recording schedules and timestamps.
• A warning alert is generated if the time difference between the server and Operations Manager is
more than 2 minutes.
• A warning message is also displayed to operators when logging in if the time difference between
their workstation and the server is more than 2 minutes.
• Never modify the time and NTP settings using the Linux CLI. Settings made using the Linux CLI
can result in inconsistent system performance and other issues.
Mode Settings
Automatic (Media Server-only servers) The Operations Manager server is used as the NTP server. The Operations
Manager also defines the server timezone.
• Default and recommended for all Media Server-only servers.
• Disabled for co-located servers (Operations Manager and Media Server hosted on a single server).
No other changes or settings are required when using Automatic mode.
Note We highly recommend using Automatic mode for all Media Servers. This ensures proper
operation since all components use the same time, date, and timezone.
User Configured Enter a custom NTP server and timezone for the server.
• Co-located servers—(Default and required) Enter the NTP server hostname(s) or IP address(es).
Separate entries with a space or comma and select the Co-located server’s time zone.
• Media Server-only servers—(Optional) This option may be necessary based on proximity of the
Media Servers. For example: if your deployment spans numerous countries or timezones, the Media
Servers may need to use local NTP servers. Enter one or more NTP server hostnames or IP
addresses separated by a space or comma and select the Media Server time zone.
Note If multiple NTP servers are used, a hierarchy of servers should ensure that the times on the
various components are close.
Note We recommend using the same network time protocol (NTP) server on all Media Servers to
ensure the time settings are accurate and identical.
Note The Operations Manager server (“VsomServer”) is added by default and cannot be deleted. All servers
are assigned the Primary HA role by default (see the “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section
on page 25-1).
Tip Select an existing entry to revise an existing server configuration (see the “Server Settings” section on
page 9-10 for more information).
Overview
To manually add a single server, open the server configuration page and click Add. Enter the server
settings as described in the “Adding or Editing a Single Server” section on page 17. If the server is not
available on the network, it can be added in pre-provisioned state (Figure 9-1).
Pre-Provisioning Servers
Pre-provisioning allows you to add a server before it is installed or available on the network. The server
is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned server can be
modified, but cannot stream or record video.
• If a server is pre-provisioned, the Media server service is activated by default. This allows
pre-provisioned cameras and encoders to be added to the pre-provisioned server.
• After the server is installed and available on the network, you can enable it by choosing Device
Settings > Enable from the server configuration page. The server configuration must be complete,
and Cisco VSM must be able to verify network communication or the enable action will fail.
Tip Use Bulk Actions to enable multiple servers. See the “Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Servers” section
on page 9-26.
See the “Viewing Server Status” section on page 9-29 for more information.
Prerequisites
• The server(s) must be installed on a physical machine, or as a virtual machine (VM).
• Complete the server initial configuration (including network settings) using the Setup Wizard
available in the browser-based Cisco VSM Management Console. See the Cisco Video Surveillance
Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Note The Operations Manager server (“VsomServer”) is added by default and cannot be deleted. All servers
are assigned the Primary HA role by default. See the “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section
on page 25-1.
Step 1 Install the server and complete the Initial Setup Wizard using the browser-based Management Console.
• Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform Series User Guide
• Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide.
Step 2 Log on to the Operations Manager.
• See the “Logging In and Managing Passwords” section on page 1-17.
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers & Encoders. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Tip To edit a server, click an existing entry to highlight it, then refer to the “Server Settings” section
on page 9-10.
Tip If you are adding a server that was previously configured in Cisco VSM, you will be prompted
to import or discard any camera configurations or recordings that exist on the server.
Setting Description
Hostname/IP The hostname or IP address used by the Operations Manager to access the server.
Username (Read-only) The default username for all servers is localadmin.
The username cannot be changed.
Password The server password.
Tip The server password is initially defined using the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console
interface. See the “General Information Settings” section on page 9-10 and the Cisco Video
Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Name A meaningful name for the server. For example, Primary Server or Campus A Server.
Setting Description
Service Type The service that runs on the server.
Select a service to enable the service functionality.
See the “Understanding Server Services” section on page 9-3.
Install Location The location where the server is installed.
• The location determines the cameras and users that can access the server. See the “Creating the
Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1 for more information.
• Cameras/encoders and their associated Media Servers must belong to the same Site (you cannot
associate a camera in Site A to a Media Server in Site B). See the “Understanding Sites” section on
page 32-3.
d. Click Add.
• If the validation is successful, continue to Step 7.
• If the server cannot be found on the network, an error message appears.
– Verify the server hostname and login credentials and return to Step 5 to try again.
– You can also Pre-Provision the server, meaning it is added to the configuration but remains
non-functional. Select Device Setting > Enable when the configuration is complete, or use
Bulk Actions to enable multiple server (see the “Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Servers”
section on page 9-26).
Step 7 (Optional) Enter or revise the additional settings, if necessary, as described in the “Server Settings”
section on page 9-10.
Step 8 Assign cameras and encoders to the Media Server service on the server, if necessary. Cameras and
encoders can be assigned to the Media Server even if the server if pre-provisioned.
Step 9 Click Save.
Overview
Figure 9-3 summarizes the process to import devices from a CSV file. Devices can be added in Enabled
state if all required configurations are included, or in Pre-Provisioned state if configurations are missing
or if the devices are not yet available on the network. If an error occurs, correct the CSV file and try
again.
Usage Notes
• Servers can be pre-provisioned in Release 7.2 and higher.
• You can choose to retain the devices (cameras and encoders) that were previously associated with
the server, or discard them. Any discarded devices must be re-added, if required.
– Enabled cameras and encoders associated with the server are added to the Operations Manager.
– You can also choose to Pre-Provision the devices, meaning they are added to the configuration
but are not functional until available on the network. See the “Adding Cameras from an Existing
Media Server” section on page 10-41 for more information.
– Soft deleted cameras are added to the Operations Manager in the soft-deleted state, which
allows recordings to be accessed.
– Disabled cameras are not added to the Operations Manager configuration.
– See the “Adding and Managing Cameras” section on page 10-1 and the “Adding Encoders and
Analog Cameras” section on page 23-1 for information about completing the configuration and
enabling the devices.
• Entries with non-ASCII characters must be tab delimited. Entries that include only ASCII characters
can be comma delimited.
Tip To download a sample import file, launch the import wizard as described in the “Importing the CSV File”
section on page 9-23. Click the Download Sample button in the second step of the wizard to obtain a
sample file (see Step 4).
The CSV file can be created in plain text using a program such as Excel or OpenOffice Calc. For
example, in Excel, create the file and then choose Save As > Other formats. Select CSV (Comma
delimited) for the Save as type.
The fields (columns) must follow a specific format, which is shown in the downloadable sample.
Table 9-11 describes the information required in each field.
Required/
Content Optional Description
Comment // Optional Blank rows or lines/cells starting with ''//'' are treated as comments and ignored.
Name Required Enter the server name
For example: Primary Server
Host name or IP Required The network address for the physical or virtual machine.
address
Install Location Required Enter the location where the server is physically installed, or the physical location of
Path the cameras and encoders supported by the camera.
For example: USA.CA.SJ.28.Lobby
Tip To view the location path, go to System Settings > Locations and highlight
the location name.
localadmin Required The password configured on the server to provide network access from the
password Operations Manager.
• This setting changes the Operations Manager’s understanding of the server
password. This does not change the actual server password. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for instructions to
change the server password.
• See the “Access Information Settings” section on page 9-12 to revise the
credentials after the server is added to the system.
Note The default username for all servers is localadmin. The username is
read-only and cannot be changed.
Server Role Required The high-availability role of the server. The options are:
• primary_server
• redundant_server
• failover_server
• long_term_storage_server
See the “Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers”
section on page 25-4 for more information.
Tags Optional Keywords used by the Find field.
Procedure
Step 1 Create the CSV file containing details for each server.
• See the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 9-21.
Step 2 Select System Settings > Servers.
Step 3 Choose Add and Import servers from file.
Step 4 Complete each Import Step as described below:
a. Import Step 1 - Retain Device(s)
(Cameras only) Select the Retain box if existing device(s) found on the server during import should
be retained. If selected:
– Enabled cameras and encoders associated with the server are added to the Operations Manager.
– Soft deleted cameras are added to the Operations Manager in the soft-deleted state, which
allows recordings to be accessed.
– Disabled cameras are not added to the Operations Manager configuration.
Select Pre-Provision to pre-provision the devices:
– Cameras and encoders associated with the server are added in the pre-provisioned state.
– Pre-provisioned devices must be enabled once the configuration is complete. See the “Adding
and Managing Cameras” section on page 10-1 and the “Adding Encoders and Analog Cameras”
section on page 23-1 for information about completing the configuration and enabling the
devices.
b. Import Step 2 - Download Sample
(Optional) Click Download Sample to download a sample CSV import file. Use this sample to
create the import file as described in the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 9-21. Click Next.
c. Import Step 3 - File Upload:
Click to select the CSV file from a local or network disk. Click Upload.
d. Import Step 4 - Processing:
Wait for the import process to complete.
e. Import Step 5 - Results Success:
– If a success message appears, continue to Step 5.
– If an error message appears, continue to Step 4 f.
f. If an error message appears (Figure 9-5), complete the following troubleshooting steps:
– Click Download Annotated CSV, save the error file and open it in Excel or OpenOffice Calc.
– Correct the annotated errors and save the revised file in the .CSV format.
– Correct the CSV file in the //Error rows (Figure 9-5).
– Click Start Over to re-import the fixed file.
– Return to Step 3 and re-import the corrected CSV file.
Deleting a Server
To remove a server you must remove all devices and other associations with the server, or the job will fail.
Usage Notes
• You can only delete a server that is not associated with cameras or encoders.
• The Operations Manager server (“VsomServer”) cannot be deleted.
• When a camera is moved to a Media Server on a different server, recordings are begun again. Any
existing recordings remain on the old Media Server. If the old Media Server is deleted, any associated
recordings are removed.
• If the server is unreachable, and no HA servers are configured, the user is given an option to
force-delete the server, which also deletes all camera configurations and recordings. All associated
cameras must be re-added to Cisco VSM, and all recordings are lost.
• See the “Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45 for instructions to change a camera’s
Media Server setting.
Procedure
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers & Encoders.
Step 2 Verify that all cameras and encoders associated with the Media Server are switched to a different Media
Server.
• The camera’s existing recordings will remain on the old server.
• See the “Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45 for instructions to change a camera’s
Media Server setting.
Step 3 Click System Settings > Servers.
Step 4 Select the server name.
Step 5 Click Delete.
Step 6 Click OK to confirm.
Step 7 Wait for the Job to complete.
Requirements
• Users must belong to a User Group with permissions to manage Servers and Encoders.
• Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Non-super-admins must use the device configuration page to change one device at a time.
• See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Related Topics
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Encoders, page 23-12
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Cameras, page 10-108.
Procedure
Step 3 Click the icon next to each field to select the filter criteria.
Filter Description
Search by Name Enter the full or partial name and press Enter.
For example, enter “Door” or “Do” to include all device names that include “Door”.
Search by Tag Enter the full or partial tag string and press Enter.
Install Location Select the location where the devices are installed.
Overall Status Select the administrative states for the devices:
Enabled (OK, Warning or Critical)—The device is enabled, although it may include a Warning
or Critical event.
Tip See the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for
more information.
Issue Type Select the issues that apply to the device.
Category Select the issue categories that apply to the device. For example, hardware issues or configuration
issues.
Action Description
Delete Deletes the selected servers from the Operations Manager configuration.
See the “Deleting a Server” section on page 9-24 for more information.
Enable Enable the selected servers.
See the “Viewing Server Status” section on page 9-29 for more information.
Repair Configurations Synchronizes the configuration for the selected servers.
See the “Repairing the Configuration or Restarting the Server” section on page 9-33 for more
information.
Change Location Change the location assigned to the server.
See the “Creating the Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1 for more information.
Change Location Change the location for the selected servers.
See the “General Information Settings” section on page 9-10 and the “Creating the Location
Hierarchy” section on page 8-1.
Change Password Note Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Action Description
Set NTP Server Defines the NTP server for the selected servers.
See the “Time Settings” section on page 9-14 for more information.
Set Remote Storage Config Defines the connection settings for the remote server used for server backups.
See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for setting descriptions.
Set Scheduled Backup Defines when the automatic backups will occur for the selected servers.
See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for setting descriptions.
Backup Now Performs an immediate one-time backup of the selected servers. A separate backup file is
created for each active service running on the server.
• To Local—Saves the backup file(s) to the disk on the server.
• To Remote—Saved the backup file(s) to a remote server. The server connection must be
configured.
Step 8 Follow the onscreen instructions to enter or select additional input, if necessary.
• For example, Set SMTP Server Template requires that you enter the server settings.
Step 9 Refer to the Jobs page to view the action status.
See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37.
Device Status
Figure 9-7 Server Device Status
State Description
Enabled: OK The device is operating normally. has no error.s
Enabled: A minor event occurred that did not significantly impact device operations.
Warning
Enabled: An event occurred that impacts the device operation or configuration.
Critical
Pre-provisioned The device is added to the configuration but not available on the network.
The device is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned device
can be modified, but the cannot stream or record video until the configuration is complete and you
choose Device Settings > Enable.
Usage Notes
• Click the Status History tab to view detailed information regarding the events or alerts that impact
the Device Status. For example, if a Synchronization mismatch occurs, and the Configuration status
changes from OK to a synchronization alert, click the Status History tab to view details for the errors
that caused the mismatch. See the “Viewing the Status Error Details and History” section on
page 27-18.
• Click Reset Status to clear status issues that do not automatically clear when the issue is resolved
(see the “Resetting the Server Device State” section on page 9-33).
• See the following options to repair configuration issues or reset the device state:
– Repairing the Configuration or Restarting the Server, page 9-33
– Resetting the Server Device State, page 9-33
• See the “Viewing the Server HA Status” section on page 25-22 for more information on the
Associated Servers status.
Procedure
This feature can be turned on or off by a Cisco VSM administrator.
Note • Any unresolved configuration issues will reappear after the reset.
• Only the server state is reset, not the device alerts or events. You must still acknowledge or clear any
alert using the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop.
• To access the Reset Status button, you must be a Super-Admin or belong to a user group assigned
to the super_admin_role (a super-admin is anybody that has all permissions at the root location).
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Operation Description
Replace Overwrite all configuration settings on the server with the settings in the Operations
Configurations Manager.
See the “Synchronizing Device Configurations” section on page 27-29 for more
information.
Repair Push only the configuration changes required to correct a mismatched field.
Configurations Changes are pushed from the Operations Manager to the Media Server
See the “Synchronizing Device Configurations” section on page 27-29 for more
information.
Restart Reboot the server and trigger a synchronization (Repair Configuration).
Note The restart period can last 1 minute or longer. During this time, the Cisco
VSM system will be offline and inaccessible.
Note SMTP settings are the only available Operations Manager advanced settings in this release.
Usage Notes
• The SMTP settings are required if the Operations Manager application is enabled on the server.
• SMTP settings can only be set for the Operations Manager server (“VsomServer”).
• SMTP settings in the Cisco VSM Management Console Management are also shown in the
Operations Manager configuration.
Procedure
Field Settings
SMTP Server The IP address or hostname if the SMTP server used to send emails.
From Address The email address that appears in the from field. User replies will be sent to
this address. This field is required to send e-mails when an SNMP event
occurs.
Refer to the following topics for information to add, configure, and manage cameras in a Cisco VSM
deployment.
Note • Always use the Operations Manager to configure cameras. Changes made directly to the camera are
unknown to Cisco VSM and can result in incorrect device behavior.
• The camera configuration pages may not display properly if the Internet Explorer (IE) compatibility
view box is checked. De-select this option, if necessary.
Contents
• Overview, page 10-3
– Understanding Network and Analog Cameras, page 10-3
– Viewing Cameras, page 10-5
– Requirements, page 10-3
– Summary Steps, page 10-4
• Manually Adding Cameras, page 10-8
– Overview, page 10-8
– Manually Adding a Single Camera, page 10-10
• Adding Onvif Cameras, page 10-16
• Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File, page 10-20
• Configuring Panoramic Multi-lens Cameras, page 10-27
• Configuring 360° (Fisheye) Cameras, page 10-33
• Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35
• Zipstream compression support for Axis Cameras, page 10-38
• Managing Cameras with Duplicate IP Addresses, page 10-40
• Adding Cameras from an Existing Media Server, page 10-41
• Blacklisting Cameras, page 10-43
– Blacklisting a Camera, page 10-43
– Viewing Cameras in the Blacklist, page 10-43
Note See also Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide.
Overview
Review the following topics for a basic understanding of camera configuration:
• Understanding Network and Analog Cameras, page 10-3
• Requirements, page 10-3
• Summary Steps, page 10-4
• Viewing Cameras, page 10-5
• Viewing a List of Supported Cameras, page 10-7
Requirements
Before you begin, verify that the following requirements are met.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
You must belong to a user group with Cameras permission.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
At least one Media Server must be enabled.
See the “Configuring Media Server Services” section on page 13-1 for more information.
At least one supported network or analog camera must be installed on the network.
See the “Viewing a List of Supported Cameras” section on page 10-7 for more information.
Analog cameras also require an encoder for network connectivity and to digitize the analog video. See the
“Adding Encoders and Analog Cameras” section on page 23-1 for more information.
The IP address used to access the device on the network.
Note All edge devices (such as cameras and encoders) must added to a server using a local (non-NAT)
addresses.
Medianet cameras must be configured for DHCP.
Cameras that do not support Medianet can only be added using a static IP address.
The camera username and password used to access the device on the network.
Summary Steps
The following steps summarize how to add or update a video camera.
Viewing Cameras
To display cameras already configured on the system, click Cameras and then choose the Cameras tab
(Figure 10-1). You can view the cameras for a location, Media Server, or template by clicking one of the
icons described below Figure 10-1.
Click a camera name to view and edit the settings for that camera. Click a template name to edit the
settings applied to all cameras associated with the template.
Tab Description
Cameras By Location Displays the cameras assigned to each location.
For example, click the Cameras By Location tab and then select a location name
(Figure 10-1). The cameras assigned to that location are listed by name. Click a camera
name to display and edit the camera settings.
Tip See the “Creating the Location Hierarchy” section on page 8-1.
Cameras by Media Server Displays the cameras assigned to each Media Server.
If only one Media Server is used, all cameras will be listed. See the “Configuring Media
Server Services” section on page 13-1
Cameras By Template Displays the cameras assigned to each template.
Tip The number next to the template name indicates the number of cameras assigned
to the template. See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on
page 15-1 for more information.
Note The camera configuration pages may not display properly if the Internet Explorer (IE)
compatibility view box is checked. Deselect this option, if necessary.
Procedure
Step 1 Click Cameras and then choose the Cameras tab (Figure 10-2).
Step 2 Select the Camera Type: IP Camera or Analog Camera.
Step 3 Click the Model field.
• A list of supported cameras for that camera type and the Cisco Video Surveillance release is
displayed (Figure 10-2).
Step 4 Expand the Manufacturer names to view the list of supported models.
Overview
Review the following topics to understand how cameras are added to Cisco VSM.
• Understanding the Methods to Add Cameras, page 10-8
• Pre-Provisioning Cameras, page 10-9
• Managing Cameras with Duplicate IP Addresses, page 10-40
Pre-Provisioning Cameras
Pre-provisioning cameras allows you to add the cameras before they are installed or available on the
network. The camera is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned
camera can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or record video.
After the camera is installed and available on the network, you can enable the camera by choosing
Enable from the Device Settings menu. The camera configuration must be complete, and Cisco VSM
must be able to verify network communication or the enable action will fail.
See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information.
Note All required fields must be complete to add a camera manually. You cannot submit a partial
configuration.
Usage Notes
• To add the camera, you must choose a pre-defined configuration template and camera location. Only
users with access permissions to that same location can view video from the camera.
• To make configuration changes, users must have Camera management permissions.
• The camera must be assigned to a Media Server, Location, and camera template. See the following
for more information.
– Viewing Media Server Status, page 13-9
– Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1
– Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1
Tip Although you must choose a camera template when adding the camera, you can edit the camera
configuration after the initial configuration to create a custom configuration. See the “Accessing
the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45.
• To automatically add camera map icons to the location maps (based on the camera’s Installed
Location), select the “Auto Create Map Markers” setting (see the General System Settings,
page 29-2 and the Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location, page 8-9).
You can also specify an alternative location when importing cameras from a CSV file (see Importing
or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File, page 10-20).
Setting Description
IP Address Enter the hostname or IP address entered in the camera configuration.
See the camera documentation for instructions.
Note By default, encoders or cameras with duplicate IP addresses are not allowed and will result
in an error. If your network configuration requires that devices be added with duplicate IP
addresses, you can enable the Allow Duplicate IP Address system setting. See
Understanding Device Conflicts for more information.
Username Enter the username for accessing the camera on the network.
See the camera documentation for instructions to configure the camera username.
Password Enter the password for accessing the camera on the network.
See the camera documentation for instructions to configure the camera password.
Name Enter a descriptive name that can help you identify the camera. The name can include any
combination of characters and spaces.
Install Location Click to select the location where the camera is physically installed.
• The Installed and Pointed locations define where the camera is physically installed vs. the
scene that the camera is recording. For example, a camera installed on building 2 might be
pointed at the lobby door of building 1. If an alert event occurs at the Building 1 lobby, it can
be flagged and viewed using the Cisco Safety and Security Desktop application even though
the camera is physically installed on building 2. See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed
Location Vs. the Pointed Location” section on page 8-9.
• The camera and the associated Media Server must be in the same Site. See the “Understanding
Sites” section on page 32-3 for more information.
Tip To automatically add camera map icons to the location map based on the Installed Location,
select the “Auto Create Map Markers” setting (see the General System Settings, page 29-2).
Media Server Select the Media Server responsible for storing and playing video from the camera.
The camera and the associated Media Server must be in the same Site. See the “Understanding
Sites” section on page 32-3 for more information.
Setting Description
Model Select the camera model.
Template Select a camera template from the pop-up window.
• You must choose an existing template when the camera is added to Cisco VSM. After the
camera is created, you can create a custom configuration or select a different template. See the
“Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45.
• Templates define attributes such as video quality and schedules. Only templates that support
the camera are displayed. See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on
page 15-1 for more information.
Camera Settings Apply a set of camera settings for features such as the motion detection window and sensitivity,
tamper settings, and NTP server and timezone used by the device.
• Existing Settings—apply a pre-defined set of configurations.
• New Setting—define a new set of configurations. Enter a name to save the Camera Settings,
so they can be applied to other cameras.
See Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35 for information about the available
camera settings.
HTTP Port Port entry fields for HTTP, HTTPS and RTSP are displayed if:
HTTPS Port • The network router is configured for PAT. See the router documentation for more information.
RTSP Port • The following system settings are turned on in Operations Manager.
– Allow duplicate IP address
– Allow Custom Port configuration
• The camera or encoder model supports PAT/custom ports.
• The custom port numbers are configured on the camera or encoder. See the device
documentation for more information.
• The port numbers for each device is unique.
Related information:
• Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3
• General Settings, page 10-47
• Release Notes for your Cisco VSM release
Multicast
Note The multicast fields are enabled only if a template is chosen that uses Custom settings to enable UDP_Multicast on
Stream A and/or Stream B. See the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on page 15-15 for more
information.
Setting Description
Primary Address (Optional) Enter the multicast IP address where the camera’s primary video stream (Stream A)
should be sent.
This field is enabled only if the camera’s template Stream A is configured for multicast.
Addresses must be in the proper address range.
• Private network addresses: 239.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
• Public network addresses: 224.0.0.0 - 244.0.0.255 and 244.0.1.0 - 238.255.255.255
Note Public addresses must be individually assigned by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority)
Primary Port Enter the port value used by Cisco Video Surveillance to listen to the camera’s primary video
stream.
Secondary Address (Optional) Enter the multicast IP address where the camera’s secondary video stream (Stream B)
should be sent.
This field is enabled only if the camera’s template Stream B is configured for multicast.
Addresses must be in the proper address range.
• Private network addresses: 239.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
• Public network addresses: 224.0.0.0 - 244.0.0.255 and 244.0.1.0 - 238.255.255.255
Note Public addresses must be individually assigned by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority)
Secondary Port Enter the port value used by Cisco Video Surveillance to listen to the camera’s secondary video
stream
The following table describes the settings available for analog cameras, which includes settings for the
encoder that provides network connectivity.
Setting Description
Encoder Select the encoder that supports the analog camera.
Video Port The physical encoder video port where the camera video cable is attached.
Tip Only the unused ports are displayed.
Audio Port (Optional) The physical encoder audio port where the camera audio cable is attached.
Tip Only the unused ports are displayed.
Name Enter a descriptive name that can help you identify the camera. The name can include any
combination of characters and spaces.
Installed Location Select the location where the camera is physically installed.
Note The Installed and Pointed locations define where the camera is physically installed vs. the
scene that the camera is recording. For example, a camera installed on building 2 might be
pointed at the lobby door of building 1. If an alert event occurs at the Building 1 lobby, it can
be flagged and viewed using the Cisco Safety and Security Desktop application even though
the camera is physically installed on building 2.See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed
Location Vs. the Pointed Location” section on page 8-9.
Model Select the camera model.
Template Select a camera template from the pop-up window.
• The template is based on the encoder model, not the camera model.
• You must choose an existing template when the camera is added to Cisco VSM. After the camera
is created, you can create a custom configuration or select a different template. See the
“Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45.
• Templates define attributes such as video quality and schedules. Only templates that support the
camera are displayed. See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for
more information.
Procedure
To manually add a camera to the Cisco VSM configuration, complete the following procedure.
• See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1.
Step 4 Click Cameras.
Step 5 Click Add.
Tip You can also click the Add icon and choose Add a camera manually.
Tip To use the auto-discovery option, see the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74.
Setting Description
Pointed Location Click to select the location where the camera is pointed. This is the video that
will be displayed and recorded by the camera.
Tip See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed
Location” section on page 8-9.
Description Enter a description of the camera, if necessary.
Note The Enable option is only enabled if the camera configuration is complete and the device is
available on the network.
Note Up to 2 video streams are supported on each Onvif camera in this release, even if the camera model
supports more than 2 streams.
Figure 10-4 Adding the Onvif Camera Model to the Supported Device List
Step 6 (Optional) Create a camera template that defines the camera configuration.
See Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1.
Step 7 Add the Onvif camera to Cisco VSM (Figure 10-5).
These steps are the same as Manually Adding a Single Camera.
a. Click Add.
b. Enter the basic camera settings.
– Network (IP) Camera Rules and Settings, page 10-11
– Analog Camera Rules and Settings, page 10-13
c. Under Model, select the Onvif camera model and click OK.
d. (Optional) To add Onvif cameras with the same IP address using PAT (Port Address Translation),
enter the required port numbers. See Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT),
page 22-3.
e. Click Add.
Step 8 If a camera is not found on the network (the camera is offline or the username/password are incorrect),
you can choose to pre-provision the camera. Pre-provisioning allows the camera to be added to Cisco
VSM as a disabled device. Select Enable from the Device Settings menu once camera network
installation is complete.
Step 9 Wait for the Job to complete.
See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37.
Step 10 (Optional) When the camera configuration page appears, update the additional General Information
settings, if necessary.
Setting Description
Pointed Location Click to select the location where the camera is pointed. This is the video that
will be displayed and recorded by the camera.
Tip See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed
Location” section on page 8-9.
Description Enter a description of the camera, if necessary.
Note The Enable option is only enabled if the camera configuration is complete and the device is
available on the network.
Procedure to copy Onvif model device capability files to the Media Server
When you create an Onvif model in Cisco VSM Operations Manager, a device capability file for that
model is created and copied to the Cisco Media Server(s). If a Media Server is unreachable, an error
message occurs and the file is not copied. When the server becomes reachable, the files are automatically
copied during normal server synchronization.
To manually copy all of the Onvif device capability files from the Operations Manager to all Media
Servers in your deployment, do the following. This replaces all Onvif device capability files on the
Media Servers.
Procedure
Overview
Figure 10-6 summarizes the process to import devices from a CSV file. Devices can be added in Enabled
state if all required configurations are included, or in Pre-Provisioned state if configurations are missing
or if the devices are not yet available on the network. If an error occurs, correct the CSV file and try
again.
Usage Notes
• Cameras, encoders and servers can be pre-provisioned in Release 7.2 and higher.
• Pre-provisioned devices are devices waiting to be added to Cisco VSM. You can make additional
configuration changes, but the device cannot stream or record video until the configuration and
network issues are resolved. Choose Enable from the Device Settings menu to enable the device
video functions. See the “Pre-Provisioning Cameras” section on page 10-9 for more information.
• If the CSV file details are accurate and complete, the devices are added to Cisco VSM and video
from the cameras is available for viewing and recording.
• If any required fields are left blank, or if any devices in the file are not available on the network,
then the devices are added to Cisco VSM in pre-provisioned state, even if the pre-provisioned option
is deselected. Complete the configuration to change the status to Enabled. See Table 10-5 for the
required fields.
• If any fields are inconsistent with the Cisco VSM configuration, the import action fails and an error
file is created that specifies the problem(s). For example, if the CSV file specifies a Media Server
or location that does not exist in your Cisco VSM configuration, an error occurs. Correct the CSV
file and try again.
• You cannot mix device types in the import file. For example, the file can include servers, encoders,
IP cameras, or analog cameras only.
• If cameras are updated using the CSV import, and the template is changed to one with different
stream resolutions, then all motion detection windows are deleted and you must re-configure the
motion windows for those cameras. To do this:
– Import the CSV file again to specify the motion detection windows (without changing the
camera template).
– Apply the motion windows to cameras as described in Configuring Motion Detection,
page 10-96.
Tip To download a sample import file, launch the import wizard as described in the “Importing the CSV File”
section on page 10-26. Click the Download Sample button in the second step of the wizard to obtain a
sample file (see Step 4). The import file is different for each device type: IP cameras, analog cameras,
and encoders.
Table 10-5 describes the CSV file fields for both IP and analog cameras (the fields vary for each cameras
type).
The CSV file can be created in a program such as Excel or OpenOffice Calc and saved as a CSV file. For
example, in Excel, create the file and then choose Save As > Other formats. Select CSV (Comma
delimited) for the Save as type.
Required/
Content Optional Description
Comment // IP / Analog Blank rows or lines/cells starting with ''//'' are treated as comments and ignored.
Cameras
Optional
Name IP / Analog Enter the camera name
Cameras
For example: LOBBY INT ENTRY
Required
Model IP / Analog The camera model. For example: cisco_2500
Cameras
Required
IP address IP cameras At least one value is required (IP address, MAC or serial number).
MAC address Required • New Cameras—The IP address, serial number, and MAC address must be unique
Serial no for new cameras. See the “Managing Cameras with Duplicate IP Addresses”
(see description)
section on page 10-40 for more information.
• Existing cameras—If all three entries are provided for an existing camera, the
settings must match the devices existing settings.
Server Name IP cameras Enter the Media Server name.
Optional if the Note The Media Server must be valid and already present in the system. See the
camera is “Viewing Media Server Status” section on page 13-9.
pre-provisioned;
required if not.
Encoder Name Analog cameras Enter the name of the encoder that provides connectivity for the analog camera.
Required
Required/
Content Optional Description
Encoder video Analog cameras Enter the encoder port number used for video by the analog cameras
port
Required but
non-editable
Encoder audio in Analog cameras Enter the encoder port number used for audio input by the analog cameras
port
Optional but
non-editable
Install Location IP / Analog Enter the location where the camera is physically installed. For example camera’s
Path Cameras installed location path.
Optional if the For example: CA/North Campus/bldg 2
camera is
See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location”
pre-provisioned;
section on page 8-9.
required if not.
Point-To IP / Analog Enter the location where the camera is capturing video. For example, a camera
Location Path Cameras installed on building 2 can be pointed at building 1, so the camera’s video is from the
pointed at location building 1.
Optional if the
camera is For example: CA/North Campus/bldg 1
pre-provisioned;
See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location”
required if not.
section on page 8-9.
Template Name IP / Analog The configuration template that defines the camera video quality, recording and
Cameras motion parameters, and other settings.
Optional if the • The template must be valid and already present in the system. See the “Adding
camera is and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1.
pre-provisioned;
• If the template is changed to one with different stream resolutions, then all
required if not.
motion detection windows are deleted and you must re-configure the motion
windows for those cameras. Use one of the following options:
– Import the CSV file again to specify the motion detection windows (without
changing the camera template).
– Apply the motion windows to cameras as described in Configuring Motion
Detection, page 10-96.
Username IP Cameras The username configured on the camera to provide network access.
Optional if the See the camera documentation for instructions to define the camera credentials.
camera is
pre-provisioned;
required if not.
Password IP Cameras The password configured on the camera to provide network access.
Optional if the • See the camera documentation for instructions to define the camera credentials.
camera is
• See the “Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings (Address and
pre-provisioned;
Credentials)” section on page 10-72 to revise the credentials after the camera is
required if not.
added to the system.
Tags Optional Keywords used in the camera search field.
Required/
Content Optional Description
Camera Settings IP Cameras The name of a pre-defined set of camera settings. Enter the name of an existing
name setting only (new settings cannot be created when importing cameras).
Optional
• This setting is optional. The same settings can be applied manually for each
camera (see Camera Settings, page 10-45).
• For example, settings can be included for features such as the motion detection
window and sensitivity, tamper settings, and NTP server and timezone used by
the device.
• If the camera template is changed, the motion windows will not be added and you
must manually re-define all motion detection windows. Use one of the following
options:
– Import the CSV file again to specify the motion detection windows (without
changing the camera template).
– Apply the motion windows to cameras as described in Configuring Motion
Detection, page 10-96.
• See Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35 for information
about the available camera settings.
Required/
Content Optional Description
Latitude IP / Analog Include these values to optionally place a camera icon on the location map:
Longitude Cameras
Note If Latitude, Longitude, Angle, and Elevation are included in the CSV file,
Angle Optional then camera markers are created. If these entries are not included in the CSV
file, but the system setting “Auto Create Map Markers” is enabled (General
Elevation System Settings, page 29-2), the camera markers will be automatically
created if the camera’s Install Location includes Latitude and Longitude
coordinates. If any of these conditions are absent, then camera markers will
not be created.
Related information:
• Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3
Procedure
Step 1 Create the camera CSV file containing details for each device.
• See the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 10-21.
Step 2 Click Cameras.
• Or click Cameras and then Encoders to import a list of encoders.
Step 3 Choose Add and choose Import cameras from file or Import encoders from file.
Step 4 Complete each Import Step as described below:
a. Import Step 1 - Device Type
– (Cameras only) Select IP Camera or Analog Camera.
– Click the Pre-Provision box if the devices should be pre-provisioned when added to
Cisco VSM. This allows you to add the devices before they are available on the network, or
before they should be available to end users.
Note If any required fields are left blank, or if any cameras in the file are not available on the
network, then the devices are added to Cisco VSM in pre-provisioned state, even if the
pre-provisioned option is deselected. Complete the configuration to change the status to
Enabled. See Table 10-5 for the required fields.
Supported cameras
• Arecont AV12186
• Arecont AV20185
• Arecont AV23065
• Arecont AV8185
• Arecont AV8365
• Axis M3007
• AXIS Q3708-PVE
• Panasonic SW 458
• Panasonic SF 438
• Sony HM662
• Bosch FLEXIDOME IP 7000MP Panoramic
Usage Notes
• Thumbnail Search and Clip Search only display video from a single lens, not the entire panoramic
image.
• CVA clips can be created for the panoramic image. MP4 and virtual clips are not supported.
• You can create CVA, MP4 or virtual clips from a single lens image. Click any lens image to enlarge
the view and access the controls.
Step 3 Add the camera lenses to the encoder ports (Figure 10-10).
Be sure to assign the correct lens to the correct encoder port. If the images appear out of order, revise
the ports that the lenses are assigned to.
a. Click the Connections tab.
b. Under Video Ports, click the Add icon.
c. Enter the analog camera settings:
Table 10-6 Panoramic Camera Settings
Setting Description
Encoder (Read-Only) The camera model.
Video Port (Read-Only) The selected port
Audio Port (Read-Only)
Name The camera name that will appear in Cisco VSM.
Install Location The physical location of the camera.
Setting Description
Model Select Generic > Generic analog camera.
Template The template that defines the camera settings.
All lenses for a panoramic camera must be assigned to the same template or
only a single video pane will be displayed.
Note Templates define attributes such as video quality and schedules. Only
templates that support the camera are displayed. See the “Adding and
Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for more
information.
d. (Optional) Select a single lens to enlarge the image, then right-click to access additional options
such as Select Streams (Figure 10-13).
– See Using the Pop-Up Menu for descriptions.
– Right click and select Switch to panoramic view to display all lens images.
e. (Optional) Create CVA clips from the panoramic image.
– See Create Video Clips.
f. (Optional) Create CVA, MP4 or virtual clips from the single lens image.
– See Create Video Clips.
– The MP4 and virtual clip options are enabled for single-lens mode only, not for the full
panoramic image.
Procedure
To use fisheye cameras, you must first install the camera and add it to Cisco VSM. Then define the 360°
Camera settings.
Note You must mount fisheye cameras perfectly flat, on either a vertical or horizontal surface. For
example, do not install the camera on a cathedral ceiling.
Procedure
Note Only the settings supported by the camera model are displayed. Some settings described in
Table 10-7 may not be available for the selected camera.
Action Description
360° Camera Settings Defines the display settings for panoramic cameras that display a 360° field of view.
See Configuring 360° (Fisheye) Cameras, page 10-33 for more information.
Orientation
The physical camera mounting: Ceiling, Wall, or Table
Note Cameras must be mounted perfectly flat, on either a vertical or horizontal surface.
Dewarp Mode
A fisheye camera image is round and distorted, which is the result of capturing an ultra-wide
field of view. Use Dewarp modes to flatten or dewarp the image.
Dewarp mode varies by orientation. For example, Double Panoramic View is available in
Ceiling and Table orientations, but not for Wall orientations. PTZ operation is not available
in either panoramic Dewarp mode. Digital PTZ is available in individual regions.
Use the different Dewarp modes to set the view to a grid layout of different regions of the
fisheye image:
• Single Region–Single-pane view without dewarping.
• Panoramic View–Single-pane view with dewarping. The image is divided down the
center, with the left and right sides flattened and joined from the top-center location.
• Double Panoramic View (Ceiling and Table orientations only)–Single-pane view that
splits the Panoramic view down the center, top-to-bottom, and creates a stacked view.
• Quad View–Single-pane view that splits the Panoramic View into four quadrants.
Note: In individual panes, PTZ features are available in Quad View. You can move the
image region and zoom in on a region. Use the mouse wheel to zoom and the left mouse
button to drag the view to a new region.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more
information and instructions to use 360° cameras.
Motion Configuration The settings that define the amount and type of motion required to trigger a motion detection
event.
See Motion Detection Settings, page 10-98 for settings descriptions.
Default Motion Window Select this check box to enable the following additional options:
• Configure full motion window—Draws the motion detection window to fill the entire
camera view. This setting is not applied if the camera is already configured with motion
detection windows.
• Override existing motion windows—Overrides the existing configured motion
window(s) with a default full motion window.
These options apply only if the camera supports motion detection.
See Configuring Motion Detection, page 10-96 for more information.
Action Description
Camera Tamper Select the following to change the default value.
• Camera tamper duration—The number of seconds that the camera must be tampered
with before a critical camera event is generated. For example, camera tamper occurs if
the camera field of view is blocked or darkened, or if the camera is manually moved to
redirect the field of view.
• Tamper State Auto Clear Duration—The number of minutes before the camera tamper
state is automatically cleared.
See Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7 for instructions to trigger actions,
such as an alert, when a camera tamper event occurs (select the trigger Camera Security >
camera_tampered).
See General Settings, page 10-47 for more information about camera tamper settings.
NTP Information Select Mode to enable the following settings:
• Automatic—the camera uses the assigned Media Server as the network time protocol
(NTP) server.
• User-configured—the camera uses a custom NTP server.
– NTP Server—the IP address of the NTP server. Enter multiple entries separated by
a space or comma.
– Timezone—(optional) the device timezone.
Note If you de-select this option, the camera is not configured with an NTP server address.
The camera retains any NTP address(es) previously configured on the device. If an
NTP server is not configured on the device, you must update the camera settings to
either enter an NTP server address or select Use Media Server as NTP.
This setting applies only for camera models that support NTP.
See the following for more information:
• “Configuring Cameras with a User-Defined NTP Server” section on page 11-8 for
information to define a new NTP server for one or more cameras.
• Understanding NTP Configuration, page 11-1
Timezone Information • Use Media Server’s Timezone—Use the same timezone for the Media Server assigned
to the camera.
• Timezone—Use a custom timezone.
Day/Night Filter Enable or disable a camera’s infrared LED lights (IR LEDs). When selected (enabled), the
camera LEDs will be on.
