Troubleshooting the Archiver - Security Center 5.7 - 5.11

When a camera is red in the area view, it means that the video unit is offline or has lost communication with the Archiver. To troubleshoot the issue, learn about the possible causes and their respective solutions.

1. Verify that you can ping the unit:
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the red video unit.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Unit > Ping ().
   If there is no reply, the unit is offline (broken, unplugged, and so on), or there is a problem with your network.
2. Make sure you can connect to the unit, and then click Unit > Unit’s web page.
   Tip: You can also determine if you have the correct credentials for the unit.
3. Restart the unit:
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the red video unit.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Unit > Reboot ().
4. Verify that Security Center supports the unit, and that the unit is running the certified firmware.
   For a list of video units supported by Security Center, see our Supported Device List.
5. Restart the Archiver role controlling the unit:
   IMPORTANT: Perform this step at a non-crucial time, because all the units connected to the Archiver go offline temporarily.
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the Archiver role.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Maintenance > Deactivate role ().
   3. In the confirmation dialog box, click Continue.
      The Archiver role and all video units controlled by the role turn red.
   4. At the bottom of the Video task, click Maintenance > Activate role ().

If you cannot view live video in Security Desk, you can troubleshoot the issue.

1. Wait to see if the camera connects.
2. If the problem persists for more than 10 seconds, click Show diagnosis in the tile, or press Ctrl+Shift+D.
   Information about the video stream is displayed. The current step is highlighted:

   

   Initializing

   The media player is preparing the required resources to display the video stream.

   Connecting to Media Router

   The media player is establishing connection with the Media Router to obtain the network location of the stream.

   Connecting to Archiver and redirector

   The media player is establishing connection with the Archiver and the redirector to request video.

   Requesting live stream

   The connection is established between the Archiver and the Media Player. The Media Player is now requesting the live stream.

   Analyzing the stream

   The client workstation requested and received the stream. The media player analyzes the stream to detect the video format and the presence of key frames. After the stream is validated, the video is decoded.

   Tip: Click the Help link for a list of things that you can do to troubleshoot the issue.
3. Confirm that the unit is online.
   If the unit is red in the Video task in Config Tool, then troubleshoot why the video unit is offline.
4. Verify that you can ping the unit:
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the red video unit.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Unit > Ping ().
   If there is no reply, the unit is offline (broken, unplugged, and so on), or there is a problem with your network.
5. Make sure you can connect to the unit, and then click Unit > Unit’s web page.
   Tip: You can also determine if you have the correct credentials for the unit.
6. Verify that Security Center supports the unit, and that the unit is running the certified firmware.
   For a list of video units supported by Security Center, see our Supported Device List.
7. Change the video unit’s connection type to the Archiver:
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the red camera.
   2. Click the Video tab.
   3. From the Connection type drop-down list in the Network settings section, select a different connection type.
   4. Click Apply.
8. Try viewing playback video from the camera:
   1. In the Security Desk Archives task, select the camera.
   2. Select the most recent video archive available and click Generate report.
   3. After the report is generated, try to view the video from the archive.
      • If you can view the video, continue with the next troubleshooting step.
      • If you cannot view any video, contact Genetec™ Technical Assistance Center.
9. If you have an expansion server on your system running the Archiver role, try to view video from the expansion server:
   1. Open Security Desk on the expansion server.
   2. In the Monitoring task, drag the camera from the area view to a tile in the canvas.
      • If you can view video, it might be a problem with the redirection from the Media Router to your Security Desk. Continue with the next troubleshooting step.
      • If you cannot view any video, contact Genetec™ Technical Assistance Center.
10. Make sure the correct ports are open on your network so that there is no firewall blocking the video stream.
11. Verify that each network on your system is configured properly:
    1. From the Config Tool home page, open the Network view task.
    2. Select a network, click the Properties tab, and make sure all the settings are correct (IP prefix, subnet mask, routes, network capabilities, and so on).
    3. If required, change the network settings and click Apply.
    For more information, see About networks.
12. Force Security Desk to use a different connection type:
    1. From the Security Desk home page, click Options > General.
    2. In the Network options section, next to the Network option, select Specific.
    3. From the drop-down list, select a different network and click Save.
    4. Restart Security Desk.
    5. If changing the network connection does not work, repeat the steps to test using other networks.
13. If you still cannot view video, click Show video stream status in the tile, and then troubleshoot the video stream.
14. If the issue persists, contact Genetec™ Technical Assistance Center.

If you cannot view playback video or video archives in Security Desk, you can troubleshoot the issue.

