SS360

Are you using any other software to view the cameras? Possibly the Vivotek software that is free? I would never expect internet explorer to be able to flash 30jpg images a second and 1mp. One thing to check is the network protocol that is being used. TCP network protocol can cause delays in video security because of the constant high volume of information transporting and when you use TCP it has to check itself for errors sometimes going back to the camera requesting dropped packets. If you can change the network protocol to communicate in UDP then you will get and faster flow of information because there is no error checking. If there are small bits of information lost it usually will show up as slight pixilation in the image instead of a delay or skipped frame due to TCP's attempt to go back and error check. However I have never seen the ability to change stream protocol within Vivotek without using a software as advanced as Genetec VMS. BUT I haven't used Vivotek in a couple years now so they may have changed their firmware to accept it, worth a call to Vivotek.

Ok, so from the looks of it there is something called SMT (Simultaneous Multi-threading Technology) as well as API (Application Programming Interface). These two things effect how much information a software can handle. Basically since we are building multiple core processors now, we need software that can divide and send information to multiple cores properly. I'm still researching this, however from the looks of it heavy software companies have been burdened by creating proper code when it comes to handling the ability to divide and send information to multiple processors at the same time. Now I'm still not sure if this is only on the operating system level or if it actually effects the individual software companies. If anybody has any information on this please share. Thanks!

I completley agree, I have been trying to resolve this issue with Genetec and it is starting to feel like a sales gimick that has been put in place to impliment more software and sales. Here is the question I asked genetec... Support, I was hoping to get an explaination I can understand about the limitation of throughput that Genetec can process. I know the recommended throughput calculations for 5.1 and 5.2 can be up to 300 cameras or 300 Mbps on a stand alone archiver, which then goes down to 100 cameras or 200 Mbps on a machine running both the Directory and Archiver. So my question is... Where does this limitation actually exist? Is this the limitation of information in which the "Software" can actually process? When this limitation hits, I have processing power on the machine, I have availability on the network with an avg. utilization of 20% used when this limitation is hit (Directory and Archiver). So does that lead back to a limitation of a software being able to process something? Where is the actual choke point? Thanks! Ryan Here is the Response.... Hello Ryan, From experience we always recommend 300 Mbps but that number can be surpassed in some cases depending on your setup, hardware, discs and so on... That’s why we have to mention 300 mbps in our documentation. We would advise to contact your Sales Engineer when it comes to calculate the maximum your system will stay stable depending on your setup. Thank you,

This theory would imply that you had a gigabit modem right?

Thanks survtech! That really helps, I posted my last message before reading your explanation.

OK so here are some additional notes from Genetec that make me think this "throughput" limitation is a "Software Processing Limitation" 1. A more powerful server thatn the high end specification will not necessarily increase the maximum capacity 2. Maximum capacity of a virtual machine with the exact same specificaitons as the proposed "metal box" is reduced by 20% 3. A dedicated Network Interface Card (NIC) should be assigned per instance of the Archiver Role when using virtualization 4. Virtual machine must run on Windows Server 2008 R2 / 2012 and VMware Ready hardware Since they are digging into virtualization as a solution I can't seem to relate it to the hardware or network limitations. Or they could just be saying that if virtualization exists then follow the above guidelines. I have this question into Genetec Support, I will update the post when I get something that makes sense to me. Cheers!

I understand this said to be a network limitation, but I do not fully understand where this limitation actually exists so the closest I could find was a buffering limitation. So I am hoping to find someone that can explain it in a manner I can understand. So if this is a network limitation why is my network only at 20% when I run into issues? I have processing speed. I have RAM availability. I have network availability. Are we saying the software is processing data with a limitation that is smaller then the processor of the machine/network it resides? I'm confused please explain.

I understand this said to be a network limitation, but I do not fully understand where this limitation actually exists so the closest I could find was a buffering limitation. So I am hoping to find someone that can explain it in a manner I can understand. So if this is a network limitation why is my network only at 20% when I run into issues? I have processing speed. I have RAM availability. I have network availability. Are we saying the software is processing data with a limitation that is smaller then the processor of the machine/network it resides? I'm confused please explain.