Supported Cameras
• Axis Q1659
• Axis Q3708
• Axis cameras added with model AXIS Generic VAPIX 3.0 Network Camera (axis generic)
Usage Notes
• Zipstream settings configured using the camera UI will be overridden by the VSOM Zipstream
settings.
• By default, Zipstream is set to Off in the HML template settings for the supported cameras.
• Dynamic FPS for Zipstream is not supported. It will automatically be set to off when Zipstream is
enabled in a template.
• Configuring axis cameras with Zipstream results in reduced average bit rates. On Storage Retention
Dashboard, in CBR mode, the “Estimated storage (by configured settings)” for these cameras might
be higher than the “Estimated Storage (by actual observation)”
• Cameras added using the 'axisgeneric' model may or may not support Zipstream. Please note the
following when using Zipstream with the axisgeneric driver.
– For Zipstream unsupported cameras, Zipstream values in the template should be set to off.
– For Zipstream supported cameras, please check the camera documentation for valid Zipstream
values.
For example Zipstream strength “Higher” and “Extreme” is supported only for cameras with
firmware version 6.30 or later. If you set these values for unsupported cameras, the template settings
will save successfully, but the camera might not stream using those settings.
Axis Q3708
• Off: Disabled
• Low, Medium, High, Higher, Extreme: Increasing the strength reduces the bit rate but will also
affect the visual image quality. At value Low, visual image quality is not affected, but as the strength
increases, visual image quality is degraded in unprioritized image areas, for example the
background. Image details important for forensic video analysis are kept.
GOP (Group of Pictures):
• Dynamic GOP: Enables GOP length variation between 1 (GOP length set on H.264 tab) and 300
(max dynamic GOP below)
• Max dynamic GOP length: Enter 1 to 1200.
Related Information
See the following documentation for more information:
• Understanding Device Conflicts, page 22-1
• Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3
• Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide
Figure 10-15 Adding Cameras from a Cisco VSM 6.x Media Server
Tip To add a Cisco VSM 6.x Media Server, you must first migrate the server to Cisco VSM 7.x. See the Cisco
Video Surveillance Migration Guide, Release 6.3.2 to 7.0 for more information. This document is
available on the Cisco Developer Network (CDN). See you Cisco support representative for more
information.
Note See the Cisco Video Surveillance Migration Guide, Release 6.3.2 to 7.0 for more information. This
document is available on the Cisco Developer Network (CDN). See you Cisco support representative for
more information.
Blacklisting Cameras
Blacklisted cameras are deleted from the Cisco VSM configuration. Cameras can be kept in the Blacklist
indefinitely.
Refer to the following topics:
• Blacklisting a Camera, page 10-43
• Viewing Cameras in the Blacklist, page 10-43
• Removing a Camera From the Blacklist, page 10-43
Blacklisting a Camera
Delete and Blacklist a Camera
Caution Full Delete permanently deletes all recordings associated with the camera.
Procedure
Camera Settings
Camera settings are applied to cameras, camera templates, or custom configurations.
The following settings are accessed in the Camera configuration page. You can also update camera
configurations by importing a CSV file that defines the settings (see the “Importing or Updating Cameras
or Encoders Using a CSV File” section on page 10-20).
See each topic for detailed information.
• Accessing the Camera Settings, page 10-45
• General Settings, page 10-47
• Streaming, Recording and Event Settings, page 10-55
• Image Settings, page 10-64
• Camera Apps, page 10-64
• Configuring the High Availability Options for a Camera or Template, page 10-65
Usage Notes
• Not all settings are available for all cameras. For example, Image settings are available only if the
camera supports features such as motion detection, PTZ controls, and image adjustments.
• Device configuration changes can fail is a camera firmware upgrade is in process. Make sure that a
camera firmware is not being upgraded (or wait until it is complete) and try again.
• Most camera settings are applied by the template assigned to the camera. To create a configuration
for a single camera, create a custom configuration for the camera. See the “Creating a Custom
Template for a Single Camera” section on page 15-5.
• The camera configuration pages may not display properly if the Internet Explorer (IE) compatibility
view box is checked. Deselect this option, if necessary.
Procedure
Step 3 Click the tabs in the top left column to view cameras and templates (see Figure 10-16):
Tab Description
Cameras By Location Displays the cameras assigned to each location.
For example, click the Cameras By Location tab and then select a
location name (Figure 10-16). The cameras assigned to that
location are listed by name. Click a camera name to edit the camera
settings.
Cameras by Media Server Displays the cameras assigned to each Media Server.
If only one Media Server is used, all cameras will be listed.
Cameras By Template Displays the cameras assigned to each template.
Tip The number next to the template name indicates the number
of cameras assigned to the template.
General Settings
The General Settings define camera-specific attributes. These settings are specific to the camera and are
not impacted by template settings.
Setting Description
General Information (IP and Analog Cameras)
Name (Required) The descriptive name for the camera.
Media Server (Required) The Media Server that hosts the camera.
Installed Location (Required) The physical location of the camera.
Pointed Location (Optional) The location shown in the camera view. For example, a camera may be physically installed
on building 1, but pointed at building 2. The video displays the scene at building 2.
See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location” section on page 8-9
for more information.
Tags (Optional) Enter keywords used by the Find field.
Description (Optional) The camera purpose, location or other description.
Text Overlay (Cisco cameras only) Display custom text or a timestamp.
• Overlay placement—Display the text or time at the top or bottom of the video image.
• Enable Date/Time Display—Select or deselect to display or hide the timestamp.
– Date/Time Alignment In Overlay—Select Left/Center/Right.
• Enable Text Display—Select or deselect to display or hide the text.
– Text Alignment In Overlay—Select Left/Center/Right.
– Display Text—Enter the text to be displayed in the camera’s video view. A maximum of 26
characters are allowed. Enter only letters and numbers. Special (such as spaces and dashes)
characters are not allowed.
Custom Field
Custom These fields appear only if you have defined custom fields.
See Custom Fields, page 24-1.
Driver Information
Vendor (Read-only) The firmware provider.
Model (Read-only) The device model.
Hardware Information
Reported Vendor (Read-only) The camera manufacturer.
Reported Model (Read-only) The camera model number.
Serial Number (Read-only) The camera serial number.
Encoder (Analog cameras only) The encoder name.
Setting Description
Encoder Port (Analog cameras only) The encoder port used by the analog camera.
Firmware Version (Read-only, IP cameras only) The firmware version installed on the device.
Device firmware is provided by the device manufacturer.
• To upgrade the firmware for Cisco cameras, and supported encoders, see the Cisco Video
Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide.
• Firmware for non-Cisco cameras is upgraded using a direct connection and the device user
interface. See the device documentation to upgrade or downgrade the device firmware directly on
the device.
Hardware ID (Read-only, IP cameras only) The device MAC Address (hardware address).
Connected Device
(Read-only) Displays the hardware port that the camera is connected to (such as a network switch). Use this info to verify
and locate the camera.
Note This information is available only for Cisco cameras that support CDP neighbor discovery. This information is not
displayed for non-Cisco cameras.
Access Information (IP Cameras and Encoders Only)
Setting Description
Hostname/IP (Required for all cameras and encoders)
Address
Change the IP Address in Cisco VSM Only
1. Select the General > Settings tab.
2. Enter the device hostname or IP address used by Operations Manager to access the device on the
network. Entering an address in this field does not affect the settings stored on the device.
3. Click Save.
4. (Custom port configuration only) If the device is configured with custom ports, you must update
the custom port configuration with the new access settings. See Configuring Custom Camera and
Encoder Ports (PAT).
Notes
• All changes are saved together when the device is saved. Camera and encoder network settings can
include the device address, Gateway, Subnet Mask, DNS Server, and Domain. See the device
documentation for more information on the required settings.
• If the Change button is disabled, you can only change the network settings stored on the device
using a direct connection or other method. Refer to the device documentation or ask your system
administrator for assistance.
• The IP address stored in Operations Manager must be the same as the device configuration. A
mismatch between the device and Operations Manager can cause a loss of connectivity and loss of
video streaming and recording. See Resolving ID Mismatch Errors When Changing Camera IP
Addresses, page 22-6 for more information.
• See the “Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings (Address and Credentials)” section on
page 10-72 for more information.
Setting Description
Username and (Required for all cameras and encoders) Enter the username and password used by Operations Manager
Password to access the device on the network. Entering a username and password in these fields does not affect
the settings stored on the device.
(Supported cameras only) Click the password Change button and enter the new settings in the dialog
provided. The Change option is disabled if this action is not supported by the device. All changes are
saved together when the device is saved.
Notes
• You cannot change the username stored on the device using Operations Manager.
• If the password Change button is disabled, you can only change the password stored on the device
using a direct connection or other method. Refer to the device documentation or ask your system
administrator for assistance.
• See the “Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings (Address and Credentials)” section on
page 10-72 for more information.
Port settings Enter the custom port number if the camera uses a duplicate IP address and the network router is
configured for Port Address Translation (PAT).
The ports vary depending on the camera model:
• HTTP Port: Default: 80
• HTTPs Port: Default: 443
• RTSP Port: Default: 554
See Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3 for more information, including
Create a Custom Port Plan, page 22-4.
Time Settings
Note This option is only available for device models that support network time protocol (NTP).
Tip See the Understanding NTP Configuration, page 11-1 for more information.
Automatic The Media Server assigned to the device is used as the NTP server that provides the device date and
time settings.
User Configured • NTP Server—Enter the NTP server hostname or IP address for the camera.
• Timezone—Enter the timezone for the device.
These fields are read-only if Automatic is selected.
Camera Tamper
Cameras can raise a critical alert if tampered with. For example, a tamper event occurs if the camera field of view is blocked
or darkened, or if the camera is manually moved to redirect the field of view.
The tamper events appear in Cisco SASD, allowing an operator to take appropriate action, or you can use Advanced Events
to automatically trigger an action.
• See Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7 for instructions to trigger actions, such as an alert, when a
camera tamper event occurs (select the trigger Camera Security > camera_tampered).
• See Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35 for instructions to change tamper settings for multiple
cameras.
This feature requires View Alert access privileges (see Understanding Permissions, page 6-4).
Setting Description
Camera Tamper The number of seconds that the camera must be tampered with before an alert is generated.
Duration
Tamper State Auto The number of minutes before the camera tamper state is automatically cleared.
Clear Duration
Serial Controller
Note The following settings are used when a serial cable is attached from an analog cameras to an encoder. The serial port
connection enables the pan-zoom-tilt (PTZ) controls and/or photographic controls (brightness, contrast, etc.) on an
analog camera.
Tip The following settings can also be defined using the Encoder configuration pages. See the “Adding Encoders and
Analog Cameras” section on page 23-1 for more information.
Enable (Analog cameras only) Enables the PTZ controls on an analog camera.
Note The camera and encoder must support PTZ movements and controls. See the device
documentation for more information.
Encoder (Analog cameras only) The encoder for the analog camera.
Serial Port (Analog cameras only) The encoder serial port where the first analog camera is attached to the encoder.
See the encoder documentation for information to determine the port number.
Serial Port Address (Analog cameras only) The unique ID of the serial device (analog camera).
Note Every device on a serial bus must have a unique ID (also called a “Serial Port Address”). This
uniqueID/address is configured on most analog cameras using physical switches. See the
camera documentation for more information.
Contact Closure Configuration
Setting Description
Contact Closure Select the contact closure port and enter a port name.
Contact closure ports can be used to trigger an action.
• This field is enabled for IP and analog cameras that support contact closure.
• Only one contact closure port can be selected for each camera (even if the camera supports more
than one contact closure).
• Enter a meaningful name to identify the port. This name is included in events and alerts related to
that port.
• See the “Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7 for instructions to
define the action that occurs when the contact closure is triggered.
• When the Operations Manager GUI is used to configure a camera’s contact closure, do not modify
the Event trigger settings on the camera web UI. If the default IO port setting values for event
triggers on the camera’s browser UI are changed, the results might be inconsistent when also
changing the contact closure settings using the Operations Manager GUI.
Setting Description
Dewarp Mode A fisheye camera image is round and distorted, which is the result of capturing an ultra-wide field of
view. Use Dewarp modes to flatten or dewarp the image.
Dewarp mode varies by orientation. For example, Double Panoramic View is available in Ceiling and
Table orientations, but not for Wall orientations. PTZ operation is not available in either panoramic
Dewarp mode. Digital PTZ is available in individual regions.
Use the different Dewarp modes to set the view to a grid layout of different regions of the fisheye
image:
• Original View–Single-pane view without dewarping.
• Panoramic View–Single-pane view with dewarping. The image is divided down the center, with
the left and right sides flattened and joined from the top-center location.
• Double Panoramic View (Ceiling and Table orientations only)–Single-pane view that splits the
Panoramic view down the center, top-to-bottom, and creates a stacked view.
• Quad View–Single-pane view that splits the Panoramic View into four quadrants.
Note: In individual panes, PTZ features are available in Quad View. You can move the image
region and zoom in on a region. Use the mouse wheel to zoom and the left mouse button to drag
the view to a new region.
• Single Region–Single-pane view without dewarping.
Multicast
Note The multicast fields are enabled only if the corresponding template Stream A and Stream B Custom settings are
configured for multicast. See the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on page 15-15 for more
information.
Primary Address (Optional) Enter the multicast IP address where the camera’s primary video stream (Stream A) should
be sent.
This field is enabled only if the camera’s template Stream A is configured for multicast.
Addresses must be in the proper address range.
• Private network addresses: 239.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
• Public network addresses: 224.0.0.0 - 244.0.0.255 and 244.0.1.0 - 238.255.255.255
Note Public addresses must be individually assigned by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority)
Primary Port Enter the port value used by Cisco Video Surveillance to listen to the camera’s primary video stream.
Secondary Address (Optional) Enter the multicast IP address where the camera’s secondary video stream (Stream B)
should be sent.
This field is enabled only if the camera’s template Stream B is configured for multicast.
Addresses must be in the proper address range.
• Private network addresses: 239.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
• Public network addresses: 224.0.0.0 - 244.0.0.255 and 244.0.1.0 - 238.255.255.255
Note Public addresses must be individually assigned by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority)
Setting Description
Secondary Port Enter the port value used by Cisco Video Surveillance to listen to the camera’s secondary video stream
Camera Covert
Allows admins to hide live or recorded video from users for specific cameras. You can hide all live video streams, all recorded
video, or recoded video for specific time spans.
See Hide Video From Users (Covert Cameras) for more information.
Tip The Streaming, Recording and Event settings (Table 10-9) are read-only when viewing a camera
configuration. To edit the settings, edit the template associated with the camera, or create a custom
configuration for the camera (click Set Template and choose Custom).
Setting Description
Template (Cameras only) Click Set Template to select the template used for the camera, and click OK.
• Only supported templates are displayed (based on the user’s location and camera model).
• The remaining Streaming, Recording and Event settings are defined by the template and are
read-only. See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for more
information.
• If the camera template resolution settings are changed, all motion detection windows are deleted
and you must re-configure them. This occurs if the camera template is revised, or if you select a
different template for the camera. See Configuring Motion Detection, page 10-96 for instructions
to re-apply motion windows.
Setting Description
Recording Schedule (Templates only) Select one of the following:
• Basic Recording: 24x7—Records 24 hours a day, every day, based on the continuous and event
recording properties.
or
• Select a previously-defined schedule.
Recording schedules appear only if schedules are configured. See the “Configuring Continuous,
Scheduled, and Motion Recordings” section on page 15-7 for instructions.
Recording schedules allow you to define recording properties for different times of the day, days
of the week, or for special events. For example, a school might require different video surveillance
actions during School hours, After school hours, School off hours, and Closed hours. Additional
exceptions to the regular schedule might be required for special events, such as a Homecoming
event or the Christmas holiday. A recording entry appears for each time slot included in the
schedule.
Video Quality (Templates only) Slide the selector to Lo, Me or Hi to select pre-defined video quality settings for
stream A (primary) and stream B (if supported). Higher quality video requires more network
bandwidth, processing resources, and storage space than lower video quality.
• Select Off to disable video recording and playback.
• Choosing Hi on Stream A may disable Stream B if Stream A requires a high level of processing
and network resources. To enable Stream B, lower the quality level of Stream A.
• Click the Lo, Me or Hi header to view the pre-set values (read-only).
• Click Custom to choose specific settings (such as the video codec, transport, bitrate mode,
resolution, framerate, bitrate, and quality). See the “Using Custom Video Quality Settings” section
on page 10-61 for more information.
Caution Switching a camera's codec may take 30 seconds or more to complete, resulting in a
temporary loss of the live video stream. Recorded video is not affected, but you cannot create
recorded clips that include more than one codec.
Tip See the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on page 15-15 for more information.
Setting Description
Recording Options (Templates only) Click the recording option for each recurring schedule.
Note If Basic Recording: 24x7was selected, only one row appears. If a schedule was selected, a row
appears for each schedule. See the “Configuring Continuous, Scheduled, and Motion
Recordings” section on page 15-7 for more information.
Setting Description
Retain event (Templates only) The amount of time a motion event should be retained (saved) on the system. For
recordings example, enter 10 to keep motion event recordings for 10 days after the event video is captured.
Note This setting also applied to On Demand Recording recordings.
File Deletion
Recordings are deleted when the expired time is reached, or if the Storage% is reached (the oldest files
are deleted first, regardless of their expiry time). Video archive files are deleted until the free disk space
is less than the Storage (%).
See the Media Server “Viewing Media Server Status” section on page 13-9 for more information.
Note This setting will be ignored if the Default Grooming Only setting is enabled on the Media
Server that supports the camera. This can prevent new recordings from beginning if all server
disk space is used. See the “Viewing Media Server Status” section on page 13-9 for more
information.
Alert Notifications (Templates only)
—Click Alert Notifications to enable or disable the alerts that are generated when a motion stop
or start event occurs.
Tip Use Advanced Events to generate alerts only when a motion stop or motion start event occurs.
See the “Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7 for more
information.
Advanced Events (Templates only) Use Advanced Events to trigger actions when an event occurs.
• Instantaneous Trigger Events—Events that trigger an immediate action (for example, when motion
is detected).
• States of Being—Events that trigger an ongoing action as long as that event occurs (for example,
while a contact remains open).
See the “Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7.
Advanced Storage (Templates only) Defines storage options for recorded video, such as the use of Redundant, Failover,
or Long Term Storage servers. Also defined advanced streaming and recording options.
See the following for more information:
• High Availability and Failover—Configuring the Redundant and Failover Options, page 25-11.
• Long Term Storage—Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14.
• Recording Options— Understanding the Recording Options, page 20-24
Setting Description
Record Audio (Templates only)
Defines if audio should be recorded when video is being recorded.
Note The audio settings is disabled if audio is not supported by the camera.
• Off—(Default) Audio is disabled for both live and recorded video playback.
• Live Only—Audio is enabled for live video streaming only.
• Live and Recorded—Audio is enabled for live streaming and recorded video playback.
Padding (Templates only)
Defines the number of seconds of additional recording that will be included before and after a motion
event.
• Pre—Enter the number of seconds before a motion event occurs that video should be retained.
• Post—Enter the number of seconds after a motion event occurs that video should be retained.
Setting Description
Verify Recording (Templates only)
Space
Enable
Select Enable to verify that enough storage space is available on the Media Server to complete the
entire recording. The amount of required storage space is determined by the “Storage Estimation(%)”
setting for the Media Server (see the “Storage Management Settings” section on page 13-8). If the
required amount of storage space is not available for the entire recording, then the recording will not
start.
For example, if a camera is configured to record a continuous H264 stream at 15mbps for 30 days, the
Media Server would first verify that there is enough free disk space for the full recording length (30
days). If not, then recording will not start. In this example, 15 mbps of video uses approximately 2
megabytes of storage space per second, so 30 days of recording would require roughly 5 terabytes of
disk storage.
Note The verification takes into account the storage demands required by other cameras assigned to
the Media Server.
Note Enabling the Default Grooming Only setting for the Media Server assigned to the camera can
cause all disk space to be used and prevent new recordings from beginning. See the “Viewing
Media Server Status” section on page 13-9 for more information.
Disable
Disabling this setting will allow recording to be started even when storage is full. But it can cause the
system to become oversubscribed, and critical alerts to occur as system performance is impacted.
If this setting is disabled, and there is insufficient disk space for new recordings, the disk will become
oversubscribed and default grooming will occur when storage is full.
Frequent default disk grooming can cause the server to be slow, as the load average of the server will
be high. The following critical alerts can occur for the Media Server:
• Disk space usage for recordings has been over-subscribed.
• Load Average is critical.
• A “recording failure event” may also occur due to queue overflow, which can cause frame drops.
On-Demand (Templates Only)
Recording
Enables or disables the On-Demand Recording feature on the cameras assigned to the template.
• Select Enable or Disable.
• Release 7.9.1 and higher: Check or uncheck Disable Padding. when padding is enabled, additional
recording is added before and after the user click start and stop. If padding is disabled, only the
recording time selected by the user is included.
Note Recordings are retained according to the Retain event recordings setting.
Usage Notes
• Custom video quality settings can only be applied to model-specific camera templates.
• The available quality settings depend on the camera model. For example, if a camera only supports
the H.264 codec, only H.264 can be selected.
• Although you can enter custom settings for both video streams, the IP or analog camera must also
support the settings for both streams (analog camera support is dependent on the camera’s encoder).
If the camera or encoder model does not support the settings, or does not support two streams, the
configuration will fail. See the camera or encoder documentation for more information regarding
the stream settings supported by the device.
• To configure multicast transmission, see the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on
page 15-15.
Setting Description
Codec Select a video encoding format that is supported by the camera, such as JPEG, MPEG4, H.264 or H.265.
Caution Switching a camera's codec may take 30 seconds or more to complete, resulting in a temporary loss
of the live video stream. Recorded video is not affected, but you cannot create recorded clips that
include more than one codec.
Tip Also see the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on page 15-15.
Bit rate mode Select CBR (Constant Bit Rate) or VBR (Variable Bit Rate).
• CBR delivers video at the selected bit rate (or at that average over time), depending on the video device.
• VBR adjusts the video quality and/or frame rate as the scene changes. Depending on the video device, the
selected bit rate may or not may be the stream’s maximum.
– The bit rate is reduced when there is little movement or change.
– The bit rate is increased when there is more change.
See Monitoring and Managing Storage for more information.
Frame rate Select a frame rate (only frame rates supported by the device are displayed).
Bit rate Select the bit rate at which the video device will stream the selected frame rate.
Note The frame rate must be specified first. Only frame rate and bit rate combinations supported by the
device are displayed.
Setting Description
Quality (VBR Bit rate mode only) Select the priority of the video quality against the desired frame rate.
• A high Quality setting may cause the video device to reduce the frame rate during periods of high motion
or change (in order to maintain a higher quality image).
• A low Quality setting may cause the video device to greatly reduce the image quality to maintain a higher
frame rate during the periods of high motion or change in the video.
Predicted See Monitoring and Managing Storage.
bitrate
Zipstream See Zipstream compression support for Axis Cameras
Procedure
Step 1 Create or edit a model-specific camera template, as described in the “Creating or Modifying a Template”
section on page 15-3).
Step 2 Select the Streaming, Recording and Event tab.
Step 3 Click Custom in the Video Quality field.
Step 4 Enter the settings described in Table 10-10 and click Set.
Step 5 Complete the template configuration as described in the “Streaming, Recording and Event Settings”
section on page 10-55 and the “Creating or Modifying a Template” section on page 15-3.
Supported Cameras
• Axis Q1659
• Axis Q3708
• Axis cameras added with model AXIS Generic VAPIX 3.0 Network Camera (axis generic)
Usage Notes
• Zipstream settings configured using the UI will be overridden by the VSOM Zipstream settings.
• By default, Zipstream is set to Off in the template settings for the supported cameras.
• Dynamic FPS for Zipstream is not supported. It will automatically be set to off when Zipstream is
enabled in a template.
• The 'axisgeneric' model can be added that support, or do not support, Zipstream. Please note the
following when using Zipstream with the axisgeneric driver.
– For Zipstream unsupported cameras, Zipstream values in the template should be set to off.
– For Zipstream supported cameras, please check the camera documentation for valid Zipstream
values.
For example Zipstream strength “Higher” and “Extreme” is supported only for cameras with
firmware version 6.30 or later. If you set these values for unsupported cameras, the template settings
will save successfully, but the camera might not stream using those settings.
Image Settings
Image settings allow you to define the where motion is detected in a camera image, the pan, tilt, and
zoom settings for a camera, and the image properties such as contrast and brightness.
Motion Settings
See the “Configuring Motion Detection” section on page 10-96.
Photographic Controls
Click the Image tab to access the Photographic Controls (Table 10-11) that define properties such as
contrast and brightness.
Note • Only the settings supported by the camera model are shown.
• Analog cameras support video controls only if the camera is configured for serial pass through (a
serial cable must be connected from the camera to the encoder, and a serial port must be configured
on the analog camera). See the “General Settings” section on page 10-47 for instructions to
configure the analog camera serial port. See the “Adding External Encoders and Analog Cameras”
section on page 23-5 for more information.
Setting Description
White Balance Adjusts the camera to compensate for the type of light (daylight, fluorescent,
incandescent, etc.,) or lighting conditions in the scene so it will look normal to
the human eye.
Sharpness Adjusts edge contrast (the contrast along edges in a photographic image).
Increase sharpness to increase the contrast only along or near the image edges
without affecting the smooth areas of the image.
Contrast Adjusts the separation between the darkest and brightest areas of the image.
Increase contrast to make shadows darker and highlights brighter. Decrease
contrast to lighten shadows and darken highlights.
Saturation Adjusts the intensity and vibrancy of each color channel.
Hue Adjusting hue will shift the entire color palate along a spectrum. This results in
all colors being changed toward a different dominant color. Useful for adjusting
the image to make it look more natural in unusual lighting conditions.
Camera Apps
See Managing Camera Apps, page 19-1.
Note The following procedures are included in the “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section on
page 25-1.
Tip Use bulk actions to apply the settings to multiple cameras. Go to Cameras > Bulk Actions and filter the
results. Select one or more Cisco Cameras and click Bulk Actions > Camera Settings. Create a setting
with a text overlay or select an existing setting.
Requirements
• The ActiveX client used to display and playback video must support panoramic mode. Update your
Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop application or your Operations Manager
client to the latest version when prompted.
– If this setting is enabled and the ActiveX client is outdated, then recorded video may not be
properly displayed in Cisco SASD.
• Check the latest Cisco VSM release notes for feature availability and supported cameras.
Step 5 Use your monitoring client (such as Cisco SASD) to view video from a multi-lens (panoramic) camera.
Deleting Cameras
When deleting a camera, you can delete the camera and all recordings, or keep the recordings on the
system. See the Delete Options for more information.
To delete one or more cameras, use the following methods:
• (Optional) Retain the Media Server IP address
• Delete a Single Camera
• Delete Multiple Cameras
• Delete Options
• Force Delete a Device
Step 1 (Optional) Retain the Media Server IP address that is stored on the camera’s “Preferred Media Server”
list.
Step 1 By default, the IP address of the Media Server assigned to the camera will be deleted from the camera’s
“Preferred Media Server” list. If the camera is re-added to Cisco VSM, the Media Server must be
re-configured on the camera
To change the setting:
a. Choose System Settings > Settings.
b. From the General tab, enable the Preserve MS IP on camera delete option.
See General System Settings, page 29-2 for more information.
Step 2 Click Cameras.
Step 3 Click Bulk Actions.
Step 4 Search for and select the cameras to be deleted
• See the “Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Cameras” section on page 10-108 for more information.
Step 5 Click Bulk Actions > Delete.
Step 6 Select one of the Delete Options.
Delete Options
Select one of the following options from the camera or template configuration page:
Rebooting Cameras
Cameras can be manually rebooted using the Cisco VSM Operations Manager. Although this is not
normally required, it may be necessary with some cameras, such as after a firmware upgrade. See the
release notes for your camera firmware for more information.
• Reboot a Single Camera, page 10-71
• Reboot Multiple Cameras, page 10-71
Supported Cameras
Only supported cameras can be rebooted, such as Cisco, Iqeye, Onvif, and Mobotix cameras. See the
Cisco VSM Release Notes of your release for updated information.
Procedure
Procedure
Change Options
You can use Operations Manager to change these settings in the following ways (see Figure 10-19):
• Enter a new value in the IP Address, username or password field and click Save. This only changes
the settings used by Operations Manager to access the device on the network. It does not change the
settings stored on the device.
• Click the Change button and enter a new setting to change the setting stored on the device, and the
setting used by the Operations Manager.
Usage Notes
• The Change button is disabled if this action is not supported by the device, which means you must
use the device UI to change the Access settings on the device. Refer to the device documentation or
ask your system administrator for assistance.
• The IP address, username and password in Operations Manager must match the settings configured
on the device. If a mismatch occurs, communication with the device will be lost, including new
video streams and recordings.
Step 1 Open the camera or encoder settings page as described in the “Accessing the Camera Settings” section
on page 10-45.
Step 2 Select the General tab, if necessary.
Step 3 Under Access Information, enter the new IP address, username and password.
Step 4 Click Save to apply the changes.
Camera Status
Select the camera or encoder Status tab (Figure 10-20) to display information about camera device
health, service jobs, and security events.
Note See also Enable the “Unknown” State for Servers in a Transportation Environment.
Procedure
Device Status
Displays a snapshot of the current device health status, and the device attribute that is experiencing the
error. The camera’s device health impacts the camera’s ability to communicate with a Media Server,
stream video over the network, or record video.
For example, in Figure 10-20, the camera is in the Enabled: Critical state, meaning that it cannot display
or record video. This state is due to a Critical configuration error.
See Camera States, page 10-75 for more information.
Camera States
When a camera is added to Cisco VSM, it is placed in either Enabled or Pre-provisioned state.
• Enabled means that the user intends the camera is to be functional. There are three possible
sub-levels: OK, Warning, and Critical.
• Pre-provisioned means that the device is added to the configuration but not available on the network.
See Table 10-13 for additional descriptions.
State Description
Enabled: OK The device is operating normally and has no errors.
Enabled: A minor event occurred that did not significantly impact device operations.
Warning
Disabled The device is disabled and unavailable for use. The configuration can be modified, and any existing
recordings can be viewed, but the camera cannot stream or record new video.
Enabled: An event occurred that impacts the device operation or configuration.
Critical
IP Camera—The IP camera is enabled but is in a state unable to perform its full capacity.
Analog Camera—The analog camera is enabled but is in a state unable to perform its full capacity.
Tip An IP camera and an analog camera that are in Enabled: Critical state after they are enabled
from a Pre-provisioned state usually indicate a mis-match configuration. This is often caused
by a missing motion detection configuration on the camera when the camera template requires
one.
See the “Synchronizing Device Configurations” section on page 27-29 for information on viewing and
resolving configuration mismatches.
State Description
Pre-provisioned The device is added to the configuration but not available on the network.
The device is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned camera
can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or record video until the configuration is complete and
you choose Enable from the Device Settings menu
• IP Camera—A Pre-provisioned IP camera may or may not have been connected to the network.
Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is Device Settings > Enable. The
device can be deleted.
• Encoder—A Pre-provisioned encoder may, or may not have been connected to the network.
Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is Device Settings > Enable. The
device can be deleted.
Note You can enable an IP camera or encoder that is in Pre-provisioned state only after the device
is connected to the network and the associated Media Server is enabled. The Operations
Manager does not automatically enable them. An attempt to enable an IP camera or an encoder
before connecting them to the network only changes its state from Pre-provisioned to Enabled:
Critical.
• Analog Camera—An analog camera in this state is associated to an encoder that is either in a state
of Pre-provisioned or Enabled. Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is
Device Settings > Enable. The device can be deleted.
– Analog cameras that are added to a Pre-provisioned encoder are also Pre-provisioned.
– You can enable an analog camera that is in Pre-provisioned state only after its associated
encoder is enabled. The Operations Manager does not automatically enable it.
Soft Deleted The device configuration is removed from the Operations Manager but the recordings associated with
(Keep Recordings) that device are still available for viewing (until removed due to grooming policies).
To view the recordings, select the camera name in the Monitor Video page.
Soft-deleted cameras are still included in the camera license count. See Installing and Managing
Licenses, page 2-1.
Hard Deleted The device and all associated recordings are permanently deleted from Cisco VSM.
(Delete Recordings)
Note You can also choose to place the camera in the Blacklist. See the “Blacklisting Cameras”
No icon is displayed section on page 10-43.
For more information see the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on
page 27-13.
Status History
Click the Status History tab for additional details (Figure 10-21). The history page displays the specific
health events that impact the device status.
Display Options
Step 1 Select Display and choose a time range. By default, events from the past 24 hours are shown. Select
Special Range to specify a specific start and end time.
Step 2 Click Affecting Current Status to display only the alerts causing the current problem.
Step 3 Double-click an entry to display the alert details (Figure 10-21). Alerts can include multiple events for
the same issue. See Understanding Events and Alerts, page 27-2.
Step 4 Double-click an event to display the event details. Alerts can include multiple events for the same issue.
For example, in Figure 10-21, the camera is assigned to a template where a camera app is enabled, but
the app is not installed on the camera, an error will occur. To resolve the issue, install the appropriate
camera app on the camera. (see the “Managing Camera Apps” section on page 19-1). Once saved, the
device status should be OK (click Refresh Status if necessary).
• Generate Metadata
• Camera Apps—The camera apps that were installed, uninstalled, activated or deactivated.
• Format Camera SD Cards
• Long Term Storage recording jobs
Click an entry to view additional details about the job. The details also include the status and results of
the job.
To cancel a service job that is in progress (“Created”, or “Running” state), select the job and click Cancel
Job. Not all job types can be canceled. For example, you can cancel metadata and Camera Storage
service jobs that are still in progress.
See the “Viewing the Camera App Jobs for a Specific Camera” section on page 19-20 for more
information.
Tip To view the service jobs for all cameras and encoders managed by a Media Server, select the Service
Jobs tab in the Media Server configuration page. Not all Service Jobs are supported from the Media
Server page (such as camera apps). See the “Viewing Media Server Status” section on page 13-9.
Tip Click Cancel Pending Jobs to cancel all pending jobs. To cancel a single job, select the job and click
Cancel Job.
Camera Events
Camera events display a camera’s security events. For example, you can view all motion start events over
the past 12 hours.
Recovered Events
Cisco VSM can also recover motion, Camera Apps and Contact Closure camera events that occur when
the camera is disconnected from the Cisco Media Server. This feature is supported on Cisco 3xxx, 6xxx,
7xxx, 36xx, 66xx, 69xx, and 28xx cameras.
If the camera template is configured to send alerts, then recovered events are displayed in Cisco SASD
(Alerts workspace) in italics.
Note Recovered events do not trigger any other actions, such as those configured in the Advanced
Events feature.
Procedure
Option Description
Time Range The span of time that events occurred. For example, the last 7 days.
Issue Type The event type.
See the “Trigger and Action Descriptions” section on page 17-9 for more
information on the events that can occur on a camera.
Custom Type and Custom event types created by a user.
Subtype
See “Creating Custom Event Types and Sub Types” section on page 17-16.
Event Type Allows user to view All Events or Recovered Events.
All events include the following:
• Live events—Events that occurred while the camera’s network connection
to Cisco VSM was active
• Recovered events—Events that occurred while the camera was
disconnected from Cisco VSM. These events were recovered and added to
Cisco VSM after the camera was reconnected.
Note The icon indicates that the event occurred while the camera was
disconnect from Cisco VSM, and was later recovered. Alerts for these
recovered events are displayed in Cisco SASD in italics
Step 4 The page automatically refreshes to display events from your selection.
Tip See the Example in the “Defining the User Group PTZ Priority” section on page 10-85 to understand
how users, events, tours and other features gain or are denied PTZ control based on their PTZ priority.
PTZ Requirements
Cameras that support PTZ controls automatically display an Image tab in the camera configuration that
includes PTZ controls (choose the camera and click the Image > Pan/Tilt/Zoom).
PTZ cameras and PTZ users require the following:
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
Cameras must support PTZ functionality.
PTZ functionality must be enabled on the camera.
See the camera documentation for more information.
The PTZ settings require that the ActiveX player be installed on a supported browser, such as Internet
Explorer.
See the “Requirements” section on page 1-4 and the Cisco Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation
Performance Baseline Specification for more information.
To use PTZ controls, you must belong to a user group with Perform PTZ permissions.
To configure PTZ presets, PTZ tours, and Advanced Events, you must belong to a user group with Cameras
permissions.
To configure the PTZ Priority and Lockout Period, you must belong to a user group with Users & Roles
permissions.
Procedure
Usage Notes
• By default, all user groups have the highest priority (100).
– See the “Defining the User Group PTZ Priority Level” section on page 10-86 to define a lower
value.
– Users that belong to multiple user groups gain the highest priority from any assigned group.
• If a higher-priority user is using the PTZ controls, the PTZ controls remain locked and you cannot
control the PTZ movements until released by the higher priority user (and the idle time has expired).
• If users belong to user groups with the same priority, they will be able to access the PTZ controls at
the same time. This can result in conflicting movements.
• Advanced Events that trigger a PTZ preset position are assigned a priority of 50. This setting cannot
be changed.
– Event-triggered PTZ presets will take control from any user group members that have a priority
lower than 50 (user groups with a higher priority can take control or will maintain control).
– The camera remains at the PTZ preset unless a PTZ tour is enabled or a user accesses the PTZ
controls.
– See the Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7 for more information
• PTZ tours and Return to Home are assigned the lowest priority by default. This allows users to
assume control of any camera that is configured with a rotating PTZ tour. Event-triggered PTZ
movements also override PTZ tours.
• When all users stop accessing the PTZ controls and idle time expires, the camera PTZ Tour or Return
to Home position will resume, if configured (the PTZ tour continues). The lockout idle time is reset
each time the higher-priority user accesses the PTZ controls. See the “Configuring Advanced
Settings” section on page 10-91.
• If the When manual PTZ idle for field is not defined, then cameras use the number of seconds in
their associated Media Server’s Camera Control Lockout field (see the “Viewing Media Server
Status” section on page 13-9).
Example
The following example is based on this scenario:
• A PTZ tour is configured
• user1 is in a user group with PTZ priority 60
• user2 is in a user group with PTZ priority 100
• The PTZ idle time (lockout) is 30 seconds
• An Advanced Event is configured to move to the PTZ preset when a motion event occurs
A PTZ tour is enabled and rotating the camera between PTZ presets. User1 can access the PTZ controls
and interrupt the tour. However, if higher-priority user2 also accesses the camera PTZ controls, then
user2 will take control and user1’s PTZ commands will be ignored. This is because user2 is in a user
group with priority 100 while user1 is in a user group with priority 60 (PTZ tours have the lowest
priority).
When the higher-priority user2 stops moving the camera, user1 must still wait the number of seconds
defined in the camera When Manual PTZ idle for setting before they can move the camera again. If user2
uses the PTZ controls within that idle time, then the timer is reset and user1 must continue to wait.
Advanced Event PTZ movement is the same as a user with priority 50 moving the camera. If lower
priority users (0-49) are moving the camera, those lower priority users will loose control of the camera
and the event will PTZ move the camera. If higher priority users (51-100) are using the camera then the
event PTZ movement will not happen.
If the event PTZ successfully moved the camera, then the camera's idle time lockout is set preventing
lower priority users from moving the camera until it expires.
When all users stop accessing the PTZ controls, the PTZ tour continues (after the idle time expires).
Related Topics
• Using Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls, page 3-29
• Configuring PTZ Tours, page 10-89
• Configuring Advanced Settings, page 10-91
• Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7
To configure PTZ presets, use the PTZ controls to adjust the live video stream, enter a preset name, and
click Set.
Procedure
To define PTZ presets, do the following:
Usage Notes
• Any camera that supports PTZ presets also supports PTZ tours. At least two PTZ presets must be
available to create a PTZ Tour.
• You can enable a single PTZ tour for each camera.
• PTZ tours have the lowest priority for PTZ camera movements. For example, operators can manually
take PTZ control of the camera, or an Advanced Event can move the camera to a PTZ preset. Both
users and events have priority PTZ access to the camera. See the “Defining the User Group PTZ
Priority” section on page 10-85 for more information.
• Operators can interrupt the tour by manually changing the PTZ position. The camera will stay at the
user-selected position for the number of seconds configured in the Advanced Setting “When manual
PTZ idle for”, and then resume the tour with the next preset. For more information, see:
– Configuring Advanced Settings, page 10-91
– Using Pan, Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls, page 3-29
• To stop the PTZ tour, deselect Enable PTZ Tour. The camera will return to the first PTZ preset in
the tour list.
• If a PTZ tour is enabled, then the Return to Home setting is ignored (see the “Configuring Advanced
Settings” section on page 10-91).
• If the PTZ tour is disabled, the camera will stay at the current position, or go to the Return to Home
setting, if configured.
Procedure
Step 1 Define at least two PTZ presets for the camera, as described in the “Configuring PTZ Presets” section
on page 10-87.
