This topic is a collection of identified issues and some hints on how to find problems with integration and recording on MxNAS.
Just as the automatic configuration on the door station is mandatory to get a working system, the basic setup and install guides for the specific NAS model, install of the correct Docker and QVRPro (“MOBOTIX recording Software”) along with adding the camera to MxMC need to be followed step by step to result in a working system.
The initial steps are listed here: Getting started with MobotixNAS and MOBOTIX Recording Software
and also covered in the “HowTo” documents in the documentation section of our homepage.
At a glance:
Should any of the steps be skipped or not executed by these guides, chances are something will not work in the end.
You can check an existing system for correct settings and identify any setup flaws.
Management Center Live View and Playback
Starting with Management Center, make sure the cameras are added correctly, use the “Connection Settings” tab to verify:
Profiles
You need the HiRes Profile MxHiQuality at least, this profile is the one used by MOBTIX Recording Software on the NAS to gain access to the live image. It also defines the properties of the recordings on the NAS.
Note: Using H.264 Codec will require at least the MxMC starter license. Any amount of MOVE cameras can be added with this license. For third party cameras, the maximum is 9, any additional camera on H.264 requires an additional channel license.
Integration Key
More important is the Integration Key. This is written into the Cameras ONVIF Scope filed (an area in the cameras configuration used per ONVIF declaration to store properties and/or comments for identification and integration purposes), and serves as the common camera identifier for MxMC and Recording Software.
It is used by Management Center to prompt the NAS for recordings.
Should MC fail to add the Integration Key to the cameras Scope, Recording Software will refuse to add the camera into the camera list, displaying an error mentioning “Camera must be added to Management Center first”.
Possible reasons for issues here are:
Invalid access data for camera.
Check web interface of camera, verify username and password for admin access to the cam. Verify data entered to Management Center in “Camera Configuration” tab.
Wrong “Protocol”-version selected.
MOVE cameras should be OK with RTP via UDP and TCP, for third party cams or in customized installs you might want to try to change through the single protocol versions.
UDP will deliver images with low latency, but higher bandwidth consumption, while TCP does contain timestamps and might sum up some latency compared to lice image on browser, but has lower bandwidth
demands.
The cameras Web interface should also help you with this, in MOVE cameras the settings are in “Streaming”–>“Video OXC Protocol”:
Camera does not allow adding data to it’s “scope” parameters.
This can happen with 3rd party cams not on the same level of the ONVIF S standard than Management Center.
Use this article to identify possible compatibility issues:
You can also check Management Center’s IE-Log for error messages similar to this one, mentioning any problems with altering or accessing the “scope” filed of the camera:
Critical: ONVIF internal Error - Type: 9 - Reason: Too large scope list
or
Critical: ONVIF internal Error - Type: 9 - Reason : Too many scope entries
→ Customer will need to contact the cameras vendor for help with this issue. Camera does not comply to recent ONVIF S standard.
Note on IoT cameras:
It is possible to use IoT cameras in MC and Recording Software via ONVIF, but you will need some modification of the cameras configuration file, as MC will not generate all of the settings required.
This is also not recommended, since it will limit the functions of the IoT devices.
Disadvantages are for example:
- Loss of one recording channel on Recording software.
- Loss of MOBOTIX specific features within MX, as the alarm list, event histogram, alert notifications.
In general, following the documentation on MxNAS and IoT cameras is strongly recommended for this.
All of the settings OK?
Move on to the NAS:
On the main web interface use Control Panel to identify the model description.
The Firmware should match the latest release version on our web page.
Open “APPCenter”–>My Apps".
Click "Container Station Icon. Verify correct version of App as published on our download section.
Click “QVR Pro”. Version number should also match the latest available version on our website, usually it has “mx” at the end of the version number.
Open QVR Pro:
Camera Settings:
Adding cameras should be easy. Clicking “Add” will start the search.
Any camera with the Integration Key and “MxHighQuality”-profile set by Management Center can be added here.
The camera list sorts cams as “Channels”. Status is important, “Connected” needs to show up. “Connecting” or “not Connected” might indicate issues with the cameras network connection or power supply.
Even if continuous recording (“Normal Recording” in QVR Pro) was selected for a camera, inconsistent connection to it will result on a high number of individual recordings. This in turn could trigger some issues with playback in MC. A high count of individual recordings might cause playback in MC to stall or crash.This will be resolved with MC version 2.1.x service release, due end of July 2019 and an matching release for NAS firmware.
In “Recording Settings”, “Stream1” shows the actual status of the recording process.
It might be “stopped” if recording was turned off by schedule or no events triggering recording are currently detected.
No recording will be done as long as there is no Recording Space defined or the software is still initializing the storage space!
Recording Storage:
This should display no warnings.
You can also define storage space or retention time for all or individual cameras in “Recording Location and Days”.
“Rebuild Recording Index” might help with some issues regarding playback in MC, it should be done as first means on resolving such issues. Rebuilding will take recording offline while task is in process, and this might take a long time depending on the volume of data and the number of recordings existing in this recording space.
Priviledge can be reviewed should the use have chosen to differ from the manuals and set up other users than the default admin. The priviledges (or lack of) might interfere with MCs access to recordings.
Back to MC:
For playback, a connection to the NAS needs to be set up in MC’s “Components” settings:
“Type” needs to be “MOBOTIX NAS (ONVIF)”
If privileges on Recording Software were changed, enter the different privileges in "Use Expert Settings (ONVIF Access)
“Camera Configuration”–>“Recording Settings”
Recording Path matches the name given when adding the NAS to “Components”
After selecting the Path, MC will start scanning for recordings on the NAS and should return a list of “Device Directories”, matching the local IP addresses of all cameras available through the recording software.
Problems here might be caused by wrong access defined in “Components”, especially in the “Expert Settings” for ONVIF Access.
If search for paths returns nothing or MC crashes, probably to many recordings are present on the NAS or recording Index is inconsistent.
Update to 2.1.1 and the matching new version of NAS firmware and Recording Software.
Try “Rebuild Recording Index” on NAS.