1. Try viewing live video from the same camera by dragging the camera from the area view to a tile in the canvas in the Security Desk Monitoring task.
   • If you can view live video, continue with the next troubleshooting step.
   • If you cannot view any video, then it is probably a network issue. See Video units offline in Security Center.
2. Try viewing playback video from the Archives task:
   1. In the Security Desk Archives task, select your camera.
   2. Search for video archives at different dates and times and click Generate report.
   3. After the report is generated, try to view video from the archives.
   4. Repeat the steps with other cameras that are connected to the same Archiver.
   • If you can view the video from some of the video archives, continue with the next troubleshooting step.
   • If you cannot view any video, skip the next troubleshooting step.
3. Verify that Security Center supports the unit, and that the unit is running the certified firmware.
   For a list of video units supported by Security Center, see our Supported Device List.
4. Try viewing playback video from the Archives task on another Security Desk, and on the server where the Archiver role is running.
   • If you can view video, it might be a problem with the redirection from the Media Router to your Security Desk. Continue with the next troubleshooting step.
   • If you cannot view any video, contact Genetec™ Technical Assistance.
5. Make sure the correct ports are open on your network so that there is no firewall blocking the video stream.
6. If you still cannot view playback video, contact Genetec™ Technical Assistance Center.

If the server hosting the Archiver role has low disk space, you can change the retention period, and save location of the Archiver logs to free up disk space and prevent issues with the server performance.

1. On the Archiver server, do one of the following:
   • Back up the Archiver.gconfig file by copying it to another folder.

     The file is located by default in C:\Program Files (x86)\Genetec Security Center 5.x\ConfigurationFiles on a 64-bit computer and in C:\Program Files\Genetec Security Center 5.x\ConfigurationFiles on a 32-bit computer.

   • If the Archiver.gconfig file does not exist, generate it as follows:
     1. Log on to Server Admin and select the server hosting the Archiver role.
     2. Click Actions > Console > Commands > Archiver Agent commands > GenerateConfigFile.
2. Open the Archiver.gconfig file and change the following options in the ArchiverAgent section:
   • Change the ArchiverLogPath value from "C:\ArchiverLogs\" to the desired file path

     ArchiverLogPath="D:\ArchiverLogs\"

   • Change the logDaysToKeep value from 90 days to the desired retention period.

     logDaysToKeep="60"

   NOTE: If the Archiver.gconfig file already existed on the computer but the options are not listed, it is due to one of the following reasons:

   • You have an outdated version of the file. Generate the file using step 1.
   • The file was previously generated for the Archiver role (Actions > Console > Commands > Archiver Role commands > GenerateConfigFile), and you are missing the ArchiverAgent section of the file. Generate the file using step 1.
   • If you are using Archiver failover, the Archiver role might be running on a different server. Generate the file on the other server and copy it to this server.
3. Save the file and restart the Archiver role.

If the Archiver is yellow in Security Center and you receive an Archiver agent failed to start on the server error message, or if you are experiencing strange camera behavior, your Archiver cache might be corrupted. You can create a new Archiver cache to try and resolve these issues.

--------  Exception ----------------
System.ApplicationException: System.Exception:UIProxyAdapter creation failed. --->
System.Runtime.InteropServices.SEHException: External component has thrown an  exception.at Genetec.Archiver.Entities.GxUIProxyAdapterClass.Initialize(IGxUIProxyAdapterEvents
EventListener, IEntityBuilder EntityBuilder, String cacheFolder) at  Genetec.Archiver.OmnicastArchiver.Run()
--- End of inner exception stack  trace ---
at Genetec.Archiver.OmnicastArchiver.Run()

1. Deactivate the Archiver role in Config Tool, as follows:
   IMPORTANT: Perform this step at a non-crucial time, since all the units connected to the Archiver will temporarily go offline.
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the Archiver role.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Deactivate role ().
   3. In the confirmation dialog box that opens, click Continue.
      The Archiver and all video units controlled by the role become red.
2. In Windows on the Archiver Server, navigate to the following location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Genetec Security Center 5.x\Archiver\.
3. Rename the Cache folder to keep it as a backup for analysis purposes, or if you need to revert to the old settings.
   Cache.OLD.
   IMPORTANT: If the Archiver role is configured for failover, you must rename the Cache folder on all standby servers.
4. Reactivate the Archiver role in Config Tool, as follows:
   1. In the Config Tool Video task, select the Archiver role.
   2. At the bottom of the Video task, click Activate role ().