Step 2 Define the PTZ presets included in the tour:
a. Click Add or Edit (Figure 10-26) to open the PTZ Tour Configuration window (Figure 10-25).
b. Select the Transition Time (the time that a camera stays at each preset position before changing to
the next preset).
c. Use the right-left arrows to move the presets from Available to Selected.
d. Use the up-down arrows to move the presets up or down in the list to define the order of the preset
rotation.
e. Click Save.
Step 3 (Optional) Select Enable PTZ Tour to turn on the PTZ tour for the camera (Figure 10-26).
• The camera will display the PTZ tour whenever live video is displayed. To stop the PTZ tour, you
must deselect Enable PTZ Tour.
Step 4 (Optional) Define the camera PTZ idle time to define the amount of time the number of seconds after a
manual PTZ movement or event action before the PTZ tour can resume. See the “Configuring Advanced
Settings” section on page 10-91 for more information.
Procedure
Step 3 Use the following settings to define if the camera should return to a selected Home position when idle
for a specified number of seconds.
Setting Description
When manual PTZ idle for The number of seconds the camera can be idle (no PTZ commands) before the camera returns
to the home PTZ preset or continues a PTZ tour (see the Return to Home setting).
Note By default, the idle time is defined by the Media Server’s Camera Control Lockout
setting (see the “Viewing Media Server Status” section on page 13-9). Use the When
manual PTZ idle for field to override the server setting for the current camera.
• PTZ Tour—the number of seconds after a manual PTZ movement or event action before the
PTZ tour can resume. The timer is reset whenever the camera PTZ controls are used by an
operator or event action. See the “Configuring PTZ Tours” section on page 10-89.
• Return to Home—the number of seconds after a manual PTZ movement or event action
before the camera returns to the Return to Home preset position. The timer is reset whenever
the camera PTZ controls are used by an operator or event action. You can also display a
countdown and cancel option on the users screen (see Configuring a PTZ “Return to Home”
Countdown, page 10-93).
• User PTZ control (priority lockout or camera controls lockout)—the number of seconds that
a lower priority user has to wait before being able to move the camera after a higher priority
user stops using the PTZ controls. See the “Defining the User Group PTZ Priority” section
on page 10-85.
Enable Home Preset If enabled, the camera will move to the Return to Home preset location if idle for the number of
seconds in the When manual PTZ idle for setting.
De-select this option to disable the Return to Home feature.
Usage Notes
• If a PTZ tour is enabled, then the Return to Home setting is ignored.
• Configure at least one PTZ preset (see Configuring PTZ Presets, page 10-87).
Return to Home Select the PTZ preset used as the Home position.
This option is configured on each client workstation by editing the following setting using the
computer’s Registry Editor. The message appears 60 seconds before the camera returns to the home
position. This value can also be (optionally) modified.
Note • If a PTZ tour is enabled, then the Return to Home setting is ignored and uses the PTZ tour presets.
• The PTZ Return to home warning message may not be displayed on workstations running Windows
8 with the IE 10 browser or Windows 8.1 with the IE11 browser. In IE 11, run IE as an administrator
and uncheck the “Enable Protected Mode” option, then restart IE.
Tip The following process edits the Cisco Multi-Pane Video Surveillance Client that is installed on the
workstation when you first access the Cisco VSM Operations Manager or the Cisco Video Surveillance
Safety and Security Desktop application (Cisco SASD). This “Multi-Pane” client is the ActiveX utility
installed on each client machine to enable video viewing and controls. See the “Requirements” section
on page 1-4 and the Cisco Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline
Specification for more information.
Note You must edit the setting for both the 32-bit client and the 64-bit client (if installed). The 64-bit client
is used for 64-bit IE browsers and the Cisco SASD application.
Procedure
To configure a Return to Home countdown on the monitoring workstation (as shown in Figure 10-28):
Step 3 Enable the 32-bit multi=pane client (which is used for the browser).
a. Select to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Cisco Systems, Inc. > Cisco Multi-Pane
Video Surveillance Client 32 bit.
b. Add an EnablePTZRTHWarning entry.
To enable motion events, you must define the areas in the camera image that should detect motion. You
can define the entire field of view, or use the Include Area to draw a box where motion will be detected
(Figure 10-30). Motion outside of the include box(es) is ignored. Add exclude areas within include
boxes to also ignore motion in a portion of the included areas.
Tip • See the “Enabling Motion Detection on All Existing Cameras (Bulk Actions)” section on
page 10-101 to include the entire field of view for multiple cameras.
• See the “Configuring Motion Detection” section on page 10-99 for more information. Use the
settings to the right of the preview window to define additional motion detection settings, as
described in the Motion Detection Settings, page 10-98.
• ONVIF cameras support motion detection in Cisco VSM release 7.8 and later, but motion detection
and the motion windows must be configured directly on the camera using the camera UI. See
Enabling Motion Detection on ONVIF Cameras, page 10-102.
• The motion video settings require that the ActiveX player be installed on a supported browser, such
as Internet Explorer. See the “Requirements” section on page 1-4and the Cisco Video Surveillance
Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification for more information.
Note ONVIF cameras support motion detection in Cisco VSM release 7.8 and later, but motion windows and
the following motion settings must be configured on the camera UI, if supported by the camera. See
Enabling Motion Detection on ONVIF Cameras, page 10-102 for more information.
Setting/Field Description
Include Area Drag and drop the Include Area box onto the image to define a
window where motion should be detected.
Exclude Area Drag and drop the Exclude Area box onto the image to exclude
portions of the included area.
For example, if the include area covers an entire room, you can exclude
an area where regular motion occurs, such as a clock or fan. Exclude
areas are used to reduce unwanted motion events.
Persistence The amount of time that motion must occur (within the selected
window) for a motion event start to occur.
The recommended value is 0 (default): motion of any duration results
in a motion start event. Select a higher number if the motion duration
should continue longer before a motion event is triggered.
Stop Trigger Time Determines how many milliseconds to delay when a motion event is
considered to have stopped (after the actual motion has ended).
Recommended value is 0 (default): the event stops immediately when
the motion ends. Select a higher number to define a motion event delay.
This setting prevents multiple motion events from being triggered
when motion reoccurs in a short period of time. Select a time that will
result in only one event for the “burst of motion activity”.
Window Name The name of the selected motion window.
Click an include or exclude area, and enter a meaningful name.
Setting/Field Description
Detection Threshold (Include Areas only)
and • Detection Threshold—The size of object needed to trigger a
Sensitivity motion start.
• Sensitivity—Determines the degree of susceptibility to motion.
The more sensitive, the less motion is needed to trigger a motion
start.
These values are set by default based on the recommended settings for
the camera model. For example:
• Cisco 26xx: Threshold = 10, Sensitivity = 80
• Cisco 29xx: Threshold = 10 Sensitivity = 80
• Cisco 45xx: Threshold = 10 Sensitivity = 80
• Cisco 60xx: Threshold = 1, Sensitivity = 85
(The maximum value is 100. The minimum value is 0.)
Save Motion Configs Saves the changes to the cameras motion detection settings.
Restore Motion Configs Restores the settings to the previous saved values.
Note All areas outside of the include boxes are ignored by default. Add exclude areas within include
boxes to also ignore motion within the included areas.
a. Drag the red Exclude Area box onto the video image (Figure 10-30).
b. (Optional) Enter a name in the Window Name field.
c. Move and resize the motion window.
Step 11 Click Save Motion Configs.
Tip Click Restore Motion Configs to return the settings to the previously saved value.
Note Be sure to successfully save or revert your changes while still in the motion configuration
window. Clicking out of the window before changes are successfully saved or discarded can
cause a configuration mismatch to occur on the camera Status page (the error will not include
any additional details). See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information. If
this occurs, perform a Repair Configuration on the camera (see the “Repairing a Mismatched
Configuration” section on page 27-33).
Procedure
Supported cameras
Only the following ONVIF cameras support motion detection.
• Vivotek: Release 7.11 and later
– Models FD8167A, FD8369A-V, FD8177-H, IB8367A, IB8369A, SD9161-H, SD9363-EH
• Hikvision and Samsung: Release 7.8 and later
Procedure
Complete the following steps in order:
Replacing a Camera
Replacing a camera allows you to exchange the physical camera hardware while retaining the
configurations, associations and historical data of the original device. The replacement camera also uses
the original camera name and device unique ID (used in API calls).
After the camera is replaced, only the hardware-specific details are changed, including the device MAC
address, IP address, and camera make and model.
Replacement Options
In Release 7.5 and later, you can replace a camera with an existing camera (a camera that was previously
added to Cisco VSM), or with a new camera. If replacing the camera with an existing camera, the camera
must have been previously added to the Operations Manager.
See the “Camera Replacement Procedure” for more information.
Usage Notes
• Both network and analog cameras can be replaced (network cameras require the username and
password configured on the device).
• Any network (IP) camera can be replaced by any other network (IP) camera, even if the devices are
a different make and model (be sure to select the appropriate template for the new camera model).
Network (IP) cameras cannot be replaced by an analog camera or encoder (or vice-versa).
Note An IP collision occurs when two devices are configured with the same IP address.
Step 1 Open the camera configuration page for the existing camera (the camera to be replaced).
See the “Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45.
Step 2 Select Device Settings > Replace Camera (Figure 10-32).
Step 3 Select Existing Camera if the device was previously added to the Operations Manager.
a. Click the Camera Name field.
b. Select a camera from the pop-up window (the remaining fields are automatically completed).
c. Click Replace.
d. Modify the camera settings, if necessary:
Setting Description
Camera (Read-only) The name of the existing camera.
Replace With
Camera Name (Required) Select the new (replacement) camera.
• The replacement camera must be in either pre-provisioned or Enabled
state (cameras that are soft-deleted or blacklisted are unavailable).
• The name, historical data, unique ID and configurations of the existing
camera will be transferred to the replacement camera. Only hardware
information such as MAC ID, IP address and make and model will be
changed in the camera configuration.
Username/ Password (Required for IP Cameras Only) Enter the credentials used to access the
replacement camera on the network.
• These fields are populated if defined when the replacement camera was
added.
• You can modify the username and password, if necessary, but the entries
must match the credentials that were configured on the camera.
• This field is required for IP cameras only. Analog cameras do not require
a password since they are connected to an encoder.
Template (Required) Select the camera template.
• The template is populated if defined when the replacement camera was
added.
• You can choose a different template, if necessary. Select a template that is
appropriate for the new make and model.
Camera Settings Apply a set of camera settings for features such as the motion detection
window and sensitivity, tamper settings, and NTP server and timezone used by
the device.
• Existing Settings—apply a pre-defined set of configurations.
• New Setting—define a new set of configurations. Enter a name to save the
Camera Settings, so they can be applied to other cameras.
See Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35 for
information about the available camera settings.
Tip • When the page returns, the new camera will appear with the same name as the old camera, and will
include all configurations, recordings, and event histories. Associations with locations, maps, and
Views are also the same.
• If an error occurs, see the “Addressing Camera “Collisions”” section on page 10-104.
Step 4 Select New Camera if the device is not in the Operations Manager configuration.
a. Enter the basic device configuration:
– IP address
– Username
– Password
– Model
– Template
– Camera Settings—see Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35
b. Click Replace.
c. Wait for the job to complete.
Tip • When the page returns, the new camera will appear with the same name as the old camera, and will
include all configurations, recordings, and event histories. Associations with locations, maps, and
Views are also the same.
• If an error occurs, see the “Addressing Camera “Collisions”” section on page 10-104.
Step 5 Re-configure the contact closure, PTZ preset and motion detection settings, if necessary. See the
following topics for more information. Analog cameras must also reconfigure the serial connection.
– Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35
– Camera Settings, page 10-45
– Configuring PTZ Presets, page 10-87
– Configuring Motion Detection, page 10-96
– Adding External Encoders and Analog Cameras, page 23-5
Requirements
• Users must belong to a User Group with permissions to manage Cameras.
• Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Non-super-admins must use the device configuration page to change one device at a time.
• See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Related Topics
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Encoders, page 23-12
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Servers, page 9-26.
Procedure
Filter Description
Search by Name Enter the full or partial device name.
For example, enter “Door” or “Do” to include all device names that include “Door”.
Search by Tag Enter the full or partial tag string and press Enter.
Make/Model Select the device model(s).
For example, “Cisco HD IP Camera 4300E Series”.
Encoder Filters Click to select the encoder(s).
Server Select the Media Server associated with the devices.
Install Location Select the location where the devices are installed.
Template Select the templates assigned to the device.
Overall Status Select the administrative states for the devices. For example:
• Enabled (OK, Warning or Critical)—The device is enabled, although it may include a
Warning or Critical event.
• Disabled—The device is disabled and unavailable for use. The configuration can be modified,
and any existing recordings can be viewed, but cameras cannot stream or record new video.
• Pre-provisioned—The device is waiting to be added to the network and is not available for
use. A pre-provisioned camera can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or record video
until you choose Enable from the Device Settings menu.
• Soft Deleted—The device is removed from Cisco VSM but the recordings associated with that
device are still available for viewing (until removed due to grooming policies).
Tip See the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for
more information.
Issue Type Select the issues that apply to the device. For example:
• Configuration Mismatch—the camera configuration on the Media Server is different than the
camera configuration in the Operations Manager.
Tip Always use the Operations Manager to configure cameras. Changes made directly to the
camera are unknown to Cisco VSM and can result in incorrect behavior.
• Capability Mismatch—the capabilities on the camera do not match the Cisco VSM
configuration.
• Identity Collision—the camera has an IP address or hostname that is the same as another
device.
• Motion Unconfigured—motion is not configured on the camera.
Category Select the issue categories that apply to the device. For example, hardware issues or configuration
issues.
Custom Field Select the values for the custom fields created by your organization.
See Custom Fields, page 24-1 for more information.
Step 5 (Optional) Click the icon to view and edit the device status and configuration settings.
Step 6 Select the devices that will be affected by the action.
• Choose the Select All check box to select ALL cameras matched by the filters, including the devices
not shown in the grid.
• Use CTRL-CLICK and SHIFT-CLICK or to select multiple items.
Step 7 Click an Action button.
Action Description
Backup Now Immediately backs up the recordings from one or more cameras to the LTS server.
See Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14 for more information.
Delete Deletes the selected devices from the Operations Manager configuration.
See Deleting Cameras, page 10-69 for more information.
Enable Enable the selected devices.
See Camera Status, page 10-74.
Disable Disable the selected devices.
See Camera Status, page 10-74.
Repair Configurations Synchronizes the configuration for the selected devices.
See Repairing Configuration Errors, page 10-80 for more information.
Replace Configurations Replaces the configuration on the Media Server with the version in the Operations Manager,
even if there is a difference.
See Repairing a Mismatched Configuration, page 27-33 for more information.
Change Template Changes the template assigned to the devices.
See the following for more information:
• Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1
• Streaming, Recording and Event Settings, page 10-55.
Change Location Change the location for the selected devices.
See the following for more information:
• General Settings, page 10-47
• Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1.
Change Pointed To Location Change the location for the selected servers.
See the following for more information:
• General Settings, page 10-47
• Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location, page 8-9.
Change Media Server Change the Media Server that manages the camera.
See the following for more information:
• General Settings, page 10-47
• Configuring Media Server Services, page 13-1
Action Description
Change Password Change the password for the devices.
Note Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Camera Settings Apply a set of camera settings for features such as the motion detection window and
sensitivity, tamper settings, and NTP server and timezone used by the device.
• Existing Settings—apply a pre-defined set of configurations.
• New Setting—define a new set of configurations. Enter a name to save the Camera
Settings, so they can be applied to other cameras.
See Creating and Applying Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35 for information about the
available camera settings.
Camera Covert Allows admins to hide live or recorded video from users for specific cameras. You can hide
all live video streams, all recorded video, or recoded video for specific time spans.
See “Camera Covert Settings” for more information.
Set Custom Fields Update the custom field values for the selected cameras.
See the following for more information:
• Custom Fields, page 24-1
Format SD Card Format the SD cards that are installed in the cameras.
See the following for more information:
• Formatting Camera SD Cards, page 20-8
• Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording), page 20-1
Reboot Camera Manually reboot the supporting cameras.
See Rebooting Cameras, page 10-71.
Step 8 Follow the onscreen instructions to enter or select additional input, if necessary.
• For example, Reapply Template requires that you select the template.
Step 9 Refer to the Jobs page to view the action status.
• See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37.
The server time synchronizes server operations, defines recording timestamps and backup schedules.
To ensure correct playback and system operation, we strongly recommend using a network time protocol
(NTP) for all servers and devices.
Refer to the following topics for more information:
• Recommended (and Default) NTP Configuration, page 11-2
• NTP Usage Notes, page 11-3
• Configuring Media Servers with a User-Defined NTP Server, page 11-4
– Changing the NTP Server for a Single Media Server, page 11-5
– Changing the NTP Server for Multiple Media Servers, page 11-6
• Configuring Cameras with a User-Defined NTP Server, page 11-8
– Changing the NTP Settings for a Single Camera, page 11-9
– Changing the NTP Server for Multiple Cameras, page 11-10
• Defining the NTP Setting During Camera Auto-Discovery, page 11-11
Procedure
Tip To change the NTP servers for multiple servers, see Changing the NTP Server for Multiple Media
Servers, page 11-6.
Procedure
• NTP Server—A valid NTP server hostname or IP address. Enter multiple entries separated by a
space or comma.
• Timezone—The timezone where the server is located.
Step 8 Click OK.
Step 9 Click Yes to confirm and wait for the job to complete.
A job is created for each server being updated.
Step 10 (Optional) To confirm the new NTP setting, open the server configuration page, select the General >
Network tab (Figure 11-5), and verify that the NTP server address is displayed under NTP Information.
Figure 11-6 Cameras With an NTP Server Different than the Media Server
Procedure
Note • The NTP server will be used even if the camera is moved to a different Media Server.
• See also Changing the NTP Server for Multiple Cameras, page 11-10.
Figure 11-8 Camera Bulk Actions: Setting NTP Information for Multiple Cameras
Note If the NTP server is user-defined, and the camera is re-assigned to a different Media Server, the device
will retain the user-defined NTP address.
Procedure
Step 4 (Optional) Select the filter criteria (See Table 10-19 in Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Cameras,
page 10-108). Leave the filters blank to display all devices.
Step 5 Click Search.
Step 6 Select the cameras from the results list (Figure 11-7).
Step 7 Click Bulk Actions > Camera Settings and select the NTP options described in Creating and Applying
Preset Camera Settings, page 10-35.
Step 8 Click OK.
Step 9 Click Yes to confirm and wait for the job to complete.
A job is created for each camera being updated.
Step 10 (Optional) To confirm the new camera NTP setting, open the camera configuration page, select the
General tab (Figure 11-7), and verify that the NTP server address is displayed under NTP Information.
• You must belong to a user group with Cameras permission. See the “Adding Users, User Groups,
and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
• See the “Configuring Cameras with a User-Defined NTP Server” section on page 11-8 for
information to define a new NTP server for one or more cameras.
IP cameras that have been installed on the network can be discovered and added to Cisco VSM. You can
manually trigger discovery, or schedule automatic discovery.
See the following topics for more information:
• Understanding Discovery, page 12-2
• Camera Discovery Process, page 12-3
• Enabling the Auto Configuration Defaults for a Camera Model, page 12-6
• Cameras Pending Approval List, page 12-9
• Understanding Camera Conflicts During Discovery, page 12-10
Related Documentation
• Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide
Understanding Discovery
Although camera discovery is a simple process, there are a number of other tasks and requirements that
should be performed before and after discovering cameras on the network.
For example:
• Cameras must support the Bonjour discovery feature, and Bonjour must be enabled on supported
cameras using the camera UI. See the camera documentation for more information.
• Auto-configuration can be enabled for a camera model to automatically enter basic settings and add
the device to Cisco VSM.
Tip You can also move a discovered camera to the Blacklist to prevent it from being added to Cisco VSM or
from being discovered in future discovery actions (Figure 12-1).
Auto-Configuration
If Auto-configuration is enabled for a camera model, then the basic configuration and template is
automatically applied to the camera, and the camera is added directly to the enabled state (Figure 12-1).
Auto-configuration settings are accessed in System Settings > Auto Provisioning Settings.
See Enabling the Auto Configuration Defaults for a Camera Model, page 12-6 for more information.
Supported Cameras
Camera discovery is supported on Cisco, Axis, Bosch, Panasonic, Sony, Vivotek and Onvif cameras.
Procedure
Usage Notes
• If auto-configuration is not enabled for a camera model (or if the auto-configuration fails) then the
camera is placed in the Cameras Pending Approval list. See the “Cameras Pending Approval List”
section on page 12-9 for more information.
• If the auto-configuration fails, cameras can also be placed Enabled:Critical state. For example, if
the entered password does not match the password configured on the device.
• Select the Uninitialized option to log in to the camera using the default device credentials. Enter a
password to automatically replace the device password with the new setting (the username is
read-only).
Procedure
To enable auto-configuration for cameras that are discovered on the network or imported from a CSV
file, complete the following procedure.
Setting Description
Uninitialized Select this option to use the default credentials to initially access the camera. Enter a new password to
change the default setting.
Note The change will not be implemented if the current username and password has been changed
from the factory default.
Username Enter the username used to access the camera over the network.
Setting Description
Password Enter the password used to access the camera over the network.
• See the camera documentation for instructions to set the credentials, or ask your system
administrator for the information.
• See the Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings (Address and Credentials), page 10-72
to revise the credentials after the camera is added to the system.
Template Select the camera template that will provide the camera configuration.
See the “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for more information.
Media Server (Optional) Select the Media Server that will manage the camera (the camera will be assigned to this
Media Server).
See the “Configuring Media Server Services” section on page 13-1 for more information.
Camera Settings Apply a set of camera settings for features such as the motion detection window and sensitivity, tamper
settings, and NTP server and timezone used by the device.
• Select Existing Settings to apply a pre-defined set of configurations.
• Select New Setting to define a new set of configurations. Enter a name to save the Camera Settings,
so they can be applied to other cameras.
See Camera Settings, page 10-45 for more information.
Tip Camera models that have the auto-configuration defaults enabled are added to Cisco VSM. If
auto-configuration fails or is not enabled, the camera is added to Cameras Pending Approval. If the
camera is in Enabled: Warning or Critical state, go to device Status page to get information, fix the
problem and choose Repair Configuration from the Device Settings menu.
Procedure
To move cameras from the Cameras Pending Approval list to either Cisco VSM or to the blacklist,
complete the following procedure.
You must have Manage Cameras permissions to approve or blacklist cameras. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Tip Click the camera to highlight it, or use Ctrl-Click or Shift-Click to select multiple cameras.
Setting Description
IP Address The IP address assigned to the camera.
Name (Optional) Double-click the entry to change the camera name. The default entry
is auto-generated.
Media Server (Required) select the Media Server to manage the camera.
Install Location (Required) select the location where the camera is physically installed.
Pointed Location (Required) select the location where the camera is pointed. This is the scene
shown in the camera’s video.
Template (Required) select the configuration template for the camera. See the “Adding
and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for more information.
Credential (Required) enter the username and password used to access the camera over the
network. See the camera documentation for instructions to set the credentials,
or ask your system administrator for the information.
Step 7 Click Add to save the configuration and add the camera(s) to Cisco VSM.
Step 8 Verify that the camera(s) were successfully added.
Step 9 (Optional) Modify the camera settings, if necessary.
See the “Accessing the Camera Settings” section on page 10-45 to change a camera configuration.
Note Click Blacklist to blacklist the camera. See the “Blacklisting Cameras” section on page 10-43.
A Media Server is a service that runs on a physical or virtual Cisco Video Surveillance server. The Media
Server service provides video streaming, recording and storage for the cameras and encoders associated
with that server. Media Servers can also be configured for high availability, and provide Redundant,
Failover, and Long Term Storage options for other Media Servers.
Refer to the following topics for more information.
Contents
• Overview, page 13-2
• Requirements, page 13-3
• Summary Steps to Add, Activate, and Configure a Media Server, page 13-4
• Media Server Settings, page 13-5
– Accessing the Media Server Advanced Settings, page 13-5
– High Availability Options, page 13-6
– Partition Settings, page 13-6
– Media Server Mode (Dynamic Proxy), page 13-7
– Media Server Properties, page 13-7
– Storage Management Settings, page 13-8
• Viewing Media Server Status, page 13-9
– Device Status, page 13-10
– Status History, page 13-10
– Service Jobs (Media Server), page 13-11
Overview
A Media Server is a service that runs on a physical or virtual Cisco Video Surveillance server. Media
Servers perform the following functions:
• Process and store digital video streams from network cameras.
• Deliver video streams to user workstations.
• Manage the serial ports and encoders used to connect analog cameras and digitize the analog video
from those cameras.
To add Media Servers, add the server to the Operations Manager configuration and select the Media
Server Service Type. You can then configure Advanced settings, such as the high-availability role
and associate cameras and other attributes to the Media Server to support video streaming, storage and
playback.
Each deployment can include multiple Media Servers. A single Media Server instance can run on the
same server as the Operations Manager server (to create a co-located server), and additional Media
Servers can be added as stand-alone servers.
Requirements
Before you begin, verify that the following requirements are met.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
You must belong to a user group with Servers & Encoders permissions. See the “Adding Users, User Groups,
and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
A physical or virtual server that has the Media Server service enabled.
• A single physical or virtual server can host both the Media Server and Operations Manager applications
(called a co-located server).
• Additional Media Servers can be added as stand-alone servers.
• Media Servers can also be co-located with a Maps Server.
Related Documentation
• Understanding Server Services, page 9-3
• Physical server installation:
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.2) See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform Series User
Guide for more information.
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.0.0 or 7.0.1) See the Cisco Physical Security Multiservices
Platform Series User Guide for more information.
• Virtual Machine installation—See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and
Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms for instructions to install the server software .ova image as a virtual
machine (VM).
• Initial server setup—Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide.
• Adding the server and enabling the Media Server service—Configuring Servers, page 9-1
Field Settings
Failover The Media Server that will assume the functionality of the Primary server if the Primary server goes
offline.
Redundant Streams The server used to record, store, and play back redundant video streams.
For example, the Redundant Streams server can be used to manage Steam B from a camera.
Long Term Storage The server used to store recorded video (continuous or motion events) for a long period of time.
Note • For complete instructions, see the “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section on page 25-1.
• Media Servers are assigned the Primary HA role by default.
• Each server supports only a single server type: Primary, Failover, Redundant Streams and Long
Term Storage
• Primary servers can be configured with Failover, Redundant, and Long Term Storage servers.
Redundant servers can be configured with a Long Term Storage server.
Partition Settings
Click the Advanced icon and select the Partitions options to define the type of files that are saved
to each available hard disk partition.
Field Settings
Recording The partition(s) used for video recordings generated by cameras associated with the Media Server.
Clipping The partition(s) used for video clips created by a user.
Note If multiple partitions are selected, the partition with the most available space is used to
create video clips. CVA/CVX clips are downloaded immediately to the client workstation
and not saved on the server. MP4 clips are saved on the server for 24 hours, and then deleted
if they have not been downloaded. See the “Creating and Viewing Video Clips From a Single
Camera” section on page 3-40 for more information.
Backups The partition(s) used for long term storage backup files.
See Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14.
Field Settings
Media Server Only Disables Dynamic Proxy functionality on the server. The Media Server is used to support cameras
and encoders and to deliver video directly to the user.
Both The server can be used as a normal Media Server, and as a Dynamic Proxy.
Dynamic Proxy Only The server is used exclusively as a Dynamic Proxy and cannot manage cameras or be used for other
Media Server tasks.
Field Settings
RTP Window Length The maximum number of packets the Media Server buffers per stream to determine packet loss
(before declaring a lost packet). This is also known as the jitter window length. This setting may
need to be changed on a system with excessive packet delay on the network.
Note This value is normally set to 1 but may need to be increased on networks where packets can
get delayed.
Camera Control Designates the number of seconds that a lower priority user has to wait before being able to move
Lockout / sec the camera after a higher priority user stops using the PTZ controls. This value is the default for all
cameras assigned to a Media Server unless the camera When Manual PTZ idle for setting is defined
in the camera PTZ Advanced Settings.
For more information, see the following:
• Defining the User Group PTZ Priority, page 10-85
• Configuring Advanced Settings, page 10-91
Default Grooming Only If selected, recordings will only be groomed (deleted) when a media partition reaches its maximum
usage level (grooming will not be performed based on the expiry time).
Note Use this option only if the server has adequate disk space and the recordings should be
retained longer than the retention settings defined in the camera template configuration. For
example, the Retain continuous recordings and Retain event recordings settings will not
apply for the cameras assigned to the Media Server. See the “Streaming, Recording and
Event Settings” section on page 10-55.
Caution This option can prevent new recordings from starting if all disk space is used. See the
Storage Estimation setting in the “Streaming, Recording and Event Settings” section on
page 10-55.
Field Settings
Storage (%) The maximum amount a disk can be full before it is declared unusable for any further recording.
When the disk reaches this percentage, the 200 oldest media files are groomed (deleted), until the
free disk space is less that the Storage (%).
• The maximum (and default) value is 98%.
We recommend keeping this setting at or below the default value.
• 0% means that the repositories are not available to store video archives.
For example, if the Storage % is set to 90%, and a camera template Retain event recordings setting
is Max Possible, event recordings will be deleted once the disk repositories are 90% full.
Storage Estimation(%) This field defines the amount of storage space that must be available on the Media Server to start a
recording if the Verify Recording Space option is enabled in a camera or template configuration.
The Media Server must have this amount of storage space available or the recording will not start.
For example, if a camera is configured to record a continuous H264 stream at 15mbps for 30 days,
the Media Server would first verify that there is enough free disk space for the full recording length
(30 days). If not, then recording will not start. In this example, 15 mbps of video uses approximately
2 megabytes of storage space per second, so 30 days of recording would require roughly 5 terabytes
of disk storage.
See the “Streaming, Recording and Event Settings” section on page 10-55 for more information on
the Verify Recording Space option.
Long Term Storage Click Backup Now to save recorded events to the LTS server used to store recorded video. Backups
are removed from the original server when they are transferred to the LTS server.
Note This button is enabled only if an LTS server is configured. See the “High Availability: Cisco
Media Servers” section on page 25-1 for more information.
Procedure
Device Status
Displays a snapshot of the server health status, and the device attribute that is experiencing the error. The
server’s device health impacts the server’s ability to communicate with cameras, stream video over the
network, or record video.
State Description
Enabled: OK The device is operating normally. has no error.s
Enabled: A minor event occurred that did not significantly impact device operations.
Warning
Enabled: An event occurred that impacts the device operation or configuration.
Critical
Pre-provisioned The device is added to the configuration but not available on the network.
The device is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned device
can be modified, but the cannot stream or record video until the configuration is complete and you
choose Device Settings > Enable.
Related Information
Viewing Server Status, page 9-29
Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
Status History
Click the Status History tab for additional details (Figure 13-3). The history page displays the specific
health events that impact the device status.
• (Optional) Click Affecting Current Status to display only the alerts causing the current problem.
• (Optional) Double-click an entry to display the alert details (Figure 13-3). Alerts can include
multiple events for the same issue. See Understanding Events and Alerts, page 27-2.
• (Optional) Double-click an event to display the event details. Alerts can include multiple events for
the same issue.
Tip To view the service jobs for a specific cameras or encoders managed by the Media Server, select the
Service Jobs tab in the camera configuration page. The camera and encoder job types may be different
from the server options. See the camera “Service Jobs (Cameras)” section on page 10-77.
Tip Click Cancel Pending Jobs to cancel all pending jobs. To cancel a single job, select the job and click
Cancel Job.
Schedules are used to define what type of video recording should be used at different times of the day.
For example, a school administrator might want continuous recording for all lobby doors during school
hours on weekdays, but only motion recording at night and on weekends. In addition, special events
(such as an evening concert) or holidays (such as Christmas) might require different recording rules.
Procedure
Complete the following procedure to add or edit schedules.
Tip To apply a schedule to a camera or template configuration, see the “Adding and Managing Cameras”
section on page 10-1.
Note A time slot must be defined for all hours and days.
For example, different recording rules can be applied when a school is in session, during after school
activities, or when the school is closed. Each of these different time slots can be assigned different
recording and alert properties (in the template configuration screen).
The example in Figure 14-2 defines the following schedule:
• School Hours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• After School hours are 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• School Off hours are 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
• The school is Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Step 9 (Optional) Click Preview in Calendar to view a monthly calendar of the recurring schedule.
Step 10 (Optional) Click Create Upcoming to define a second schedule that will become active on a specified
date (Figure 14-3).
Tip When an Upcoming Pattern becomes active, the old schedule is deactivated and renamed
Expired Pattern. Expired patterns cannot be reactivated.
• Each Schedule can define two weekly recurring patterns: the Active Pattern and the Upcoming
Pattern.
• Active Patterns are active indefinitely unless an Upcoming Pattern is defined.
• To create a new pattern, you must first delete one of the existing patterns. To remove a pattern, select
the pattern tab and click Delete.
• When the Upcoming Pattern takes effect, the following occurs:
– The Upcoming Pattern becomes the Active Pattern.
– The previous Active Pattern becomes an Expired Pattern. Click the Expired Pattern tab to
delete it.
a. Click Create Upcoming (Figure 14-2) to create an Upcoming Pattern (Figure 14-3). An Upcoming
Pattern tab is added and pre-populated with the calendar from the Active Pattern.
b. Click the Effective Date to select the date when the Upcoming Pattern will take
effect.
c. Define the time slots for each day of the week (as described in Step 8).
d. (Optional) Click Preview in Calendar to verify that the weekly recurring schedule changes on the
time and date desired.
e. Click Save.
For example, in Figure 14-3, the school hours are extended to 4 p.m. (16:00) on Monday and Friday
(beginning on the Effective Date).
Step 11 (Optional) Define Special Dates to override the normal recurring schedule (Figure 14-4).
Special dates can be created for holidays, vacations, or other one-time events that require different
recording or Advanced Event settings. For example, a special schedule may be required for a few hours
(during an evening event), a single day (such as a Homecoming), or an entire week (such as the
Christmas holiday).
For example, in Figure 14-4, the entire week of Christmas is defined as a Holiday. Homecoming and an
evening concert, however, require a different time slot for only a few hours of the day. Any time left
blank will use the Recurring Schedule definitions.
Tip Click Clear Cells and then click a time of day to delete the time slots defined for that time.
Any time left blank will use the recurring schedule definitions.
f. Repeat these steps to define the time slot used for each hour of the day.
Tip Click the trash icon to delete a Special Date entry. Click Yes to confirm the change.
g. (Optional) Click Preview in Calendar to see the special date in a monthly calendar
(Figure 14-5).
Templates simplify camera configuration by defining the image quality, recording schedule and other
attributes used by a set of cameras.
Contents
• Overview, page 15-2
• Creating or Modifying a Template, page 15-3
• Creating a Custom Template for a Single Camera, page 15-5
• Configuring Video Recording, page 15-6
– Summary of Recording Options, page 15-6
– Configuring Continuous, Scheduled, and Motion Recordings, page 15-7
– Merging Video Streams (Smart Stream Selection), page 15-11
• Configuring Multicast Video Streaming, page 15-15
Related Documentation
• Enabling Video Analytics, page 17-2
• Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7
• Enabling On-Demand Recording, page 5-14.
• Monitoring and Managing Storage, page 16-1
Overview
Templates simplify camera configuration by defining the image quality, recording schedule and other
attributes used by a set of cameras. Any template changes are applied to all cameras associated with that
template, allowing you to easily configure and modify groups of cameras that serve a similar purpose.
You can also create Custom Templates that apply to a single camera.
• Model Specific templates are used for a specific make and model of camera.
• Generic templates can be applied to a mixture of camera models.
• Custom Templates apply to a single camera.
Figure 15-1 shows a sample template configuration page. The number of cameras associated with a
template is shown next to the template name.
• System defined templates are locked and cannot be modified. Click Save As to create a new
template under a different name.
• User-defined templates are displayed in bold and can be revised. See the “Creating or Modifying a
Template” section on page 15-3.
Note If the camera template resolution settings are changed, all motion detection windows for cameras
assigned to that template are deleted and you must re-configure them. See Configuring Motion
Detection, page 10-96 for instructions to re-apply motion windows.
Procedure
To create or modify a template, complete the following procedure.
Procedure
Step 4 Revise the camera settings as described in Camera Settings, page 10-45 and the “Configuring Video
Recording” section on page 15-6.
Step 5 Click Save.
Procedure
Tip You can also create a custom template for an individual camera. See the “Creating a Custom
Template for a Single Camera” section on page 15-5
Step 3 Click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab (Figure 15-4).
Note Recording schedules appear only if schedules are configured. See the “Defining Schedules”
section on page 14-1 for instructions.
Recording schedules allow you to define recording properties for different times of the day, days of
the week, or for special events. For example, a school might require different video surveillance
actions during School hours, After school hours, School off hours, and Closed hours. Additional
exceptions to the regular schedule might be required for special events, such as a Homecoming event
or the Christmas holiday. A recording entry appears for each time slot included in the schedule.
Step 5 Click the recording icons for each Time Slot.
The options are:
• No Recording—Disable recording for the stream.
• Record on Motion—Record motion events. Motion recording is available only if the camera
supports motion detection. See the “Configuring Motion Detection” section on page 10-96 for
instructions to define the areas of the image that trigger motion events.
• Continuous Recording—Record video in a continuous loop.
• Record on Motion and Continuous Recording—Record continuously and mark any motion
events. This option is available only if motion detection is supported by the camera.
Setting Description
Retain continuous recordings Enter the amount of time recorded video should be retained (saved)
on the system.
Retain event recordings Enter the amount of time a motion event should be retained (saved)
on the system.
Padding Enter the number of seconds of recording that should be included
before and after the event occurs.
Step 7 Click the Alert Notifications icon to enable or disable the alerts that are generated when a motion
stop or start event occurs.
Tip Use the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application to
view alerts, comment and close alerts. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security
Desktop User Guide for more information.
Tip Use the Advanced Events feature to trigger alerts only when motion stops, or when motion starts.
You can also trigger other actions, such as recordings or moving the camera to a PTZ preset
position. See the “Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions” section on page 17-7.
• If a large number of cameras are affected, the Job can take a significant amount of time to complete.
• Click View Status in the Jobs window to view additional details for the Job Steps.
• See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37 for more information.
Although both streams record the same image, they can be used for different purposes. For example, in
Figure 15-5 Stream A is used to record motion events in high quality, while Stream B continuously
records all video in low quality. This saves video storage and network bandwidth since only events are
saved in higher quality (and the resulting larger data size). Since the video is also recorded continuously
as a lower-quality Stream B, you can still review video that did not trigger a motion event.
To view the live or recorded streams, right-click the video image and chose Select Streams, then choose
one of the available streams (Figure 15-6).
Tip In the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application, select a stream
using the video control bar. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide
for more information.
In addition, any motion events will be recorded at the selected image quality. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information about viewing video for
motion events and other event types.
Merging the recording streams can make playback easier since the higher quality video is automatically
displayed when an event occurs.
Notes
• When “Smart Stream Selection” recording is enabled, the option for “iFrame only for H264/MPEG”
is not supported.
• If any overlapping recordings occur, only the image from Stream A will be displayed. All Event
Triggers are supported (such as soft triggers, motion start, etc).
• Video clips (such as virtual clips and MP4 clips) can be created from merged streams. If the codec
changes during the clip segment, only virtual clips can be created. Codec changes are indicated by
a small red triangle on the timeline in the Operations Manager. The triangle is not displayed in Cisco
SASD.
• The Stream B grooming is most effective if the event recording on Stream A is at least 10 minutes
long. Event recordings with a duration 5 minutes or less will not conserve storage.
– When “Smart Stream Selection” is enabled, stream A cannot be configured forContinuous
Recording or Record on Motion and Continuous Recording for 24x7 recording.
• When “Smart Stream Selection” is enabled, stream A and stream B cannot have the same event
types. For example, stream A and B cannot both be configured for motion recording.
• Metadata generation is not supported when ‘Smart Stream Selection’ is enabled.
Procedure
To merge the recording streams, enable the following option.
Step 3 Configure the recording streams so Stream A records at a higher image quality and Stream B at a lower
quality (see the Figure 15-5 example).
Step 4 Click Advanced Storage and select Recording Options (Figure 15-8).
Tip This feature is also supported by the Cisco SASD desktop application (see the Cisco Video Surveillance
Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information).
Requirements
To configure multicast streams, you must do the following:
Complete?
Requirements ( )
Configure your network for multicast streaming.
Usage Notes
• Audio is unicast even if multicast video is enabled.
• Multicast is performed between the supported encoding device and the Media Servers that are
listening. The Media Server does not multicast video to clients.
Procedure
Step 1 Configure your network to support multicast or ask your systems administrator for the multicast IP
address(es) used by the cameras.
Step 2 Configure the template to support multicast streams.
a. Select Cameras > Templates.
b. Select a location and template name.
c. Select the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
d. Click the Custom option for either Video Stream A or Video Stream B.
e. Select JPEG from the Codec field.
f. Select UDP_Multicast from the Transport field.
g. Complete the remaining custom stream settings.
h. Click Save.
Tip To configure a single camera for multicast, you can also create a custom template for that camera
and enter the same settings. See the “Creating a Custom Template for a Single Camera” section
on page 15-5.
