Hardware

Hardware Recommendations

This section describes the recommended hardware for use with the OnSSI surveillance software product line. OnSSI software products, being non-proprietary, can operate on any PC hardware from any manufacturer, as long as it complies with the minimum requirements as described below.

For your convenience, please use the OnSSI Hardware & Storage Calculator to assess the hardware specifications as well as the type and amount of storage needed, based on the size and characteristics of your system.

NVR OPERATION MODES

ONSSI’s NVRs can operate in two modes: Server mode or Workstation (WS) mode.

Server mode is used when there is no need to view the live or playback video directly on the Server station screens, usually when the NVR is located on a rack in a computer room, closet or unmanned location. Access to video is done via the NetGuard or NetGuard-EVS remote clients (NetDVMS or NetDVR) or via the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser-based client (NetDVMS, NetDVR or ProSight).

Operating in Server Mode will lower the CPU and video card requirements, as the system does not need to decompress video for on-screen presentation. The hardware used is usually rack-mountable server class hardware.

This mode is strongly recommended for NetDVR, and should be the only mode used for NetDVMS.

Workstation (WS) mode is used when there is a need to view live or playback video directly on the workstation screens, usually when the NVR is located next to an operator. This mode is not recommended for NetDVMS or NetDVR. For recommended hardware for Workstation Mode please see our NVR Hardware and Storage Calculator. Workstation Mode is recommended only for use with the ProSight Series.

ONSSI has set a standard method of scaling and measuring the hardware performance to allow for easy selection of the proper hardware.

Selecting the proper hardware is directly related to the total Frames Per Second (FPS) generated while the NVR simultaneously displays live video, records, and plays back video. (Most NVR manufacturers measure this number only by live view or recorded video or playback, but not all at the same time).

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To find out the total FPS required in your system, follow these steps:

1. Add the recording FPS speed required of each camera.
   # of Cameras _____ x Camera FSP ____ = Total FPS = ____
2. Repeat for all cameras of different frame rates.
3. Now add all FPS to a total FPS and match this number to the next higher FPS listing in the Recommended Workstation or Server listing bellow.

Example:

If you have 6 cameras that need to be recorded at 7 FPS in CIF format and 9 cameras that need to be recorded at 8 FPS in 4CIF format, the total CIF/FPS will be:

6 cameras x 7 FPS = 42 FPS
+
9 cameras x 8 FPS = 72 FPS

Total: 114 FPS

Notes:

1. The above calculations are suitable for non-megapixel cameras only. To determine the minimum recommended hardware and storage for a system incorporating megapixel cameras, please refer to the OnSSI Hardware and Storage Calculator.
2. The FPS performance values are estimated based on performance tests conducted by OnSSI. You should design the system with additional margins to allow for errors. The recommended hardware specifications are based on typical market requirements. Please contact OnSSI for specifications if you need higher-performance hardware for higher frame rates.

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* Please refer to our storage calculator

** CIF compressed frame is based on 8Kbyte/Frame

General:

Windows Vista's User Access Control (UAC) needs to be disabled in order to run OnSSI software. Instructions to do this are available here.

NVRs:

NetDVR 6.0 and NetDVMS 6.0 are certified to run on Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate (Windows XP Professional and Windows 2003 Server are supported by all OnSSI’s NVRs.)

Video Clients:

NetGuard-EVS – compatible with Windows Vista (Business or Ultimate)

NetGuard Remote Client – only the versions of the NetGuard Remote Client supplied with the latest NVR versions (NetDVMS 6.0 and NetDVR 6.0) are compatible with Windows Vista (Business or Ultimate). Earlier versions will not run on Vista.

NetPDA and NetCell:

NetPDA Server and NetCell Server will not run on Windows Vista.

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The OCL minimum system requirements are listed below:

• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Vista 32bit
• CPU: Intel® Core 2 Quad CPU 2.8 GHz
• RAM: 2 GB
• Network: Ethernet (100 Mb or higher recommended)
• Graphics Adapter: PCI-Express, 256 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported
• NOTE: Vista 64bit is NOT supported

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The NetGuard Remote Client software can be installed on any PC that runs an updated version of Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003, XP or Vista (Vista is supported on the latest versions of NetDVMS and NetDVR only).