Thanks for all the great information gentlemen. So your comments pointed me in this direction and correct me if I'm wrong, but basically older 7200 RPM drives have a 32MB buffer on it. 32MB = 256Mb. All data needs to go through this buffer? So that is why multiple archivers are needed? But... if my Hard Drive has a 64MB buffer on it will the VMS process 512Mb/s? Just trying to understand this mystery limitation...

I am the integrator. I am running Genetec 5.1 with service pack 8. It just seems that Genetecs software architecture was designed for analog cameras. As an example Genetec has a software limitation of processing 300mbps when running a stand alone archiver, but if you want to run the archiver and directory on the same machine it has a 200mbps limitation. This limitation was causing me to fail on pulling video from the archiver even though my hardware could handle the load. The software would fail the video extraction because it was causing over the limit network processing to occur. So since I am running the directory and archiver on the same server any time my gigabit network would spike over 20% the video extraction would fail. This limitation is all processing not just the bandwidth from the camera to the archiver, but from the archiver to the guard viewing client as well as to the video extraction no matter what machine it was being pulled off of. Another example is the Security Desk client has a 5gb cache limit when viewing stored video directly out of tiles. The software will cache the video so it can be scrolled through faster which makes sense, however since I am running 5 megapixel Arecont cameras (which suck for bandwidth/storage) So when the customer reaches that 5gb limit of cached video it just stops allowing any more video to be viewed and after my rounds with Genetec the only way to clear it as of now is to close the program and re-open it. The system I am referring to only has 24 physical cameras but due to the 180 cameras I have 33 video feeds. I have an Exacq system running 55 Arecont 5 megapixel cameras and have no problems with it. So I was just seeing if anybody else is experiencing these issues with Genetec.

FYI, I have installed aftermarket lenses on Arecont cameras and it is amazing how much the lens that comes with it restricts it's clarity. The sensors in Arecont cameras are actually damn good.

I have multiple system running Genetec as well as multiple systems running Exacq. My Exacq systems I have to touch about once a year, however my Genetec systems are continually dropping cameras and video feeds. I only have IQinvision and Arecont cameras on these systems. Anybody else out there having major reliability issues with Genetec?

OK, let's step back a notch and look at the details. Now I am not familiar with the UK at all, but can you utilize google maps or something equal? Make a map of the cameras you would need. You may be able to group cameras that are close together and send multiple cameras over a single wireless connection. This way you can purchase cost effective equipment and then spend a little more money on a few links to connect the data together. A great point to point wireless company is MikroTik routers and they are an international company. Now as for the cost you are definitly going to have to raise the bar a bit if you are talking wireless. Also you can run coaxale cable for a longer distance I believe up to 1,100 feet in some instances with RG6 or RG11 cable so this means your 180 meters would be no problem. You can also put BNC connectors onto these cables. So if you are trying to do it on the cheap I would say get direct burial rated RG6 cable, slap some BNC connectors on them, pick up a worker from the outside of home depot, have him dig a trench around your Marijuana fields for the cables, also keep in mind that some equipment has the capability of sending power over the coax cable as well. Also think about connecting multiple DVR's together as some have this capability, this could allow you to group cameras better... possibly. FYI, I have used converters to transfer ethernet to coax and ran it over 300 meters, transferred it back to ethernet, ran a 5mp camera on it, and it works great. Don't believe this 150 feet to 200 feet limitations on coax.

So... are you looking for a company to install a system or are you looking for a software that will work with a large system. How big is this airport? Genetec is another system that is capable of handling a large airport, however if you are looking for an installer you can also call these major software companies (Avigalon, Genetec, Exacq, Milestone) and ask them if they have any certified partners in your area. A certified partner is a contractor that has taken the required classes that the software company provides.