See the “Multicast” descriptions in the “General Settings” section on page 10-47 for more information.
a. Select Cameras.
b. Select a location and camera name.
c. From the General tab, enter the Multicast IP Address and port for the Primary and/or Secondary
video streams.
– See your systems administrator for the correct multicast address.
– Primary and Secondary Multicast IP Address fields are enabled only if the corresponding
template Stream A and Stream B Custom settings are configured for multicast.
d. Click Save.
Note The multicast settings can also be entered when adding a camera. See the “Manually Adding a
Single Camera” section on page 10-10.
Contents
• Storage Retention and Recording Dashboard Overview, page 16-1
• Using the Actual Bitrate to Estimate Storage, page 16-2
• View Storage and Bitrate Information in the Storage Retention Dashboard, page 16-5
• Usage Notes, page 16-6
• How disk space is estimated using VBR, page 16-7
• Configure Storage Retention Status Warnings and Emails, page 16-7
Related Documentation
• Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1
• Revising the System Settings, page 29-1
Caution Use the Predicted Bitrate only if you have measured the camera’s average bit rate over a considerable
period of time. Providing an incorrect value could either lead to records getting groomed before the
retention time or restrict the number of cameras that can be added to your deployment.
Procedure
Step 1 Copy the actual bitrate used by the camera (Figure 16-2).
a. Click Monitor Video.
b. Click Storage Retention Dashboard.
c. Select a Media Server.
d. Select a camera.
e. Under Storage Estimation, copy the Actual Bitrate.
Step 2 Enter the actual bitrate into the Predicted Bitrate field (Figure 16-3).
a. Select Cameras > Templates.
b. Add or edit a template.
c. Next to Video Quality, click Custom.
d. Next to Bit rate mode, verify that VBR is selected.
e. In the Predicted Bitrate field, paste the actual bitrate copied from the Storage Retention Dashboard.
f. Click Set.
g. Click Save.
h. The estimated storage needs of the cameras associated with the template will be recalculated based
on the Predicted Bitrate value.
Step 3 Verify that Storage Retention Dashboard warning is cleared (Figure 16-4).
a. Click Monitor Video.
b. Click Storage Retention Dashboard.
c. Select a Media Server and select the camera.
d. Verity that the status icon is green.
e. Verify that Storage Retention Status is “OK”.
Procedure
– —Additional information is available. For example, less space is used than originally
estimated.
– —Estimated storage based on streaming is higher than expected.
– Next to Reason, click for more information.
• Streaming Configuration—The camera configuration details, such as Bitrate mode (CBR or VBR)
and Codec (H264 or MULAW). The actual disk space used by the camera is also displayed.
• Storage Estimation—
– The configured bitrate vs. the actual bitrate. The Predicted Bitrate shows a value only if entered
in the camera template (see Using the Actual Bitrate to Estimate Storage).
– The estimated storage is also displayed.
• Review details such as the “Estimated Storage (by configured settings)” vs. the “Estimated Storage
(by actual observation)”. The “Estimated Storage (by configured settings)” is adjusted if a Predicted
Bitrate is entered (see Using the Actual Bitrate to Estimate Storage).
Usage Notes
• Storage retention is supported only for continuous recordings. However the user will also be able to
view storage retention statistics for continuous + motion based recordings. The data will be accurate
as long as the camera performs continuous recording. However when motion events occur there will
be a significant deviation in the data as it is hard to predict the number of motion events.
• Retention Status Changed on mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss indicates the last date and time stamp when the
storage retention status changed for any camera associated with the selected Media Server.
• The supported Codecs are H264 (video) and MULAW (audio).
• The estimated storage is calculated every 30 minutes.
• If a camera configuration is changed, it may take some time (based on the retention period) to
estimate and reflect the correct value of “Estimated Storage (by configured settings)”.
• If recording gaps or packet loss occurs during streaming, the calculated estimated storage or
calculated bitrate may not be accurate.
• This feature supports cameras streaming to the Primary Media Server only. Streams to the
Redundant, Failover and LTS servers are not supported.
• Cisco 8000 series cameras and Vivotek HD Outdoor IP PTZ cameras support the “Constrained bit
rate” mode in VSM as CBR. This feature, together with the “Dynamic intra frame period” feature
supported by the cameras, results in reduced average bit rates. In CBR mode, the “Estimated storage
(by configured settings)” for these cameras might be higher than the “Estimated Storage (by actual
observation)”.
Note Storage retention status warning are informational only, and do not affect or represent the health of the
camera.
To determine when a warning is displayed in the Storage Retention Dashboard, enter the amount of
deviation (as a percentage) between the actual and estimated storage for each video codec (Figure 16-5).
Email notifications can also be sent if this percentage is exceeded.
Procedure
Video analytics are used to analyze images for attributes and events that occur within the image. For
example, Luminance metadata that is generated for a video feed can be used perform Video Motion
Search using the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application.
Use Advanced Events to trigger an immediate one-time action when a specified event occurs. For
example, when motion starts or a contact is closed, the system can trigger an alert, aim the camera to a
PTZ preset position, or trigger an action on an external system.
Refer to the following topics for more information.
Contents
• Enabling Video Analytics, page 17-2
• Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7
Tip See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information to view
and analyze the video metadata tracks.
Note Metadata is retained on the system according to the Retention Time setting in the Analytics Setting page.
See Figure 17-2 for more information.
Metadata Requirements
The following requirements must be met to enable and view video analytics metadata.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A stand-alone server configured with the Metadata Server service.
• The server can be a physical or virtual machine.
• Only stand-alone Metadata servers are supported in this release. The server cannot run additional server
services.
• Cisco VSM Release 7.5 or higher (operating system RHEL6.9) is required.
Related Information
• Configuring Servers, page 9-1
• Understanding Server Services, page 9-3
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide
The server also requires an available server license. See Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1.
You must belong to a Cisco Video Surveillance User Group with permissions for the following:
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A camera template configured for analytics metadata.
For example, add the Luminance metadata track to record luminance metadata used to analyze motion events.
Note At least one camera must also be assigned to the template.
Related Information
• Adding and Editing Camera Templates, page 15-1
• Metadata Detailed Steps, page 17-4
To analyze metadata tracks (such Video Motion Search), the Cisco SASD desktop application must be
installed on a monitoring PC.
Related Information
• Understanding the Video Viewing Options, page 3-2
• Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide
Step 4 Add the server to the Operations Manager configuration as a Metadata Server (Service Type).
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers & Encoders.
• See the Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16 for instructions.
Step 5 Create a template with the analytic type enabled.
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Templates.
a. Select Cameras > Templates.
b. Edit or add a template (see the “Creating or Modifying a Template” section on page 15-3).
c. Click Analytics Settings (Figure 17-1).
d. Click the name or icon of a registered analytics metadata type to add it to enabled the top field
“Apply the following analytics metadata tracks”.
e. Click OK.
f. Save the template changes.
1 The registered analytics metadata types. Click the name or icon to add the item.
Each entry includes the following information:
• Name—The name represents the type of metadata that will be generated.
• Vendor—The company that provided the metadata service.
• Version—The metadata version, which defines the features and capabilities available in the service.
• Schema Version—The schema used by system integrators to send and receive analytics data.
• Description—More information about the metadata type, if available.
Tip Go to System Settings > Custom Data Management > Analytics Metadata to view the metadata types that are
registered in Cisco VSM. This information is read-only. You cannot update or delete the analytics metadata types.
2 The enabled analytics metadata types. Analytics types in this field will generate metadata tracks used to analyze the video
streams. Click the name or icon to remove and disable the metadata type.
Each entry includes the following information:
• Name—The name represents the type of metadata that will be generated.
• Retention Time (days)—The number of days the metadata will be retained on the system (and available for analytics).
Enter a number between 1 and 3650 (10 years). When the retention time expires, the metadata is deleted.
Note This information is read-only. You cannot update or delete the analytics metadata types.
• The Luminance metadata type is registered when a Metadata server is added to the Operations
Manager. Luminance metadata is used for post facto metadata generation and analysis.
• Camera apps can also have metadata types that are added to Cisco VSM when a camera app is
uploaded to the Cisco VSM Operations Manager. See Managing Camera Apps, page 19-1.
Configure advanced events for camera templates to apply the rules to multiple cameras, or for a custom
template to apply the trigger to a single camera.
This section includes the following topics:
• Configuration Overview, page 17-8
• Configuration Summary, page 17-9
• Trigger and Action Descriptions, page 17-9
• Configuring Soft Triggers, page 17-13
• Creating Custom Event Types and Sub Types, page 17-16
Note • Advanced events are different from device health events. See the “Device Status: Identifying Issues
for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for more information.
• Some cameras do not support sending motion or contact-closure events to a Redundant server. See
the “Configuring the Redundant and Failover Options” section on page 25-11 for more information.
Configuration Overview
Figure 17-2 describes the main elements of the Advanced Events configuration screen.
Tip To view the events that occur on a camera, go to the camera configuration page and select the Status >
Camera Events tabs. See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information.
Configuration Summary
Procedure
To configure Advanced Events for a template or camera, do the following:
Tip To view the events that occur on a camera, go to the camera configuration page and select the Status >
Camera Events tabs. See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information.
Note • For templates that are model-specific, only the triggers and actions supported by the camera model
are displayed. For example, triggers for Analytic, Camera App, Contact Closure, and Motion are
available only on cameras that support those features.
• If a generic template is used, all options are displayed. If a camera is configured with a trigger or
action that is not supported on that device, a “device capability mismatch” occurs. Remove the
configuration to clear the error. See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more
information.
Triggers—Table 17-3 describes the events that immediately trigger a one-time action.
Actions—Table 17-4 describes the resulting actions.
Tip See the Contact Closure settings described in the “General Settings” section on page 10-47 for
instructions to select a camera contact closure port.
Table 17-4 describes the action that can be associated with a trigger.
Action Description
Alert Generates an alert. For example, if a contact is opened, an alert is triggered.
Tip Motion alerts triggered using the Alert Notifications icon generate an alert for both motion
stop and start (see Recording Options in the “Streaming, Recording and Event Settings” section on
page 10-55). Use the Advanced Events alerts to trigger motion alerts only for motion stop or motion
start.
Note System integrators can add custom fields to alerts generated by a soft trigger event. See the Cisco
Video Surveillance API Programming Guide available on the Cisco Developers Network (CDN) for
more information.
Aim Camera Select the pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) preset that is triggered when the event occurs.
• PTZ Preset Number—Enter the PTZ preset number. All cameras associated with the template will use
this number, so the PTZ preset numbers for all cameras should be coordinated. For example, use PTZ
preset #5 to zoom all Lobby Doors cameras to the door. See the “Configuring PTZ Presets” section on
page 10-87.
• You can also view PTZ preset numbers by right clicking the camera video image. See the “Using Pan,
Tilt, and Zoom (PTZ) Controls” section on page 3-29).
• Aim Camera actions are assigned a access priority of 50. This setting cannot be changed. See the
“Defining the User Group PTZ Priority” section on page 10-85 for more information.
• The camera remains at the PTZ preset unless a PTZ tour is enabled or a user accesses the PTZ controls
Invoke URL Enter a valid Get or Post URL to trigger action on an external system. For example, if motion occurs at a
certain time, a URL can be invoked to lock a door on an external access control system.
Action Description
Record for The number of minutes that video should be recorded on the Media Server when the event occurs.
Some Time on
• Stop After (Min.)—The number of minutes to record.
Media Server
• Stream Number
– Select 1 for the primary stream.
– Select 2 for the secondary stream.
Notes
• Recordings include additional video that occurred before the event was triggered. This is determined
by the camera template Padding > Pre setting (see Streaming, Recording and Event Settings,
page 10-55). The post-buffer setting does not apply.
• Select Live and Recorded from the Record Audio option in the template to record audio.
• Economical Streaming is always enabled when Connected Edge Storage is enabled for on-camera
recordings. See Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording), page 20-11.
Record for Record video on a camera’s storage device when an event occurs.
Some Time on
• Enable Audio—Select this if the audio will also be recorded (on cameras that support audio).
Camera
• Stream Number
– Select 1 for the primary stream.
– Select 2 for the secondary stream.
See Record Events on the Camera’s Storage Device, page 20-21 for more information.
Push to Video Displays live or recorded video (from the camera that triggered the event) on all instances of a Video Wall.
Wall For example, if the lobby receptionists are all viewing the same Video Wall Lobby, then the video would be
replaced by video according to the following settings:
• Video Wall—The Video Wall where the video will be displayed. See the “Configuring Video Walls”
section on page 5-9 for more information.
• Live—Displays live video from the camera that triggered the event.
• Recorded—Displays recorded video of the event.
– Pre-Event—(recorded video only) the amount of seconds to include before the event began
– Loop/Post-Event—(recorded video only) plays recorded video of the event in a loop. Enter the
number of seconds of recorded video that should play after the event occurred.
• Stream Number—The video stream that will be displayed.
Note The Video Wall will rollback to the default view when the rollback time elapses. If a default view
and rollback time are not configured, then the event video pushed to the Video Wall will be
displayed indefinitely.
Note Select both Live and Recorded to display a 2-pane (1x2) Video Wall with both live and recorded
video.
Tip See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information on
viewing Video Walls, and changing the Video Wall view.
Action Description
Raise Alert to Send an alert to the Cisco Video Surveillance Federator (if installed). Only security alerts that are sent to
Federator the Federator can be viewed by Federator users.
See the following for more information:
• Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide
• Using Federator to Monitor Multiple Operations Managers, page 31-1
• Monitoring Device Health Using the Browser-Based Federator, page 31-33
Send Advisory Sends an advisory notification to third-party systems. Advisories are sent only to external systems that
subscribe to the messages using Cisco VSM APIs. These advisories do not appear in the Operations
Manager or Cisco SASD user interfaces.
Summary Steps
1. Create a Soft Trigger entry for a template (in Advanced Events).
For example, create a Soft Trigger entry “Door Open” with the resulting action “Aim Camera”. A
unique URL with the same name is created for each camera associated with that template.
2. Copy the URL for the Soft Trigger entry from the camera’s configuration page.
3. (Optional) Configure an external system to add additional informational fields to soft trigger alerts.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance API Programming Guide available on the Cisco Developers
Network (CDN) for more information.
4. Add the URL to the external system’s configuration.
5. Whenever the URL is posted by the external system, the Cisco VSM camera will perform the action.
Detailed Procedure
Step 2 Select the Soft Trigger and resulting action (Figure 17-3).
Tip To trigger multiple actions, click Add again to add an additional soft trigger entry.
f. Click OK to save the settings and close the Advanced Events window.
g. Click Save again to save the template changes.
Step 3 Copy the camera URL for use on the external system (Figure 17-4):
Figure 17-4 Copying Soft Trigger URLs from the Camera Configuration Page
a. Select Cameras and select the camera that to be triggered by the external system.
b. Click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
– The Soft Trigger URLs are displayed in the Camera Events table (Figure 17-4).
– An entry appears for each Soft Trigger configured in Step 1.
c. Click a URL to copy the Soft Trigger entry to the clipboard.
Step 4 (Optional) Configure an external system to add additional alert fields, see the Cisco Video Surveillance
API Programming Guide for more information.
Step 5 Configure the external system use the URL to trigger the camera action.
Tip • Soft Trigger alerts can be viewed and managed using a monitoring application such as the Cisco
Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information.
• System integrators can add custom fields to alerts generated by a soft trigger event. See the Cisco
Video Surveillance API Programming Guide available on the Cisco Developers Network (CDN) for
more information.
Tip Select an entry in the left pane to view a list of the templates where the event type is used.
External 3rd party sensors can be integrated into Cisco VSM to send events that trigger VSM actions,
such as recording video from a specific camera. External sensors are a type of device in Cisco VSM, and
are managed like cameras.
For example, a door sensors is added to Cisco VSM. When the door is opened, a Cisco VSM event is
generated that causes a camera pointed at that door to record video for 5 minutes.
Sensor types, sensor states and other details are defined by the 3rd party product, in cooperation with
Cisco Systems.. The following examples show sensor integration for the Identiv Connected Physical
Access Manager (ICPAM).
To integrate sensors, do the following:
• Add Sensor Types, page 18-1
• Add Sensor Templates, page 18-2
• Add or Import Sensors, page 18-2
Sensor Settings
Setting Description
Name A meaningful name, such as the door name “Main Lobby”.
Sensor Type The sensor type created in Add Sensor Types. For example: Door Sensor.
Sensor Unique Id The device’s Unique Id provided by the manufacturer, reseller, or
partner. This is defined by software that manages the 3rd party system
and can be any string or number format.
Vendor (Optional) The sensor vendor.
Install Location Click to select the location. See “Creating the Location Hierarchy” for
more information.
Associated Camera(s) Click Associate Cameras with Sensor and select the cameras that will
perform the actions for the sensor. Use thew filters to narrow the results,
if necessary. Select the camera(s) and click OK.
Primary Camera
Select the Primary Camera that will be used for actions that can be
performed on only a single camera. For example, Push to Video Wall.
If the template is associated with multiple cameras, the action will be
performed on the primary camera. By default, the first camera in the list
is the primary.
Actions that can be performed on multiple cameras will ignore the
primary camera setting.
Action Description
Delete Deletes the selected devices from the Operations Manager configuration.
Enable Enable the selected devices.
Disable Disable the selected devices.
Change Sensor Template Changes the template assigned to the devices.
See Add Sensor Templates for more information:
Change Location Change the location for the selected devices.
See Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1 for more information.
Change Sensor Type Change the Sensor Type for the selected devices.
See Add Sensor Types, page 18-1 for more information.
Change Cameras Associated Change the Media Server that manages the camera.
with Sensor
See Sensor Settings, page 18-3 for more information:
Step 7 Follow the onscreen instructions to enter or select additional input, if necessary.
Step 8 Refer to the Jobs page to view the action status.
• See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37.
Camera apps allow you to extend the functionality of cameras so they can also perform analytics and
other functions (in addition to sending raw video and audio). Although camera apps can be installed
directly on the camera, you can also use the Cisco Video Surveillance Operations Manager (release 7.6
and higher) to install and manage the apps on multiple cameras, and to configure actions triggered by
camera app events.
Note Use the camera interface to configure application-specific features and settings. See the camera or
camera app documentation for more information.
Refer to the following topics to manage camera apps using the Operations Manager:
• Prerequisites, page 19-2
– Requirements, page 19-2
– Supported Apps, page 19-4
– IP Cameras That Support Apps, page 19-4
– Obtaining and Installing App Licenses, page 19-5
– Obtaining Camera Apps, page 19-6
– Creating Custom Camera Apps, page 19-7
• Managing Camera Apps Using the Operations Manager, page 19-8
– Summary Steps, page 19-11
– Detailed Steps, page 19-14
– Viewing App Logs and Status, page 19-17
– Enabling an App When the App is Not Installed, page 19-24
– Disabling, De-installing and Deleting Apps, page 19-24
– Upgrading Camera Apps, page 19-28
• Troubleshooting Camera Apps, page 19-29
• Related Documentation, page 19-30
Prerequisites
Before you begin, review the following topics to ensure the requires licenses, app files, firmware, and
other requirements are met. You must complete these prerequisites before you can install and activate
camera apps using Cisco VSM.
• Requirements, page 19-2
• Supported Apps, page 19-4
• IP Cameras That Support Apps, page 19-4
• Obtaining and Installing App Licenses, page 19-5
• Obtaining Camera Apps, page 19-6
Requirements
Table 19-1 Camera App Requirements for Use With Cisco Video Surveillance
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
At least one camera that supports camera apps must be installed on the network and added to Cisco VSM.
• See the “IP Cameras That Support Apps” section on page 19-4.
The camera firmware must support camera apps.
• See the “IP Cameras That Support Apps” section on page 19-4.
Obtain and install the app license file.
The appropriate license must be installed in Cisco VSM Operations Manager before the app is enabled on the
camera template.
• See the “Obtaining and Installing App Licenses” section on page 19-5.
• If the app is free or does not require a license, this requirement does not apply.
Table 19-1 Camera App Requirements for Use With Cisco Video Surveillance (continued)
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
Obtain the app file.
The app file is uploaded to the Cisco VSM Operations Manager (and then installed on the camera(s) and
enabled in the camera template). See the following for more information:
• “Obtaining Cisco Apps” section on page 19-6. You must have a valid service contract and Cisco.com
account to obtain an app file.
• “Obtaining Third-Party Apps” section on page 19-6. Refer to the app provider documentation or website
for instructions to download the app.
Requirements to enable a camera app on a camera template:
Note Enabling a camera app on a template also enables the app on the cameras associated with that
template. The camera, however, must meet the following requirements, or the app will not be enabled
on the device.
• The camera model must support the app. For example, cameras that do not have microphones do not
support audio-only camera apps.
• The camera must have the minimum supported firmware version (or higher). See IP Cameras That
Support Apps, page 19-4.
• The app must be installed on the camera.
• Only one video app and one audio app can be enabled on the template.
• Audio must be supported by the camera model, if an audio app is enabled on the template.
• The secondary video stream must be Off in the camera template.
• Before the camera app is installed on a camera, the application SDK version compatibility check must
pass. This means that the application SDK major version must be equal to the camera SDK version (the
SDK version number is X.Y.Z, where X – is the major version number). This check is performed
automatically.
Supported Apps
Cisco offers the following apps for supported IP cameras. To obtain an app, contact your Cisco
representative.
Source Task
Cisco Licenses 1. Obtain Cisco license part number(s).
See Release Notes for Cisco Video Surveillance Manager
2. Obtain the camera app license file.
3. Install the license in Cisco VSM Operations Manager.
See Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1
Third party app 1. Refer to the app instructions and requirements to determine if a license
providers is required.
2. Obtain the camera app license file.
3. Install it in Cisco VSM Operations Manager.
See Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1
License requirements
A base license is required for each enabled multi-rule app and 1 rule. Additional incremental licenses
are required for each additional rule.
For example, if 4 rules are selected during installation, the Operations Manager will require 1 Base
license and 3 incremental licenses when activating the Camera App.
Procedure
Step 1 Open a web browser and go to the Cisco Video Surveillance IP Cameras software download page.
Step 2 Click the link for an IP camera series that supports apps (see IP Cameras That Support Apps, page 19-4).
For example: Cisco Video Surveillance 7000 Series IP Cameras
Step 3 Click your IP camera model in the list that appears on the right.
For example: Cisco Video Surveillance 7030 IP Camera.
Step 4 Click the IP Camera Applications and Utilities link near the top of the page.
Step 5 Click Download next to the app file that you want to obtain.
For example: Cisco Camera LUA Application version.
Step 6 In the Log In and Service Contract Required dialog box, click the Login button.
Step 7 In the Log In page, enter your Cisco.com user name and password, then click the Log In button.
Step 8 In the End User License Agreement dialog box, click the Cisco End User License Agreement link to
review the agreement, then click the Accept License Agreement button to continue.
Step 9 Follow the on-screen prompts to save the license file to your local system or to a system that can be
accessed from the IP camera user interface.
Overview
To configure camera apps, use the Cisco VSM Operations Manager to install and manage the apps on
multiple cameras. Use the camera web-based user interface to configure the application-specific settings
(Figure 19-1).
Note Camera apps can only be managed by a single Operations Manager. Always delete the app and camera
from the first Operations Manager before adding it to another system. See Troubleshooting Camera
Apps, page 19-29
Related Information
• Cisco IP Camera Apps Reference Guide—describes how to configure the application-specific
settings for supported apps, and how to install and manage camera apps using the camera web user
interface, if the camera has not been added to Cisco VSM.
• Camera documentation—see the documentation for the camera model for device installation and
management information.
Procedure
Use the following summary to access the application-specific settings on a camera that supports apps.
See the Cisco IP Camera Apps Reference Guide for more information.
Tip The Application Manager pages allow you to install or uninstall an app license, camera
application, and start or stop an application. These features are disabled if the camera is added
to Cisco VSM (use the Operations Manager to manage the camera’s apps).
Summary Steps
Summary Steps
Review the following high-level steps to install and configure camera apps using Cisco VSM.
Task Example
Step 1 Obtain the camera app license file and
install it in Cisco VSM Operations
Manager, if required by the app.
See Obtaining and Installing App
Licenses, page 19-5.
Task Example
Step 3 Upload the camera app to the Operations
Manager.
Task Example
Step 5 Verify that the app is installed on the
camera.
Detailed Steps
The following procedure provides additional details to install and configure camera apps using Cisco
VSM.
Procedure
Step 6 (Optional) Verify that the app is installed on the camera. See the Viewing the Apps Installed on a
Camera, page 19-18
Step 7 Enable the app on the camera template (Figure 19-5).
Note Enabling a camera app on a template also enables the app on the cameras associated with that
template. The camera, however, must meet certain requirements, or the app will not be enabled
on the device. See Requirements, page 19-2: “Requirements to enable a camera app on a camera
template”.
Step 8 Configure the Advanced Events for the camera app (Figure 19-6).
When a camera app event occurs, a resulting action can be triggered. For example, a custom camera
application could be added to trigger an event when a certain color appears in the video frame. See Using
Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7.
a. From the Cameras page, click Templates and click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
b. Select Advanced Events.
c. Click Add to create an entry. You can create multiple entries for different camera apps, or for
different types of events available on a single camera app.
d. Define the Pattern:
• Viewing the Camera App Error Log for a Specific Camera, page 19-21
• Viewing the Camera Events Caused by a Camera App, page 19-23
Procedure
Field Description
Name The app name.
Vendor The company that produces or supplies the app.
Version The app version number.
Up to 2 versions of the same app can be installed, but only one can be
active (running).
Field Description
Status The status of the app on the camera:
• Installed—the app is installed on the camera, but is inactive.
• Running—the app is active. Apps are activated on the template to
which the camera is assigned.
• Stopped—The app was previously active on the camera, but was
deactivated.
VSOM Known App Indicates if the app is recognized by the Operations Manager as a valid
and supported app.
Step 5 (Optional) To uninstall an app, select the app and click Uninstall. The app must be in the Installed or
Stopped status. Active apps must first be deactivated.
Note Enabling a camera app on a template also enables the app on the cameras associated with that template.
The camera, however, must meet certain requirements, or the app will not be enabled on the device. See
Requirements, page 19-2: “Requirements to enable a camera app on a camera template”.
Procedure
Field Description
Name The app name.
Vendor The company that produces or supplies the app.
Version The app version number.
Status The job status.
See Understanding Job Status, page 27-39 for more information.
Description A summary of the job results.
For example, the job success or failure.
Tip The camera status can be impacted when the camera is added to Cisco Video SurveillanceCisco VSM.
See Camera App Status When Cameras are Added to Cisco VSM, page 19-10.
Procedure
Step 9 Use the information to resolve is issue. For example, if a camera is assigned to a template where a camera
app is enabled, but the app is not installed on the camera, an error will occur. To resolve the issue, install
the appropriate camera app on the camera.
Related Information
See the following for more information:
• Camera App Status When Cameras are Added to Cisco VSM, page 19-10
• Camera Status, page 10-74
• Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
• Understanding Events and Alerts, page 27-2
Procedure
Step 6 Select the event type, such as Motion Start. See Trigger and Action Descriptions, page 17-9.
Disabling an App
To disable a camera app, remove the app from the camera template. The app functionality will be
disabled on any cameras assigned to that template (Figure 19-13).
Note The camera app will still be installed on the device, but non-operational unless the camera is assigned
to another template where the app is active.
The cameras apps enabled on a template will also be enabled on all cameras assigned to that template.
The camera hardware and firmware must support the app features.
Procedure
Note The camera app must be deactivated on the selected cameras before it can be uninstalled.
You can uninstall a camera app from one camera at a time. To uninstall additional apps, repeat the
following procedure.
Procedure
Step 1 Deactivate the camera app on the camera template, as described in Disabling an App, page 19-24.
Step 2 Select System Settings > Camera Apps.
Step 3 Select a camera app to highlight the app name (Figure 19-14).
The Installed Cameras list displays the cameras where the app is currently installed.
Step 4 Click Uninstall.
Procedure
Step 1 Deactivate the camera app from all templates, as described in Disabling an App, page 19-24.
Step 2 Uninstall the camera app from all cameras, as described in Uninstalling an App From a Camera,
page 19-25.
Step 3 Select System Settings > Camera Apps.
Step 4 Select one or more apps (Figure 19-15).
Step 5 Verify that there are no cameras listed in the Installed Cameras list.
Step 6 Click Delete.
Usage Notes
• You can upload multiple versions of the app to the Operations Manager, and install up to 2 versions
on the camera, but only one app version can be active on a template or camera.
• When you activate the new version, the old version is automatically uninstalled from the camera.
• Advanced Event configurations must be deleted and re-added. See Configure the Advanced Events
for the camera app (Figure 19-6)., page 16.
• The template and event/trigger processing is stopped and restarted during the upgrade process
(while the old app is deactivated and uninstalled, and the new app is activated). Event and trigger
processing may be delayed or interrupted.
• Up to 2 camera apps can be upgraded at a time (by activating the new versions in the template). Wait
for the upgrade to complete before upgrading additional apps.
Procedure
See Detailed Steps, page 19-14 for instructions to perform the following tasks.
Step 1 Upload the new version of the camera app to the Operations Manager.
Multiple app versions can be uploaded to the Operations Manager.
Step 2 Install the new camera app version on a camera.
A maximum of 2 versions of the same app can be installed on a camera.
Step 3 Activate the new app version on a template, as described in Detailed Steps, page 19-14.
When the new camera app version is activated, the old app version is automatically uninstalled on the
camera.
Recovery Procedure.
Procedure
Step 1 If any camera app licenses are installed on the device, deinstall those licenses using the camera UI.
Step 2 Obtain the Operations Manager license(s). See the Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1.
Step 3 Install and manage the camera app licenses. See Managing Camera Apps Using the Operations Manager,
page 19-8 for more information.
Workaround
1. Disable all video apps that are running on the device.
2. Change the configuration, as necessary:
a. Configure the custom template with high primary stream resolution or a frame rate higher than
15fps.
b. Enable the secondary video stream.
3. Enable all required camera apps in the camera’s custom template.
See CSCuq09351 for more information.
Related Documentation
To install and manage camera apps directly on the camera, see the Cisco IP Camera Apps Reference
Guide.
Cameras that support on-device storage can be used to record video on the device, rather than directly
to a Cisco Media Server. This feature is typically used if the camera is offline (such as on a bus), or as
a method to reduce network bandwidth usage (since the video can be recorded on the camera and
transferred to the Media Server only when necessary).
Refer to the following topics for more information.
Contents
• Overview, page 20-3
– Deployment Scenarios, page 20-3
– Copy Options, page 20-5
– Usage Notes, page 20-6
– Requirements, page 20-7
– Supported IP Cameras (On-Device Storage), page 20-8
• Formatting Camera SD Cards, page 20-8
– SD Card Usage Notes, page 20-8
– Formatting the SD Card for a Single Camera, page 20-8
– Formatting the SD Cards in Multiple Cameras (Bulk Actions), page 20-9
• Configuring Connected Edge Storage, page 20-11
– Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording), page 20-11
– Auto-Merge Recordings (Automatically Copy All Recording), page 20-15
– Copy Continuous Recordings Triggered by an Event, page 20-17
• Manually Copy Camera Recordings, page 20-18
• Record Events on the Camera’s Storage Device, page 20-21
• Understanding the Recording Options, page 20-24
– Economical Streaming, page 20-25
– Connected Edge Storage, page 20-26
– Recording Options, page 20-26
• Viewing Camera Storage Job Status, page 20-27
• Timezone Best Practices, page 20-28
Overview
• Deployment Scenarios, page 20-3
• Copy Options, page 20-5
• Usage Notes, page 20-6
• Requirements, page 20-7
• Supported IP Cameras (On-Device Storage), page 20-8
Deployment Scenarios
Connected Edge Storage is typically used when the camera is off network, or to save network bandwidth.
Refer to the following use cases for more information:
• Network Bandwidth Savings, page 20-3
• Off-Network Cameras, page 20-4
This deployment scenario is useful when it is not critical to continuously monitor or record video.
Off-Network Cameras
Cameras that support on-device video storage can save recordings on the camera, and copy them to the
Cisco VSM system at a later time. This feature is typically used when the camera is out of network range
while recording.
For example, in Figure 20-2 a bus equipped with an IP (network) camera can save video recordings to
the camera even when the bus is transporting passengers. When the bus returns to the depot, and is again
in network range, the recordings can be copied to the Media Server that supports the camera. The copy
action can be performed automatically when the bus camera rejoins the network, or an operator can
manually trigger the copy action using the Operations Manager interface.
Figure 20-2 “Connected Edge Storage”: Camera Recording on Device and Copy to a Media Server
Copy Options
Video that is saved to the camera’s SD card can be copied to the Cisco Media Server so it can be viewed
and analyzed using the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD)
application.
• For continuous recordings, the video can be copied manually based on a start and end time, or
automatically copied when an event occurs. Video can also be merged based on the camera template
recording schedule.
• Event-based recordings (such as motion events) can be manually copied from the camera to the
Media Server.
Usage Notes
• When on-camera recording is enabled, video is saved to the camera storage without motion or
advanced events. These events are added (post-processed) after the video is copied to the Media
Server. Video is recorded on the camera based on the camera template recording schedule. For
example, if the camera template schedule specifies recordings from 8 am to 11 am, then only the
continuous recording for those times will be recorded on the camera and available to be copied to
the Media Server.
• Recorded video is groomed according to the “Retain continuous recordings” camera template
setting (see the “Streaming, Recording and Event Settings” section on page 10-55). However, “Gap”
video (video that is initially stored only on the camera and later manually or automatically copied
to the Media Server) is considered event video, and is retained according to the “Retain event
recordings” setting.
– For example, if the “Retain continuous recordings” setting is 1 day, then video older than one
day is automatically groomed (deleted).
– If the “Retain event recordings” setting is 10 days, then the “gap” video copied from the camera
to the Media Server is retained for 10 days. Those portions of the video are only removed if
older than 10 days.
• Only recording gaps on the Media Server greater than 5 seconds are filled by the camera recordings.
Recording gaps smaller than 5 seconds are not copied.
• One storage copy job is performed per device at a time (a job must finish before a new job can
begin). Up to 10 copy jobs can be performed simultaneously.
• When the storage media (such as an SD card) is full on a Cisco camera, the oldest 5 minutes of video
is deleted to create space for new video. This “grooming” policy varies for non-Cisco cameras. Refer
to the camera documentation for more information. For example, some cameras may stop recording
if the recording media is full.
• Select Device Settings > Format SD Card to reformat an SD card that is installed in the device.
You can also reformat or replace the SD cards directly on the camera. See Formatting Camera SD
Cards, page 20-8.
Requirements
Table 20-2 Camera Storage Requirements
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A network camera that supports on-device video storage.
• See the “Supported IP Cameras (On-Device Storage)” section on page 20-8.
• See the camera documentation for more information and instructions to enable device storage and format
the SD storage cards installed in the device, if necessary.
The network camera(s) must be installed and configured on the Cisco VSM system, and be in Enabled: OK
state when in network range.
See the following related information:
• “Adding and Managing Cameras” section on page 10-1
• “Camera Status” section on page 10-74
• “Adding and Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1
The camera NTP setting must be properly configured and the same as the Cisco VSM system clock.
See the following related information:
• “Understanding NTP Configuration”
• Time Settings, page 9-14
• The camera documentation.
HA Requirements:
• The Media Server where the recordings are copied must be in the Primary or Redundant state.
• Video cannot be copied to a server in the Failover state.
See the “Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers” section on page 25-4 for more
information.
A Cisco VSM user account that belongs to a User Group with manage permissions for the following:
• To enable camera storage and Auto-Merge Recordings (automatic copying): Manage permissions for
Templates is required.
• To manually trigger a one-time copy action: Manage permissions for Cameras is required.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Camera recording must be enabled in the Operations Manager camera template.
See the “Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording)” section on page 20-11.
Step 5 (Optional) Select the filter Requires Formatting to only display cameras with an SD card that require
formatting (the cameras are in critical state).
Step 6 Click Search.
Step 7 Select the cameras from the results.
Step 8 Choose Bulk Actions > Format SD Card.
Step 9 Click Yes to verify.
Step 10 Wait for the jobs to complete. To view the formatting status, see Service Jobs (Cameras), page 10-77.
Step 11 If the format fails, see the “SD Card Usage Notes” section on page 20-8 for possible reasons.
Procedure
Step 1 Complete the requirements to install and configure the network cameras.
• See the “Requirements” section on page 20-7.
Step 2 Log in to the Operations Manager.
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Templates.
• See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Step 3 Select Cameras > Templates to add or edit a template (Adding and Editing Camera Templates,
page 15-1).
Step 4 Configure the template for continuous recording, or no recording, based on how recordings will be
copied from the camera to the Cisco Media Server (Figure 20-5).
a. Click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
b. In the 24x7 Recording options, select the following based on how the video will be copied to the
Cisco Media Server.
• Select No Recording if you will manually copy video from the camera to the Media Server.
• Select a continuous recording option if you will automatically copy video from the camera to the
Media Server. This includes:
– Continuous Recording—Record video in a continuous loop.
– Record on Motion and Continuous Recording—Record continuously and mark any
motion events. This option is available only if motion detection is supported by the camera.
Tip When recordings are triggered by an event, the video for that event (including the pre-buffer
video) is saved to the camera and the Media Server simultaneously. The pre-buffer video is not
included if the Media Server is the Failover server (see Understanding Failover, page 25-6).
Step 5 Enable Connected Edge Storage (camera recording) for Video Stream A or B (Figure 20-6).
This allows recorded video to be stored on the camera. Camera video storage can be enabled for a single
stream. The video from that stream is copied to the Media Server.
To include audio from supported cameras, the Live and Recorded option must be selected in the Record
Audio field on the camera template page (when Continuous or Economical Mode is selected).
a. Click Advanced Storage.
b. Select the Recording Options tab.
c. Under Connected Edge Storage, select Enable Continuous Recording for video stream A or
Stream B (Figure 20-6).
– This option enables recording on the camera (seeSupported IP Cameras (On-Device Storage),
page 20-8). It appears only if the device supports on-device storage and can be enabled for a
single stream only.
– This also enables Economical Streaming on the same stream. See Economical Streaming,
page 20-25.
d. Select one of the following additional options to automatically copy video from the camera to the
Cisco Media Server.
– Only one of these options can be selected.
– If neither option is selected, video is not automatically copied. See Copy Continuous
Recordings Triggered by an Event and Manually Copy Camera Recordings for additional
options.
Auto-Merge (Optional) Automatically copies a continuous recording from the camera to the Media Server when
Recordings the camera and server are connected.
• This option is available only if a continuous recording option is configured for the server template
in Step 4.
• See Auto-Merge Recordings (Automatically Copy All Recording), page 20-15 for more
information.
Use this option to automatically fill in any recording gaps on the Media Server (according to the
camera template’s recording schedule) when the camera and Media Server are connected on the
network.
Schedule Copy To (Optional) Automatically copies the recordings from the camera to the Media Server during a
Server scheduled time.
Use this option to copy recordings at a set period of time, such as between midnight and 6 a.m. when
a train is not in service.
• Start Copying At—Time when the copy process will start.
• Stop Copying At—Time when the copy process will end. Any video not completed at this time
will not be included.
• Recording Duration/Time Range—the amount of video to copy, such as the last 6 hours of
available video. Select Time Based to define a specific time of video
– Recording Start— (Time based only) The beginning time of video to be copied.
– Recording Stop—(Time based only) The end time of video to be copied.
Step 8 (Optional) View the Camera Storage service jobs (see Viewing Camera Storage Job Status, page 20-27).
Usage Notes
When on-camera recording is enabled, video is saved to the camera storage without motion or advanced
events. These events are added (post-processed) after the video is copied to the Media Server. Video is
copied to the Media Server based on the camera template recording schedule. For example, if the camera
template schedule specifies recordings from 8 am to 11 am, only continuous recordings for those times
will be copied from the camera to the Media Server.
Procedure
Step 1 Complete the requirements to install and configure the network cameras.
• See the “Requirements” section on page 20-7.
Step 2 Enable camera storage on the camera template.
• See the “Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording)” section on page 20-11.
Step 3 Enable “Auto-Merge Recordings” (Figure 20-8).
a. Click Advanced Storage.
b. Select the Recording Options tab.
c. Select Enable Continuous Recording for Stream A or B.
d. Select Auto-Merge Recordings to automatically copy video recordings from the camera storage to
the Media Server.
This option is available only when a continuous recording option is configured for the template. See
Step 4 in the “Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording)” section on page 20-11.
e. Click Save to save and close the Recording Options.
Note • Camera storage can be enabled for a single stream only (either stream A or B).
• Economical Streaming is automatically selected on the same stream that has the Enable
Continuous Recording enabled. See the “Economical Streaming” section on page 20-25 for more
information.
Tip See Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7 for more information.
Procedure
Step 1 Complete the requirements to install and configure the network cameras.
• See the “Requirements” section on page 20-7.
Step 2 Enable camera storage on the camera template.
