Netcam Studio 1.3.6.8 scheduler issue son server restart

Hello, I have a 16 camera licensed Netcam Studio server and tonight after a system restart due to lack of power I had 2 issues:

  1. the continous recording controlled by the scheduler not restarted
  2. the library looks empty even if all the videos and thumbnails are correctly in place

Here are come information about my configuration:

  • SO: Windows 7 SP1 32bit
  • HW: Intel i3 4 GB RAM
  • .Net 4.5.2

After the automatic server restart (Netcam Studio Windows service started succesfully without problem) to solve the first issue I had to go to the scheduler of each camera and simply press the “green check” button to start the recording again. No other action was required.

The library appears still empty except for the recordings that I “restarted” manually as described previously.

No error messages occurred like the others I read in other thred, the only warning and error messages were:

Exception using http://111.222.1.101:1010/videostream.cgi?resolution=32&usr=DVR&pwd=DVR_1
Exception Detail:Timeout dell’operazione.

and

File Recording failed
Exception Detail:Impossibile trovare il percorso di rete.

because the NAS I use for the recording powered off before the Netcam Studio server. The recording has to restart automatically on server restart, it’s the primary security function that I need. Any suggestions?

Thank you.

Andrea

Hi there!
Power failures are never good when working with real-time systems. There are databases open, files writing to HD etc. In a power failure everything can happen. Computers ()excl servers) do not have a watchdog that will manage these things gracefully so therefore anything can happen. If power failures occur often or this is a critical system you should really have a UPS or no-brake for the whole system.

Prerequisites for NCS 1368 is .NET Framework 4.6.1. I see that you are running NCS 32-bit and when NCS comes up to about 2 GB depending on number of cams it might become unstable.

Your problems are all because the uncontrolled close down and when files are damaged NCS do not start properly again.

Information about files in the Library are stored in a database and that file is probably damaged. Stop NCS. To get the file information back in again go to ProgramData-Moonware-Netcam Studio-Server. Delete the Library file. Restart NCS. Now the files in the location for the storage will be indexed again into the database.

Sorry, but that´s what I can say about this.

-Henrik

Hi,

You are right. Power cuts are never good, but the software should be able to handle these events. This can be done by checking & repairing files/DB before starting the software. I also saw techniques where the software takes his own backups from crucial files, to that it’s able to repair itself.

In the ideal world you have never power cuts, and your system is protected with UPS & generator. However, I believe NCS is currently more aimed at individuals & small business users. That kind of users usually don’t have UPS or generators, so I think that should be taken into account ;).

PS: sorry for being the devil’s advocate sometimes :wink:

You are welcome!
About no-break it depends on where you are in the world. For the moment I am residing in Brasil and there you don’t see a computer without no-break if its not a laptop ;). Also, for that type of software you usually pay a little bit more. Security systems should always be on a no-break!

I agree that the library index can get lost in case of sudden power lack, due to many reasons (write cache, file not completely written, ect.) The power lack was caused by a poor battery charge of the UPS (not detected by UPS periodic self-tests) so the PC wasn’t able to shutdown in time.

What I don’t understand is why the scheduler doesn’t automatically restart the record of the cams and I had to “remember” to it going to the scheduler of each camera and simply press the “green check” button to start the recording again.

The scheduler configuration isn’t wrote during the normal Netcam Studio operation so is not susceptible to power loss, is it right? Maybe you should investigate about this behaviour in order to increase the his robustness. :slight_smile:

There was a lot of bad luck there! Sorry for that.
I am not sure how the NCS communicates with the config file and if is open all the time or closed when not used.
If you do a restart of the NCS Service will the recording start automatically or do you need to save it again? If yes, is it the same for motion detection? Do you have installed .NET Framework 4.6.1
The only time I need to save again is when I have done something in the Edit source panel of a camera.

No, after the service restart I had to manually save the scheduler options again (simply clicking the green check button because all the informations were still in place) in order to bring the recording back (I didn’t activate the motion detection).

Yes, I installed .Net 4.6.1

I have tested this on 2 different systems and they all functions as planned. After a restart scheduled events like continuous recording and motion detection starts automatically.

-Henrik

Thanks very much for testing! I have to check this further.
Thanks,
Henrik