Cameras and data sources
How a camera is added to a site and tested, which connection types exist, how credentials are handled, and what depends on an Edge Connector, a media gateway or hardware that has not been verified.
- Version
- 0.2
- Dernière mise à jour
- Disponibilité
- Partiellement disponible
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A camera is a data source attached to a site. Once it has been added and tested, it appears on the Detection wall, can be placed in the site's Digital Twin, and can produce events. This page covers how cameras are added and what each part of that depends on.
Where to add a camera
In Detection, on the Live tab, choose Add camera (or Discover, which starts with a scan of the local network). Adding a camera needs an administrator of the organisation with access to the site; anyone else is refused by the server.
A separate Admin → Platform → Integrations → Video Integrations panel creates a different object, a recorder-host integration, and labels its path "Direct (dev/test only)". It is not a second way to add a camera; use the Detection wizard for a real site.
The wizard
The wizard has seven steps: Choose site, Discovery method, Discover or connect, Devices, Stream, name & placement, Test connection and Analytics readiness.
| Method | What it does |
|---|---|
| Discover on local network | Scans the site's network for cameras. This runs through an Edge Connector installed at the site. |
| Connect by IP or hostname | Connects to one device by address, with an optional ONVIF port, username and password. |
| Connect NVR / VMS | Lists the channels of a recorder that speaks ONVIF. There is no adapter for a specific video-management product. |
| Select manufacturer / manual | Starts from a manufacturer profile, then connects by IP address over ONVIF. There is no field for entering a bare RTSP address. |
A device found by discovery is shown as Device found, Authentication required, Authenticating, Authentication failed, Capabilities detected, Unsupported device, Offline, Stream unavailable or Already added. A single device is added with Configure & add, one at a time. The channels of a recorder can be imported selected or all together. A camera on a public address is probed directly by Virtik; only private addresses need an Edge Connector.
Credentials
A camera's password is stored in a secure vault and is never sent back to the browser. The username is stored as an ordinary field. The wizard clears the password field once it has been sent. Enter credentials only in the credential fields. Never put a username or password inside a stream address: the Stream URL field of a camera hotspot in the Virtual Sites editor is free text, is not checked for embedded credentials, and is displayed as typed when the hotspot is opened.
Saving and testing
Save camera records the camera, and the wizard says plainly that it is not marked online until a connection test and the health monitor confirm it. The test runs these checks: Authentication, ONVIF, RTSP, Codec, Resolution, Frame rate, Snapshot, Stream startup, Media flowing through the gateway, and Browser playback. The result is All checks passed, Partially verified or Failed. The Browser playback check is never confirmed from the server, so it is always reported as not verified.
Test connection also needs the administrator role. A plan limits how many cameras an organisation can have, and an import beyond the limit is refused.
What it depends on
- An Edge Connector
- A small agent at the site, needed for scanning the local network and for testing cameras on a private network. There is no screen in this release for enrolling one; an administrator API route exists. Without one, discovery reports "No Edge Connector is enrolled at this site" and stops.
- A media gateway
- Needed for live video and for the stream checks. A tile says "No media source configured" when the camera has no stored connection.
- Camera hardware
- None has been verified. The lab used to test discovery uses a virtual camera and does not certify any vendor, model or firmware.
Connection types
Generic ONVIF and an ONVIF recorder can be reached from the wizard. A generic RTSP test exists in the product, but nothing in the wizard adds an RTSP-only camera. A connector for an enterprise video-management system and one for an Edge appliance exist as definitions only: they declare no capabilities and do not connect. A connector with a manufacturer's name exists, but it behaves as generic ONVIF, and no camera model has been verified.