• See the “Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording)” section on page 20-11.
Step 3 Select a camera template.
Step 4 Click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
Step 5 Click Advanced Events.
Step 6 Click Add.
Step 7 Select a Trigger to define the event that triggers recording (see Table 17-3 for more information).
• (Optional) Select a Timeslot when the event should trigger an action (see the “Defining Schedules”
section on page 14-1 to create timeslots).
Step 8 Under Resulting Action, select Record for some time to Media Server and enter the number of minutes
that video should be recorded when the event occurs (see Table 17-4 for more information).
Step 9 Click OK to save the Advanced Event changes.
Step 10 Click Save to save the template changes.
Step 11 Add or edit cameras and assign them to the template (Figure 20-7).
See also Adding and Managing Cameras, page 10-1.
Usage Notes
• You must belong to a user group with Copy From Edge Storage permission. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
• One storage copy job is performed per device at a time (a job must finish before a new job can
begin). Up to 10 copy jobs can be performed simultaneously.
• Continuous recordings—To include audio from supported cameras, the Live and Recorded option
must be selected in the Record Audio field on the camera template page.
Procedure
Step 1 Complete the requirements to install and configure the network cameras.
• See the “Requirements” section on page 20-7.
Step 2 Configure the camera template:
See “Enable Connected Edge Storage (On-Camera Recording)” section on page 20-11.
a. Configure the camera template for No Recording.
b. To include audio from supported cameras, select the Live and Recorded option in the Record Audio
field.
a. Select Advanced Storage > Recording Options and select Enable Continuous Recording.
b. Save the template changes and assign cameras to the template.
Step 3 Copy the recording from the camera to the Cisco Media Server (Figure 20-11):
a. Click Cameras.
b. Select a camera.
c. Select Device Settings > Copy Camera Recordings in the camera configuration page
(Figure 20-10).
d. Select the start and end times based on the “Recordings Available” on the camera.
e. Click Copy.
The Copy Recordings screen (Figure 20-11) includes the following information:
1 The recordings that currently exist on the Media Server for the camera.
• Oldest Recording Time—The oldest time stamp for all recordings (from the selected camera) on the Media Server.
• Latest Recording Time—The latest time stamp for all recordings (from the selected camera) on the Media Server.
• Gaps Count—The number of recording gaps in the range. For example, a gap can occur when the camera is out of
range and recordings are not copied to the Media Server. Gaps can also occur if only motion events are recorded.
These gaps can be filled in when video is transferred from the camera.
2 Displays the recordings that are available from the camera.
• Continuous recordings typically display a long period between the start and end times.
• Motion events typically display multiple short entries.
3 A history of previous copy jobs. Double-click an entry to view job details.
• Rows in the job history table are read-only, except rows with a Failed status.
• Select rows with a Failed status to open a popup window that displays the failure reason of that copy job.
See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37 for more information
4 Select the start and end times of the recordings to be copied to the Media Server.
• Any available recordings on the camera that fall within this range will be copied.
• Existing recordings are skipped. Only gaps in the existing Media Server archive are copied (filled in).
• See the “Timezone Best Practices” section on page 20-28 for more information on using timezones.
Usage Notes
The following are not supported in this release:
• Scheduled copy of all camera recordings to the Media Server is not supported in this release.
• Time-slot based camera recordings and scheduled recording on camera for events is not supported
in this release.
• Data must be copied or backed-up and the SD card must be formatted while switching from event
based recording to continuous recording (or vice versa) on camera storage. This is a camera
limitation.
Procedure
Step 1 Complete the requirements to install and configure the network cameras.
• See the “Requirements” section on page 20-7.
Step 2 Log in to the Operations Manager.
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Templates.
• See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Step 3 Configure the required event type on the camera.
See Supported Event Types.
Step 4 Configure the template.
a. Select Cameras > Templates and select a template.
b. Click the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
f. Under Trigger select a supported trigger type, such as Motion Started or stopped (Figure 20-12).
See Supported Event Types and Table 17-3 for more information.
g. Select Enable Audio if audio should also be recorded.
h. Click OK to save the Advanced Event changes.
i. Click Save to save the template changes.
Step 5 Add or edit cameras and assign them to the template.
See also Adding and Managing Cameras, page 10-1.
Step 6 Wait for motion events to be recorded to the camera SD card.
Step 7 Copy the recordings from the camera to the Cisco Media Server (Figure 20-11):
a. Click Cameras.
b. Select a camera.
a. Select Device Settings > Copy Camera Recordings in the camera configuration page
(Figure 20-13).
b. Enter a valid time range (start and end times) and click Search.
c. Select the recordings
d. Click Copy.
See Manually Copy Camera Recordings, page 20-18 for more information.
Economical Streaming
Economical Streaming is used to reduce the network bandwidth used by cameras. By default, all cameras
stream video continuously, even if that video is not being viewed. The Economical Streaming option
(Figure 20-14) places the primary or secondary stream in suspended mode, meaning that video is only
streamed when requested by a user, or if an event (such as a motion or advanced event) is configured to
record video.
Note By default, Economical Streaming is deselected and video is streamed at all times and is instantly
available for viewing or recording. But when Economical Streaming is enabled, there is a short delay
when video is requested by a user or an event. This is because video is not being streamed continuously,
but must start and be sent to the user or storage device when the request occurs.
Recording Requirements
• If motion events or Advanced Events are configured to “Record for some time”, the Padding
pre-buffer for the camera template must be greater than 0 (Padding, is the number of seconds of
recording that should be included before and after the event occurs. See Streaming, Recording and
Event Settings, page 10-55).
– The pre-buffer (Padding) ensures that video recorded in the camera during the delay in setting
up the stream is also copied to the Media Server. This prevents to prevent any loss of video.
– The post buffer (Padding) is not included. Recording stops when the Record for Some time
Duration is reached. When recording stops, the video stream is suspended again.
• If Connected Edge Storage is enabled, event video is automatically saved to both the camera storage
device and to the Media Server. The camera must be on the network. Cameras that are off the
network, such as a camera on a bus or other remote location, will copy video to the camera storage
device only.
• Scheduled recordings can also be configured with Economical Streaming enabled. Streaming is
automatically begins when the recording is scheduled.
Supported Configurations
• Stream A can be economical ONLY if it also being recorded at the edge (see Understanding the
Recording Options, page 20-24).
• Stream B can be economical with or without being recorded at the edge.
Not Supported
Economical Streaming is not supported in the following configurations:
• Both Stream A and Stream B are sent to the Primary server.
• Both Stream A and Stream B are sent to both the Primary and Redundant servers.
Usage Notes
If a stream is configured to record only on event and the camera has a critical alert, then recording during
an event is aborted. You can manually download the missing video (from the alert start time) from the
camera storage, and then clear the event.
Recording Options
• iFrame Only for H264/MPEG—Use the iFrame format only when recording H264/MPEG video.
• Lower framerate for JPEG—Specify a lower frame rate to reduce the bandwidth, processing, and
storage requirements of video recorded from Stream B. A lower framerate number requires less
network and server resources, but results in lower quality video.
• Smart Stream Selection—Merges the recording from 2 streams so the higher resolution video from
Stream A can be viewed for events, while the lower-resolution video from Stream B can be saved
for continuous recording. See Merging Video Streams (Smart Stream Selection), page 15-11 for
more information.
Notes:
• Audio backups are displayed as a separate job.
• A job is created for each 2 hours of audio or video.
• Click Cancel Pending Jobs to cancel all pending jobs. To cancel a single job, select the job and
click Cancel Job.
Best Practice
The best practice when specifying the time range to copy camera recordings is to avoid the one hour
during the timezone switch-over. Specify a start time before the timezone switch-over and specify the
end time after the timezone switch-over.
Example 1
On 03/10/2013 02:00 ST-to-DST switch-over, when moving the clock forward by one hour, copy
2-minute of camera recordings starting one minute before the switch-over and ending one minute after
the switch-over.
1. Specify the start time at 03/10/2013 01:59:00
2. Specify the end time at 03/10/2013 03:01:00
Example 2
On 11/04/2013 02:00 DST-to-ST switch-over, when moving the clock backward by one hour, copy
one-hour and 2-minute of camera recordings starting one minute before the switch-over and ending one
minute after the switch-over.
1. Specify the start time at 11/04/2013 01:59:00
2. Specify the end time at 11/04/2013 02:01:00
Example 1
03/10/2013 02:05:00
The one hour between 02:00:00 and 02:59:59 is not represented because 02:00 is moved forward to
03:00 during the ST-to-DST timezone switch-over. In this case, 02:05:00 is represented as 03:05:00, and
it falls into the DST timezone.
If you add a “Standard Time” modifier to the “03/10/2013 02:05:00”, the system will subtract one hour
from “03/10/2013 03:05:00”. The result of this subtraction is “03/10/2013 01:05:00” in standard time.
Example 2
03/10/2013 02:15:00
The time “03/10/2013 02:15:00” is 15-minute after the 02:00 ST-to-DST switch-over, and it falls into
the DST timezone. It would be represented as “03/10/2013 03:15:00”.
If you add a “Daylight Saving Time” modifier to the “03/10/2013 02:15:00”, because it is already in the
DST timezone, no modification is applied, and the time is sent to the Media Server for copying camera
recordings.
Example 3
03/10/2013 01:58:00 to 03/10/2013 03:02:00
To copy a 4-minute camera recording starting from 2 minutes before the ST-to-DST switch-over and
ending at 2 minutes after the ST-to-DST switch-over, specify the time range start-time “03/10/2013
01:58:00” and end-time “03/10/2013 03:02:00” without selecting the timezone selector on both.
Topic Description
Configuring Continuous, Scheduled, Describes how to configure video recordings to occur automatically. The recordings
and Motion Recordings, page 15-7 can occur continuously in a loop (for example, the past 30 minutes), or according to
a schedule (such as Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.). In either case, recording can
occur for the entire time, or only when triggered by a motion event.
Using Advanced Events to Trigger Describes how to trigger a recording when a variety of events occur. For example,
Actions, page 17-7 when a contact is opened or closed, when a camera analytic trigger occurs, or when a
soft trigger is received. You can define how long to record when the event occurs, and
whether to record the primary or secondary stream.
Enabling On-Demand Recording, Describes how to enable the On Demand Recording option when a user right-clicks
page 5-14 a camera’s live image.
Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and You can also use Cisco SASD to copy the recordings from a camera to the Media
Security Desktop User Guide Server.
In release 7.9, each video camera can be associated with a SIP end-point, such as a phone near the
camera. A Cisco SASD user who is monitoring video from that camera can then click the phone icon
to call the end-point.
This feature allows voice calls to be placed to different voice endpoints for each camera. If the Cisco IP
camera has the SIP App installed, users can also place a voice call to the camera.
For example, Cisco SASD users can place IP calls using SIP applications such as Cisco Jabber or Skype.
This can be useful where the person monitoring video needs to quickly communicate with a another
person or location. For example, an aide monitoring a patient room can click the icon to talk to the
nurses station.
To enable this, administrators must create custom field that allow the camera to be configured with the
appropriate SIP protocol, and URI address of the recipient.
Note Placing a voice call to a Cisco IP camera requires special configuration using the Cisco Unified
Communications Manager (CallManager). See the CallManager documentation for more information.
Requirements
Before you begin, the following requirements must be complete:
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
You must belong to a User Group with manage permissions for Dial SIP.
See Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1 for more information.
A video or voice client that supports SIP installed on the SASD client and recipient workstation.
For example, Cisco Jabber.
Define the SIP protocol used by the video or voice application that will be installed on the Cisco SASD clients.
The supported protocols include the following:
• SIP—To place a video call. For example, using the Cisco Jabber application.
• CiscoTel—(Default) To place a voice call. For example, using Cisco Jabber.
• TEL—To place a video call. For example, using the Skype application.
Note If the protocol is not specified, then CiscoTel is used.
Define the addresses (URI) that will be called using the voice or video applications installed on your Cisco
SASD clients.
For example, usernames, email addresses, or phone numbers.
Procedure
f. (Optional) For Appear In Bulk Action, select Yes to display the custom field and value for each
camera in the bulk actions page.
g. (Optional) For User Access Filter, select Yes to allow admins to add the field to user groups. The
maximum number is 5.
h. Click Save.
Tip Preview shows how the field will appear in the camera configuration page.
Procedure
Procedure
Procedure
Step 1 Install and launch an IP video or voice client on the Cisco SASD workstation. For example, Cisco Jabber
or Skype.
Step 2 Log in to the Cisco SASD application and select a video viewing workspace.
Step 3 Click the phone icon .
Step 4 Follow the on screen prompts to complete the connection to the configured person or location.
If a server, camera or encoder is added to Cisco VSM with duplicate settings, such as a duplicate IP
address, an error can occur. Review the following information to understand how to avoid, resolve, or
allow such conflicts:
• Devices with Duplicate IP Addresses, page 22-1
• Conflicts During Camera Discovery, page 22-2
• Allowing Duplicate Camera or Encoder IP Addresses, page 22-2
• Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3
• Resolving ID Mismatch Errors When Changing Camera IP Addresses, page 22-6
Note Settings such as name, template, location, media-server associations are configurations in the
Operations Manager and are not merged or overwritten by discovered settings.
Documentation Description
General System Settings, page 29-2 Enable duplicate IP addresses
Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide Understand how to design and deploy Cisco VSM using
duplicate IP addresses.
Requirements
Before you begin Create a Custom Port Plan to ensure that each device will have a valid and unique port
number. In addition, all of the following requirements must be complete.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
The network router is configured for PAT.
Related Documentation
• See the router documentation for more information, and to verify that the router
supports PAT.
The following system settings are turned on in Operations Manager.
• Allow duplicate IP address
• Allow Custom Port configuration
Related Documentation
• General System Settings
The camera or encoder model must support PAT/custom ports.
Related Documentation
• The device documentation
• The Release Notes for your Cisco VSM release
Configure the custom port numbers on the camera or encoder.
Each device must be configured with a valid and unique port number.
Related Documentation
• The device documentation
• Create a Custom Port Plan
• Also see the Axis and Onvif device documentation to determine custom camera support for your
model.
Summary Steps
1. Configure the network router for PAT.
2. Create a Custom Port Plan to ensure each camera or encoder has a unique port number.
3. Configure the unique port numbers on the device using the device UI.
4. Enable custom ports in the Operations Manager.
5. Add or edit the cameras and encoders with a custom port number.
Detailed Steps
Step 1 Configure the network router for Port Address Translation (PAT).
See your router documentation for more information.
Step 2 Create a Custom Port Plan to ensure each device has a unique port number.
Step 3 Configure the unique port numbers on the device using the device UI. For example:
• Axis cameras—The RTP port range and multicast settings are configured in the device UI under
System Options > Network > RTP.
• Cisco cameras—The Video and Audio source ports are configured in the device UI under Setup >
Streaming.
• Cisco encoders— Check the encoder documentation for more details on configuring the RTP video
and audio ports.
See the device documentation for more information.
Step 4 Enable custom port configuration in Cisco VSM:
a. Log in to the Operations Manager.
b. Choose System Settings > Settings.
c. Select Allow duplicate IP address. This setting is also required to enable custom ports.
d. Select Allow Custom Port configuration.
e. Click Save.
Step 5 Configure the custom camera ports for each camera or encoder in Cisco VSM using one of the following
methods:
Method Description
Add the cameras Port entry fields for HTTP, HTTPS and/or RTSP are only displayed if the device model supports
or encoders PAT/custom ports and custom ports are enabled in Operations Manager (Step 4).
manually
The same IP address can be entered for multiple camera as long as the custom port numbers are unique.
See Manually Adding Cameras, page 10-8.
Edit a camera or Custom port fields are displayed in the camera configuration page General > Settings tab under Access
encoder Information. These fields are displayed if the camera model supports PAT/custom ports and custom ports
are enabled in Operations Manager (Step 4).
See General Settings, page 10-47 for more information.
Replace a If a camera is replaced by a model that supports custom ports, entry fields for HTTP, HTTPS and/or RTSP
camera ports are displayed.
If a camera is replaced by a model that does not support custom ports, then any custom port configuration
is deleted and the default port numbers are used for HTTP (80), HTTPS (443) and RTSP (554).
See Replacing a Camera, page 10-103.
CSV import Optional fields for custom HTTP, HTTPS and/or RTSP ports can be included in the CSV file.
Import will fail if multiple devices are added with the same IP address and the same port number.
If the camera or encoder model does not support PAT/custom ports then any port values included in the CSV
file are ignored and the default port numbers are used: HTTP (80), HTTPS (443) and RTSP (554).
See Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File, page 10-20.
Note • Medianet cameras must be configured for DHCP. Cameras that do not support Medianet can only be
added using a static IP address. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Design Guide and for
more information.
• The following scenarios can also occur for cameras configured with hostnames, if the DNS entry
does not update with the correct hostname to IP address mapping.
Cisco Cameras
The new IP address is automatically updated in Operations Manager for Cisco cameras configured with
DHCP. To clear the error message, choose Repair Configuration from the Device Settings menu.
Non-Cisco Cameras
You must manually enter the correct IP address in the camera configuration for non-Cisco cameras
configured with DHCP.
Procedure
• The IP address stored in Operations Manager must be the same as the device configuration.
Step 5 Verify that the camera status changes to Enabled: OK (green).
Encoders provide network connectivity for analog cameras, and digitize the analog video so it can be
saved and transmitted by the Cisco VSM system. Refer to the following topics to add and configure
encoders and analog cameras:
Contents
• Overview, page 23-2
• Pre-Provisioning Encoders and Analog Cameras, page 23-3
• Requirements, page 23-4
• Adding External Encoders and Analog Cameras, page 23-5
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Encoders, page 23-12
• Using “Split Model” Multi-Port Multi-IP Encoders, page 23-14
• Encoder Status, page 23-16
Tip See also the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide.
Overview
Cisco VSM 7 supports external encoders that are added to the same network as the server. and configured
with an IP address, username and password. Analog cameras are then attached to the encoder with a
video cable, and multiple cameras can be connected to a single encoder (Figure 23-1). In addition, serial
port connections can be used between the camera and encoder to provide PTZ and other control features.
Tip See the encoder documentation for more information on the number of supported video ports, physical
connections, supported features and configuration.
To manually add a single encoder or analog camera, open the encoder configuration page and click Add.
Enter the settings as described in the “Adding External Encoders and Analog Cameras” section on
page 5.
If the device is not available on the network, it can be added in pre-provisioned state (Figure 23-2). See
the “Pre-Provisioning Encoders and Analog Cameras” section on page 23-3 for more information.
You can also import cameras and encoders using a comma separated value (CSV) file. See the
“Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File” section on page 10-20.
Requirements
Analog cameras attached to an encoder require the following:
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
The wiring between the cameras and the encoder must adhere to the protocol
requirements, including:
• The correct number of wires.
• The correct polarity.
• The cable length does not exceed the maximum allowable length.
• The maximum number of devices in a daisy chain is not exceeded.
See the device documentation for more information.
The encoder serial ports must be correctly configured:
• All devices on the serial line must be configured with the same settings, baud rate,
data/stop bits, parity, etc.
• All devices must support the same protocol.
• All cameras must support the same protocol as the encoder serial port.
See the device documentation for more information.
The camera serial port must be correctly configured:
• All cameras must be properly terminated.
• All cameras must have unique serial addresses.
See the device documentation for more information.
To add and configure encoders and analog cameras in Cisco VSM, You must belong
to a User Group with permissions for Servers & Encoders. See the Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1 for more information.
Note To import multiple cameras or encoders using a text file, see the “Importing or Updating Cameras or
Encoders Using a CSV File” section on page 10-20.
Procedure
Step 1 Install and configure the encoder so it can be accessed on the network:
a. Physically install the encoder so it can access the same network as Cisco VSM.
b. Configure the network settings on the device.
c. Ping the device to verify it can be accessed on the network.
Setting Description
Name Enter a descriptive name for the encoder.
Enter a name that helps identify the device location or primary use. Use any
combination of characters and spaces.
IP Address Enter the IP address configured on the device.
• See the encoder documentation for instructions to configure the device
settings. See the “Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings
(Address and Credentials)” section on page 10-72 for more information.
• By default encoders with duplicate IP addresses are not allowed and will
result in an error. If your network configuration requires that devices be
added with duplicate IP addresses, you can enable the Allow Duplicate
IP Address system setting. See Understanding Device Conflicts for more
information.
• All edge devices (such as cameras and encoders) must added to a server
using a local (non-NAT) addresses.
• Internal encoders are automatically configured and do not need to be
added to the system.
Install Location (Required) Select a location where the device is physically installed.
See the “Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed
Location” section on page 8-9 for more information.
Model The encoder make and model.
Server The server where the encoder is physically installed.
Note The server processes and stores video streams from the analog
cameras connected to the encoder.
Username/Password The credentials used to access the device over the network.
• See the encoder documentation for instructions to configure the device
network settings.
• See the “Changing the Camera or Encoder Access Settings (Address and
Credentials)” section on page 10-72 for more information.
Setting Description
Enable Panoramic Allows IP cameras with multiple lenses to display (stitch) the images together
Mode within a single viewing pane.
See Enabling Panoramic Mode, page 10-67 for more information.
Note This setting requires support by the ActiveX client used to display
video. Check the Cisco VSM release notes for your release for
updated information.
HTTP Port These fields allow you to configure the same IP address on multiple devices
using Port Address Translation (PAT). The devices are instead differentiated
HTTPS Port
using unique custom port numbers.
RTSP Port
Port entry fields for HTTP, HTTPS and RTSP are displayed if:
• The network router is configured for PAT. See the router documentation
for more information.
• The following system settings are turned on in Operations Manager.
– Allow duplicate IP address
– Allow Custom Port configuration
• The camera or encoder model supports PAT/custom ports.
• The custom port numbers are configured on the camera or encoder. See
the device documentation for more information.
• The port numbers for each device is unique.
Related information:
• Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3
• General System Settings, page 29-2
• Release Notes for your Cisco VSM release
Step 8 (Optional) Add the analog camera(s) attached to the encoder (Figure 23-3).
Tip You can also add analog cameras from the camera configuration page. See the “Manually
Adding Cameras” section on page 10-8 for more information.
Setting Description
Encoder (Read-Only) The encoder that is physically attached to the camera.
Video Port The physical encoder video port where the camera video cable is attached.
Tip Only the unused ports are displayed.
Setting Description
Audio Port (Optional) The physical encoder audio port where the camera audio cable is
attached.
Tip Only the unused ports are displayed.
Name The camera name that will appear in Cisco VSM.
Install Location The physical location of the camera.
Model The camera model.
Template The template that defines the camera settings.
• You must choose an existing template when the camera is added to Cisco
VSM. After the camera is created, you can create a custom configuration
or select a different template. See the “Accessing the Camera Settings”
section on page 10-45.
• Templates define attributes such as video quality and schedules. Only
templates that support the camera are displayed. See the “Adding and
Editing Camera Templates” section on page 15-1 for more information.
Step 11 (Optional) Click the Connections button (in the Serial Ports section) to define the analog camera serial
port connections (Figure 23-4).
The following settings are used when a serial cable is attached from an analog cameras to an encoder.
The serial port connection enables the pan-zoom-tilt (PTZ) controls and/or photographic controls
(brightness, contrast, etc.) on an analog camera. See the “General Settings” section on page 10-47 for
more information.
a. Expand the location tree and select the camera’s Install Location (see Table 23-3).
b. Select a camera name from the list.
c. Click the add icon.
d. Enter the serial port connection settings (Table 23-4) and click Add.
Setting Description
Encoder The encoder for the analog camera.
Setting Description
Serial Port The encoder serial port where the first analog camera is attached to the
encoder.
See the encoder documentation for information to determine the port number.
Serial Port Address The unique ID of the serial device (analog camera).
Note Every device on a serial bus must have a unique ID (also called a
“Serial Port Address”). This uniqueID/address is configured on most
analog cameras using physical switches. See the camera
documentation for more information.
Requirements
• Users must belong to a User Group with permissions to manage Servers and Encoders.
• Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Non-super-admins must use the device configuration page to change one device at a time.
• See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Related Topics
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Cameras, page 10-108
• Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Servers, page 9-26
Procedure
Filter Description
Search by Name Enter the full or partial device name.
For example, enter “Door” or “Do” to include all device names that include “Door”.
Search by Tag Enter the full or partial tag string and press Enter.
Make/Model Select the device model(s).
For example, “Cisco HD IP Camera 4300E Series”.
Media Server Select the server that has the Media Server service activated. This is the server that will manage
live and recorded video for cameras attached to the encoder.
Install Location Select the location where the devices are installed.
Filter Description
Overall Status Select the administrative states for the devices. For example:
• Enabled (OK, Warning or Critical)—The device is enabled, although it may include a
Warning or Critical event.
• Disabled—The device is disabled and unavailable for use. The configuration can be modified,
and any existing recordings can be viewed, but cameras cannot stream or record new video.
• Pre-provisioned—The device is waiting to be added to the network and is not available for
use. A pre-provisioned camera can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or record video
until you choose Enable from the Device Settings menu.
• Soft Deleted—The device is removed from Cisco VSM but the recordings associated with that
device are still available for viewing (until removed due to grooming policies).
Tip See the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for
more information.
Issue Type Select the issues that apply to the device. For example:
• Configuration Mismatch—the configuration on the Media Server is different than the
configuration in the Operations Manager.
• Capability Mismatch—the capabilities on the device do not match the Cisco VSM
configuration.
• Identity Collision—the camera has an IP address or hostname that is the same as another
device.
Encoders Filters Click the icon to select one or more encoders and limit the search to that encoder and associated
cameras.
Action Description
Backup Now Immediately backs up the recordings from one or more cameras to the LTS server.
See Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14 for more information.
Delete Deletes the selected devices from the Operations Manager configuration.
Enable Enable the selected devices.
See Encoder Status, page 23-16.
Action Description
Repair Configurations Synchronizes the configuration for the selected devices.
See Repairing Configuration Errors, page 10-80 for more information.
Replace Configurations Replaces the configuration on the Media Server with the version in the Operations Manager,
even if there is a difference.
See Repairing a Mismatched Configuration, page 27-33 for more information.
Change Location Change the location for the selected devices.
See Creating the Location Hierarchy, page 8-1 for more information:
Change Media Server Change the Media Server that manages the camera.
See Configuring Media Server Services, page 13-1 for more information:
Change Password Change the password for the devices.
Note Only super-admin users can apply the Change Password option using Bulk Actions.
Summary
1. Axis 243Q and Q7406 are Multi-Port Multi-IP encoder blades. These blades are installed into the
supported chassis: Axis 291 1U and Axis Q7900 4U.
2. Each port on these encoder blades is configured with its own IP. And each port has its own set of
supported features (such as serial PTZ and/or contact closure).
3. When the encoder blade is installed into a chassis, the available ports on the chassis determines what
each blade supports.
4. To support this model, Cisco introduced the concept of two kinds of models for each Multi-Port
Multi-IP encoder:
– axis243q_1 and axis243q_2_n
– axisq74061 and axisq7406_2_n
– axisq7404_1 and axisq7404_2_n
5. The _1 model represents different set of features as compared to _2_n model. For example:
– axis243q_1 and axis243q_2_n, axisq74061 and axisq7406_2_n: only the _1 model supports
Serial PTZ.
Constraints
The constraints are as follows:
• If the chassis being used is Axis 291 1U Chassis and serial PTZ is working, then irrespective of Axis
243Q or Axis Q7406 being the blade, it has to be the serial port on Channel 1 (The physical port 1
on the blade encoder). For example, when importing this device it has to be _1 device model.
• If the chassis is Axis Q7900 4U and the encoder blade is Axis 243Q has PTZ working already: it
still has to be Channel (Port on the encoder blade) 1 (Physical Port 1 on the blade encoder).
• If the blade is Q7406 and PTZ is already working, then it may be any of the ports on the blade
(because the chassis exposes all the serial ports on this blade through the connectors on the back
side). But Cisco VSM release 7.0 supports PTZ through the first port on the blade only. So the device
representing the first port on this encoder has to imported using 1 device model and the rest of the
ports as the 2_n device model.
Encoder Status
Click the encoder Status tab (Figure 23-5) to display a snapshot of the device health, including the
device's ability to communicate with a Media Server. See Table 23-7 for descriptions of the Overall
Status.
Device Status Displays a snapshot of the current status, and the device attribute that is experiencing the error.
Tip Click the Status History tab for additional details. Click Refresh Status to reload the current
device status.
Status History Displays the specific system events that impact the device status. Select Affecting Current Status
to display only the events that are causing the current error.
Camera Events (Analog Cameras only) See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information.
State Description
Enabled: OK The device is operating normally and has no errors.
Enabled: A minor event occurred that did not significantly impact device operations.
Warning
Enabled: An event occurred that impacts the device operation or configuration. The device is enabled but is in
Critical a state unable to perform its full capacity.
Tip An IP camera and an analog camera that are in Enabled: Critical state after they are enabled
from a Pre-provisioned state usually indicate a mis-match configuration. This is often caused
by a missing motion detection configuration on the camera when the camera template requires
one. See the “Camera Status” section on page 10-74 for more information.
See the “Synchronizing Device Configurations” section on page 27-29 for information on viewing and
resolving configuration mismatches.
State Description
Pre-provisioned The device is added to the configuration but not available on the network.
The device is waiting to be added to Cisco VSM and is not available for use. A pre-provisioned camera
can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or record video until the configuration is complete and
you choose Enable from the Device Settings menu
• IP Camera—A Pre-provisioned IP camera may or may not have been connected to the network.
Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is Device Settings > Enable. The
device can be deleted.
• Encoder—A Pre-provisioned encoder may, or may not have been connected to the network.
Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is Device Settings > Enable. The
device can be deleted.
Note You can enable an IP camera or encoder that is in Pre-provisioned state only after the device
is connected to the network and the associated Media Server is enabled. The Operations
Manager does not automatically enable them. An attempt to enable an IP camera or an encoder
before connecting them to the network only changes its state from Pre-provisioned to Enabled:
Critical.
• Analog Camera—An analog camera in this state is associated to an encoder that is either in a state
of Pre-provisioned or Enabled. Settings can be changed, but the only device action allowed is
Device Settings > Enable. The device can be deleted.
– Analog cameras that are added to a Pre-provisioned encoder are also Pre-provisioned.
– You can enable an analog camera that is in Pre-provisioned state only after its associated
encoder is enabled. The Operations Manager does not automatically enable it.
More information
• Viewing Recording Failure Events, page 27-21
• Camera Status, page 10-74
Create custom fields to improve the searchability of the devices in your deployment, and to restrict
access to users. Custom fields can also be used to enable features such as IP calls using SIP applications
such as Cisco Jabber or Skype.
For example, create a custom field for the countries or regions where cameras, encoders, or servers are
deployed, then go to the device configuration page and select this custom field to define where the device
is installed. You can then do the following:
• Use bulk actions perform actions on only the devices from a country or region. You can filter on
multiple custom fields to further narrow the results.
• Use bulk actions to change the custom field settings for multiple devices.
• Create a user group and add the custom country or region. Users in that group will only access the
devices assigned to that custom field. You can add up to 5 custom fields to further narrow the device
access for a user group.
Contents
Refer to the following topics for more information:
• Types of Custom Fields, page 24-2
• Custom Field Settings, page 24-3
• Summary Steps: Custom Fields, page 24-4
• Detailed Steps: Custom Fields, page 24-5
• Modifying Custom Fields, page 24-8
• Deleting Custom Fields, page 24-8
Related Documentation
• Configure Voice-over-IP Calling, page 21-1
Optional/
Field Required Description
Field Type Required Select the Field Type, such as List of Choices.
See Types of Custom Fields.
Object Type Required Select Camera, Encoder, or Server.
The custom field will appear the configuration page for these devices.
Field Name Required Enter a meaningful name for the field.
Optional values Optional Select the optional values, which vary by the field type.
See Types of Custom Fields for descriptions.
Tip For a list of choices, click “+” to add a new selection at the end of the list. Items will
appear in the order shown. The first item in the list is the initial value.
Note If mandatory is selected, the default value will be added to all existing devices.
Appear In SASD Optional, (Cameras only) Select the box to allow Cisco SASD and Maps users to edit the text field for
& Map for Text cameras only.
Field only For example, use this field to modify the camera description or notes.
Procedure
Tip Preview shows how the field will appear in the device configuration page.
Step 3 (Optional) Set the custom field values for multiple devices.
a. Click Bulk Actions (Figure 24-4).
b. Use the filters to narrow the results.
c. Select devices from the results list.
d. Click Bulk Actions > Set Custom Fields.
e. Enter the settings and click OK.
Step 4 (Optional) If the custom field is displayed in bulk actions (Step 1), use the Custom Fields (Figure 24-5)
to filter the devices and perform actions.
Step 5 (Optional) If the custom field is displayed in user groups (Step 1), create a user group and add the field
to that group (Figure 24-6) to filter the devices and perform actions. See Adding User Groups, page 6-14.
Cisco Video Surveillance Media Servers can be configured in a high availability (HA) arrangement that
allows a primary server to be paired with additional Failover, Redundant, or Long Term Storage Media
Server. These HA servers provide the primary server with hot standby, redundant stream storage and
playback, and long term recording storage to help ensure that functionality and recordings are not lost
if the primary server goes offline.
Review the following information to understand the roles and functions of the Media Servers in and HA
configuration, and for instructions to install and configure the HA servers.
Contents
• Overview, page 25-2
– Requirements, page 25-2
– Summary Steps, page 25-3
– Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers, page 25-4
– Understanding Failover, page 25-6
• Define the Media Server HA Role and Associated Servers, page 25-8
• Configuring the HA Advanced Storage Options, page 25-10
– Configuring the Redundant and Failover Options, page 25-11
• Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14
– Archive recordings to an LTS Server, page 25-14
– Backup Now to an LTS Server, page 25-18
– Add Network Attached Storage (NAS) to an LTS Server, page 25-20
• Viewing the Server HA Status, page 25-22
Note See the “Operations Manager High Availability” section on page 26-1 for instructions to configure
Operations Manager server HA.
Overview
Review the following information to understand the HA server types, and how they support the HA
features for the Primary server.
• Requirements, page 25-2
• Summary Steps, page 25-3
• Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers, page 25-4
• Understanding Failover, page 25-6
Requirements
Before you begin, verify that the following requirements are met.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers & Encoders.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
At least two Media Servers must be enabled:
• 1 Primary Media Server
• 1 HA Media Server
Install additional Media Servers to enable additional HA features.
Note All Media Servers are assigned the Primary HA role by default.
Note The co-located Media Server is automatically added to the Operations Manager and activated. The
default co-located server name is “VsomServer”.
See the “Understanding Redundant, Failover, and Long Term Storage Servers” section on page 25-4.
Co-located Servers—The Operations Manager and a single Media Server are enabled on the same server. The
following rules apply:
• The co-located Media Server can only be a Primary Media Server (co-located Media Servers do not
support other HA roles such as Standby or Redundant).
• Co-located Media Server cannot be configured with Failover or Redundant Media Servers. Only a long
term storage (LTS) server can be associated with a co-located Primary Media Server.
The time on all servers must be in sync, which requires NTP configuration.
We recommend using the same network time protocol (NTP) server on all Media Servers to ensure the time
settings are accurate and identical.
See the “Time Settings” section on page 9-14 for more information.
Summary Steps
To configure HA Media Servers, add the servers to Cisco VSM, enable the Media Server services, and
define the Media Server High Availability options for each Media Server. Next, configure the camera
templates with the HA Advanced Storage options.
Tip The Server Type is selected using the Media Server Advanced icon (System Settings > Server) as
shown in Figure 25-2 on page 25-9.
w
Table 25-2 HA Server Types
Usage Notes
• All Media Servers are assigned the Primary HA role by default.
• A co-located Media Server can only be a Primary Media Server
(co-located Media Servers do not support other HA roles such as
Standby or Redundant).
• A co-located Media Server is automatically added to the Operations
Manager and activated. The default co-located server name is
“VsomServer”.
Redundant server Stream A to Primary, A Redundant Media Server provides additional computing power for the
Stream B to Redundant: cameras associated with a Primary server.
• Unicast—The camera’s video streams are sent to different servers. For
example, stream A is sent to the Primary server, and stream B to the
Redundant server. If the Primary server goes down, the video from
Stream B is still saved to the Redundant server.
• Multicast—Both camera video streams are simultaneously sent to
All Streams to Both
both servers.
Servers:
Note See the “Configuring Multicast Video Streaming” section on
page 15-15 for more information.
Usage Notes
• A Redundant Media Server can support multiple Primary servers. You
must ensure that the Redundant server contains the disk and
processing capacity to support all cameras that send video streams to
the server.
• The On Demand Recording feature is not available on redundant
servers. The On Demand Recording feature is available on the Primary
server, or on the Failover server if the Primary is down.
Usage Notes
• The Failover server does not provide hot-standby functionality for the
Redundant server.
• A Failover server can support up to 5 Media Servers.
• See the “Understanding Failover” section on page 25-6 for more
information.
Long Term A Long Term Storage (LTS) server is used to back up continuous and
Storage (LTS) motion event recordings to a separate server.
server
• Both stream A and stream B can be backed up.
• Backups are performed on an automatic schedule (for example, once
a day at midnight).
Usage Notes
Note See the “Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server”
section on page 25-14 for more information.
• An LTS server can be associated with both the Primary and Redundant
servers. If video stream B is sent only to the Redundant server, that
stream can also be archived to the LTS server.
• A LTS server can support multiple Primary and Redundant servers.
You must ensure that the server contains the disk and processing
capacity to support all associated servers and cameras.
• Recordings remain in the Primary and Redundant servers even if they
are archived to an LTS server. The recordings are removed from the
Primary and Redundant servers based on the Retain settings available
in the camera or template configuration page (Retain continuous
recordings and Retain event recordings). See the “Streaming,
Recording and Event Settings” section on page 10-55.
• Recordings are retained on the LTS server according to the settings
described in the “Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage
Server” section on page 25-14 (if the disk capacity of the LTS server
is exceeded, the oldest recording is deleted to provide room for the
newest recording).
• To access the LTS recordings, right-click the camera’s video and
choose Select Streams from the menu. See the “Using the Pop-Up
Menu” section on page 3-17.
• Only a LTS server can be associated with the co-located Primary
Media Server (Failover or redundant Media Servers cannot be
associated with the co-located Primary Media Server).
Understanding Failover
When a Failover Media Server is associated with a Media Server the Failover polls the Media Server
every two minutes to verify connectivity. If the Failover does not receive a response after three
successive tries, the Media Server is assumed to be down or offline and the Failover assumes the Primary
role.
Note • A few minutes of recording may be lost between the loss of the Primary Media Server and the
Failover assuming control.
• A Failover Media Server can stand in for up to 5 Media Servers at a time.
• When the Primary Media Server is down and the Failover has taken over the role of the Primary
server, and a DHCP based Medianet discovered camera has a change of IP address, the Cisco VSM
Operations Manager will not reconfigure the camera to the new IP address until the Primary Media
Server comes back up. This is because Cisco VSM Operations Manager does not allow any
configuration changes on the cameras when the Primary server is down.
Failover status is indicated in the server Status page (Figure 25-1). The possible Failover Status values
are:
• In Failover
• Not In Failover
• Could Not Failover (this occurs if a different Primary server already failed over to the same Failover
server.)
For example, Figure 25-1 displays a Primary Media Server with a critical configuration error that causes
a failover.
• The Failover Server status is OK (green), indicating that the server is up and ready to assume control.
• The Failover Status is Failed Over, indicating that a failover occurred.
• The Failover server Status page also displays Failed Over.
Tip See the Viewing the Server HA Status, page 25-22 for more information.
When a user attempts to access live or recorded video from a camera that is associated with the Primary
server, the request will time out and be forwarded to the Failover server, which completes the request
and sends the requested video.
Because the Failover server maintains the same configuration as the Primary server (in real time), users
will not encounter a change in network behavior other than a slight delay while communication is
established with the Failover server.
Once the Primary server comes back online, it will automatically resume control from the Failover
server. The Failover server will revert to hot standby status.
Note Polling between the servers is coordinated based on the system time in each server. Use a NTP time
source to ensure server synchronization.
Usage Notes
• All Media Servers are assigned the Primary HA role by default.
• A Primary Media Server can be associated with additional Failover, Redundant, or Long Term
Storage Media Servers.
• A Redundant Media Server can only be associated with a Long Term Storage server.
• Long Term Storage and Failover servers cannot be associated with other servers.
• Co-located Servers—If the Media Server is enabled on the same server as the Operations Manager,
the following rules apply:
– The co-located Media Server can only be a Primary Media Server (co-located Media Servers do
not support other HA roles such as Standby or Redundant).
– Co-located Media Server cannot be configured with Failover or Redundant Media Servers. Only
a long term storage (LTS) server can be associated with a co-located Primary Media Server.
Procedure
Step 1 Enable the Media Server service when installing and configuring a Cisco Video Surveillance server.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Step 2 Add the server to Cisco VSM.
See the “Configuring Servers” section on page 9-1.
Step 3 Activate the Media Server service on the server.
