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Image Storage on the LAN

Open the Event Storage dialog to set the camera options for storing images.

The camera can store images in a ring buffer that is located either internally in its RAM or on an external file server. A ring buffer will overwrite its oldest images once the storage capacity has been reached. Storing images on a file server is accomplished without installing any additional software on the file server.

This strategy for storing images on a remote server is very powerful, thanks to the low network loads and the integrated image buffer of the camera, which can also bridge short network failures. It is thus no problem at all to record the events of 30 cameras on a regular Windows computer (P4 / 3 GHz).

Notes:


Internal Ring Buffer

As per factory default, the MOBOTIX camera immediately starts storing images in its internal ring buffer, which is created automatically in the camera RAM.

Notes:

External Ring Buffer

Without installing additional software, the camera can store images externally on a file server. You can choose from two file server variants:

Notes:

Storing Images on a Linux Server

When storing images on Linux/UNIX file servers, the camera uses NFS (Network File System) and uses a directory on the server (commonly entered in /etc/exports) as a mounted file system.

Camera Configuration

Parameters Description
External File Server Select the NFS option and click on OK. Click on the (Hint) link that appears behind the NFS option. This page contains further information for configuring the Linux/Unix server. It may make sense to print this page for reference purposes.
File Server Enter the IP address or the name of the file server. The file server must be accessible for the camera in the local network.
Directory

Enter the absolute path of the directory on the server which the camera should use for storing images (e.g. /mxdata).

Make sure that this directory exists and that access rights are assigned accordingly.

Userid and Groupid Enter the user ID of a user with write access rights:
  • UID = user ID
  • GUI = group ID

When you are using the factory default settings, you need to check whether or not a user with this user ID exists and whether or not this user has write access to the directory.

Storage size

You can limit the storage capacity to be used by the camera. Enter the maximum storage capacity for the camera in the text field.

Note: Once the reserved storage space is occupied, the oldest images will be overwritten automatically.

If you do not want to limit the storage capacity, check the unlimited checkbox. In this case, an error will occur once the storage capacity has been reached.

Note: Click on the Calculate link to determine the storage capacity requirement for your application in the Calculate Storage Size dialog.
Time to keep

You can limit the time to keep the stored images. Enter the maximum value in the text field.

If you do not want to limit the time to keep the images, check the unlimited checkbox.

Number of Events

You can limit the maximum number of events to be stored. Enter the maximum number in the text field.

If you do not want to limit the number of events, check the unlimited checkbox.

Click Set to save the changes. Next, click on Close to close the dialog and on OK to save the changes permanently. Reboot the camera (Admin Menu > Reboot).

Server Configuration

Note: The server configuration may vary for different distributions. Note that MOBOTIX cannot provide support for configuring the Linux/Unix server.
  1. Log onto the file server as root user.

  2. Create a new directory (e.g. mxdata):
    mkdir /mxdata

  3. Change the owner and the user group for this directory:
    chown -R 65534:0 /mxdata

  4. Assign the required access rights for the directory:
    chmod 755 /mxdata

  5. Use the ps aux | grep nfs command to check if the NFS server is already running. If this is not the case, use the /etc/init.d/nfsserver start command to start the service, or install the service from scratch, if it is not available.

  6. Use the rpcinfo -p command to check if the nfs, mountd and portmapper services are executed. Normally, nfs and mountd are started by the NFS server while portmapper is executed as a separate service. If portmapper is not executed, you can start it using the /etc/init.d/portmapper start command.

  7. Open the /etc/exports file in a text editor and enter the following line:
    /mxdata 192.168.1.15(rw,no_root_squash)

  8. To re-initialize the list of entries in /etc/exports, execute the exportfs -a command.

  9. Next, restart the NFS server. Execute the /etc/init.d/nfsserver restart command.

This completes the configuration of the Linux/UNIX server.

Return to this dialog and check if the external ring buffer works, as described in the Checking the External Ring Buffer.

Note: It is not required to close this help window while the camera is rebooting. If the camera is available again, this help window may be used in the usual manner.

Storing Images on a Windows Server

When storing images on Windows computers, the camera can use a Windows share on a Windows NT 4 system or higher. Note, that you can use not only products of the Windows server family, but also Windows Workstation products (also called "Professional" nowadays), but the number of parallel connections serviced by such a workstation is limited.

Notes:

Server Configuration

  1. Log onto the system as administrator user.
  2. Create a new local user and set a password (e.g. mxcam). The camera will use this user ID later-on to log onto the server.
  3. Make sure that simple sharing is not used:
  4. Create a new directory with a name of your choice (e.g. mxdata).
  5. Right-click the directory and select the Sharing and Security option in the context menu.
  6. Activate the Share this folder option and assign a name for the share.
  7. Click on Access Rights and add the account name you just created.
  8. Change the access rights for this user by activating the Full Access option in the Allow column.
  9. Close all open dialogs by clicking on OK.

Camera Configuration

Parameters Description
External File Server Select the WIN option.
File Server Enter the IP address or the name of the file server. The file server must be accessible for the camera in the local network.
Directory Enter the Share Name that you have assigned during server configuration (e.g. mxdata), not the directory or the absolute path.
NetBios name

Computers in Microsoft networks are assigned so-called NetBios names.

Enter the NetBios name of the file server. The NetBios name can be found on the Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Computer Name tab of the server.

User Name Enter the user name the camera should use to log onto the server (e.g. mxcam).
Password Enter the password you have assigned to the user name.
Storage size

You can limit the storage capacity to be used by the camera. Enter the maximum storage capacity for the camera in the text field.

Note: Once the reserved storage space is occupied, the oldest images will be overwritten automatically.

If you do not want to limit the storage capacity, check the unlimited checkbox. In this case, an error will occur once the storage capacity has been reached.

Note: Click on the Calculate link to determine the storage capacity requirement for your application in the Calculate Storage Size dialog.
Time to keep

You can limit the time to keep the stored images. Enter the maximum value in the text field.

If you do not want to limit the time to keep the images, check the unlimited checkbox.

Number of Events

You can limit the maximum number of events to be stored. Enter the maximum number in the text field.

If you do not want to limit the number of events, check the unlimited checkbox.

External Logging

Activate the options in the External Logging section (only shown if you clicked the More button) to periodically copy the log files for external image storage as well as the camera's Web Server Logfile and System Messages to the file server.

Checking the External Ring Buffer

To test the camera's external ring buffer on a file server, do the following:

In order to remedy errors that are occurring, you should activate the options in the External Logging section and check the Event Storage Logfile.

You should also configure the File Server Checks to alert you of file server problems using the messaging options defined in the File Server Checks dialog.


Storing the Configuration

Click on the Set button to activate your settings and to save them until the camera is rebooted.

Click on the Close button to close the dialog. While closing the dialog, the system checks the entire configuration for changes. If changes are detected, you will be asked if you would like to store the entire configuration permanently.

In order to enable these settings, you need to reboot the camera!

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