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 Windows 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.

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Hardware Recommendations for Ocularis Base and Ocularis Administrator

 

Ocularis Base Server Software

Ocularis Base should be installed on a dedicated, limited-access server, typically at a central location.

• CPU: Intel® Xeon®, (Dual Core or better recommended)
• RAM: 4 GB
• Operating System: Windows® Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or 64-bit). Note that Windows Server 2008 R2 is not supported.
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework, and Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 or newer
  

Note: In production environments, the Ocularis Base and Recording Servers (NetDVMS or NetEVS) or Ocularis Base and NetEVS Management Server should NOT run on the same server, unless they are installed in separate virtual environments and have the appropriate system resources. For demonstration purposes or trial systems (supporting less than 8 cameras), all software components can be run on one workstation provided the appropriate hardware specifications are met.

 

Ocularis Administration Client

• CPU: Intel Core2Duo
• RAM: Minimum 2 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3, Windows Vista (Business or Ultimate), or Windows 7 (Professional or Ultimate), all in 32-bit or 64-bit.
• Graphics Adapter : PCI-Express, 128 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported

Note: the Ocularis Administration Client does not require a dedicated PC. It may be installed on a PC running Ocularis Client.

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Note: the following specifications should serve as guidelines only. Please refer to the OnSSI online storage calculator for accurate specifications.

• CPU: Intel® Xeon®, minimum 2.0 GHz (Quad Core or better recommended)
• RAM: Minimum 2 GB; recommended 4 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7; Server® 2003 or Server 2008 recommended (all in 32-bit or 64-bit). Note that Windows Vista's User Access Control (UAC) needs to be disabled in order to run OnSSI software. Instructions are available here.
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework, and Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 or newer.

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NetEVS Management Server

Note: In production environments, the NetEVS management server should be installed on a dedicated machine, unless it is installed on a separate virtual environment, and has the appropriate system resources. For demonstration purposes or trial systems (supporting less than 8 cameras), all software components can be run on one workstation, provided the appropriate hardware specifications are met.

• CPU: Intel® Xeon® (Dual Core or better recommended)
• RAM: Minimum 4 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 2003 Server or Windows Server 2008, both in 32-bit or 64-bit.
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework, and Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 or newer

 

NetEVS Management Client

Note: the NetEVS management client does not require a dedicated PC. It may be installed on a PC running Ocularis Client and/or Ocularis Administrator.

• CPU: Intel Core2 Duo, minimum 2.0 GHz
• RAM: Minimum 2 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3, Windows Vista Business or Ultimate, or Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate (32 or 64 Bit).
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 Framework SP1 and DirectX 9.0, or newer.

 

NetEVS Recording Server/Failover Server

Note: In production environments, NetEVS recorders or failover recorders should be installed on dedicated servers, unless they are installed in separate virtual environments and have the appropriate system resources. For demonstration purposes or trial systems (supporting less than 8 cameras), all software components can be run on one workstation provided the appropriate hardware specifications are met.

• CPU: Minimum Dual Core Intel Xeon; Quad Core Intel Xeon recommended. See detailed recording server requirements below.
• RAM: 4 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 2003 Server or Windows Server 2008, both in 32-bit or 64-bit.
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1Framework or newer.

 

Scaling NetEVS Recorders

While there is no software-imposed limitation on the number of cameras per NetEVS recording server (or failover recorder), the following guidelines should be used to appropriately scale the number of cameras per recorder, for a given image resolution and total number of frames per second (FPS):

• 640 x 480 Resolution and up to 3500 FPS: 200 Cameras
• 1.3 Mega-pixel and up to 600 FPS : 70 cameras
• 2.0 Mega-pixel and up to 300 FPS : 60 cameras
• 3.0 Mega-pixel and up to 240 FPS : 40 cameras
• 5.0 Mega-pixel and up to 160 FPS : 40 cameras

Results are for all video compressions (MJPEG, MPEG4 and H.264), assuming motion detection is enabled and sampling is every 500 milliseconds. Disabling Motion Detection (if recording MPEG4 or H.264 all of the time) will save significant CPU resources and possibly allow for exceeding the performance recommendations.

 

Hard-Drives Minimum Recommendations:

640 x 480 Resolution

1. Fast (SAS/SCSI): 30 and up to 300 FPS
2. Slow (SATA): 20 cameras and up to 200 FPS

1.3 Mega-pixel (1280 x 1024)

1. Fast (SAS/SCSI): 25 and up to 250 FPS
2. Slow (SATA): 20 cameras and up to 100 FPS

2.0 Mega-pixel (1600 x 1200)

1. Fast (SAS/SCSI): 25 and up to 180 FPS
2. Slow (SATA): 15 cameras and up to 60 FPS

3.0 Mega-pixel (2048 x 1536)

1. Fast (SAS/SCSI): 20 and up to 100 FPS
2. Slow (SATA): 10 cameras and up to 40 FPS

5.0 Mega-pixel (2560 x 1920)

1. Fast (SAS/SCSI): 20 and up to 60 FPS
2. Slow (SATA): 10 cameras and up to 24 FPS

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• CPU: Intel® Core2 Duo CPU 2.8 GHz
• RAM: Minimum 2 GB
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3* or Windows Vista Business*, Windows 7 Business* or Ultimate; all 32-bit or 64-bit running as 32-bit.
• Graphics Adapter : PCI-Express, minimum 256 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported.
  Guidelines for Video RAM Requirements:
  • 20 simultaneous Video Channels: 512 MB
  • 35 simultaneous Video Channels: 1 GB
  • 50 simultaneous Video Channels: 1.5 GB
  • 64 simultaneous Video Channels: 2 GB
  Video RAM requirements are regardless of number of attached monitors.
  Additional factors may affect video RAM requirements, including megapixel cameras, compression format, as well as video card and other system hardware specifications .
• Software: Microsoft .NET 3.5 Framework and DirectX 9.0 or newer

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NetGuard and NetGuard-EVS, OnSSI legacy video clients, may be used only in conjunction with NetDVMS (operating as a standalone VMS), NetDVR and ProSight-SMB. NetGuard and NetGuard-EVS are not supported by Ocularis.

• CPU: Intel® Core 2 or better
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, Vista or Windows 7
• RAM: minimum 1 GB
• Graphics Adapter: 128 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported

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NetPDA Server/NetCell Server:

• CPU: 2.4 GHz CPU and 1 GB RAM (2.4 GHz dual core and 2 GB RAM recommended)
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Server 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit running as 32-bit).
• RAM: minimum 1 GB
• Graphics Adapter: 128 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported

 

NetPDA Client/NetCell Client:

Currently the NetPDA/NetCell client software can run only on Windows Mobile platforms.

Please contact OnSSI for a list of supported devices.

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 Server - 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:

• CPU: Intel® Dual-Core Xeon Processor 2.66GHz
• Operating System: Windows 2003 Server, Standard Edition
• RAM: minimum 1 GB

 

Minimum Hardware Recommendation for NetSwitcher Controller and Administrator:

• CPU: Pentium 4 or higher
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, Vista or Windows 7
• RAM: minimum 1 GB
• Graphics Adapter: 256 MB RAM, Direct 3D supported
• Monitor: Touch screen recommended, minimum 17 inch
• Speakers recommended for audible alerts.

 

Minimum Hardware Recommendation for NetSwitcher Viewer (including NetMatrix Viewer)

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

• CPU: Intel® Core Duo P4 Processor 3.00GHz
• Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, Vista or Windows 7
• RAM: minimum 2 GB
• Graphics Adapter: 256MB for single screen; 512MB for dual screen; 1 GB for quad-screen

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