See the “Configuring Media Server Services” section on page 13-1.
Step 4 Define the Server Type.
Note All Media Servers are assigned the Primary HA role by default.
Step 5 Associate the Primary server with the Failover, Redundant, or Long Term Storage Media Servers
(Figure 25-3).
Figure 25-3 Defining the High Availability Server Type and Options
Step 6 (Optional) Associate the Redundant Media Server with a Long Term Storage server.
Tip Use a camera template to apply the Advanced Storage options to multiple cameras, or a custom template
to apply the HA settings only to a single camera.
Note You can configure the camera Advanced Storage settings if the HA servers are not available, but a
configuration error and alert will be generated. Once the server configuration is complete, the errors will
be removed.”
Summary Steps
Task
Step 1 Verify that the HA Requirements are met, and review the “Summary Steps” section on page 25-3.
Step 2 Complete the “Configuring the Redundant and Failover Options” section on page 25-11.
Step 3 (Optional) Complete the “Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server” section on
page 25-14.
Step 4 (Optional) Complete the “Viewing the Server HA Status” section on page 25-22.
Tip See also Understanding the Recording Options, page 20-24 for information about Connected Edge
Storage, Economical Streaming, and Recording Options.
Note Some cameras do not support sending motion or contact-closure events to a redundant
server.
• A Failover server can also be added as a hot standby server, ready to assume Primary server
functionality if the Primary server goes down or is offline (the Failover server only serves the
Primary server, not the Redundant server).
Table 25-3 describes the Stream Redundancy and Failover options for a camera or camera template.
Select a Stream Redundancy option (as shown in Figure 25-4), and then turn the Failover option On or
Off.
Table 25-3 Stream Redundancy Options With and Without a Failover Server
Stream A to A camera’s stream A video is sent to the Primary If the Primary server fails or goes offline, the
Primary, server. Stream B is sent to the Redundant server Failover server continues to support the camera’s
stream A video.
Stream B to If the Primary server fails, the Redundant server
Redundant still supports the camera stream B video, although
it may be lower resolution.
Table 25-3 Stream Redundancy Options With and Without a Failover Server (continued)
Procedure
The following procedure summarizes how to configure a redundant and/or failover server for a camera
or camera template.
Note: The Primary server associated with the camer(a) must be configured with a Redundant and/or
Failover server. See the Define the Media Server HA Role and Associated Servers, page 25-8.
Step 1 Install and configure the Primary Media Server associated with the camera(s).
See the Define the Media Server HA Role and Associated Servers, page 25-8
Step 2 Choose Cameras and select a camera or camera template.
Step 3 Select the Streaming, Recording and Events tab.
Step 4 Click Advanced Storage (Figure 25-4 on page 25-11).
Step 5 Select a Stream Redundancy option, as described in Table 25-3.
Step 6 Turn the Failover option On or Off, as described in Table 25-3.
Step 7 Click Save.
Notes
• Recordings remain in the Primary and Redundant servers even if they are archived to an LTS server.
The recordings are removed from the Primary and Redundant servers based on the Retain continuous
recordings and Retain event recordings settings available in the camera or template configuration
page.
• Recordings are removed from the LTS server according to the settings described in Table 25-4.
Procedure
Note The LTS server can be used to backup recordings or create clips, so only the Backup and
Clipping options can be enabled for all partitions (Figure 25-5). Deselect the Recording
option for all partitions or an error will occur. (the LTS server cannot be used as a primary
store of recording data).
j. Click Save to save the settings and close the Media Server window.
k. Click Save again to save the server settings.
Step 3 Associate the Primary Media Server with the LTS server (Figure 25-6).
a. Select the Primary Media Server.
b. Click the Advanced icon for the Media Server service (Figure 25-6).
c. Under High Availability Options, click the Long Term Storage field.
d. Select the Long Term Server you configured in Step 2.
Recordings will be backed up from the Primary Media Server to this LTS server.
e. Click Save to save the setting and close the pop-up window.
f. Click Save again to save the server settings.
Figure 25-6 Associate the LTS Server with the Primary Media Server
Field Description
What to Archive Select the following for video stream A and B:
• —Do not transfer any recorded video to the LTS server.
• —Transfer only video that is recorded on a motion event (if configured on the
camera/template).
• —Transfer both continuous and motion event recordings (if configured on the
camera/template).
Retain archive for The number of days that the recorded video will be retained on the LTS.
The video will be deleted from the LTS when the specified number of days are exceeded. Once
deleted, the video is no longer be available for playback.
Note If the disk capacity of the LTS server is exceeded, the oldest recording is deleted to provide
room for the newest recording.
When to Archive Daily The time of day when all recorded video on the Primary server will be transferred to the LTS server
(based on “What to Archive”).
For example, recordings will be transferred to the LTS server every day at midnight.
Step 5 Associate cameras with the camera template, and with the Primary Media Server.
For recordings to be backed up to LTS, cameras must be associated with the Primary Media Server that
includes an LTS server, and be associated to a camera template where the LTS options are configured.
a. Click Cameras and select the camera that should back up recordings to an LTS server.
b. Select the General tab and click Media Server to associate the camera with the Primary Media
Server that has an LTS server. See General Settings, page 10-47.
c. Select the Streaming, Recording and Events tab and click Set Template to associate the camera
with the camera template where LTS is configured. See Streaming, Recording and Event Settings,
page 10-55.
d. Click Save.
Setting Description
Start Date/Time The start of the recorded video to be backed up.
End Date/Time The end of the recorded video to be backed up.
Video Stream All video streams are backed up by default.
Select a specific stream to backup a single stream only.
Video Type • Event Recording Only—Backup video events only that occurred between the specified start
and end times.
• All—Backup all video that was recorded between the specified start and end times, including
continuous recordings and events.
Retention Days Enter the number of days that the recordings will be saved. Recordings are deleted from the LTS
server after this time.
Step 5 (Optional) View the backup status using the camera status page:
a. Select Status > Service Jobs.
b. From Job Type, select Long Term Storage (Figure 25-8).
Notes:
• Audio backups are displayed as a separate job.
• Click Cancel Pending Jobs to cancel all pending jobs. To cancel a single job, select the job and
click Cancel Job.
Step 7 Enter the backup settings (Table 25-5) and click OK.
Step 8 (Optional) View the backup status for all cameras supported by a Cisco Media Server:
a. Select System Settings > Servers.
b. Select a location and select a Media Server from the list.
c. Select the Status > Service Jobs tab.
d. From Job Type, select Long Term Storage (Figure 25-9).
Notes:
• Audio backups are displayed as a separate job.
• Click Cancel Pending Jobs to cancel all pending jobs. To cancel a single job, select the job and
click Cancel Job.
Usage notes
NAS performance is dependent on the NAS specification.
Procedure
To mount a NAS on an LTS server:
Step 2 Select 2, when prompted, to mount the NAS partition (Figure 25-10).
Step 3 Enter the NAS server location.
• NAS_server:storage_point
• For example: vsm712-netapp-ns:/vsm/lts-storage1
Procedure
To view the HA server status, do the following:
Field Description
Overall Status The status of the current server.
See the “Understanding the Overall Status” section on page 27-13 for more information.
Associated Servers (the HA servers associated with the current server)
Failover Status The Overall Status of the failover server.
See the “Understanding the Overall Status” section on page 27-13 for more information.
Open the Status page of the associated failover server to view additional details about the server
status.
Failover Status The HA status of the Failover server. The possible values are:
• In Failover
• Not In Failover
• Could Not Failover (this occurs if a different Primary server already failed over to the same
Failover server.)
See the “Understanding Failover” section on page 25-6 for more information.
Redundant Streams The Overall Status of the Redundant server that is associated with the Primary server.
Server
A Redundant server can support multiple Primary servers. You must ensure that the Redundant
server contains the disk and processing capacity to support all cameras that send video streams to
the server.
Field Description
Long Term Storage The Overall Status of the Long Term Storage server associated with the Primary or Redundant
Server server.
A Long Term Storage server can support multiple Primary and Redundant servers. You must ensure
that the server contains the disk and processing capacity to support all associated servers and
cameras.
Open the Status page for each HA server to view additional information about the overall status and HA
status of that server (Figure 25-12).
Two Operations Manager servers can be configured as a redundant pair for high availability (HA). Since
the Operations Manager is responsible for configuring and coordinating the entire Cisco Video
Surveillance deployment, this helps ensure uninterrupted system access for users and administrators.
To configure Operations Manager HA, install two servers on the same network: a Master server and a
second Peer server. All configurations, data, and logs on the Master server are automatically replicated
on the Peer server. If the Master server goes down or is unavailable, the Peer server is ready to take
control with minimal impact.
Note If an HA failover occurs, the Peer server becomes the Master, and retains that role even if the other server
comes back online (and assumes the Peer role).
Contents
• Overview, page 26-2
– Understanding Operations Manager HA, page 26-2
– Requirements, page 26-4
• Configuring Operations Manager HA, page 26-6
• Managing the HA Configuration, page 26-12
– Understanding the Server Management Options, page 26-12
– Revising the Operations Manager HA Configuration, page 26-12
– Replacing the HA Configuration, page 26-13
– Deleting the HA Configuration, page 26-14
– Replacing the HA Peer Server, page 26-15
– Backing Up and Restoring the Operations Manager Configuration, page 26-17
– Upgrading the Operations Manager HA Servers, page 26-18
• Forcing a Failover, page 26-20
• Resolving a Split Brain Scenario, page 26-21
– Split Brain Overview, page 26-21
– Selecting the “Split Brain” Media Servers, page 26-23
– Procedure to Resolve a Split Brain Scenario, page 26-25
Overview
Review the following topics before configuring Operations Manager HA.
• Understanding Operations Manager HA, page 26-2
• Requirements, page 26-4
• Troubleshooting Operations Manager HA, page 26-27
In Figure 26-1, users enter the virtual hostname/IP address to connect to the Cisco VSM Operations
Manager. Server 1 acts as the Master server, receiving and managing all user and system requests. All
data and configuration changes are automatically synchronized with the Peer server (server 2) to ensure
it is ready to take over if a failover occurs.
The Peer polls the Master server regularly to verify connectivity. If the Peer does not receive a response,
the Master is assumed to be down or offline and the Peer assumes the Master role (Figure 26-2). The
Peer server immediately takes control of the system, and the virtual hostname/IP address is redirected to
the new Master server.
Note In the Figure 26-2 example, Server 1 assumes the Peer role when it comes back online, and retains that
role until another failover occurs (admins can also force a failover if necessary).
Figure 26-2 After Operations Manager Failover: Server 2 is the Master Server
User Interfaces
The following user interfaces (UIs) access Cisco VSM video using the shared virtual IP address:
• Operations Manager (browser-based UI)—enter the virtual hostname/IP address in a Internet
Explorer browser window.
• Cisco SASD (desktop application)—enter the virtual hostname/IP address at the login prompt.
• Custom applications—monitoring applications that use the Cisco VSM APIs access the Operations
Manager using the virtual hostname/IP address.
Requirements
Before you configure Operations Manager HA, verify that the following requirements are met.
Note The VSOM High Availability configuration page appears only if the server is a stand-alone Operations
Manager and is running a supported OS (RHEL 6.10).
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
To configure Operations Manager HA, admins must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers &
Encoders.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Two standalone physical or virtual servers must be installed on the same network.
– Supported physical servers: CPS-UCS-1RU-K9 or CPS-UCS-2RU-K9; CPS-UCSM4-1RU-K9 and
CPS-UCSM4-2RU-K9.
– Supported virtual machines: VMs deployed using the Cisco VSM release 7.5 or 7.6 OVA templates.
Note Any data on the server used as the Peer server will be deleted and replaced with the data from the
Master server.
We recommend two 2RU servers for best performance.
• Performance issues can occur using the 1RU servers for Operations Manager HA since performance
issues (such as slowness) may occur.
• Do not mix a 2RU server with a 1RU server.
Additional server requirements and recommendations:
• Stand-alone servers—Only stand-alone physical or virtual servers are supported in an HA configuration.
The Operations Manager servers can not be co-located with other server services, such as a Media Server.
• Operating system—Red Hat 6.9 64 bit OS only (SUSE and Red Hat 5.8 are NOT supported).
• We recommend that both servers have the same hardware specifications such as processor, hard disk
storage, and other attributes. For example, two CPS-UCS-2RU-K9 servers.
• We do not recommend using Cisco UCS E-series platform servers for Operations Manager HA.
• Both servers used for HA must be fully up and running prior to configuring HA or replacing the Peer
server. Verify that there are no pending jobs (of any kind) in the Peer server.
Split Brain recovery support:
• At least one Media Server must be added to the Split Brain Configuration to support recovery if
communication between the Master and Peer server is lost.
• See Resolving a Split Brain Scenario, page 26-21.
Requirement
Complete?
Requirements ( )
Network requirements:
• Subnet—Both servers must be in the same network subnet. This ensures connectivity and data
synchronization between the servers.
• NIC port—Both servers must be connected to the network using the same NIC port: for example, Eth0.
Only a single Ethernet port can be active (either Eth0 or Eth1).
• Three IP addresses/hostnames are required:
– An IP address/hostname for the Master server Ethernet (NIC) port.
– An IP address/hostname for the Peer server Ethernet (NIC) port.
– A virtual IP address that is shared by both servers.
Note End-users should always use the virtual IP address to access the Operations Manager since it will still
work even in a failover occurs. Users should never use the server Ethernet port (NIC) address since
connectivity can be lost if the server is unreachable.
Security certificate requirements:
By default, all Cisco VSM server include a self-signed certificate. Using the self-signed certificate on the
Operations Manager server causes a security warning to appear when users log in the Operation Manager.
To avoid this, you can create and install a web server certificate for the Operations Manager servers. The
certificate must point to the HA virtual IP address and be installed on both Operations Manager servers
(Master and Peer) used in the HA configuration.
For more information:
• Configuring Operations Manager HA, page 26-6
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for instructions to install the
certificate.
• Resolving a “Server Unreachable” Error During Force Failover, page 26-34
Network Time Protocol (NTP) server:
All servers must be configured with the same NTP configuration to ensure the time settings are accurate and
identical.
See the “Time Settings” section on page 9-14 for more information.
Passwords:
• The Management Console password for Operations Manager each server. This is the localadmin
password used to access the Cisco VSM Management Console, and is set during the initial server setup.
• The admin password used to access the browser-based Operations Manager interface.
Note Before configuring Operations Manager HA, see Troubleshooting Operations Manager HA, page 26-27
for common problems that can occur. For the most recent up-to-date information, see the Cisco VSM
Operations Manager High Availability Troubleshooting Guide.
Procedure
To configure Operations Manager HA, complete the following tasks:
Step 7 Log in to the stand-alone Operations Manager server “Logging In and Managing Passwords” section on
that will have the Master role. page 1-17
Step 8 Click the pencil icon in the title bar to place the
server in maintenance mode .
Note The icon is grey when maintenance mode
is on, meaning most user configuration will be
rejected (only system tasks and logging are
allowed).
Step 15 Re-log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual Users logged in to the virtual IP address will interact with
IP address. whichever server has the Master role. This ensures that any
additional configuration changes are replicated on both
servers (Master and Peer).
Step 16 Verify that the default Peer server name appears in the The default Peer server name is automatically generated.
server list. Select the name and click the General tab to change the
server name.
a. Go to System Settings > Servers.
b. Select a location.
c. Verify that both the Master and Peer server names
appear in the server list.
Step 17 (Optional) Change the Peer server name: • Viewing Server Status, page 9-29
• Select the General tab. • General Information Settings, page 9-10
• Select the Peer server name.
• Enter a new name and click Save. For example,
“VSOM server 2”.
Tip Do not use server names with “master”,
“peer”, “primary”, “standby” etc, since the
HA role can change when a failover occurs.
Note Do not use the Cisco VSM Management Console to change the configuration for either server unless
necessary. Changes made using the Management Console interface may not be replicated in the HA
configuration.
Some configuration tasks require that the server be in Maintenance Mode. See Understanding
Maintenance Mode, page 1-28 for more information.
To view the Status or alerts for either server, select System Setting > Server, select the Master or Peer
server from the list, and select the Status page.
Procedure
Note Replacing the HA configuration can take more than 10 minutes to complete. During this time, users
cannot log in to the Operations Manager or Cisco SASD using the virtual IP address.
Procedure
To replace the HA configuration, do the following:
b. Click the pencil icon in the top right to turn maintenance mode ON.
– The icon is grey when maintenance mode is ON. See Understanding Maintenance Mode,
page 1-28 for more information.
c. Select System Settings > Servers.
d. Select the Master server from the list.
e. Select the VSOM High Availability tab (Figure 26-4).
Step 2 Select Device Settings > Replace HA Configuration.
Step 3 Click OK and wait for the job to complete.
Step 4 Select the server Status tab to verify that the problem is resolved.
Step 5 (Optional) If a configuration mismatch remains, you can replace the configuration on the Peer server
with the version on the Master server. See the “Replacing the HA Configuration” section on page 26-13.
Step 6 On the Master server, click the grey pencil icon in the title bar to turn maintenance mode OFF.
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Procedure
Step 4 The Peer server is removed from the Operations Manager configuration.
Step 5 Click the grey pencil icon in the title bar to turn maintenance mode OFF.
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Step 6 (Optional) To re-use the Peer server in another role:
a. Log in to the Management Console for the Peer server that was removed.
b. Assign different server services to the server that are not Operations Manager (for example, Media
Server, Maps or Metadata). Only a single Operations Manager can be used in a Cisco VSM system,
unless configured for HA.
c. Add the modified server to the Operations Manager configuration, as described in the “Configuring
Servers” section on page 9-1.
Note Replacing the HA peer server can take more than 10 minutes to complete. During this time, users cannot
log in to the Operations Manager or Cisco SASD using the virtual IP address.
Procedure
Step 1 Install a replacement stand-alone Cisco VSM Operations Manager server on the network.
Step 2 Access the Master server:
a. Log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address / hostname.
b. Click the pencil icon in the top right to turn maintenance mode ON.
– The icon is grey when maintenance mode is ON. See Understanding Maintenance Mode,
page 1-28 for more information.
c. Select System Settings > Servers.
d. Select the Master server from the list.
e. Select the VSOM High Availability tab.
Step 3 Click Device Settings > Replace HA Peer Server (Figure 26-6).
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Note Backup operations are supported on the server that has the Master role only. All backup data is
automatically synchronized with the Peer server.
Procedure
Step 2 Restore the server configuration on the server that will be used as the Master.
• See the “Restoring a Backup for a Single Server” section on page 30-11.
Step 3 Replace the HA configuration on the Peer server.
• See the “Replacing the HA Configuration” section on page 26-13.
Note You must use the Operations Manager virtual IP address/hostname to upgrade Operations Manager
servers in HA mode. HA Operations Manager servers cannot be upgraded using the Cisco VSM
Management Console user interface.
Procedure
To upgrade the system software on a Operations Manager server in HA mode, do the following
Step 1 Log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address / hostname.
Step 2 Click the pencil icon in the top right to turn maintenance mode ON.
• The icon is grey when maintenance mode is ON. Maintenance mode places the servers in a stable
state and prevents other users from making most changes while high-availability tasks are
performed.
Step 3 Select the Peer server and upgrade to the new system software version.
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide.
Step 4 Wait for the server software upgrade to complete.
Step 5 Perform a force failover to the (upgraded) Peer server.
• See the “Forcing a Failover” section on page 26-20.
Step 6 Repeat Step 1 to Step 4 to upgrade the system software again on the (new) Peer server.
• The second server (which is now the Peer server) will be upgraded, so both servers will run the
upgraded software version.
Step 7 On the Master server, click the grey pencil icon in the title bar to turn maintenance mode OFF.
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Forcing a Failover
Although most failover events occur automatically if the Master server goes offline or is unavailable,
you can also manually trigger a failover to switch the Master role to the Peer server. The server will retain
the Master role even after the other reserver comes back online.
Procedure
Note This recovery process requires that at least one Media Server be added to the HA “Split Brain
Configuration. See Selecting the “Split Brain” Media Servers, page 26-23.
Since there can be a delay up to 90 seconds for the issue to be detected, users logging in to the virtual
IP server may have their requests sent to the Peer server (since, during this time, it is possible that user
traffic will go to both servers).
When the communication link between the servers is reestablished, log in to the Operations Manager
using the virtual IP/host name, and verify that the Peer server is reachable. If the Peer server is reachable,
you must return the server to a normal state by doing the following:
• Clear the split brain issues
• Replace the HA configuration on the Peer server
Note If all split brain Media Servers are down or unreachable from the master Operations Manager, then the
system will enter standby mode until one of the split brain Media Servers is again reachable. Users will
not be able to log in to Cisco VSM until that occurs.
If no Media Servers are available when Operations Manager HA is set up, the Split Brain Configuration
will be blank (Figure 26-11) and an error message appears when you try to save the configuration. If this
occurs, add a Media Server to the deployment and try again.
Figure 26-11 Split Brain Recovery is Not Supported if No Media Servers Are Selected
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Procedure
Step 2 Correct the issue causing the loss of communication between the Master and Peer servers.
Step 3 Clear the Split Brain issues:
a. Log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address / hostname.
b. Click the pencil icon in the top right to turn maintenance mode ON.
– The icon is grey when maintenance mode is ON. Maintenance mode places the servers in a
stable state and prevents other users from making most changes while high-availability tasks are
performed. See Understanding Maintenance Mode, page 1-28 for more information.
c. Select System Settings > Servers.
d. Select the VSOM High Availability tab.
e. Select Device Settings > Clear Split Brain Issues to clear the split brain issue (Figure 26-14).
f. Click OK and verify the alert and issue are cleared.
Step 4 Click Device Settings > Replace HA Configurations (Figure 26-14) to replace the configuration on the
Peer server with the version on the Master server.
Step 5 Click OK.
Step 6 Wait for the process to complete and for the Master server data to be replicated on the Peer server.
Step 7 Re-login to the virtual IP address / hostname.
Step 8 On the Master server, click the grey pencil icon in the title bar to turn maintenance mode OFF.
• The icon is yellow when maintenance mode is off, meaning user configuration changes can be
saved.
Note For the latest, up-to-date, version of this information see the Cisco VSM Operations Manager High
Availability Troubleshooting Guide.
Root Cause
This can happen if the Peer server is in any of the following states:
• The Peer server is being rebooted.
• The Peer server was recently rebooted but is not fully up.
• The Peer server has a Pending or In-progress job. This can be any job but examples include
synchronization, device configuration, or template configuration.
Recovery
To clear the job and complete the HA configuration, do one or more of the following:
Step 1 Verify that there are no configuration or other tasks being performed on the Peer server, and that the Peer
server does not have any Pending jobs.
a. Login to the Peer server Operations Manager interface.
b. Click System Settings > Jobs.
c. Verify that there are no Pending jobs in the Peer server.
See Viewing All Jobs in the System, page 27-40 for more information.
Example Output
For example, the replication errors in the following output are shown in red:
mysql> show slave status\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
Slave_IO_State: Waiting for master to send event
Master_Host: 172.28.0.64
Master_User: vsomrepl
Master_Port: 6611
Connect_Retry: 60
Master_Log_File: vsom-mysql-bin.000001
Read_Master_Log_Pos: 29020815
Relay_Log_File: mysql-relay-bin.000004
Relay_Log_Pos: 2462282
Relay_Master_Log_File: vsom-mysql-bin.000001
Slave_IO_Running: Yes
Slave_SQL_Running: No
Replicate_Do_DB:
Replicate_Ignore_DB:
Replicate_Do_Table:
Replicate_Ignore_Table:
vsom.qrtz_trigger_listeners,vsom.qrtz_calendars,vsom.qrtz_fired_triggers,vsom.qrtz_job
_details,vsom.qrtz_scheduler_state,vsom.qrtz_job_listeners,vsom.qrtz_triggers,vsom.qrt
z_locks,vsom.qrtz_paused_trigger_grps
Replicate_Wild_Do_Table:
Replicate_Wild_Ignore_Table:
Last_Errno: 1032
Last_Error: Could not execute Delete_rows event on table
vsom.issue; Can't find record in 'issue', Error_code: 1032; handler error
HA_ERR_KEY_NOT_FOUND; the event's master log vsom-mysql-bin.000001, end_log_pos
23237993
Skip_Counter: 0
Exec_Master_Log_Pos: 23237346
Relay_Log_Space: 8246408
Until_Condition: None
Until_Log_File:
Until_Log_Pos: 0
Master_SSL_Allowed: No
Master_SSL_CA_File:
Master_SSL_CA_Path:
Master_SSL_Cert:
Master_SSL_Cipher:
Master_SSL_Key:
Seconds_Behind_Master: NULL
Master_SSL_Verify_Server_Cert: No
Last_IO_Errno: 0
Last_IO_Error:
Last_SQL_Errno: 1032
Last_SQL_Error: Could not execute Delete_rows event on table
vsom.issue; Can't find record in 'issue', Error_code: 1032; handler error
HA_ERR_KEY_NOT_FOUND; the event's master log vsom-mysql-bin.000001, end_log_pos
23237993
Replicate_Ignore_Server_Ids:
Master_Server_Id: 2
Master_UUID: f55e65d2-5261-11e4-a165-005056ae786a
Master_Info_File: /mysql/data/vsom/mysql/data/master.info
SQL_Delay: 0
SQL_Remaining_Delay: NULL
Slave_SQL_Running_State:
Master_Retry_Count: 86400
Master_Bind:
Last_IO_Error_Timestamp:
Last_SQL_Error_Timestamp: 141012 17:47:50
Master_SSL_Crl:
Master_SSL_Crlpath:
Retrieved_Gtid_Set:
Executed_Gtid_Set:
Auto_Position: 0
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
Procedure
For example, complete this procedure to detect which database replication query is stuck in the following
error:
Could not execute Delete_rows event on table vsom.issue; Can't find record in 'issue', Error_code:
1032; handler error HA_ERR_KEY_NOT_FOUND; the event's master log
vsom-mysql-bin.000001, end_log_pos 23237993’
– Notice that the command was storing the parsed output in the /tmp/error_log.sql file.
– Open the parsed log file error_log.sql and search for log position seen in above error
23237993.
– Check the query seen at the log position which gives the ASCII format of the original query that
is being executed and is stuck.
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: Not using CPU crc32 instructions
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: Initializing buffer pool, size = 64.0M
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: Completed initialization of buffer pool
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: Highest supported file format is Barracuda.
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: The log sequence numbers 46653980 and
46653980 in ibdata files do not match the log sequence number 197868345 in the
ib_logfiles!
2014-10-24 15:34:39 13859 [Note] InnoDB: Database was not shutdown normally!
Password Change
The localadmin password for the Peer server is not valid. For example, the password was changed on the
Peer server but was not updated on the VSOM HA Configuration page.
To resolve this problem:
Step 1 Log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address / hostname.
Step 2 Click the pencil icon in the top right to turn maintenance mode ON.
• The icon is grey when maintenance mode is ON. See Understanding Maintenance Mode,
page 1-28 for more information.
Step 3 Select System Settings > Servers.
Step 4 Select the Master server from the list.
Step 5 Select the VSOM High Availability tab.
Step 6 Enter the new Peer server password.
Step 7 Click Save.
The Remote Host Identification (Hostkeys) for the Peer Server Changed
The Hostkeys for the Peer server can change if the server IP address is changed when the server is
reinstalled or replaced. If this occurs:
Step 3 If this message appears, edit the known hosts using the following command:
• vi /root/.ssh/known_hosts
Step 4 Delete the host key entry of the Peer server and save the changes.
Step 5 Verify that the database or file replication error is resolved. Wait at least one minute since health
monitoring jobs are updated each minute.
a. Log in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address / hostname.
b. Select System Settings > Servers.
c. Select the Master server from the list.
d. Select the Status tab.
e. Verify that the issue is clear.
Note This recovery process requires that at least one Media Server be added to the HA “Split Brain
Configuration. See the “Operations Manager High Availability” section of the Cisco Video Surveillance
Operations Manager User Guide.
Since there can be a delay up to 90 seconds for the issue to be detected, users may still be able to log in
to the wrong server. During this time, it is possible that user traffic will go to both servers.
If this occurs, refer to the “Operations Manager High Availability” section of the Cisco Video
Surveillance Operations Manager User Guide for more information.
Issue Workaround
A “Server Unreachable” error appears Resolving a “Server Unreachable” Error During Force Failover,
page 26-34
Errors during a software upgrade Force Failover During a Software Upgrade on the Peer Server, page 26-35
The Peer server is not reachable Check the Peer server’s Status tab to see if the server is reachable.
The pacemaker service is not running Go to the Peer server Status > Status History tab to see if there is a issue
“HA Functionality is not available at this time.Pacemaker service is not
running”.
To resolve the issue select Device Settings > Replace HA Configuration
to bring up the pacemaker service on the Peer server.
The system is in a Split Brain state To resolve this, go to Server > VSOM High Availability and select
Device Settings > Clear Split Brain Issues.
For more information See Resolving a Split Brain Scenario, page 26-21.
To temporarily address this issue, refresh the browser page to remove the error and continue.
To resolve the issue, obtain and install a signed certificate issued by a Certification Authority.
1. Obtain a signed certificate by a Certification Authority. This certificate should contain the host name
mapped to the virtual IP. For example: vsom-server3.
2. Install the certificate on both the Master and Peer servers using the Cisco Video Surveillance
Management Console. For example vsom-server1 and vsom-server2.
3. Wait for the services to be restarted.
4. Log in again to the Operation Manager using the virtual IP address. The certificate error should not
appear.
For more information, see the following:
• Requirements, page 26-4
• Configuring Operations Manager HA, page 26-6
• Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide—for instructions to install
the certificate.
Recovery
To resolve this issue, you must manually release standby mode on the original Master server.
Step 1 To determine the Master server, query the following database with the following SQL from either server:
select peerserverip from haconfig where state = 2
Step 2 Log in to the Master server from the command prompt.
crm_node -n
Step 3 This provides the node name of the server.
Step 4 Release standby mode using the following command:
crm_standby -D -N server-name [node name collected from above command]
For example: crm_standby -D -N vsm-server
Step 5 After releasing the Standby mode, the server should automatically acquire the virtual IP address.
Step 6 Log back in to the Operations Manager using the virtual IP address or hostname.
Step 7 Go to the Master server and select Force Fail Over to proceed with rest of the software upgrade process.
Step 1 If the pacemaker is down, restart the pacemaker service using the command:
service pacemaker start
Step 2 If the pacemaker does not come up clean, run the script:
/usr/BWhttpd/vsom_be/ha/recoverPacemaker.sh
Step 3 Restart the pacemaker service:
service pacemaker start
Root Causes
This scenario can be caused by the following:
• The Master server is disconnected from the rest of the world, but the Peer server can see all other
servers (including the Media Servers used for HA storage).
• The Master server has communication with all servers except the Peer server, and the Peer server
loses network communication with the rest of the world.
• No Media Servers are configured for HA storage, so the system cannot resolve the split brain.
• Media Servers are configured for HA storage but the connectivity issue was shorter than a minute.
Validate
If an unmanaged split brain scenario occurs, the virtual IP address is configured on both servers. Enter
the ifconfig command on both servers to view the IP address on each server and verify that both servers
are using the virtual IP address.
For example, if the Eth0 interface was used, the virtual IP address is displayed under the eth0:0 entry. If
the eth1 interface was used for HA configuration, the virtual IP address is displayed under eth1:0.
Recovery: Method 1
After network connectivity between the Operation Manager HA servers is restored, log in to the
Operation Manager browser-based interface to replace the HA configuration.
Step 1 Log in to the Operation Manager for either server using the physical IP address.
Step 2 Select Device Settings > Replace HA Configuration. See Replacing the HA Configuration,
page 26-13.
Step 3 If the issue is still not resolved, delete the HA Configuration and reconfigure Operation Manager HA:
a. Complete Deleting the HA Configuration, page 26-14.
Recovery: Method 2
The following alternative method can also be performed to manually resolve the issues.
Step 1 Enter the command ifconfig on both servers to determine if both servers are configured with the virtual
IP address.
• For example, if the Eth0 interface was used, the virtual IP address will appear under the eth0:0 entry.
Step 2 Verify that the Cisco service is up on both servers.
Step 3 Bring the Cisco service back up on both servers, if necessary.
Step 4 Stop the pacemaker service on both servers.
Step 5 Start the pacemaker service on the original master server.
Step 6 When the pacemaker service starts, enter the command ifconfig to verify it has the virtual IP address.
Step 7 Log in to the Operation Manager using the virtual IP address or hostname.
Step 8 View the server status.
Step 9 If the database replication issue is not automatically released, go to the VSOM High Availability tab
and select Device Settings > Replace HA Configuration.
CLI Description
service pacemaker status Displays if pacemaker service is running or not.
For example: pacemakerd (pid 2583) is running...
crm_mon -1 Lists the participating servers along with where the resources are
running.
For example:
Last updated: Mon Nov 17 10:47:23 2014
Last change: Thu Nov 13 16:11:23 2014 via crm_attribute on
vsm7-55
Stack: cman
Current DC: vsm7-54 - partition with quorum
Version: 1.1.10-14.el6-368c726
2 Nodes configured
2 Resources configured
CLI Description
crm_node -n Get node name as seen by the pacemaker on local server
crm_mon --failcounts Resource current failure status and limits
crm_standby –v true To force the server to pacemaker standby state (useful for upgrades
[nodename] and backup restores). For example:
crm_standby –v true vsm7-server
crm_standby –D –N Release the server from standby mode. For example:
[nodename] crm_standby –D –N vsm7-server
Refer to the following topics for information to monitor the health of the system or a device, to view the
status of user-initiated jobs, a record of user actions (Audit Logs), and other features.
Contents
• Understanding Events and Alerts, page 27-2
– Overview, page 27-2
– Event Types, page 27-4
– Triggering Actions Based on Alerts and Events, page 27-4
– Monitoring Device Heath Using the Operations Manager, page 27-5
– Changing the Severity Level of Alerts, page 27-6
• Health Dashboard: Device Health Faults on an Operations Manager, page 27-7
• Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
• Sending Alerts via Emails or to WebEx Teams (Notification Policies), page 27-23
• Reports, page 27-28
• Synchronizing Device Configurations, page 27-29
– Overview, page 27-29
– Viewing Device Synchronization Errors, page 27-31
– Understanding Device Configuration Mismatch Caused by Media Server Issues, page 27-32
– Repairing a Mismatched Configuration, page 27-33
– Manually Triggering a Media Server Synchronization, page 27-34
– Device Data That Is Synchronized, page 27-34
– Synchronization During a Media Server Migration, page 27-35
• Viewing the Server Management Console Status and Logs, page 27-36
• Understanding Jobs and Job Status, page 27-37
• Viewing Audit Logs, page 27-43
• Custom Data Management, page 27-44
• Pruning Events and Logs, page 27-45
Overview
Events represent incidents that occur in the system and devices. Alerts aggregate (group) those events
together for notification purposes. For example, if a camera goes offline and comes back online
repeatedly, the individual events for that issue are grouped under a single alert, which results in a single
notification. This prevents operators from being flooded with notifications for every event that occurs
for the same issue.
Note The alert severity reflects the severity of the most recently generated event. For example, if a camera
becomes unreachable and the streaming status is Critical, the alert is Critical. When the camera becomes
reachable again, and the streaming status normal event occurs, and the alert severity is changed to INFO.
You can change the Alert Severity level for new alerts so they will have a higher or lower severity than
the default.
Tip To prune (delete) old entries, see Pruning Events and Logs, page 27-45.
Figure 27-1 summarizes how Cisco VSM events and alerts are generated, viewed and managed.
Note Custom applications can also subscribe to ActiveMQ topics to receive notifications about device and
system changes. For example, the Alerts topic notifies subscribers when any alert occurs in the system.
The custom application can use the ActiveMQ message contents to optionally trigger additional
notification or actions. See the Cisco Video Surveillance API Programming Guide for more information.
Event Types
Cisco VSM generates two types of events: device health events and security events:
• Health Events are generated when a device health change occurs, such as reachability, fan speed,
file system usage, or other device-related issues. Critical and warning health events generate alerts
by default.
• Security Events—Events such as motion stop or start, analytics, contact closures, or soft triggers
from an external system can be configured to generate alerts, or perform other actions. Security
events do not generate alerts by default.
Notes
• Changes apply to new alerts only. Existing alerts retain their original severity level.
• The events that are included in the alert will retain their default severity level, even if the alert is
changed.
Step 4 Click a number to display the specific issues for the device type, category or issue type.
The number represents the total number of issues for all devices at the selected location and it’s
sub-locations (the number is the consolidated sum of issues in that location and it’s sub-locations).
Step 5 (Optional) Click the icon to open the device status and configuration pages.
Step 6 Continue to the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for more
information.
Step 7 Take corrective action to restore the device to normal operation, if necessary.
Step 8 For example, if a configuration mismatch occurs, see the “Synchronizing Device Configurations”
section on page 27-29.
Select the Servers, Cameras or Encoders tab for the following information:
Servers
The Overall Status is a graphical representation of the servers at the selected location including the
device health status.
Select a server to view additional details, including:
• Storage—The total storage and used storage on the server.
• Existing Camera Count—The number of cameras currently added on the server.
• Server Type—VSOM/ Primary Media Server/ Map Server/ Metadata Server.
• Location—The location where this server is installed.
• Camera Estimation—Select a pre-defined device template. The camera count is estimated based on
the template’s recording configurations and the free space available on the selected server. This is
the approximate number of camera’s that can be added on this Media Server.
Note: Estimated camera count is calculated based on the valid file types and formats (.smd, .mp4)
stored in the /media repository If the media repository contains unsupported file types, then the
space consumed by these files will not be factored in while calculating the estimated cameras that
can be added. In addition, if the recordings for certain cameras are shelved, then the algorithm will
consider the space occupied by the recordings of those cameras until the time the recording state
was moved to shelved. If the recording state of those cameras are altered at a later date, then
“Camera Count” estimation will have to be re-run or else going with the old camera estimated count
will have an impact on the number of cameras that can be added, and could result in recordings
getting groomed.
Cameras
The Overall Status is a graphical representation of the cameras at the selected location including the
device health status.
Select a camera to view additional details, including:
• Camera Status—The status including Reachability, Streaming, Recording, Configuration, and other
information.
• General Information—The running jobs.
• Large thumbnail—A larger thumbnail of the camera’s live stream.
Encoders
The Overall Status is a graphical representation of the device at the selected location including health
status.
Select a device to view additional details, including:
• Encoder Status—The status including Reachability, Configuration, and other information.
• General Information—Running jobs.
3 The device type (such as Servers, Encoders, or Cameras) where the issues occurred.
• Click a number to display a list of critical or warning faults for the category, issue type, or device type. For
example, click the number 23 next to Hardware to display a list of the hardware issues for all servers (multiple issues
can occur for a single device). See Table 27-3 for more information about critical and warning faults.
• If issues did not occur, a number is not displayed.
• The number represents the total number of issues for all devices at that location, based on the selected category or
issue.
4 Last Update—Refresh the Health Dashboard page to view updated results. The dashboard does not automatically refresh.
5 The specific health issues that occurred for the selected category or issue type.
• All issues are listed. Multiple issues can be displayed for the same device
• Click the icon to open the device’s status and configuration page. See the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for
a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for more information.
Tips
• Cisco VSM administrators can hide the device status icons and access to the Health Dashboard. See
Display or Hide Camera Health Information, page 5-16
• To view the health issues for multiple Operations Managers, see the “Monitoring Device Health
Using the Browser-Based Federator” section on page 31-33.
• Device errors are cleared automatically by the system or manually cleared by an operator using the
Cisco SASD or another monitoring application. Refresh the page to view the latest information.
Some alerts cannot be automatically reset. For example, a server I/O write error event.
• If the system or server is performing poorly, use the diagnostic tools available in the server
Management Console to view performance, hardware and system information. See the “Accessing
the Management Console” section on page B-2 for more information.
Tip You can change the Alert Severity level for new alerts so they will have a higher or lower severity than
the default.
Enabled: Warning Yellow A minor event occurred that did not significantly impact device operations.
Disabled Yellow The device is disabled and unavailable for use. The configuration can be
modified, and any existing recordings can be viewed, but the camera cannot
stream or record new video.
Enabled: Critical Red An event occurred that impacts the device operation or renders a component
unusable.
See the “Sending Alerts via Emails or to WebEx Teams (Notification
Policies)” section on page 27-23 for instructions to send automatic email
notifications when a critical device issue occurs.
Pre-Provisioned Brown The camera is waiting to be added to the network and is not available for use.
A pre-provisioned camera can be modified, but the camera cannot stream or
record video until you choose Enable from the Device Settings menu.
Soft Deleted Grey The device configuration is removed from the Operations Manager but the
(Keep Recordings) recordings associated with that device are still available for viewing (until
removed due to grooming policies).
To view the recordings, select the camera name in the Monitor Video page.
Soft-deleted cameras are still included in the camera license count. See
Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1.
Hard Deleted None None The device and all associated recordings are permanently deleted from Cisco
(Delete Recordings) VSM.