There is no limitation in running the NetGuard on any PC, however, to ensure minimum performance please consider the following:

• As a rule, a P4 processor with speed of 2.8MHz or higher is recommended.
• The PC should have 32MB of RAM for every live or playback video stream presented on the screen. To view 16 cameras on the screen the PC should have 512MB RAM (32MB x 16), to view 4 cameras the PC should have 128MB RAM.

A typical NetGuard configuration of dual screen, 16 cameras per screen, would thus require a P4 machine, 3.4 GHz, 1 GB of RAM and a 128 MB PCIe video card.

The PC should also have a minimum of 128 MB Video RAM on its video card. Larger Video RAM will provide better FPS and refresh rate.

The NetGuard-EVS clients requires a .Net-enabled machine. .Net is supported natively in Windows XP and Vista, and is downloadable for Windows 2000 machines from Microsoft.

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Currently the NetPDA/NetCell client software can run only on Windows CE or Windows Mobile (Mobile5 and Mobile 6). Tested models include to date the HP iPaq H4550 , HP iPaq H4250 , HP iPaq H5550 , Dell Axion, Audiovox 6700/6800 and Treo 700W.

Units running Windows Mobile 6.0/6.1 are not necessarily supported, each unit should be tested to verify compatibility, the following Mobile 6.0/6.1 models are known to work properly:

• HTC-8900 (Mobile 6.0)
• HTC Touch Pro XV6850 (Mobile 6.1)
• Samsung i760 (Mobile 6.1)
• Samsung SCH-i910 (Mobile 6.1)

 The following units are not supported:

• Motorola Q
• HTC 621s
• Verizon’s SMT5800

The NetPDA/NetCell clients support MJPEG and MPEG4, they do not support H.264.

As a rule of thumb, the handheld device's processor speed will affect the frame rate of live and playback video; a faster processor will provide a faster frame rate. Most models that support a 320x240 screen resolution will perform well. Higher screen resolutions would require faster a CPU and would not necessarily yield better picture quality due to the handheld devices' small screen size.

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The following recommendations reflect the hardware components currently available on the market.

This section describes the recommended hardware for use with the OnSSI NetSwitcher and NetMatrix Viewer. ONSSI software products, being open-architecture, can operate on any PC hardware platform by any manufacturer, as long as it complies with the minimum requirements described below.

The NetSwitcher software consists of 4 components:

• NetSwitcher AServer - This server contains the main matrix switch engine, database and maps and should be a RAID Server class hardware.
• NetSwitcher Controller - Operator's control panel interface to operate the matrix switch.
• NetSwitcher Viewer - This module provides the display monitor function on a video wall. A single PC can drive 1-2 monitors and each monitor can provide a single or quad view.
• NetSwitcher Administrator - this administration module is installed on either the NetSwitcher Server or the NetSwitcher Controller PCs. It has no effect on system performance. In the specifications list below, it is included in the NetSwitcher Controller specifications.

Minimum Hardware Recommendation for NetSwitcher Server:

Minimum Hardware Recommendation for NetSwitcher Controller and Administrator:

Minimum Hardware Recommendation for NetSwitcher Viewer (including NetMatrix Viewer)

In calculating the number of NetSwitcher viewer PCs and the specs for each, please note:

1. The maximum number of camera streams per NetSwitcher Viewer PC depends on the parameters of the camera streams displayed - framerate, resolution, compression format, etc. Displaying a large number of megapixel cameras, for example, might result in degraded video quality.
2. The number of screens per NetSwitcher Viewer PC depends to a great extent on the video card's properties. As a rule of thumb, the video card should have 256 MB of on-card RAM per screen (i.e. a dual screen card should have minimum 512 MB of RAM, and a quad card 1 GB of RAM).

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