Backing up video archives on a schedule - Security Center 5.12

Security Center Administrator Guide 5.12

Product
Security Center
Content type
Guides > Administrator guides
Version
5.12
Language
English
Last updated
2024-10-17

To save important video on a regular basis, you can back up specific archives to a file server or a network drive on a schedule using archive transfer.

What you should know

The video is saved to G64x video files, which can be restored at a later time. Backed up video files are not searchable in Security Desk unless they are restored, but the original files are still searchable.

You can also back up video archives manually if you need to bypass the backup schedule.

Backing up your video archives is helpful in the following scenarios:

  • If you are performing maintenance on the server and need to temporarily store the archives in a secure location.
  • If your Archiver fails and you need to restore the video to another Archiver.

Procedure

  1. From the Config Tool homepage, open the Video task and click the Roles and units view.
  2. Select an Archiver and click the Resources tab.
  3. In the Backup configuration section, set the following options:
    Backup folder
    Location where backed up archives are saved as G64x files.
    Delete oldest files when disks are full
    Turn this option on to delete the oldest video archives when the disk is full.
    Automatic cleanup
    Turn this option on to specify a retention period for the backed up video archives (in days). If you do not enable this option, backed up video archives are not automatically deleted by the system, and must be manually removed.
  4. Click Advanced settings.
  5. Set Max archive transfer throughput to the maximum bandwidth available to the Archiver for archive transfer, and then click OK > Apply.
  6. In the Video task, click the Archive transfer view.
  7. Click Add an item > Backup.
  8. In the Transfer group properties dialog box, name this archive transfer scenario.
  9. In the Sources section, click Add an item (), select the cameras or Archivers you want, and then click Add.
    When a camera is selected as a source, the transfer will include associated video from all Archivers.
    Tip: Hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple cameras or Archivers.
  10. For Recurrence, select a schedule for the archive transfer:
    Manual
    Transfer archives manually.
    Minutes
    Transfer archives every 1-59 minutes.
    Hourly
    Transfer archives every 1-23 hours.
    Daily
    Transfer archives every day at the specified time. Optionally, set a maximum duration for the transfer to complete.
    Weekly
    Transfer archives every week, on specific days at the specified time. Optionally, set a maximum duration for the transfer to complete.
    NOTE: If you set a maximum duration to transfer files on a Daily or Weekly schedule, ongoing transfers are stopped at the specified time, and will resume from the last successfully transferred video frame at the next scheduled transfer. If you do not set a maximum duration, and the transfer is still in progress at the beginning of the next scheduled transfer, then the new transfer starts when the current transfer is completed.
    Transferring archives on a schedule is recommended for fixed cameras with limited network bandwidth. The transfer can be scheduled for a time when network demand is low.
  11. In the Coverage option, select whether to transfer all the data that has been accumulated since the last transfer, or only for a set range of days.
  12. Under Data, select All to transfer everything since the last successful transfer, or Specific to transfer specific sequences based on event filters.
  13. If you select Specific, select the type of data to transfer:
    Alarms
    Transfer video segments related to alarm events. The record of the alarm itself is not transferred.
    Bookmarks
    Transfer video segments that contain bookmarks.
    Input triggers
    Transfer video segments that contain input events.
    Motion events
    Transfer video segments recorded between Motion on and Motion off events. This option only applies to unit motion detection.
    Protected video
    Transfer video segments that are protected.
    Video analytics events
    Transfer video segments that contain video analytics events.
    Time range
    Transfer video segments recorded during a specific period. You can specify a time range or a relative time range, such as the last n days, hours, or minutes.
  14. Event-based transfer only: If you selected specific data, specify how many seconds of video should be transferred before and after the event occurs.
    If you select the Motion events filter, this setting indicates how many seconds of video preceding the Motion on event, and how many seconds of video following the Motion off event are included in the transfer.
  15. Click Save.
    The video archives are backed up at the scheduled time.