Note You can also choose to place the camera in the Blacklist. See the
“Blacklisting Cameras” section on page 10-43.
Note Devices states can change due to changes in the device configuration, or by manually changing the status
in the device configuration page (Figure 27-5).
Table 27-5 describes the status categories. The categories are different for each type of device. For
example, Media Servers include a Software category to indicate the health of server processes. An
encoder does not include streaming or recording categories.
Tip Click Affecting Current Status to view only the items that are currently affecting the
summaries in the Device Status tab.
Note Local and SAN file systems are not automatically reloaded/remounted after a problem occurs.
When this occurs, a critical server hardware health alert is generated so that the Cisco VSM
administrator is aware that recording failed. The administrators must then diagnose and address the
problem with the storage system.
Alerts include information such as the Media Server, the affected repository (/media1, /media2) is
affected.
For example, the partitions for the following Media Server are configured for recording and clipping
(Figure 27-10).
If the file system for the partitions become read-only or become unavailable, then the recordings cannot
be written and saved. To view this alert:
Procedure
Note The alerts are automatically cleared when the media repository becomes accessible and write access is
restored.
Usage Notes
• Emails are sent using the SMTP server address configured for the Operations Manager server.
– The SMTP server settings must be accurate or the emails will not be sent (no error or warning
is given.
– See the “SMTP Management Settings” section on page 9-34 for more information.
• The maximum number of policies is 1000.
• Health Notification policies are created for a location. If a critical or warning device health error
occurs for any device at that location (or sub-location), an email is sent to the specified recipients).
• Email recipients can be specified for different locations (and sub-locations) by creating a new Health
Notification rule. Health Notifications operate independently so the recipient will receive emails for
each rule, even if the notifications are for the same issue.
• Use the Initial Time and Wait Time as described in Table 27-5 to avoid unnecessary notifications.
• The Media Server and camera should be time synced or a mismatch between the event and snapshot
can occur.
More information
• Event Types, page 27-4
• Health Dashboard: Device Health Faults on an Operations Manager, page 27-7
• Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
Step 1 For email notifications, verify that the SMTP server settings are configured correctly:
a. Click System Settings > Servers and select the Operations Manager (VSOM) server.
b. Click the Advanced icon next to the Video Surveillance Operations Manager.
c. Enter the SMTP Management settings to send server-generated emails. See the “SMTP
Management Settings” section on page 9-34 for more information.
Step 2 Enable WebEx Teams notifications using an Authtoken.
The Authtoken is a public key provided by your WebEx Teams administrator that allows messages to be
securely sent from VSM to WebEx Teams
a. Go to System Settings > Settings.
b. In the General tab, enter the Authtoken string in the Webex Teams User Authtoken field.
c. Click Save.
Step 3 (Security events only) Configure Alerts (using the Advanced Alert feature) for the security event types
described in Table 27-6.
• See Using Advanced Events to Trigger Actions, page 17-7 for more information
Procedure
Setting Description
Location All devices from this location and sub-locations will generate a health notification.
Tip Select the root location (for example, “System”) to include all devices from all locations. If
additional rules are added for sub-locations, both rules will apply and multiple emails will be
generated.
Add email Add one or more email addresses.
The maximum number of email recipients per notification policy is 50. We recommend using email
aliases to include additional recipients.
a. Enter a valid email address in the Add Email field.
b. Click the icon (or press Enter).
c. Add additional email addresses if necessary.
d. Click the icon to remove an email address.
Initial time The time between the first alert and the email being sent. This avoids emails for temporary issues that
cause a device to briefly go offline and come back online. For example, when a camera configuration
is revised, the camera may go down briefly while being reset.
• Default—1 minute
• Range—1 to 10 minutes
Wait time The time between the first email and any subsequent email. This prevents multiple emails being sent
for the same issue within a short period of time.
• Default—12 hours
• Range—1 to 48 hours
Setting Description
By Location In the security tab, select By Location to create the notification for a location.
Location All devices from this location and sub-locations will generate a notification.
Tip Select the root location (for example, “System”) to include all devices from all locations. If
additional rules are added for sub-locations, both rules will apply and multiple emails will be
generated.
Alert Type The type of security alert. For example, Soft trigger, contact open or close, PTZ, etc.
Initial Time The time between the first alert and the email being sent.
• Default—0 minute
• Range—1 to 10 minutes
Setting Description
Alerts Threshold The number of alerts that must occur before the notification is sent.
For example, if the Alerts Threshold is 0, then the setting is not used and the system will send an email
after the Wait Time is exceeded (the threshold is considered only if it has a non-zero value).
• Default—0
Custom Event Type Select a user-created event type and subtype, if available, for Soft Trigger or Camera App alerts.
and See Creating Custom Event Types and Sub Types, page 17-16.
Subtype
Add Email Add one or more email addresses.
The maximum number of email recipients per notification policy is 50. We recommend using email
aliases to include additional recipients.
a. Enter a valid email address in the Add Email field.
b. Click the icon (or press Enter).
c. Add additional email addresses if necessary.
d. Click the icon to remove an email address.
Wait Time The time between the first email and any subsequent email. This prevents multiple emails being sent
for the same issue within a short period of time.
For example, after the first email is sent for a location, the system will send the next email either after
the wait time or when the number of new alerts in that location exceeds the Alerts Threshold setting
(for example, if the Alerts Threshold is 0, then the next email is sent when the Wait time is exceeded).
• Default—12 hours
• Range—1 to 48 hours
Setting Description
By Camera Select By Camera to create a notification for cameras. This allows you to create the same policy for
multiple cameras at different locations.
Add camera Click Select / View Camera(s) to filter and select the cameras for the notification.
Click Search to find all cameras.
Alert Type The type of security alert. For example, Soft trigger, contact open or close, PTZ, etc.
Custom Event Type Select a user-created event type and subtype, if available, for Soft Trigger or Camera App alerts.
and See Creating Custom Event Types and Sub Types, page 17-16.
Subtype
Setting Description
Capture Snapshot Select this option to include a snapshot of the event in the email.
The Media Server and camera should be time synced or a mismatch between the event and snapshot
can occur.
Add Email Add one or more email addresses.
The maximum number of email recipients per notification policy is 50. We recommend using email
aliases to include additional recipients.
a. Enter a valid email address in the Add Email field.
b. Click the icon (or press Enter).
c. Add additional email addresses if necessary.
d. Click the icon to remove an email address.
Reports
Use Reports to generate and download summary information about the Cisco Video Surveillance user
activity, device configuration. For example, you can create Audit reports that summarize user actions, or
camera and Media Server reports that summarize device configuration and status.
• Create a Report, page 27-28
• Delete a Report, page 27-28
Create a Report
Procedure
Delete a Report
Procedure
Overview
The Operations Manager configuration is the master configuration(Figure 27-13). A mismatch occurs if
the configuration on the Media Server is different.
For example, if a synchronization event determines that the setting for a camera’s video resolution is
different between the Operations Manager and the Media Server, a configuration mismatch occurs.
• If the Autocorrect Synchronization Errors system setting is enabled, the configuration is
automatically replaced with the Operations Manager setting.
• If the Autocorrect Synchronization Errors system setting is disabled, a configuration error is
displayed on the camera Status page. Click the icon to view additional details about the
mismatch and then select Repair Configurations or Replace Configurations from the Device
Settings menu to replace the camera setting with the Operations Manager setting. See the following
for more information:
– Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device, page 27-13
– Synchronizing Device Configurations, page 27-29
Procedure
Step 4 (Optional) Close the window and click Status History to view more information regarding the
synchronization events (Figure 27-15).
• reachability
• software-mismatch
• server-pool-config-mismatch
• ntp-config-mismatch
• identity-mistmatch
• schedule-config-mismatch
Procedure
Step 1 (Optional) Review the configuration mismatch errors, as described in the “Viewing Device
Synchronization Errors” section on page 27-31.
Step 2 Select the device configuration General tab.
Step 3 Click one of the following options.
• Replace Configurations—Pushes the entire device configuration from the Operations Manager to
the Media Server. The Media Server data is replaced.
• Repair Configurations—Pushes only the configuration changes required correct a mismatched
field. Changes are pushed from the Operations Manager to the Media Server.
Step 4 (Optional) Complete the following optional troubleshooting steps:
• Wait for the synchronization Job to complete. In the Job window, click View Status to view any
failed steps and click the error message to view additional information.
See the “Understanding Jobs and Job Status” section on page 27-37 for more information.
• Open the Status page for the affected device to view additional details and take corrective action, if
necessary. See the “Viewing Device Synchronization Errors” section on page 27-31.
Master Configuration
Device Data Type Source Description
Configuration Operations Manager The device template, name, IP address, and other settings.
User-provided administrative Operations Manager The device status (enabled, disabled, or pre-provisioned).
information
Master Configuration
Device Data Type Source Description
System-derived operational Media Server For example:
states
• the device is reachable or unreachable
• there is a mismatch between devices
• the last operation status
• the device health
• other status information
Device exists in the Operations Manager The device configuration is pushed to the Media Server.
Operations Manager but not in
the Media Server
Device exists in the Media Media Server IP/Analog cameras are added in pre-provisioned state with a basic
Server but not in the configuration.
Operations Manager
Encoders are added as enabled.
You must add additional settings such as camera template, location
and others settings then enable the device.
See the “Adding Cameras from an Existing Media Server” section
on page 10-41 for instructions to approve the device.
Note The device can also be placed in the blacklist or deleted.
You can take one of the following actions from the Job Details dialog:
• Click refresh to renew the display.
• Click an Error Message (failed job steps only) to view additional information regarding the error.
• Click Stop (pending job steps only) to cancel steps that have not begun (see the “Understanding Job
Status” section on page 27-39 for more information).
If a Job is stopped, any completed or failed Job Steps remain completed or failed (the action is not
undone). Only the pending Job Steps are cancelled. In addition, any Job Step are already running
will continue until it completes or fails.
Tip • If a user has at least one management permission, the Jobs status icons
appear at the top of the page if there is at least one Job pending or running.
Click the icons to open the Jobs page.
• A second user cannot edit a resource (such as a camera or Media Server) if that resource has a
pending Job. If the second user logs in and accesses the resource, the Job loading message is
displayed and prevents the user from editing or viewing the resource.
Tip Click the number under the Steps or Failed columns to display Job Step information in the bottom pane.
Feature Description
1 Filter Select a filter to limit the Job types displayed. For example, click Failed to display only failed Jobs.
Note Click My Jobs to view only the Jobs you initiated. This option is only available to super-admin.
Most users can only view their own Jobs by default.
2 Job events Lists the Jobs in the system. Use the filter to narrow the Jobs displayed, or click the column headings to
sort the information.
Note The Job list automatically refreshes to display up-to date status information.
Use the filter to narrow the Jobs steps displayed, or click the column headings to sort the information.
Each Job Step includes the following information:
• Start Time—The date and time when the step began to process.
• End Time—The date and time when the step ended. A step can end when it is completed or fails.
• Status—Indicates the Job Step status. Refer to the legend for a description of each color. See the
“Understanding Job Status” section on page 27-39.
• Action—The action or system change performed by the Job Step.
• Device—The resources affected by the Job Step. For example, a camera.
• Server—The server affected by the Job Step.
8 Error The reason for a job step error. This is displayed only if an error occurred.
Message
Click the error message to display additional details.
9 Refresh icon Click the refresh icon to renew the display and view up-to-date Job Step status.
9 Legend Describes the meaning of each status color. For example, a green Job status bar means the Job was
successfully completed.
See the “Understanding Job Status” section on page 27-39 for more information.
Note Users must belong to a User Group with super-admin permissions to access the Audit Logs (the user
must be added to a user group that is associated with the super-admin role). See the Adding Users, User
Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1.
To access the Audit Logs, click Operations and then Audit Logs (Figure 27-21).
Procedure
Tip The pruning action along with the History type and selected date is displayed in Operations > Audit
Logs.
Choose Operations > Troubleshooting (Figure 28-1). to view issues with jobs and devices in your
deployment. You can clear the jobs status, or delete devices (such as cameras and encoders).
For example, use the Troubleshoot feature to:
• Force delete cameras or encoders that are stuck and cannot be deleted using the camera
configuration page (see Deleting Cameras, page 10-69). For example, if the Cisco Media Server is
unavailable, you can force delete the camera, encoder or analog camera to remove the device and
configuration from Cisco VSM.
• Remove device configuration problems, such as orphaned cameras or encoders in the Cisco Media
Server/Operations Manager database.
• Clear jobs that are stuck and not failing.
Procedure
Choose System Settings > Settings to define basic parameters for the Operations Manager and
Federator.
Note • The default settings are sufficient for a basic setup, but you should review and revise the settings to
meet the needs of your deployment. System settings can only be modified by super-admin users.
• The Federator settings are a sub-set of the Operations Manager settings.
• Beginning with release 7.2, retention of alerts, events and audit log entries is now managed
automatically by the Operations Manager, which can store up to 1 million alerts, 1 million events,
and 1 million audit log entries.
Contents
Refer to the following topics for more information:
• General System Settings, page 29-2
• Password Settings, page 29-4
• Language Settings, page 29-5
• Alert Severity, page 29-6
• Storage Retention Settings, page 29-7
Setting Description
User Timeout (Required) The number of minutes before a user is automatically logged out due to
inactivity. After this period, users must re-enter their username and password to log back in.
Notes
• The maximum value is 10080 minutes (168 hours / 7 days). The default is 30 minutes.
• See also the Fixed Duration Timeout setting,
On Demand Recording (Required, Operations Manager only) Enter the number of seconds that video will be
Duration recorded for user-generated recording requests.
The minimum value is 300 seconds (5 minutes).
See the following for more information:
• Enabling On-Demand Recording, page 5-14
Autocorrect Synchronization (Operations Manager only) Device synchronization ensures that the device configuration on
Errors the Media Server, camera or encoder is identical to the Operations Manager settings.
Synchronization is automatically performed when certain events occur, such as when a
Media Server goes offline and comes back online.
Select Autocorrect Synchronization Errors to automatically correct any configuration
mismatches that are discovered during a synchronization. If this option is disabled, the
configuration mismatch is not corrected and the device Configuration status displays a
Critical state. You can then manually correct the error by clicking either the Repair or
Replace Config button in the device configuration page.
See the “Synchronizing Device Configurations” section on page 27-29.
Preserve MS IP on camera Cameras can be configured with a “Preferred Media Server List” for use in camera
delete discovery. You can chose to delete or retain this setting if the camera is deleted from Cisco
VSM:
• Disabled (default)—If a camera is deleted from the Operations Manager (see Deleting
Cameras, page 10-69), the Media Server IP address that is stored on the device is
deleted from the camera’s “Preferred Media Server” list. If the camera is re-added to
Cisco VSM, the Media Server that managed the camera must be reconfigured.
• Enabled—If a camera is deleted from the Operations Manager, the Media Server IP
addresses stored on the camera “Preferred Media Server list” are retained (not deleted).
Low QOS (Operations Manager only) The QoS value used for video between Media Server and client.
Medium QOS
High QOS
Setting Description
Allow duplicate IP address Allow duplicate IP addresses for IP cameras and encoders.
• This setting allows cameras and encoders to be installed in a private network using
network address translation (NAT). The camera or encoders can be added to the
Operations Manager without causing a device IP address conflict.
• This setting is also required if using custom port configuration on cameras and encoders
in networks using Port Address Translation (PAT). The Allow Custom Port
configuration setting must also be enabled.
This setting is disabled by default (duplicate IP addresses are not allowed and will cause a
device id conflict).
See the “Managing Cameras with Duplicate IP Addresses” section on page 10-40 for more
information.
Allow Custom Port Enables the use of custom port configuration on cameras and encoders in networks using
configuration Port Address Translation (PAT).
The following system settings are turned on in Operations Manager.
• Allow duplicate IP address must also be enabled
• Allow Custom Port configuration
See Configuring Custom Camera and Encoder Ports (PAT), page 22-3 for more information
and additional requirements.
Transport Environment Select this option to display camera status at the location level, in addition to individual
cameras.
Privacy Mask Timer (Required, Operations Manager only) The number of minutes before the camera Privacy
Mask camera expires (this setting applies to all cameras that support the Privacy Mask
feature).
When enabled, the Privacy Mask causes a camera to block all live video from that camera.
When the timer expires, the operator is reminded to disable the Privacy Mask (which
restores the live video stream).
The default is 15 minutes. Enter a value between 1 and 120 minutes.
See the “Using the Privacy Mask” section on page 3-20 for more information.
Auto Create Map Markers Automatically creates a camera marker on the location map when a camera is manually
added, updated, or imported from a CSV file. The icon is added based on the camera’s
Install Location.
See the following for more information:
• Adding Cameras to Map Images, page 33-18
• Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the Pointed Location, page 8-9
• You can also optionally specify a different location when importing cameras from a
CSV file. See Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File,
page 10-20
Auto Upgrade Video Walls Automatically upgrade video walls when a new version is available.
Setting Description
Fixed Duration Timeout Automatically logs out users after a defined number of hours. For example, if this value is
8, users are automatically logged out 8 hours after they log in, even if they are still actively
using the system.
Procedure
To enable this feature:
1. Enter the number of hours in the Fixed Duration Timeout system setting (this setting).
2. Select the Enable Fixed Duration Timeout user group settings (Adding User Groups,
page 6-14).
3. Assign users to the user group.
Notes
• Users must log in again to restart the timeout.
• This setting is useful to ensure users log out at the end of a shift or work day, or to ensure
users log out at designated times.
• See also the User Timeout setting.
Password Settings
The password settings define the rules for user passwords.
Choose System Settings > Settings, and the click the Password tab.
Setting Description
Password Expiry Months The number of months before a user password automatically expires. At the end of this
period, users are required to enter a new password.
Minimum Password Length Enter a value between 1 and 40 to define the minimum number of characters for a valid
password. Passwords with less characters than the entered value are rejected.
The default is 8 characters.
Maximum Password Length Enter a value between 40 and 80 to define the maximum number of characters for a valid
password. Passwords with more characters that the entered value are rejected.
The default is 40 characters.
Identical Password/Username If selected, user passwords can be the same as their username.
Allowed
If de-selected, user passwords must be different than their username.
Setting Description
3 Password Groups Required If selected, user passwords must include characters from at least three different types of
characters, including:
• lower case letters
• upper case letters
• symbols
• numbers
If de-selected, user passwords can include only one type of character (for example, all
lower case letters).
Repeat Characters If selected, user passwords can repeat the same 3 characters.
If de-selected, user passwords can not repeat the same 3 characters.
Questions Enter the security questions that users must answer if they forget their password.
• A default set of questions is provided.
• Users must enter answers to the questions when changing their password.
Note If you change the questions, the new questions will apply to new user accounts
only. Existing users will retain their existing questions and answers until they
update their profile.
Language Settings
• Language Settings, page 29-5
• Language Pack, page 29-6
Language Settings
Language settings define the user interface language, the date and time formats, and the first day of the
week. Modify the following settings as needed and click Save.
Setting Description
System Language Select a supported language for the user interface text.
To upload new or revised language packs, see Language Pack, page 29-6.
Date Format Select the date format displayed in system messages, alerts, and other generated information.
For example, MM/DD/YYYY means that dates will appear as month, day, and year.
• d = day
• M = Month
• y = year
Time Format Select the time format displayed in system messages, alerts, and other generated information.
For example, hh:mm:ss tt means that the time will be displayed as hours, minutes, and seconds, and
include the AM/PM notation.
• hh = hour
• mm = minute
• ss = second
• tt = A.M. or P.M.
First day of week Select the day that should be considered the first day of the week.
For example, Monday.
Language Pack
Add language packages to display the Cisco Video Surveillance interface in additional languages. You
must upgrade the language packs on all servers in your deployment.
Procedure
Step 1 Download the language pack from the cisco.com (see Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and
Upgrade Guide).
Step 2 Upload the language pack:
a. Log in to the Cisco VSM Operations Manager.
b. Go to System Settings > Language Settings > System Language.
c. Click and select the language pack from a local or network drive.
d. Click Upload.
Step 3 Select the language for the user interface:
a. After the system is restarted, login to the Operations Manager.
b. Go to System Settings > Language Settings > System Language.
c. Select the system language.
d. Click Save.
Alert Severity
You can change the severity level for new alerts so they will have a higher or lower severity than the
default. For example, Critical alerts can be changed to Warning, and will follow the rules and actions
that apply to Warning alerts. This allows you to change the importance of alerts if they should have less
or more importance in your deployment.
Notes
• Changes apply to new alerts only. Existing alerts retain their original severity level.
• The events that are included in the alert will retain their default severity level, even if the alert is
changed.
Procedure
Tip Click Reset to restore all alert settings to the default value.
Note Storage retention status warning are informational only, and do not affect or represent the health of the
camera.
Related Information
See Monitoring and Managing Storage, page 16-1 for more information.
Procedure
Refer to the following topics to backup the server configuration and video recording files.
Contents
• Overview, page 30-2
– Usage Notes, page 30-2
– Backup Settings, page 30-3
– Backup File Format, page 30-4
– Disk Usage for Backups, page 30-6
• Backing Up and Restoring a Single Server, page 30-8
– Manually Backup a Single Server, page 30-8
– Automatic Backups (Single Server), page 30-9
– Restoring a Backup for a Single Server, page 30-11
– Deleting a Backup File, page 30-12
• Backing Up Multiple Servers (Bulk Actions), page 30-13
• Backing Up Recordings, page 30-16
Overview
Server backups can be performed for a single server, or for multiple servers.
• Use the Backup & Restore tab in the server configuration page to backup a single server.
• Use the server Bulk Operations feature to backup multiple servers.
You can schedule automatic backups, or perform an immediate one-time backup. Each backup creates:
• A separate backup file for each server service running on that server (such as the Media Server and
Operations Manager).
• A backup file for the CDAF (Management Console) service.
To restore a backup, you must restore the files for each server service, and restore the CDAF backup file.
Note We recommend backing up all servers on a regular basis to ensure configuration and event data is not
lost if a hardware failure occurs. Backups are also used to restore configurations and historical data when
upgrading or moving to a new system. Backup files can be saved to the server (“local”) or to a valid
FTP/SFTP server.
Note Recordings are backed up using a Long Term Storage server. See the “Archiving Recordings to a Long
Term Storage Server” section on page 25-14.
Usage Notes
• Each backup includes a separate backup file for each active service on the server, plus a file for the
CDAF service.
• CDAF runs on all servers and provides the Cisco VSM Management Console user interface and
features. CDAF backups include the server database, system information, console jobs and other
data. The CDAF service must be restored along with the other server services or information may
be missing and system errors can occur.
Backup Settings
Table 30-1 describes the server backup and restore settings.
Field Description
Automatic Backups
Enable Select the check box to enable or disable the automatic backup schedule.
Destination Select where the backup file will be stored:
• On Local—(Default) Saves the backup file to the server hard drive.
• On Remote—Saves the backup file to a remote storage network server.
Type Select the type of data to back up:
• Configuration Only—Backs up the user-defined configuration, including device settings (for
cameras, encoders, and Media Servers), user accounts, and other attributes.
• Configuration Plus Historical Data—(Default) Backs up the configuration plus events, health
notifications, logs, and other data containing information regarding the status, use and health of the
system.
Frequency Define how often backups will occur (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly).
Field Description
On Select the day of the week or day of the month when automatic backups will occur.
Note This field is disabled for daily backups. Select the time from the At field.
At Enter the time of day the backups will occur.
Remote Storage
Note These settings define the remote server used to store backup files if the Remote option is enabled. Click Test to verify
the settings are correct and the remote server can be accessed.
Enable Select the check box to enable or disable the remote network storage option. If enabled, backups will be
saved to the remote destination.
Protocol Select the type of remote server: FTP or SFTP.
Address Enter the server network address.
Username Enter the username used to access the server.
Password Enter the server password.
Path Enter the directory path where the backup file will be stored
• Service—The service acronym that defines the data stored in the file. For example:
VSOM=Operations Manager, VSMC=Management Console, VSF=Federator, etc.
• HostName—the host name of the server running the Cisco VSM Operations Manager service.
• yyyyMMdd_HHmmss—the date and time when the backup file was created.
For example, if the PSBU-ENG14 server configuration and historical data was backed up on August 17,
the resulting filename would be: VSOM_psbu-eng14_backup_20130817_174250.tar.gz
Column Description
Path The server directory path where the backup files are stored.
File Name The file name.
See the “Backup File Format” section on page 30-4.
Creation Time The date and time when the backup file was created.
Size The size of the backup file.
Service Type The server service types included in the backup. For example:
• VSOM (Operations Manager)
• VSMS (Media Server)
• CDAF (Console)
• Geoserver
• Metadata
See the “Understanding Server Services” section on page 9-3.
Type Configuration or configuration plus historical data.
See the “Overview” section on page 30-2.
Source Automatic or manually triggered backup.
Figure 30-2 Disk Usage for Backup Files Stored on the Server
Failed Backups
The failed backup fields in the Restore From Backups tab (Figure 30-3) displays information about the
failed manual or automatic backups.
Tip Click an entry to view additional details about the failure reason.
Note These same techniques apply when backing up a Federator server. See the “Using Federator to Monitor
Multiple Operations Managers” section on page 31-1 for more information.
Contents
Refer to the following topics for more information:
• Manually Backup a Single Server, page 30-8
• Automatic Backups (Single Server), page 30-9
• Backup Settings, page 30-3
• Backup File Format, page 30-4
• Disk Usage for Backups, page 30-6
• Restoring a Backup for a Single Server, page 30-11
• Deleting a Backup File, page 30-12
Procedure
Note When the maximum number of backups is reached, an existing backup file must be deleted to
make room for the new backup file.
• Failed backups are displayed in the Failed Manual Backups field. See the “Failed Backups” section
on page 30-7.
Note • The Media Server configuration data is backed up automatically to the local server every day by
default (and cannot be disabled). Automatic backups must configured for the other server services.
• When the maximum number of backups is reached, an existing backup file must be deleted to make
room for the new backup file. Automatic backups will automatically delete the oldest backup file.
• Only the Configuration option is supported when the automatic backups are stored on the Local
server.
• If a scheduled backup fails, a health notification is sent. See Sending Alerts via Emails or to WebEx
Teams (Notification Policies), page 27-23 for more information.
Procedure
Note The CDAF service provides the server’s Management Console functionality, including the server
database, system information, console jobs and other data. If the CDAF service is not restored at the
same time as the other services, information may be missing and system errors can occur.
For example, if the server is running Operations Manager (VSOM) and Media Server (VSMS) services,
a separate backup file is created for each service plus the CDAF (Console) service. You must restore each
service backup file, one service at a time.
Caution Restoring a backup deletes any existing configurations, settings and historical data.
Procedure
To restore the server configuration from a backup file, do the following.
Note You must first enter the Remote Storage settings in the Manage Backup tab before you can
transfer a file from a remote server. See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for more
information.
c. Click Save.
d. Repeat these steps to upload the backup file for each service, plus the CDAF (Console) service.
Step 6 Select the backup file for the service you want to restore.
• The Service Type displays the server service: For example: VSOM (Operations Manager), VSMS
(Media Server), CDAF (Console), Geoserver, or Metadata.
• See also Backup File Format, page 30-4 and Backup File Information, page 30-5.
Step 7 Click Restore.
Step 8 Click Yes to confirm the backup and server restart.
Procedure
• To Remote—the file will be transferred to the location specified in the Remote Storage section of
the Configure tab. See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for more information.
Step 5 Click Delete (bottom left).
Step 6 Confirm the operation, when prompted.
Tip See the “Bulk Actions: Revising Multiple Servers” section on page 9-26 for more information on other
options and actions available for multiple servers.
Usage Notes
• Bulk action is supported for Media Servers only. The Bulk Action feature does not support Map or
Metadata servers.
• All Active services in the selected server will be backed up.
• There is one scheduled backup per server. The schedule will be applied to all selected servers.
• One FTP or SFTP server can be configured for all selected servers.
• You can only restore backups for a single server, as described in the “Restoring a Backup for a Single
Server” section on page 30-11. Bulk Actions cannot be used to restore backups on multiple servers.
• Media Server backups do not include recordings. See the “Backing Up Recordings” section on
page 30-16 for instructions to back up recordings to a Long Term Storage (LTS) server.
• If a scheduled backup fails, a health notification is sent. See Sending Alerts via Emails or to WebEx
Teams (Notification Policies), page 27-23 for more information.
Procedure
Step 3 Click the icon next to each Search field to select the filter criteria.
Step 4 Click Search.
Step 5 Select the servers to back up.
• Choose the Select All check box to select ALL servers matched by the filters, including the servers
not shown in the grid.
• Use CTRL-CLICK and SHIFT-CLICK or to select multiple items.
Step 6 Click the following backup Action buttons that apply.
Action Description
Set Remote Backup Config Defines the connection settings for the remote server used for server
backups.
See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for setting
descriptions.
Action Description
Set Scheduled Backup Defines when the automatic backups will occur for the selected
servers.
See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for setting
descriptions.
Note The Media Server configuration data is backed up
automatically to the local server every day by default (and
cannot be disabled). Automatic backups must configured for
the other server services.
Backup Now Performs an immediate one-time backup of the selected servers. A
separate backup file is created for each active service running on the
server.
• To Local—Saves the backup file(s) to the disk on the server.
• To Remote—Saved the backup file(s) to a remote FTP or SFTP
server. The FTP or SFTP server connection must be configured.
See the “Overview” section on page 30-2 for more information.
Backing Up Recordings
Recordings can be backed up to a Redundant Media Server or a Long Term Storage (LTS) server, or both.
To do so, you must configure cameras and camera templates for Stream Redundancy and Long Term
Storage.
See the following topics for more information:
• Configuring the Redundant and Failover Options, page 25-11
• Archiving Recordings to a Long Term Storage Server, page 25-14
For overview information, see the following:
• “High Availability: Cisco Media Servers” section on page 25-1
Federator is a server service that allows users to monitor video and system health from multiple
Operations Managers.
Refer to the following topics to install and manage a Federator server, and to view video from the
associated Operations Managers using the browser-based utility.
Note • You can also use the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD)
application to view Federator resources. See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security
Desktop User Guide for more information.
• To configure server settings such as the network time protocol (NTP) and network settings, or to
view hardware information and logs, use the Cisco VSM Management Console. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Contents
• Overview, page 31-3
• Requirements, page 31-4
• Summary Steps, page 31-7
• Initial Server Setup, page 31-10
• Logging In to a Federator Server, page 31-15
• Configuring Access to Operations Manager Resources, page 31-16
– Configuration Summary Steps, page 31-17
– Adding Operations Manager Servers to Federator, page 31-18
– Adding Federator Locations, page 31-22
– Adding Federator Regions, page 31-24
– Adding Federator Users, page 31-26
• Monitoring Video Using Federator, page 31-29
• Federator Clip Search, page 31-31
• Monitoring Device Health Using the Browser-Based Federator, page 31-33
– Federator Health Dashboard, page 31-33
Overview
The Cisco Video Surveillance Federator allows users to view video and monitor system health from
multiple Operations Managers (Figure 31-1). The Federator service is enabled on a Cisco VSM server,
and Operations Manager servers are then added to the Federator configuration. Federator users (which
are different from the Operations Manager users) are provided access to Operations Manager locations
based on their access permissions in Federator. Each Federator supports up to 500 Operations Managers
(a license is required for the number of Operations Managers associated with the Federator).
For example:
• A company has warehouse facilities in different regions of the country. Each facility includes an
Operations Manager that manages multiple Media Servers and related cameras. Currently, users
must log in to each Operations Manager separately to view video and monitor device status for each
site. Federator, however, allows central office users to log in to Federator and simultaneously access
video and device health from the Operations Managers in multiple warehouses.
• Another company manages retail stores in different regions of the country. Federator can be used to
monitor video and system health in all regions. For example:
– Security personnel can monitor video from the stores in different locations, even through each
location has a separate Operations Manager.
– Financial managers can monitor video only from the cashier booths.
– System administrators can monitor system and device health for the cameras, encoders and
servers in all regions.
Capacity
Each Federator server supports the following:
• 500 Operations Manager servers
• 2000 regions
• 200 client workstations
Requirements
Table 31-1 Federator Requirements
Complete?
Requirements ( )
At least one Federator server must be installed on the network.
• A physical or virtual machine must be installed.
• The Federator service must be enabled (see the “Initial Server Setup” section on page 31-10).
Notes
To configure server settings such as the network time protocol (NTP) and network settings, or to view
hardware information and logs, use the Cisco VSM Management Console. See the Cisco Video Surveillance
Management Console Administration Guide for more information.
Related Documentation
• See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform Series User Guide for instructions to install a physical
server.
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms
for instructions to install a virtual machine.
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for instructions to enable
the Federator service.
The IP address or hostname of the Federator server.
Notes
• The default credentials for a new or factory restored server is admin/admin.
• The username and initial password for all other users is defined when the user account is created (see the
“Adding Users” section on page 6-20).
• All users are prompted to reset the password at first login.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A Federator license must be purchased and installed to enable a specific number of Operations Managers that
can be managed by the system.
• Federator supports one Operations Manager by default.
• An additional license must be installed to support multiple Operations Managers.
• Each Federator supports a maximum of 500 Operations Managers.
See the “Initial Server Setup” section on page 31-10 for instructions to install Federator licenses.
The IP address and login credentials for each Operations Managers that will be added to the Federator
configuration:
• Operations Manager server address (IP address or hostname).
• Login credentials (username and password) for the Operations Manager.
Notes
• See the “Adding Operations Manager Servers to Federator” section on page 31-18 for more information.
• The server account must include access permissions for the required Operations Manager resources (such
as cameras).
• The username and password for the Operations Managers is different that the Federator credentials. Each
system required a separate user account.
• Operations Manager servers cannot be pre-provisioned when added to a Federator. If the Operations
Manager is not accessible, the status is “unreachable”.
To use the browser-based administration tool described in this document, the following is required:
32-bit or 64-bit
• The IE 32-bit version can display a maximum of 4 video panes (for example, in a 2x2 layout).
• The IE 64-bit version can display a maximum of 16 video panes (for example, in a 4x4 layout). The 64-bit
version of Internet Explorer requires that the workstation run in “Protected Mode”.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification for the
complete baseline performance specifications for a video surveillance monitoring workstation.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
The Cisco Multi-Pane client software installed on the PC is required to view video.
• The Multi-Pane client is an Active X client that enables video playback and other features.
• You will be prompted to install Multi-Pane client the first time you log in to the Cisco VSM Federator, or
if you are using a the 64-bit Internet Explorer (IE) web browser for the first time. Follow the on-screen
instructions if prompted.
• You will also be prompted to install the required Microsoft .Net 4.5 component, if necessary. If your
workstation does not have Internet access, download the .Net 4.5 installer.
• You must have administrative privileges on the PC workstation to install the software.
Note By default, all video monitoring using Internet Explorer is performed using the 32-bit Cisco
Multi-Pane client software. To enable 64-bit browser monitoring in Windows using IE, see the Cisco
Video Surveillance Monitoring Workstation Performance Baseline Specification.
Federator resources (video) can be monitored using the following applications:
• The browser-based monitoring tool (described in this document).
• The Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) desktop application.
See the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information.
Summary Steps
Configuring the Cisco VSM Federator is similar to configuring an Operations Manager. You must enable
the Federator service on the server using the Management Console, and then use the Federator
browser-based interface to configure system settings, schedule backups, and add users, servers, locations
and regions. Federator users can then log in and monitor video and system health from multiple
Operations Managers.
Table 31-2 summarizes the configuration process. See the “Configuring Access to Operations Manager
Resources” section on page 31-16 for detailed instructions.
Complete?
Task Description ( )
Step 1 Install a physical or virtual • Physical Servers— See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform
Cisco VSM server Series User Guide for more information.
(Release 7.5 or higher) • Virtual Machines—See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual
Machine Deployment and Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms for
instructions to install the server software .ova image as a virtual
machine (VM).
Step 2 Use the Cisco VSM The Federator service enabled the Federator features and
Management Console Initial browser-based configuration interface. It also allows the Cisco SASD
Setup Wizard to enable the Federator desktop application to access the server and associated
Federator service. Operations Managers.
Complete?
Task Description ( )
Step 3 Log in to the Cisco VSM See the “Logging In and Managing Passwords” section on page 1-17.
Federator server.
Enter a new password if prompted.
Step 4 Install the Federator license. The license defines how many Operations Manager servers can be
managed by the Federator.
Tip The license must be installed on the Federator server interface
(not the Operations Manager).
Complete?
Task Description ( )
Step 8 Create the locations. Federator locations allow you to organize the Operations Manager
resources (such as video streams) according to the real-world location
of the server, or by the type of video available on the server (such as
cameras in warehouses).
• User Groups are also associated with locations define user access
permissions.
• “Regions” are used to map an Operations Manager location to a
Federator location.
See the “Adding Federator Locations” section on page 31-22.
Step 9 Create the Regions, and Regions allow you to map an Operations Manager location to a
associate each Region with an Federator location. The resources available in the Operations Manager
Operations Manager location location are displayed in the Federator location.
and a Federator location.
For example, if an Operations Manager includes locations for
California and New York, you can create a “West Coast” Region that
includes only the California locations (and associated attributes), and
map that to the West Coast Federator location.
See the “Adding Federator Regions” section on page 31-24.
Step 10 Add the users that can access Add Roles, User Groups and Users.
the Federator server.
Creating users is the same as Operations Manager, but you can only
grant full Manage permissions (users can manage all Federator
features, or none at all).
See the “Adding Federator Users” section on page 31-26.
Step 11 Monitor video from the See the “Monitoring Video Using Federator” section on page 31-29.
Operations Managers
associated with the Federator.
Step 12 Monitor system health for all See the “Monitoring Device Health Using the Browser-Based
Operations Managers (and Federator” section on page 31-33.
associated devices, such as
Media Servers, cameras and
encoders).
Tip See the Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide for more
information.
Figure 31-2 Enabling the Federator Service Using the Management Console Initial Setup Wizard
Tip See Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1 for more information.
Tip The additional capacity is available immediately. You do not need to restart the server or take
additional steps. The license enables the number of Operations Manager (Operations Manager)
servers that can be managed by the Federator. In the Figure 31-3 example, the license supports
10 additional Operations Manager (VSOM) servers (for a total of 11).
Tip The Federator backup procedure is similar to the Operations Manager procedure. See the
“Backing Up and Restoring a Single Server” section on page 30-8 for more information.
Note We recommend backing up all servers on a regular basis to ensure configuration and event data
is not lost if a hardware failure occurs. Backups are also used to restore configurations and
historical data when upgrading or moving to a new system.
See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for setting descriptions.
e. Click Save.
f. Backup files are saved to the selected destination. See the “Backup File Format” section on
page 30-4 for a description of the file name.
– If saved locally, the backup files are saved to the Backup File list in the Restore From Backup
tab.
– Failed backups are displayed in the Failed Backup field. Double-click a failed scheduled backup
entry to display additional details (failed manual backups do not display additional
information).
Note Federator user accounts are different than Operations Manager user account. You cannot use Operations
Manager credentials to access the Federator. See the “Adding Federator Users” section on page 31-26
for instructions to create Federator users.
Login Procedure
Step 1 Launch the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Internet Explorer on your Windows computer.
See the “Requirements” section on page 1-4 for more information.
Step 2 Enter the Federator URL or IP address.
The syntax is: https://server-address/vsf/
Step 3 Enter your username and password.
• The default credentials for a new or factory restored server are admin/admin.
• The initial system includes an admin login for the super_user. You can create additional users with
various access permissions, as described in the “Adding Federator Users” section on page 31-26.
g. Select a Domain, if necessary.
h. Enter a new password, if prompted.
i. If prompted, ask your manager or other administrator to enter their “Approver Login”
See the “Understanding Dual Login” section on page 1-19 for more information.
j. If prompted, complete the on-screen instructions to install or upgrade the Cisco Multi-Pane client
software on your computer.
See the “Logging In and Managing Passwords” section on page 1-17 for more information.
Figure 31-5 Using Regions to Map Operations Manager Locations to Federator Locations
In Figure 31-5, three Operations Manager servers are added to the Federator, and the administrator adds
Regions that map only the Operations Manager warehouse sub-locations to Federator sub-locations
(under “North American Warehouse”). A Federator User Group is then created with Operator
permissions to the “North American Warehouse” location, allowing users assigned to that User Group
to monitor video from all North America warehouse cameras (but not financial or administrative offices).
Note The Operations Manager locations are displayed under the Federator location.
Tip Servers are displayed in a flat list, and are not assigned to a location. This allows you to associate a
sub-location on the server to a Region. That Region is also associated with a Federator location.
Operations Manager servers cannot be pre-provisioned when added to a Federator. If the Operations
Manager is not accessible, the status is “unreachable”. Verify that the Operations Manager server(s) are
reachable and online (see the “Requirements” section on page 31-4).
Refer to the following to add a single server or multiple servers from a CSV file:
• “Adding a Single Server” section on page 31-19
• “Importing Multiple Servers from a CSV File” section on page 31-20
Step 1 Complete the “Initial Server Setup” section on page 31-10 and log in to the Federator.
• You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Manage All. See the “Adding Federator
Users” section on page 31-26 for more information.
Step 2 Select Management > Servers.
Step 3 Click Add.
Step 4 (Add only) Complete the initial server setup (Figure 31-7):
Setting Description
Name A meaningful name for the Operations Manager.
• This is used to identify the server when associating all or part of its resources with a Region.
• For example, Nevada Server or Warehouse B Server.
Hostname/IP The hostname or IP address of the Operations Manager server.
Address
Username The username used to establish communication with the Operations Manager.
The access permissions for the user account define the resources available in Federator.
Note A username and password from an external database (such as LDAP) can also be used. See Adding
Users from an LDAP Server, page 7-1 to configure LDAP on the Operations Manager.
Password The server password.
Tip The server password is defined using the Operations Manager interface. See the “Adding Users,
User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
domain • Choose the default “localhost” if the account was created using the Operations Manager.
• Select an alternative domain if instructed by your system administrator. For example, if the account is
created using an LDAP server.
k. Click Add.
• If the validation is successful, the server appears in the server configuration page in the OK state
(Figure 31-8).
• If the server cannot be found on the network, or the username/address is incorrect, the server is
added in the critical state. Correct the server hostname and login credentials and click Save. The
Federator will update the settings and attempt to establish communication.
Note Operations Manager servers cannot be pre-provisioned when added to a Federator. If the
Operations Manager is not accessible, the status is “unreachable”.
Step 5 (Optional) In the Server configuration page (Figure 31-8), add a Region and associate an Operations
Manager location to that region.
See the “Adding Federator Regions” section on page 31-24 for more information.
• The servers cannot be pre-provisioned. Servers with incorrect address or username/password will be
added in a critical state. Correct the Access Information and wait for communication to be
established.
Note Operations Manager servers cannot be pre-provisioned when added to a Federator. If the Operations
Manager is not accessible, the status is “unreachable”.
Step 1 Create a file in plain text CSV format that can be opened and saved using Excel or OpenOffice Calc.
Blank rows or rows beginning with “//” are ignored.
• Only the Name, Hostname or IP address, Username, and Password are required.
• See the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 9-21.
Tip To download a sample import file, launch the import wizard as described in the Import Step 1 -
Download Sample. Click the Download Sample button in the second step of the wizard to obtain
a sample file (see Step 4). See the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 9-21 for more
information.
Tip See the “Creating the CSV File” section on page 9-21 for more information.
Tip Federator locations are similar to locations in an Operations Manager. See the “Creating the Location
Hierarchy” section on page 8-1.
Tip • Use the keyboard shortcuts (shown in parentheses) to quickly add or edit location entries.
• You can also drag and drop location names within the location hierarchy.
• Click Delete to remove an entry. You can only delete a location that does not have any resources
assigned to the location, or any of its sub-locations. If the delete operation fails, remove or reassign
any associated resources and try again.
Note Different non-overlapping locations from the same Operations Manager can be mapped as different
Federator Regions. Federator supports up to 2000 regions.
Note • Federator user accounts are different than Operations Manager user account. You cannot use
Operations Manager credentials to access the Federator.
• Creating users is similar to the method to configure Operations Manager users. See the “Adding
Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
• The permissions available in Federator Roles are different than those available in Operations
Manager. See the “Understanding Federator Access Permissions” section on page 31-27.
Federator users can monitor video and system health based on the following:
• The user group(s) to which the user is assigned: user groups are associated with a user Role, which
defines the access permissions for the group.
• The location assigned to the user group(s), and the Region(s) associated with that location (and its
sub-locations).
• Users can be assigned to multiple user groups, and gain the combined access permissions for all
groups.
Tip You can also provide access to users that are managed on an external (LDAP) server. See Adding Users
from an LDAP Server, page 7-1 for more information.
The Role defines the access permissions for different types of users. Roles are assigned to User Groups.
a. Select Users.
b. Select the Roles tab .
c. Click Add.
d. Enter the basic settings (see Table 6-6 on page 6-14).
e. Select the Role permissions (see Table 6-2 on page 6-6 and Table 6-3 on page 6-7).
Note The Federator permissions are different than the Operations Manager permissions.
f. Click Create.
Tip See the “Defining User Roles” section on page 6-12 for more information.
Tip Select the Approval Required checkbox (and “Approval Usergroup”) to enable Dual Login. All
users assigned to the User Group can only gain access if a member of the “Approval Usergroup”
also enters their password.
d. Click Create.
Tip See the “Adding Users” section on page 6-20. See also the “Adding Users, User Groups, and
Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Step 4 Continue to the “Monitoring Video Using Federator” section on page 31-29 and the “Monitoring Device
Health Using the Browser-Based Federator” section on page 31-33.
Usage Notes
• Federator users can view video from different Operations Managers in a single layout by dragging
and dropping cameras in the video display grid.
• Federator users can load the Views defined in the Operations Managers.
• The Operations Manager default layouts are available in Federator.
• You can view, but not create, video clips in this release. Use the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety
and Security Desktop application to create clips using Federator.
• To use the camera search, you must first select a location. Camera search is not supported across
multiple Operations Managers.
Procedure
Step 7 (Optional) Select a View that was configured on the Operations Manager.
See the “Selecting a Multi-Pane “View”” section on page 3-4.
Step 8 (Optional) Click Clip Search to view, download, delete and manage MP4 clips saved on the server.
See the “Federator Clip Search” section on page 31-31.
Note Clips can not be deleted using Federator. Clips cannot be created using the browser-based
Federator interface in this release. Use the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security
Desktop application to create clips.
Step 9 (Optional) Click Thumbnail Search to quickly locate specific scenes or events in recorded video.
See the “Viewing a Thumbnail Summary of Video Archives” section on page 3-35.
Tip You can also create and download clips by right-clicking a video pane. See the “Downloading and
Viewing Clips” section on page 3-48.
Procedure
Step 1 From the Monitor Video page, click Clip Search to open the Clip Search window (Figure 31-14).
Step 2 Select the clip type:
• Clip Search tab—MP4 clips
• Virtual Clip Search tab—Virtual clips
Step 3 Select a region where the clip(s) were created. Only clips from the Operations Manager location mapped
to that region will be displayed.
Step 4 (Optional) Use the filters to search for specific clips (Table 31-4):
Field Description
By Clip Name The full or partial name for the clip(s), which is entered when the clip is created
By Tag Not available in Release 7.2.
By Clip Status Select the status for the displayed clips. Any status not selected will not be displayed.
By Camera The camera name where the clip originated.
By Location Clips created by all cameras at the selected location(s).
By Server Clips created by all cameras associated with the selected servers(s).
Field Description
Clip Name The clip name entered when the clip was created. The default is “My Clip” if no name is entered.
Camera Name The camera name where the clip originated.
Start Time The start timestamp for the clip.
End Time The end timestamp for the clip.
Clip Expiration The date/time when the clip will be deleted from the server.
Clip Status In-Progress, Completed or Failed
Location Location of the cameras where the clip originated.
Media Server The Media Server that manages the camera video where the clip originated.
Clip Owner The user that created the clip.
Tags Tags associated with the clip (blank in Release 7.2)
Step 7 (Optional) To download an MP4 clip, select a clip and click Download.
Note If an “HTTP 400 Bad Request” error appears, it may be due to the Internet Explorer (IE) settings.
In IE, go to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced and select “Use HTTP 1.1”. Also deselect
“Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections”. Next, click the Connections tab, choose the LAN
settings button and select “Automatically detect settings”.
a. Click Continue and accept the security certificate when the Internet Explorer web browser prompts
you to proceed to the secure page. This prompt appears only once for each Media Server.
b. Select one of the following options:
– Open—Plays the file using your default video player.
– Save —Saves the file to the default location using a default filename.
– Save As—Enter a new filename and select a location on the local disk.
– Save and Open—Saves the file to the default location using a default filename, and then plays
the clip using your default video player.
Step 8 (Optional) To permanently delete a clip from the server, select one or more clips and click Delete.
Note Only the server file is deleted. Any clips previously downloaded to a local disk are not affected.
Overview
Use the browser-based Federator Health Dashboard (Operations > Health Dashboard) to view a
summary of device health issues that are occurring on the servers, encoders and cameras of all
Operations Managers managed by the Federator.
The browser-based Federator displays two types of alerts:
• Federator device health alerts—health alerts generated by the Federator server.
• Operations Manager health alerts—alerts gathered from the Operations Managers monitored by the
Federator.
Note The browser-based Federator Health Dashboard displays device health events only. To view security
events (such as motion or contact events), use the Cisco SASD Federator. See the Cisco Video
Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop User Guide for more information. For example, you can use
Advanced events to automatically send motion events to the Cisco SASD Federator, or manually send
specific alerts from an Operations Manager to the Federator.
The Federator Health Dashboard is similar to the Health Dashboard for an Operations Manager: it
displays the critical and warning faults on devices, such as servers, cameras and encoders
(Figure 31-15).
The Federator Health Dashboard differs from the Operations Manager dashboard in the following ways:
• Federator health information is not updated in real-time. Device health is periodically gathered
(every 30 minutes) from the Operations Managers by the Federator and cannot be updated by
refreshing the page.
• Locations cannot be selected in the Federator Health Dashboard. Health issues counts (not the actual
issues) are displayed for the locations that the user can view. For example, if a user is assigned to a
Federator user group with the California location, then the user would see only the issue counts from
California and its sub-locations. If a higher-level location (such as “System”) had 10 issues, that
issue count would not be displayed for California users. The Federator locations include only the
Operations Manager resources mapped to the Federator regions.
• Issues do not include the icon to open the device’s configuration page. You must log in to the
Operations Manager for the device to access the device status and configuration pages.
• Issues are displayed by category only (and not by issue type).
Note Federator users must be in a user groups with the Display Health Status access permission to view the
device health status and the Federator Health Dashboard. See the Adding Federator Users for
information to create Federator users and assign them to user groups.
Tip For more information about the Operations Manager Health Dashboard, see the “Health Dashboard:
Device Health Faults on an Operations Manager” section on page 27-7.
1 Click Health Dashboard to view the critical and warning faults for all devices in all Operations Managers
managed by the Federator:
• Issues are displayed by category only.
• The number represents the total number of issues for all devices at allOperations Managers, based on the selected
category (such as Configuration, Reachability, Hardware and Software).
Tip See Table 31-6 for more information about critical and warning faults.
2 Select a number next to the device type (Servers, Encoders or Cameras) to view all issues for that device type.
3 Select a number next to a category to display the issues for all devices that are experiencing that category of issue. For
example, click the number next to the server Configuration category to view the device configuration issues.
• If issues did not occur, a number is not displayed.
• The number represents the total number of issues for all devices at all locations in all Operations Manager, based on
the category.
4 Last Update—The date and time when the health information was automatically updated from all Operations Managers.
• Federator health information is automatically updated every 30 minutes and cannot be refreshed manually. This
prevents excessive polling on the Operations Managers that could degrade system performance.
• For real-time health information, log in to the Operations Manager’s Health Dashboard. See the “Health Dashboard:
Device Health Faults on an Operations Manager” section on page 27-7 for more information.
5 The specific health issues that occurred for the selected category or device type.
• All issues are listed. Multiple issues can be displayed for the same device
Tip • Device errors are cleared automatically by the system or manually cleared by an operator using the
Cisco SASD or another monitoring application. Cleared errors are removed when the Federator
health information is automatically updated.
• Some alerts cannot be automatically reset. For example, a server I/O write error event.
Procedure
Complete the following procedure to access the Health Dashboard and view device health issues:
Step 2 Click a number to display the specific issues for the device type or category.
• The number represents the total number of issues for all devices in all Operations Managers
managed by the Federator.
• There is no “Issue Type” option in the Federator Health Dashboard.
Step 3 Continue to the “Device Status: Identifying Issues for a Specific Device” section on page 27-13 for more
information.
Step 4 Take corrective action to restore the device to normal operation, if necessary.
Step 5 For example, if a configuration mismatch occurs, see the “Synchronizing Device Configurations”
section on page 27-29.
Tip The Federator audit logs are similar to the Operations Manager logs. See the “Viewing Audit Logs”
section on page 27-43.
Note Users must belong to a User Group with super-admin permissions to access the Audit Logs (the user
must be added to a user group that is associated with the super-admin role). See the Adding Users, User
Groups, and Permissions, page 6-1.
Procedure
To view active uses and log them out, see Viewing and Logging Out Active Users, page 6-22.
Setting Description
Username The username of the account used to access the system.
First Name The first name in the user account
Last Name The last name in the user account
User Group(s) The user groups the user is assigned to.
User groups define the user role and location for member users, which defines the cameras
and resources they can access.
Super-admin Indicates if the user account is assigned the super-admin role.
Logged-In Time The date and time when the user logged in.
Last Access Time The date and time the user last performed any action on the system.
From IP The IP address of the device or computer used to access the system.
Notes
• You cannot kill (end) your own user session.
• To view a history of user activity, go to Management > Audit Logs (see Federator Audit Logs,
page 31-36).
• To view and log out users of a specific deployment, log in to the Operations Manager. See Viewing
and Logging Out Active Users, page 6-22.
Administration Tasks
Refer to the following topics to perform common administrative tasks on the Federator server.
• “Backing up and Restoring the Federator Configuration” section on page 31-39
• “Updating the Federator Server System Software” section on page 31-42
Note We recommend backing up all servers on a regular basis to ensure configuration and event data is not
lost if a hardware failure occurs. Backups are also used to restore configurations and historical data when
upgrading or moving to a new system.
You can backup a single Federator server at a time. The following instructions are to perform a manual
one-time backup. To configure an automatic backup schedule, see the “Initial Server Setup” section on
page 31-10.
Tip The Federator backup procedure is similar to the Operations Manager procedure. See the “Backing Up
and Restoring a Single Server” section on page 30-8 for more information.
Procedure
For example, if the psbu-docs1 server was backed up on October 29, the resulting filename would be:
VSF_psbu-docs1_backup_20131029_105018.tar.gz
Caution Restoring a backup deletes any existing configurations, settings and historical data.
Note Failed backups are displayed in the Failed Backup field. Double-click an entry to display details.
Procedure
To restore the server configuration from a backup file, do the following.
Note You must first enter the Remote Storage settings in the Manage Backup tab before you can
transfer a file from a remote server. See the “Backup Settings” section on page 30-3 for more
information.
c. Click Save.
Step 4 Select the backup file for the service you want to restore.
Step 5 Click Restore.
Step 6 Click Yes to confirm the backup and server restart.
Step 7 Click OK when the restore process is complete.
Step 8 Re-login to the server.
Dynamic Proxy allows users to access video streams from remote Sites that have limited outbound
bandwidth. The video can be delivered to multiple users without placing additional load on the remote
Site.
Refer to the following topics for more information:
Contents
• Dynamic Proxy Overview, page 32-1
• Understanding Sites, page 32-3
• Dynamic Proxy Requirements, page 32-4
• Summary Steps to Configure Dynamic Proxy, page 32-5
• Detailed Steps to Configure Dynamic Proxy, page 32-6
For example, in Figure 32-1, an offshore oil platform has a set of IP cameras and Media Servers. Any
requests coming from users within that Site can be serviced by those on-Site Media Servers. Since the
internal network is robust, the video is delivered at high resolution.
However, since this offshore oil platform has limited bandwidth to send data to on-shore monitoring
Sites, requests from off-Site users would quickly consume the available outgoing bandwidth.
When the Dynamic Proxy feature is enabled, however, requests for video from off-Site (onshore) clients
can be intercepted and services by the Dynamic Proxy. This Dynamic Proxy can collect a single video
stream from the off-shore Site and deliver it to multiple users onshore.
For example:
• The Dynamic Proxy establishes secure communication with the source Media Server, retrieves the
video, and displays it to the off-Site user(s) who requested it.
• The Dynamic Proxy service scales down the audio/video quality to accommodate small network
pipe between the Media Server and the Dynamic Proxy server.
• The Dynamic Proxy service is only available for live video streams.
• The Dynamic Proxy servers do not support Failover. If a Dynamic Proxy server goes down or is
unavailable, the user must re-request the video stream. The video will be served by a different
Dynamic Proxy server, if configured.
• PTZ commands can be used by users inside and outside a Site since PTZ commands use a small
amount of bandwidth and are sent directly to the Media Server.
Understanding Sites
“Sites” are designated location hierarchies (a location and its sub-locations) where network connectivity
between the cameras and servers is good. These Sites, however, may have low-bandwidth connectivity
to cameras, servers and users outside the Site.
For example, in Figure 32-2, a location representing an off-shore oil drilling platform is designated as a
Site:
• User Groups assigned to a location within the Site receive video directly from the Media Servers
and cameras that are also in that Site location. For example, operators physically located on the oil
platform are also assigned to a User Group in the Site. When they request video from cameras that
are also located in the Site, they receive full-quality video from the servers in the Site.
• User Groups assigned to a location outside the Site, however, (such as an on-shore location) receive
video from a Dynamic Proxy server. The Dynamic Proxy server manages the video requests and
communicates directly with the on-Site servers to retrieve the requested video and deliver it to the
off-Site user.
– If users log in outside a Site and access cameras that are also outside the Site, then the DP is not
used.
– If users log in outside a Site and access cameras inside the Site, then DP is used.
See the “Dynamic Proxy Overview” section on page 32-1 for more information.
Note • Sites can also be configured without DP support. If the Site has unlimited bandwidth, video streams
can be delivered to users outside the Site directly from the Site’s Media Server (without using a DP
server). See the “Detailed Steps to Configure Dynamic Proxy” section on page 32-6.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
To configure Dynamic Proxy features, you must belong to a User Group with permissions for Servers &
Encoders.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
At least one Media Server must be configured for Dynamic Proxy (DP). This DP must be installed and
configured for a location outside the Site (a non-Site location).
Each Operations Manager supports up to 100 Dynamic Proxies.
Each Media Server requires a server license.
A Site must be created. Users outside the Site are served by the Dynamic Proxy.
Users must belong to a User Group inside the Site to receive video streams directly from the local Media
Server (no loss of video quality).
Users outside the Site are served by the Dynamic Proxy.
Tip Users with access to multiple Sites can switch between the Sites at login. For example, if a user has
access to both on-shore and off-shore Sites, the user can login from any of the Sites. This is helpful
when the user is traveling to remote Sites.
Step 2 Install a Media Server and A license is required for each server added to the system. See
license. Summary Steps to Add or Revise a Server, page 9-8.
Step 3 Enable the Dynamic Proxy A deployment must include at least one Dynamic Proxy Media
service on a Media Server Server.
Step 4 Create one or more Sites. “Sites” are designated location hierarchies where network
connectivity amongst cameras/servers within the Site is very good.
• User groups within a Site location receive video directly from
the Media Server that is at that location (such as the Media
Server on an off-shore oil drilling platform).
• Users outside the Site receive video from the Dynamic Proxy
server.
See the “Understanding Sites” section on page 32-3 for more
information.
Step 5 Create User Groups and User groups that are inside a Site can access cameras that are also in
assign the groups inside or that Site at full bandwidth (no quality loss).
outside the Site location.
User groups outside the Site will receive the video from the
Dynamic Proxy, which can result in lower video quality to preserve
bandwidth.
Step 6 Monitor video. Log in to the Operations Manager or Cisco SASD user interface,
select a Site and access the video streams available based on your
User Group membership.
If a camera is inside a Site, and the user is not logged in to that Site,
then the video will be provided by the Dynamic Proxy.
Note If a camera is disabled and then quickly enabled in a
deployment with multiple Dynamic Proxy servers, it is
possible that the video stream can be viewed by two
different operators using two different Dynamic Proxy
servers. This occurs if an operator was viewing video before
the enable-disable and the other operator starts viewing after
the enable-disable. We recommend waiting at least 5
minutes after disabling a camera before re-enabling it.
Note At least one Dynamic Proxy server must be available for each Operations Manager.
Field Settings
Media Server Only Disables Dynamic Proxy functionality on the server. The Media Server is used to support cameras
and encoders and to deliver video directly to the user.
Both The server can be used as a normal Media Server, and as a Dynamic Proxy.
Dynamic Proxy Only The server is used exclusively as a Dynamic Proxy and cannot manage cameras or be used for other
Media Server tasks.
Tip See the “Understanding Sites” section on page 32-3 for more information.
Setting Description
Site Name The name selected by users during login or when changing Sites.
Root Location The Site location. The location defines the resources available to the users who
log in to the Site. All devices (including Media Servers, cameras and encoders)
must be in the same Site.
Dynamic Proxy (Apply Dynamic Proxy) Select to enable the Dynamic Proxy service on the server.
• Users who log in to the Site will receive video directly from the Media
Servers within the Site.
• Users who are outside the Site will receive video from the Dynamic Proxy.
• If the Dynamic Proxy option is disabled (deselected), video from cameras at
the Site will be delivered to all users by the Site’s Media Servers (and not by
a Dynamic Proxy server).
Setting Description
MJPEG Max Framerate To Skip (Optional) Stream thinning to be carried out for MJPEG streams. Must be set
based on bandwidth availability.
All MJPEG frames are IFrames. Depending on the frame rate of the original
stream, skip values are supported when the cumulative frame rate is greater than
or equal to 0.1 fps. Therefore, the maximum value is 10 times the MJPEG
stream's framerate.
The supported values are from 1 - 300.
For example, if the original frame rate of the MJPEG stream is o_fr, then the
“MJPEG Max Framerate To Skip” can be any value, x, where o_fr/x >= 0.1 fps.
For example, for 10fps, it is 100, for 30 fps, it is 300, for 0.1fps, it is 10, etc.
Note This setting is enabled only if the Dynamic Proxy service is enabled.
Max IFrames To Skip (Optional) The number of IFrames to skip for a video feed.
The minimum and maximum skip rates vary depending on the video stream
format:
MPEG4/H.264 Streams
The minimum and maximum values are 1– 9 (true only for cameras sending
1IFrame per second).
MPEG4 and H264, setting skip results in a stream with only IFrames. Most
cameras send 1 IFrame per second. If the stream (regardless of frame rate) is
sending 1 IFrame per second, the maximum skip is 9.
Note This setting is enabled only if the Dynamic Proxy service is enabled.
Description A meaningful description available in the configuration settings.
c. Click Save.
Step 5 Create User Groups and assign them to a location inside or outside the Site (Figure 32-4).
See the “Dynamic Proxy Overview” section on page 32-1 and the “Understanding Sites” section on
page 32-3 for more information.
Tip See the “Adding User Groups” section on page 6-14 for more information.
Note The Dynamic Proxy feature is only used if a Dynamic Proxy server is enabled, as described in
Step 3.
f. Select a Role that defines the access permissions for the group.
Note Users can only change Sites if they are assigned to User Groups with access to multiple Sites. If
“Not In Any Site” is selected, then all video from Sites will be delivered by the Dynamic Proxy.
i. (Optional) Enter the tags and description for the User Group.
j. (Optional) Select Approval Required and select an “Approval Usergroup” to require a second user
to approve the user login.
– When the user logs in, a window appears requiring a second user to enter their username and
password (Figure 32-7).
– If the approval is not successfully submitted within the approval time-out, the login is denied.
k. Click Create.
Step 6 Log in to the Operations Manager or Cisco SASD user interface.
a. Enter your username and password.
b. (Optional) Select a Domain if a member of a LDAP directory.
c. Select a Site (if you have access to more than one Site (Figure 32-6).
• Users with Site access are prompted for a Site on first login only, but not on subsequent logins.
• Users with no Site access are not prompted for a Site.
Note Users are prompted for a Site again if logging in with a different browser or from a different
workstation.
Step 8 Log in to the Operations Manager or Cisco SASD user interface, select a Site and access the video
streams available based on your User Group membership.
If a camera is inside a Site, and the user is not logged in to that Site, then the video will be provided by
the Dynamic Proxy.
Note If a camera is disabled and then quickly enabled in a deployment with multiple Dynamic Proxy servers,
it is possible that the video stream can be viewed by two different operators using two different Dynamic
Proxy servers. This occurs if an operator was viewing video before the enable-disable and the other
operator starts viewing after the enable-disable. We recommend waiting at least 5 minutes after disabling
a camera before re-enabling it.
Use the Maps feature to display map images for the locations configured in your Cisco VSM
deployment. For example, if a deployment includes a location for the city of San Francisco, an aerial
street or satellite map can be displayed when users click on that location. The map can display just the
relevant details, such as the city block or office complex. Cameras can also be added to the map to
indicate where the devices are physically installed. Users of the Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and
Security Desktop (Cisco SASD) application can then click on those camera icons to view video and
alerts from the cameras.
In addition, image layers can be added to represent additional details on a location map. For example, if
a location map shows an aerial view of an office campus, additional image layers can be placed in the
same location to show the floor plan for each building. Cameras can be placed on the floor plans,
allowing end users to select a building and view video and alerts from the real-world locations of the
cameras. Another example is a multi-floor building: image layers can be created for each floor, allowing
Cisco SASD users to select a floor from a drop-down list and view video from the cameras installed on
that floor.
Refer to the following topics for more information:
Contents
• Maps Overview, page 33-2
• Usage Notes, page 33-3
• Summary Steps, page 33-4
• Maps Requirements, page 33-6
• Define the Location Maps, page 33-8
• Adding a Maps Server, page 33-10
• Adding Image Layers and Image Groups, page 33-13
• Adding Cameras to Map Images, page 33-18
• Managing Location Map Service Providers, page 33-20
• Displaying Location Maps Without Public Internet Access, page 33-22
• Migrating Map Images From a Previous Cisco VSM Release, page 33-25
• Understanding Image Layer Status Errors, page 33-26
Maps Overview
Location maps display the physical locations defined by a Cisco VSM system. Cisco SASD users can
select a location to view the installed cameras placed on the map and to view the image layers (such as
a campus, a building or a floor) that represent the real-world location where the cameras are deployed.
The Operations Manager is used to define the location map displayed for each location, add image layers
to the map to represent additional details (such as buildings or floor plans), and add cameras to the maps
and images.
For example, Figure 33-1 shows a location map with additional images of a company campus and
building on that campus. A camera installed in the building is represented by a green icon. Multi-floor
buildings can have a image for each floor, allowing Cisco SASD users to select a specific floor and
camera to view video and alerts.
3 An image layer.
• The location map appears when you select a location.
• Click the map to display the image layers associated with that location. The image layer group name appears at the
top left of the image.
• Click the icon to select a different image layer and drag cameras to the image as necessary.
See Adding Image Layers and Image Groups, page 33-13 for more information.
4 Camera icon—Drag and drop cameras onto the image to add icons that represent that camera location and status.
See Adding Cameras to Map Images, page 33-18 for more information.
Cisco SASD users can also click the icons to view video from that device.
5 Camera icon settings—Click a camera icon to open the settings:
• Click and drag the blue dot to represent the camera’s field of view (for informational purposes only). Click Set to
save the setting.
• Click Remove Marker to remove the icon. Camera icons can only be in a single location or map.
6 The image layers available in the group.
• Admins can click and select a layer (for example, an image layers for a specific floor-plan in a building), and
drag and drop cameras onto the image.
• Cisco SASD users can click to select the image for the location they want to view.
• See Adding Image Layers and Image Groups, page 33-13 for more information.
7 Zoom controls—You can also click and drag the image to move it within the viewing pane.
8 Image group name—The group name assigned to a set of images. Click the group name to return to the location map.
Usage Notes
• The Operations Manager is used for configuration purposes only. It is not used to access the maps
functionality. Use the Cisco SASD desktop application to view camera video and alerts using maps.
• The camera icons are informational only in the Operations Manager. Use the Cisco SASD desktop
application to view video and alerts using location maps.
• You may need to adjust the image size or browser screen to properly display the image layer window.
• When upgrading to Release 7.5 or higher (from Release 7.2 or lower) you must migrate the map
images from the previous system and reconfigure the map image layers. The Cisco VSM mapping
system has been replaced with GIS map support which is not compatible with the earlier map
support. Accessing cameras on maps now requires the use of a Cisco VSM Map Server. See the
“Migrating Map Images From a Previous Cisco VSM Release” section on page 33-25.
• If a Maps server is replaced and no backup file is available to restore the previous maps
configuration and data, then all image files must be re-added.
• You can also deploy the Maps service without using a Mapping provider (such as OpenStreetMap).
This is used when there is no access to the external Internet. See the “Displaying Location Maps
Without Public Internet Access” section on page 33-22 for more information.
• Map image files must be 128 characters or less, including the directory path. If an error “The
maximum value for this field is 128” appears when adding image layers, move the source image files
to the desktop and try again.
Summary Steps
The following table summarizes the main steps required to configure location maps.
Maps Requirements
Table 33-2 Location Maps Configuration Requirements
Complete?
Requirements ( )
(Required for image layers only)
A Maps Server enabled on the Operations Manager.
• See the “Adding a Maps Server” section on page 33-10.
• A Maps Server can run as a stand-alone server, or be co-located on a server running Operations Manager,
or Operations Manager and Media Server (a co-located Maps Server must also run Operations Manager).
Related Documentation
• Understanding Server Services, page 9-3
• Physical server installation:
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.2 and higher) See the Cisco Physical Security UCS Platform
Series User Guide for more information.
– (Systems pre-installed with Release 7.0.0 or 7.0.1) See the Cisco Physical Security Multiservices
Platform Series User Guide for more information.
• Virtual Machine installation—See the Cisco Video Surveillance Virtual Machine Deployment and
Recovery Guide for UCS Platforms for instructions to install the server software .ova image as a virtual
machine (VM).
• Initial server setup—Cisco Video Surveillance Management Console Administration Guide.
• Installing and Managing Licenses, page 2-1
• Adding a stand-alone Maps Server—Configuring Servers, page 9-1
An Operations Manager user account that belongs to a User Group with manage permissions for Servers &
Encoders.
See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
Image files for the map layers, such as building, floors or other images that represent the real-world location
in your deployment.
Tip The maps images are provided by a mapping providers, such as OpenStreetMap. A default set of
providers is included, but you can add additional mapping providers as described in the “Managing
Location Map Service Providers” section on page 33-20.
Note If public Internet access is unavailable, the location maps cannot be displayed using a mapping providers
(such as OpenStreetMap). As an alternative, you can upload a base layer, and additional image layers for
the locations in your deployment. See the “Displaying Location Maps Without Public Internet Access”
section on page 33-22 for more information.
Related Information
• Understanding Server Services, page 9-3
• Server Settings, page 9-10
• Adding or Editing Servers, page 9-16
Procedure
Procedure
Tip See the “Adding or Editing a Single Server” section on page 9-17 for more information.
Tip If a server error occurs, see the “Understanding Image Layer Status Errors” section on page 33-26 for
more information. See also the “Viewing and Clearing Layer Status Errors” section on page 33-27.
Column Description
Status • Published—the image that is uploaded to the system and is bound to a latitude/longitude.
• Unpublished—the image that is uploaded to the system but is not bound to a latitude/longitude.
Notes
• Unpublished image layers are stored on the Operations Manager server for 30 days, and then
deleted.
• We recommend publishing all images before performing an Operations Manager “Config only”
backup. Operations Manager “Config only” backups do not backup Unpublished images (which
are temporarily stored on Operations Manager server). The Unpublished images are not restored
with the backup file, and an “map_layer_ mismatch” issue will occur on the Maps server. See the
“Viewing and Clearing Layer Status Errors” section on page 33-27 for more information.
• See the “Understanding Image Layer Status Errors” section on page 33-26 for more information
on additional status values that can occur after restoring a server from a backup.
Name The image layer name that is selected by end users.
Location The location assigned to the image. When a user views a location, they see the image layers assigned
to that location, along with the cameras placed on the map images.
Grouping Images in the same group appear under a “Groupings” entry. Click “+” or “-” to expand or hide the
images included in the group.
For example, a 4-story building can have images for each floor.
Column Description
Elevation The order that the image layers appear in the drop menu available to end-users. Select a layer and click
Move Up or Move Down to change the display order.
Image The image name.
To do this, upload an image, select a location and group (set of related images), and then use the
Bounding Box to resize and relocate the image on the map.
For example, in Figure 33-7, the campus image is added and placed on the map. An additional building
image is added to the same group, and resized so it appears in the correct location on the campus image.
Groups allow the images to be stacked and allow the end-users to click the icon and select the
relevant image layer.
a. Click Add.
b. Click the add icon and select the image(s) you want to upload from a local or network drive.
Tip You can select a single image file, or a compressed .zip file with multiple images. All images
must be a supported file format (see the “Maps Requirements” section on page 33-6).
Field Settings
Name (Required) The image layer name. For example: “Floor 1”.
Base Layer (Optional) Select this if Internet service is not available and the image will be used as the base layer image
(and not provided by a map service provider). See Displaying Location Maps Without Public Internet
Access, page 33-22 for more information.
Location (Required) The location where the image layer will appear.
Image (Read-only) The image filename.
Group (Optional) The group of images that the image belongs to. Users click the icon to select an image from
the group. For example, all floor images can belong to a group called “Building 2”.
• To create a group, enter the group name. The entry will be saved and can be selected when you add
additional image layers.
• Select a group from the drop-down menu if the group name was previously entered.
Zoom (Required) The minimum zoom level and the maximum zoom level.
The image layer is shown on the location map only when the zoom level from the location map falls
between the min/max zoom levels.
Placed on Map (Required) Click Set to bring up the image on the location map. You can re-size the image to display it in
the correct location (Figure 33-7). This value is Yes when the image is placed on the map.
a. Click Set.
b. In the pop-up map window, use your mouse to:
– Zoom in and out or re-position the map.
– Click and drag the corner of the image to resize and relocate it on the map.
– Click an image to enlarge it.
– Click the icon to select a image in the group.
c. Click Set. The Box (min, max) coordinates are automatically entered.
Note This value is No if the image has not yet been placed on the map. The value is also No for base layer
since the entire image will be displayed.
For example, in Figure 33-8, the image layer for a building floor plan is added and assigned to the
same group as the campus image. The building image is re-sized on the campus to show it’s location.
Tip To automatically add a camera map icon based on the camera’s Installed Location when the camera is
manually added, updated, or imported from a CSV file, select the “Auto Create Map Markers” setting
(see the General System Settings, page 29-2 and Understanding a Camera’s Installed Location Vs. the
Pointed Location, page 8-9). You can also specify an alternative location when importing cameras from
a CSV file (see Importing or Updating Cameras or Encoders Using a CSV File, page 10-20).
Figure 33-9 shows the Camera Marker Map. Select a location, and then select a image layer (if
configured). Drag and drop the cameras configured for that location onto the map. The camera is
represented by a icon (the color represents the device status), and you can indicate the camera’s
approximate field-of-view by clicking the icon and adjusting the settings (the field of view is
non-functional and for informational purposes only).
Note The camera icons are informational only in the Operations Manager. Use the Cisco SASD desktop
application to view video and alerts using the camera icons.
Step 8 The changes are automatically saved (you can close the window or navigate to a different screen).
To add a mapping service provider, you must obtain a URL from the provider, such as Google maps.
Additional providers can be selected by users, and you can change the order they appear, the default
provider, and hide or show the providers.
Tip If your deployment does not have connectivity to the public Internet, then the map service provider
cannot be reached to supply the location maps. You can manually load image files for each location. See
Displaying Location Maps Without Public Internet Access, page 33-22 for more information.
Prerequisites
To add a provider, you must obtain a URL from the map service provider (such as Google maps). Follow
the instructions provided by the map service provider.
Step 4 Click Add to add a new provider, and enter the provider settings (Table 33-5).
Field Settings
Name The provider name that appears in the selection list.
URL The URL provided by the map service provider that enables the location maps to be displayed.
Subdomains (Optional) The subdomain, if it is provided by the map service provider.
Attribution (Optional) The text that appears at the bottom of the page indicating the source of the map. For
example: “Courtesy of OpenStreetMap”.
Active Select Active (default) to display the provider name (and allow users to select the provider).
Deselect Active to disable the provider.
Note Deactivated providers are not displayed in the user interface. Deactivate all providers if the
deployment does not have public Internet access. See the “Displaying Location Maps
Without Public Internet Access” section on page 33-22.
Step 5 (Optional) Select a provider name and click Move Up or Move Down to change the order that the
providers appear in the selection list (Figure 33-11).
Step 6 (Optional) To show or hide the providers that appear in the selection list, double-click a provider name
and select or de-select Active (Table 33-5).
Step 7 Click Update.
Summary Steps
You can still use the maps feature, but you must manually add the base and location map images:
1. Add a Cisco VSM Map server to your Cisco Video Surveillance deployment.
2. Before switching to offline mode, delete any existing image layers.
3. Disable all mapping service providers.
4. Add a base layer image. This is the map image that all other images appear on. For example, a base
image can be a city, region, campus, etc. Only one base layer can be configured in the deployment.
5. Add additional image layers for each location where you want a default location map to appear.
These locations will appear on top of the base layer image.
See the following topics for more information:
• Requirements, page 33-22
• Procedure, page 33-23
Requirements
Verify that the following requirements are completed to display location maps when public Internet
access is unavailable.
Complete?
Requirements ( )
A Maps Server must be installed to enable image layers.
See the “Adding a Maps Server” section on page 33-10.
All mapping services must be disabled in the Operations Manager.
Related Information
• Managing Location Map Service Providers, page 33-20
Only one base layer image can be configured.
Additional image layers must be configured for each location.
Note The mapping provider is typically used to provide a default location map for each location. If public
Internet access is not available, maps cannot be loaded from the mapping provider and you must
provide the image for each location using the image layers.
Related Information
• Procedure, page 33-23
• Adding Image Layers and Image Groups, page 33-13
Procedure
Step 1 Add a Cisco VSM Map server to your Cisco Video Surveillance deployment.
See the “Adding a Maps Server” section on page 33-10.
Step 2 Before switching to offline mode, delete any existing image layers.
• This is required because the Base Map added in offline mode is assigned to a default location. Image
layers assigned to another location will not appear on the map. We recommend deleting any image
layers, and re-adding them in offline mode. This will place the images within the base layer you
added in offline mode.
• This same issue can occur if you switch from offline mode to online mode by enabling the external
Map providers. Any layers you added in offline mode will appear at the default location (Milpitas,
California). You must assign these layers to their actual (or preferred) location, so they appear in the
correct map. See Adding Image Layers and Image Groups, page 33-13 for more information.
Step 3 Disable all map service providers.
a. Log on to the Operations Manager.
– You must belong to a User Group with permissions for Locations & Maps. See the “Adding
Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more information.
b. Select System Settings > Maps.
c. Select the Providers tab (Figure 33-12)
Note The image filename format is <locationName>.<file extension>. Cisco VSM does not store the original
image filenames.
Note This procedure is necessary only for upgrades from a release prior to 7.5. For upgrades from Release 7.5
or higher, the map image migration is automatic.
Procedure
Step 3 Install and configure a Maps Server as described in the “Adding a Maps Server” section on page 33-10.
Step 4 Add the mapsFromOldVersion.zip file to the Operations Manager Maps Layers page. See the “Adding
Image Layers and Image Groups” section on page 33-13 for more information.
Tip These states can cause Critical server status errors. See the “Viewing and Clearing Layer Status Errors”
section on page 33-27 for more information.
Note The “map_layer_ mismatch” issues are automatically cleared from the status and health pages when the
image files are deleted or updated.
Refer to the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager: Install and Upgrade Guide for instructions to upgrade
the Cisco Video Surveillance system software, the driver packs that enable camera and encoder models,
and the device firmware for those devices.
Topics include:
• Installation and Upgrade Summary
• Downloading Cisco Software, Firmware and Driver Packs
• Deploying a Physical Cisco VSM Server
• Installing and Upgrading Driver Packs
• Upgrading Cisco Camera and Encoder Firmware
• Installing Cisco Video Surveillance Safety and Security Desktop (Cisco SASD)
• Upgrading Language Packs
• Recovering or Reinstalling the Factory Image
• Troubleshooting
Use one of the following methods to access the Cisco Video Surveillance (Cisco VSM) documentation:
• Click Help at the top of the screen to open the online help system.
• Download PDF versions at Operations > Help.
• Go to the Cisco Video Surveillance documentation web site.
• See the Cisco Video Surveillance 7 Documentation Roadmap for descriptions and links to Cisco
Video Surveillance documentation, server and storage platform documentation, and other related
documentation.
Refer to the following topics to download additional software tools and updates.
• Downloading Cisco SASD and the Cisco Review Player, page B-1
• Downloading the Workstation Profiler Tool, page B-2
• Accessing the Management Console, page B-2
• Downloading Documentation, page B-2
Note To download these installation files, you must belong to a user group with Download Software
permission. See the “Adding Users, User Groups, and Permissions” section on page 6-1 for more
information.
Table B-1 Cisco Video Viewing Applications for Download from the Operations Manager
Tip See the “Understanding the Video Viewing Options” section on page 3-2 for more information.
Downloading Documentation
Go to Operations > Help to download to download Cisco Video Surveillance documentation. See the
“Related Documentation” section on page A-1 regarding additional documentation available on
cisco.com.